Fate vs Free Will

Fate vs. Free Will Oedipus was a king that was torn between free will and the destiny of the gods. Even though fate seemed to control Oedipus ' life, he did still have a free will. The story was based on whether free will or fates were influencing the characters ' lives. Both fate and free will went throughout the play but only free will, brought Laius, Jocasta and Oedipus to their downfalls. Their behaviors decided their future. If someone can have a destiny, they can have the free will to change it. In my opinion, I think that fate does exist but you can still make your own decisions. I believe that the people who lived in Ancient Greek felt that their lives were controlled by the gods. They believed everything that they hear the gods say will come true. People can be as free as the gods who influence them. If the gods are free, then people are also free. Jocasta and Laius were perfect examples of freewill. It was their choices that led them to their terrible destinies. Their actions showed that it was freewill that created their destiny. As Oedipus ' parents believed their fate, they tried every free will they had to stop their fate from happening. Since they believed fate defines something that will happen, they felt like the only way stop their fate from happening is to send Oedipus to get killed. If Oracles would have never told King Laius about the prophecy of Oedipus killing him he wouldn’t have sent his servant to kill him and Oedipus would have known who his real parents were and would of never killed his father or slept with his mother. After Jocasta discovered she married and had children with her son, she made the choice to kill herself. No one forced her to do it; it was her choice. Only someone is safe from their fate when they are either completely aware of it, or completely blind of it. When Oedipus learns his fate of killing his father, he immediately tries to prevent it and ran away from who he thought was his parents. He freaked out and

Cited: Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays-Oedipus the King. Translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Books. Copyright by Robert Fagles, 1982,1984. Print