Oedipus Rex Fate Vs Free Will Essay

Free will and determinism have been debated by philosophers for centuries. This topic was debated as early as around 430 b.c. when Sophocles wrote Oedipus the King. Oedipus the King is a play about a man who is given a horrible prophecy. When Oedipus was born his parents were told that he would grow up to kill his father and marry his father. His parents were disgusted by this prophecy and decided to leave Oedipus to die in the mountains with his feet nailed together. His parents thought they were safe from the prophecy but, a herdsman found Oedipus and brought him to another royal family to be raised. When he grew up and found out about the prophecy, he fled from his parents not knowing that they were not his real parents. This decision to

Fate is often said to be inevitable, have an adverse outcome, or end and free will is the ability to choose at your own discretion. In our everyday life, we make decisions and are often told that life is about making choices. It is because we have free will that we make choices which may lead to positive consequences if the choice is rational and yet other times our decisions lead to negative consequences. Free will plays an important role in Oedipus the King and fate appears in the play but it does not dominate it. It is free will that gives humans the ability to make choices that affect their destiny, human beings have free will and do make choices all the time. Free will is distributed throughout the entire story of Oedipus the King.

In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is trying to figure out how to stop the plague in Thebes. He is also trying to figure out who killed King Laius. This is the man that Oedipus took over for as the new king. Creon tells Oedipus that King Laius’ murderer is in the city and once the man is out of the city that will end the plague. Sophocles uses the ideas of fate and free will to develop a theme of if something is destined to happen, there is little that can be done to stop it.

Oedipus the main character, begins seeking justice for Thebes and then sets about to seek his own identity. Before he was born, an oracle warned his parents, Laius and Jocasta, that a curse has been set upon their son at birth, and that he is destined to marry his mother and kill his father. With an end goal to keep away from their destiny, his parents left the infant on the mountain to die. He did not die however, and a royal couple, Polybus

One of the many philosophies examined in both Sophocles, Oedipus the King and William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar is fate versus free will. In both dramatic plays, the idea that fate and free can work side by side is supported. Shakespeare and Sophocles allow the theme of fate and free will to wind its way into the downfall of major characters in world literature. In Oedipus and Julius Caesar there are different interpretations of the concept of fate and freewill. Each has different fates and limits of free will that contributes to their death.

Ordering their servant to take their son to dispose of him, went to go get rid of the baby, but instead of killing him he gave it away to the king and queen of Cornith. Oedipus grow up without realizing he is adopted until one day he is out with some friends drinking, one of his friend that night told him the truth. Finding out this. He travel to Delphi 's to search for the truth. But once he get their he told about a prophecy where he kills his father and marry his mother. Thinking his real parents were in Cornith. Oedipus headed to thebes, on his way over their he confronted a problem with an old man and his servants. He ended up killing all, but one

The idea of fate or free will is something that is often linked to human nature and is reflected in many pieces of writing. They poke and prod the reader of these two beliefs, and allow them to determine the reasoning behind each character’s actions. Examples would include the play Macbeth, Oedipus and the film The Adjustment Bureau, as the main characters make decisions based with or against the newfound knowledge. Overall, it is considered that fate often dictates the influential choices, while free will consists of everyday life activities.

This lead his biological parents to give up their baby, by sending him to be murdered. But due to the role of fate in the life on Oedipus, he was not murdered, but was instead given to a family that would grow up to take care of him and eventually become his adoptive parents Polybus and Merope. Thus, it is clear that the first time the Prophecy affected his life, was in his infancy, in which he was ripped away from his family in order to die. Years later, after Oedipus was crowned as king of Thebes, he began the search to find the murderer of Laius which would eventually lead him to discovering out that he is the murderer of Laius thus fulfilling the prophecy. This again shows how the prophecy played a role in dictating the outcome of the vents that take place in Oedipus’ life. The final example of the role of the Prophecy in the play also takes place in his reign as King, in which he marries his mother and becomes the father of his siblings. This also shows how the Prophecy affected Oedipus since, he married his mother as the Prophecy stated, and this would lead to

Most people today no longer have beliefs in prophecies but Macbeth and Oedipus do just that. The Tragedy of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare and Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles both introduce the idea of fate and freewill. Although Oedipus is influenced by fate and Macbeth is influenced by freewill, both cultures, Ancient Greece and the Elizabethan Era, influenced their belief in prophecies.

I also said that fate is responsible for the tragedy of Oedipus. In my opinion, it truly seemed that no matter what Oedipus did, he would also end up where he did. I like how you interpreted that the gods were trying to protect the Thebans - not so much entirely punish Oedipus. Oedipus ' free will of figuring out everything did eventually cause his pain, but I feel that everything would have been figured out eventually, whether Oedipus continued searching or not.

One major theme in Oedipus is fate vs. freewill. Through this story, Sophacoles shows his opinion on this conflict. Sophacoles opinion is that the choices you make through free will lead you to your fate. He beleives fate is something you cannot avoid.

In my opinion, the events that are taking place in King Oedipus are unavoidable due to the way in which Sophocles has portrayed determinism and agency throughout the play. Determinism (Fate) refers to a higher being (God) controlling one’s live since birth and the absence of one’s control over his or her destiny even till death. Agency (Free Will) on the other hand refers to human’s ability to decide on the life path they wish to take and the freedom for one to choose their own destiny.

In the book Oedipus the King by Sophocles, a person 's fate and a person 's free will both influence his or her life, and is a common theme which is clearly demonstrated through different incidents that take place in the play. For example, while speaking of Oedipus the article “Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature” states,¨Regarding his contradictory attitude toward the oracle, he believes in the oracle enough to react to its admonition, but not enough to realize that he cannot evade his foreknown destiny¨ (Langis n.pag.). For this reason, Oedipus does everything he can to ensure the oracles will not come true. Which, is unquestionably displayed when he moves out of Corinth away from his parents, based solely on the fear of the oracle’s

Due to the current events, people are doubting the oracle and gods. A herald from Corinth arrives and tells Jocasta about Polybus’ death. Likewise, corinthians want Oedipus to be their king because they believe Polybus is Oedipus’ father. Oedipus finds out Polybus being dead and he didn’t kill him. Oedipus still fears the prophecy because of Meropi still being around. The Herald tells Oedipus that Polybus and Meropi are not his actual parents. He then testifies to Oedipus’ identity because He knows of Oedipus’ infant life. Jocasta feels horror and dread because of what Herald says. She realizes the truth of Oedipus’ identity and wants to protect him. Herald then identifies the Shepherd. The Shepherd reluctantly shares past events about Oedipus’ real parents. The moment of the real truth has arrived. After the information has been revealed from the darkness, the chorus reacts with pity over the luckless Oedipus. Knowing this, Jocasta hangs herself. Once he found out about Jocasta, Oedipus stabs out his

The third character’s destiny, Oedipus, was foretold ever since he was a teen. Oedipus’ prophecy is slightly different. When Oedipus is raised by King Polybus and Queen Merope, he is given a prophecy by Apollo, “Apollo told me all sorts of other horrible, dreadful prophecies; prophecies like, one day I’d become my mother’s husband, and that I’d spawn a generation rejected by mankind, and that I’d murder my father!” (17) Oedipus finds this out when he asks Apollo after a drunk had told him Polybus and Merope weren 't his birth parents. When the horrible truth of his mom being his wife and having spawn with her fall upon him, he stabs out his own eyes. “Oedipus removed the bejewelled, golden brooches from Jocasta’s shoulders and plunged them deep into the sockets of his own eyes!” (28) Oedipus can’t stand the humiliation, so this is the option he is left with. Fate then leads him out of the