ipl-logo

Free Will In Oedipus The King

898 Words4 Pages

In Oedipus Rex, both themes of individual action and fate strongly play and overlap each other and ultimately help in determining the overall destruction and demise of the king, further analysis of the play shows that free will itself and the actions that Oedipus takes determines his own downfall due to flawed characteristic traits that if were happen to not exist would lead to a totally different end product and outcome. Oedipus possesses free will, and even though the Oracle predicted his fate, prophecy, and what he will do, his drive for knowledge and unveiling these prophecies merely helped it all become a reality. Throughout the play, it is evident that Oedipus is not only ignorant and temperamental, but he also goes through life with an impulsive nature and an indefatigable, remorseless, and persistent attitude to find out the truth.
Oedipus’s flawed character aspects and traits …show more content…

From possessing flawed characteristic traits such as ignorance, stubbornness, temper and even excessive pride (hubris), which is evident when Oedipus gets the prophecy from the oracle when he is young that he will one day kill his father and marry his mother, he runs away thinking that he has tricked and outwitted the gods but unknowingly follows the correct path to fulfil the prophecy that was set. Oedipus, in this case, believed that he could get away from running away from a proclaimed prophecy which was a sin at the time, which he already he knew, but let his excessive pride in the way of his thinking. These flawed characteristics and aspects of Oedipus are the very things that led to his demise and overall destruction. If it weren’t for them then he very well could of lead a normal life for much longer perhaps. Though free will by itself didn’t cause all of this destruction, in hand with fate, Oedipus’s own choices helped him uncover his horrific deeds and put into play the devastating prophecies that were

Show More
Related

  • Free Will In Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

    157 Words  | 1 Pages

    In one of the episodes, Odysseus encountered Polyphemus: a Cyclops who held Odysseus and his men captive. Despite the wishes of his crew, Odysseus did not kill the Cyclops; Odysseus knew that if the Cyclops were to die, the men would not be able to move the boulder blocking the exit. Instead of killing Polyphemus, Odysseus blinded him by driving a sharpened staff into his eye. Blinded, Polyphemus sat by the exit blocking any passage; the men were faced with another issue: how would they slip away? Odysseus knew that in order to escape he needed to devise a carefully thought out plan, so he “drew on all [his] wits, and ran through tactics, reasoning as a man [would] for dear life, until a trick came–and it pleased [him]” (Homer 993).

    Read More

  • Odysseus Free Will In Homer's Odyssey

    476 Words  | 2 Pages

    Odysseus, the great and powerful, was a leader among many, and the fearless king of Ithaca. Even with all of his amazing qualities, he did not control his own fate. After winning the war in Troy, Odysseus begins his journey back to Ithaca, but not without complications. On his journey, he battled monsters and the god Poseidon, who made his journey long and treacherous. Although Odysseus was a strong leader, he needed the help of the gods to get home.

    Read More

  • The Free Will Of Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

    336 Words  | 2 Pages

    In one of the most heartfelt moments of The Odyssey, Odysseus meets his mother in Hades on his journey back to Ithaca and discovers of her passing. So she spoke, and my heart yearned To embrace the ghost of my dead mother.

    Read More

  • Free Will In Oedipus The King And Julius Caesar

    1585 Words  | 7 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Comparing Aristotle's Oedipus Rex And The High-Minded Man

    948 Words  | 4 Pages

    Oedipus Rex Essay “Destiny guides us towards a specific, but without our willful participation we will not achieve our destiny” quoted Lee Bladon. Destiny or fate seems too often misused as a vague scapegoat. An unforeseen dramatic irony of sorts. Thanks to the Greek stories and plays of the classical age, fate is thought to be linked to the tragic outcome of an individual's life. In addition to the concept of fate and destiny included in The Oedipus Plays, high mindedness was not a tragedy gifted to Oedipus regardless of whether fate had any involvement.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Free Will In Oedipus Rex

    300 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fate and Free will in Oedipus Rex 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.

    Read More

  • Oedipus The King: Fate Vs. Free Will

    345 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fate and free will co-exist with each other in life and in the story. Oedipus clearly had the conversation of his fate and his destiny. The oracle told him that he was going to kill his father and bed his mother. But he thought that his father was Phoebus, and in order for him to “run away” from this prophecy, he CHOSE to run away instead of accepting his fate.

    Read More

  • Fate And Freewill: Oedipus And Anakin

    1455 Words  | 6 Pages

    (Nassaar, 148). However, it can be said the reason Oedipus was doomed to suffer from the moment he was born was because a past ancestor of his could have done something that angered the Gods and thus prompted the Gods to curse his family, and unfortunately for Oedipus, he was born into said family and had the curse placed upon him. Family curses were not something unheard of in Greek times, in fact they were pretty common. It is because of these curses that the people always tried to live out good, prosperous lives so as that their family would not be cursed.

    Read More

  • The Free Will Of Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

    193 Words  | 1 Pages

    Odysseus goes to the land of the dead and during the time he is there he will encounter many new fates and things he must do as well. First, when Odysseus is in the Land of the Dead he is to sacrifice a lamb” I swore to sacrifice a black lamb, handsomest of all our flock”(11.1071-72). In this Odysseus is saying how he had made a promise to Teiresias and now he was to slaughter this lamb that he said he would do. Next, Odysseus encounters the spirit of his deceased mother “I see my mother’s ghost among the dead sitting in silence near blood. Not once has she glanced this way toward her son, nor spoken” (11.1145-47).

    Read More

  • How Does Oedipus Deserve His Fate

    711 Words  | 3 Pages

    Oedipus Rex essay Final draft Oedipus certainly deserved his fate. Oedipus and his actions are clearly disrespect to the gods , he faces the fate he deserves. He was doing things that would eventually lead up to the unfortunate event of his death , he was even warned by the great and wise Teiresias , but he being himself was to stubborn and did not listen. All the things Teiresias said would happen became the truth. He killed his father, married his mother, yet he tempted his fate , he deserved everything that came his way .

    Read More

  • Cultural Context Of Oedipus The King

    1576 Words  | 7 Pages

    The entire time Oedipus had the capability to discontinue the plight. However he made the independent decision to continue due to his human nature of having strong will and determination. Another instance where choices directly linked Oedipus to the prophecy was at the crossroads, where important trait in his character, stubbornness was displayed. This trait is visible when Oedipus reacted to the man pushing him aside at the crossroads. "the one shouldering me aside, the driver, I strike him in anger! …

    Read More

  • Blindness In Sophocles Oedipus The King

    1400 Words  | 6 Pages

    There are many times in the play when Sophocles helps to emphasize this belief to the reader, but perhaps the most obvious is the curse, and the events that follow it, that happen to Oedipus. When Oedipus visited the oracle at Delphi, he found out that he was destined, or fated, to “lie with [his] own mother, breed children from whom all men would turn their eyes; and that [he] should be [his] father’s murderer” (line 749-751). Sophocles then introduces the concept of free will by describing Oedipus’ attempt to escape that terrible fate: fleeing the city of his youth, Corinth, never to return. This quick introduction of both fate and free will sets Sophocles up for establishing his opinion on this contrast based on which force turns out to dictate Oedipus’s end. As the story progresses, Oedipus gradually finds out that more and more of that dreadful fate is true, until he finally realizes “It was true!

    Read More

  • Free Oedipus The King Essays: Fate Or Free Will?

    1233 Words  | 5 Pages

    And fate controlled his actions. And the way he behaves that is because he is cursed. His knowing of the curse leads him to run and escape from it in hope to defeat it. Because going through the text we could notice that one on the main themes is blindness. Blindness is mentioned as a sign for the curse, and it might lead to his irrationality, when Tiresias said to Oedipus “you are blind to the corruption of your life” .

    Read More

  • Sight Vs. Blindness In Sophocles Oedipus The King

    1063 Words  | 5 Pages

    Truly, Oedipus sets out to change his destiny. His self determination proves he has pride in himself and confidence that he can somehow change the future. When Oedipus killed his father he allowed his pride and arrogance to control him. He was thinking with his pride and did not use self control. This hubris that is instilled in Oedipus is a serious flaw of his.

    Read More

  • Free Will In The Odyssey

    1250 Words  | 5 Pages

    Human beings have been baffled by existential questions and conflicts throughout history, and we humans attempt to answer these questions and reconcile these conflicts through various cultural depictions of gods and goddesses, religion, and spirituality. Homer’s The Odyssey and Sophocles’ Oedipus the King provide two interesting examples of how Ancient Greeks sought to define meaning in life, establish and enforce morality, justify social hierarchies, explain powerful forces, and especially to explore the age-old question of whether our lives are tied to fate or whether we exercise free will. In The Odyssey, Homer writes of numerous gods and goddesses, intimately known by his hero Odysseus and his Ancient Greek audience. The gods and goddesses

    Read More

More about Free Will In Oedipus The King

Open Document