Oedipus The King Free Will

A frequent debate that we have today is whether we have freewill or a divine source controlling our fate. In the events in Oedipus the King, Sophocles portrays how one’s actions, decisions, and personality can affect one’s fate. Fate and freewill play a critical role in several characters’ decisions and downfall.

If prophecy existed in today’s world, one could expect what is going to happen in the future. However, this is existent in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, and the main character, Oedipus signals his doom involuntarily. Fate is the series of events that occur without the person’s control, and Oedipus falls victim to it. Whether it is caused by a foolish parent, a king or ruler, each and every person has fate. Sophocles writes a tragic fate that Oedipus was born to experience, while combating the misconception of free will he also presents.

The events in Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, suggesting a connection between man 's free will towards perfection in life or fate which the ancient Greeks believed that Gods had given to them. Man was free to choose and was ultimately held responsible for his own actions. Both the concepts of fate and free will are a poignant factor and they play an indispensable role in the Oedipus ' destruction. Oedipus was a victim of fate when he was predicted from birth to someday marry his mother and to murder his father. This prophecy as a warning by the oracle of Apollo, and it certainly will happen, no matter what he would do to avoid it. His past actions were determined by fate, but what he did in Thebes, it was decided by his own will.

Fear of the prophecy drove him from his home in Corinth and brought him ultimately to Thebes.” (Play Summary Oedipus the King). He thought that by leaving his parents, he would change the prophecy. He would not have the opportunity to marry his mother or kill his father because he would not be near them. In the end, every preventative measure he took was for naught. His fate was inevitable. No matter what choices he made, they would all lead to the same outcome. Fate, rather than free will, brought Oedipus’

It has been reiterated time and time again in Greek literature that fate is an unavoidable force in the universe. No matter how many precautions one may take, fate will always find a way to catch up to them and fulfill its prophecies. In the case of Oedipus the King, the idea of choice plays a role in helping fate to carry out Oedipus’ destiny. Due to the choice of the shepherd to spare Oedipus from perishing as a child, his prophecy could still be fulfilled, showing that fate is a strong enough force that it will cause choices to be made so that it can be carried out.

Sophocles’ Oedipus the King tells the story of a king who is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Kurt Fosso, author of “Oedipus Crux: Reasonable Doubt in Oedipus the King” explores the theory of determinism in Sophocles’ Greek tragedy. In contrast, P.H. Vellacott leans toward a fatalistic point of view in his article, “The Guilt of Oedipus.” Personally, in the case of Oedipus, free will was an illusion as he was ultimately doomed to fulfill the prophecy.

It is often believed that the gods decide what your fate shall be; once your fate is chosen, you cannot change it, you can only hope to cease it or decide to embrace it. In the play, Oedipus Rex, fate brought tragedy upon Oedipus’s life, as well as his family, who included his mother- who chose to be ridden with oblivion as well as Oedipus's as they wed and created a family, which in this modern day and age would prove to be very unsanctified and flagrant. No matter how hard Oedipus tried to run from his fate, it casted a shadow over his life and became a victim to its grasp the more he chose to turn a blind eye to the truth that some may say “set him free”; that he would marry his mother and kill his father. Oedipus’s pride proved to be his biggest downfall in the play; he let his pride get in the way of how he reigned and how he lived his life as a father, a king, and a husband.

A dispute that still storms today is whether we have free will, or if forces outside of human control, fate, decides our future. The same argument pertains to Oedipus Rex. The question raised is whether Oedipus caused his downfall due to his hamartia, his bad actions, or if it was simply fate, that the gods predetermined his life course. Sophocles expresses irony in his play to help the audience cognize the play and give them a better outlook on the reason Oedipus and his family brought about their tribulation and blamed fate for it. Due to Hubris, and the inadequate actions Oedipus makes in desperately preventing what was prophesied, the result led to his and his family’s tragic demise.

Oedipus Tyrannus is a play written by Sophocles, and it deals with the interactions between divine justice/fate and human control in the events that take place for Oedipus. He is the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta but he was given away as an infant due to news of a horrid oracle that would destroy the kingdom and his parents. Apollo’s oracle shows that Oedipus’s destiny and life as a whole was already predetermined before he was born and that Oedipus has no choice that would affect those events. However the entire play is about the choices Oedipus is making, the investigation that brings him down is his own and the curse under which he falls is the one he utters from his own mouth. Oedipus goes from a prideful, arrogant and heroic king to a condemned humble man due to his tragic fate at the end of the play. Oedipus may not be happy towards the end of the play as opposed to the beginning but he reaches a point in which he is content. Oedipus is less free at the beginning of the play as compared to the end because he is tied down by the miasma and hubris that surround him after he killed his father. In the end of the play Oedipus finally has full knowledge of who he is, and he blinds himself in a rage of penitence, accepting total responsibility, by saying his actions as well as the god’s fate are responsible for what he did, and he is determined to take the punishment of exile as well.

The complex relationship between fate and free will was a common topic explored in ancient Greek plays. Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles survived through the years with such universal questions provoked by the plot. Fate and free will were driving forces woven throughout the play and considerably difficult to distinguish for both characters and the audience. Fate was considered an all powerful force by the individuals in the play. Oedipus challenged the power of fate in favor of his free will seen through his rash decisions, hubris, and choice to live in ignorance. The fate of Oedipus was created by his own free will and was, therefore, deserved.

“The journeys we as humans take over our lifetimes are all a matter of choices. As we age, our daily decisions shape the overall outcome of our collective destinies” (Java, 2009). We usually take this for granted, but in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, no one in the play can change or escape their tragic fate. There are three aspects of the play that show that. First, several characters try to change their fates, but it ends up backfiring on them and causing their ruins. Second, no matter how hard they try fate still has its way and the characters have no say in the matter. Lastly, Oedipus’ actions, causes pain and suffering to those around him.

One of Sophocles surviving and most notable tragedies, Oedipus Rex, explores the role of something as unnerving as fate and something as open as free will. In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles wants the audience to leave knowing that even with fate at play, free will can be more dangerous than something we have no control over. From beginning, middle, and end Sophocles makes use of Aristotelian elements to develop the theme that free will ultimately endangers worse.

For many centuries it has been debated whether the downfall of man is fate or the result of man’s actions. This same conflict is seen in Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex. Sophocles portrays Oedipus as a prince that left his home city Corinth due to a prophecy that an oracle prophesized saying that he would kill his own father and marry his mother and because of this Oedipus left Corinth. He later ventured out of the city and came to Thebes in which he saved the city from a plague. He was then made King in which he served the city well. However, as the play unfolds we see Oedipus’ character starts to change in which this change brings about his downfall. Therefore, due to the tragic character flaw of his character, Oedipus is responsible for his own fate.

“Oedipus the King” is the classical drama by one of the most famous playwright Sophocles. It is a tragic play. The question which arises after reading the play that was Oedipus a victim of fate or free will? There is a fundamental relation between fate and free will. All the misfortunes that occurred in the life of Oedipus lead either towards the man’s wishes or the wish of God. Both free will and fate played an essential role in destruction of the life of Oedipus.

Fate or as others may know it, destiny, is a person’s predetermined path in life. Those who meddle with it by following their own free will are defying their true purpose in life. The following words of the author, Anthon St. Maarten, “ failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will”, reveals how the characters in Sophocles’ play Oedipus The King lose their true destiny. In ancient Greece, it was believed that fate was a rudimentary part of daily life. Destiny had been believed to be a path given by the gods themselves towards humankind. This path was portrayed upon people by oracles, a priest or priestess that would act as a medium of god with whom they would deliver a prophecy upon a person. To oppose one's own destiny is as same as one to oppose the gods themselves. The characters, Oedipus, Laius, and Jocasta all oppose their fate and abuse their own power of free will which leads to their downfall in the play.