Oedipus The King Fate Vs Free Will

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Oedipus the King is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles that discusses the themes of the limits of free will vs. Fate, ego vs self-assurance. Oedipus, the protagonist, whose actions and fate determines his life and ultimately lead to his downfall, but the question is either it was fate or his actions remains to be answered. His actions in the play show that it could be free will, not fate that leads to the murder of his father and marriage to his mother. On the opposite side of this, is the fact that through all of Oedipus attempts to dodge his fate, he fulfills what he had been told was his destiny, proving fate to be true. Oedipus fate occurs but man always makes his own decisions. Integrity is consisting of fate and thru the working of …show more content…

It may be accurate that Oedipus would have been so honored with himself if he wouldn’t lose everything. Oedipus wife probably wouldn’t commit suicide. He may have still had his authority position, his kids, and his vision. To an extent Oedipus causes the action that happened in his life. Although it is also true that Oedipus need not to be attack for his misery he encountered. It was not his fault that he was given away by his parents and left to die by his real father Laius. It was not his fault he fled Corinth to escape from killing Polybius who he thought was his real father. It was also not his fault that a plaque came over his people and empire. Everything that took place was by accident. Oedipus didn’t mean to cause any harm to anyone. His actions bring trouble and suffering to himself, his mother, his wife, his sibling and to his people. This indeed was a tragic …show more content…

The story of Oedipus has so many themes which is able to explore throughout the story. The article also states the thoughts on Oedipus Rex .They find it the complex of Oedipus and how blind he was to his behavior. Growing up with his adoptive parents, he had never known he father and couldn’t compete against him. Pushed by fate Oedipus killed his father for his mother’s attention. But in the end he got controlled by his fate. He pushed through the devastation and stayed true to his noble personality, choosing to exile himself. Mhummier, Chiara. “Vision and Knowledge in Greek Tragedy.” HELIOS, Vol. 40 no. 1-2 (2013). Texas Tech University Press. Print. “
This evidence points at debate. In this debate the unknowability of reality and the incommunicability of knowledge between subjects are crucial. Knowledge as originating in the senses is questioned, and a definition of ‘real knowledge’ and ‘real being’ is sought. The motif of the reliability of seeing and vision in tragedy has to be understood within this cultural milieu… the issue of vision and knowledge emerge in Greek drama in the second half of the fifth century. MacInnes, Deborah. Prophecy and Persuasion: Tiresias in Greek Tragedy . Doctoral Dissertation, Department of Classical Studies, Duke University, 1995. Print.

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