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Fate vs free will greek mythology
Question and answer about king Oedipus by Sophocles
Oedipus character analysis essay
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In Sophocles ' Oedipus the King, the themes of fate and free will are very strong throughout the play. Only one, however, brought about Oedipus ' downfall and death. Both points could be argued to great effect. In ancient Greece, fate was considered to be a rudimentary part of daily life. Every aspect of life depended and was based upon fate (Nagle 100). It is common belief to assume that mankind does indeed have free will and each individual can decide the outcome of his or her life. Fate and free will both decide the fate of Oedipus the King. Both sides of the argument can be greatly supported. The Greeks believed in the idea that personality of the individual greatly affected his or her life (Nagle 120). Their personality was what decides their own free will. A wise man will make good decisions in his life; an ignorant and stubborn man won 't be so fortunate. The character traits of a person have a certain positive or negative affect on the choices that he or she makes. For Oedipus, one of these attributes was the desire for knowledge and truth about his own existence. This driving force in the play led to the truth of his origin. This ties in with his own aspect of free will. His free will is based on his drive for knowledge. Throughout the entire play, Oedipus pushes Tiresias, Creon, Jocasta, the …show more content…
He could have also declined to marry the former king 's wife, unaware that the queen was his own mother. He accepted both of these without any regrets. If his decision was different it might have altered the course of events in the future. His personality made sure that the decisions went the way they did. These choices were made by Oedipus with his own free will, his own decisions. He didn 't have to accept these gifts, but did none the less. These conclusions would lead to his own demise, but they were his own mistakes, not
No one can be held fully responsible for actions committed under some kind of external constraint, and for the case of Oedipus, such constraint might be exerted by god. But it does not mean that Oedipus suffers not because of his guilt, but of his goodness, because Oedipus is responsible for those actions which are not performed under constraint. Oedipus has choices, but every time he chooses the wrong one even he knew that the one he chose will turn out to be bad. He still chooses this road to certain extend, is because of his arrogant pride. I think the events of the play are Oedipus fault. Oedipus makes important mistakes or errors in judgment that lead to this ending. His pride, blindness, and foolishness all play a part in the tragedy that befalls him.
was indeed his own, true father, Laius, that he has killed at the crossroads at
Firstly, a significant portion of the play consists of Oedipus complaining about his status (Sophocles 65, 65, 72, 79). Complaints are not at all the mark of one who accepts responsibility for their situation, as Oedipus should. Complaining constantly to others about a problem that one caused for oneself is not at all something any sane person would do if they truly see themselves as guilty. In fact, Sophocles seems to go out of his way in Oedipus at Colonus to set Oedipus up as a helpless man with absolutely no control. Oedipus is incapable of caring for himself due to blindness and frailty, his daughters have to escort him everywhere, and he is forced to be an outcast and is only able to come to rest because of the grace of the Athenians (Sophocles 59, 101, 106). The main plot consists of other people trying to decide where Oedipus goes for his death, and the final outcome is not the decision of Oedipus or any of the other people, but that of Apollo himself (Sophocles 106-107). Oedipus is completely and utterly at the mercy of fate and those around him, which is an incredibly stark contrast to the power he held over himself and his kingdom in Oedipus the King. These things alone, however, are mere setup that do not necessarily indicate determinism. “Perhaps Sophocles merely wanted to highlight how low Oedipus’s actions
Even though "fate" seems to determine Oedipus' life, he does, in fact, have a free will.
The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate that the events in Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, are the result of the hero’s self determination and restless attempt to escape a terrifying destiny predicted for him by the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. My intention is to prove that although the Fates play a crucial part in the story, it is Oedipus'choices and wrong doing that ultimately lead to his downfall.
The ancient Greeks were fond believers of Fate. Fate, defined according to Webster’s, is “the principle or determining cause or will by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as the do.” The Greeks take on Fate was slightly modified. They believed that the gods determined Fate: “…fate, to which in a mysterious way the gods themselves were subject, was an impersonal force decreeing ultimate things only, and unconcerned with day by day affairs.” It was thought that these gods worked in subtle ways; this accounts for character flaws (called harmatia in Greek). Ancient Greeks thought the gods would alter a person’s character, in order for that person to suffer (or gain from) the appropriate outcome. Such was the case in Oedipus’s story.
If prophecy were to be real, one could expect what is bound to happen in the future. This is true; at least in “Oedipus the King” in which the protagonist, Oedipus calls forth his doom unwillingly. Fate is defined as something that unavoidably befalls a person. The author of “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles, writes a tragic fate that Oedipus was born to experience. Fate is what is meant to happen and cannot be avoided or unchanged. Furthermore, events that lead to other events could be the result for one to meet their fate. In “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles expresses the nature of fate to be determined upon choices made.
Oedipus was not composed by his fate; he was responsible for his own conduct. From his very birth Oedipus was predetermined to marry his mother and murder his father. His situation was inevitable. Although Apollo exhorted the prophecy in Delphi, this event only drove Oedipus to fulfill his destiny.
The Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, was written to show the common people of Greece how powerful the gods are and that your fate is pre-determined and nothing you do can change that. He does this by showing how people in this story try to escape their fate and how it is no use because in the end, what the oracles predict comes true. In the story there are many occasions in which people try to escape their fate.
Oedipus thinks his human powers can match anything put in front of him. He forces other characters to tell him things, which again creates his tragic ending. (O790) Oedipus by not knowing his identity seems to create his own tragedy. Throughout the entire play, he is blind to everything people are telling him. (O320) He continues to badger Teiresias to answer things that Oedipus does not believe is true. If he only stopped, asking questions his fate might have been different. (O385) Because of these answers, he begins to suspect that people are plotting against him. He feels that he is above such lowly deeds. His own conceit and blind confidence in himself helps him continue towards a tragic ending. (O452-460) While Teiresias was predicting the future of Oedipus, he should have been smart enough to listen. He should have started to change his ways before he ended up destroying himself. Oedipus' guilt was beginning to play tricks on his mind. At the beginning of the play, Oedipus was on the top of the mortal world. Now he is finding out the truth about his past and his world starts to crumble around him.
For example, he makes promises about the punishments for Laius’s killer in public. “And if the culprit fears this accusation, he should lose his fear and come forward, for he will suffer nothing worse than safe exile from this land” (250). Oedipus announced that he will exile the killer of Laius. This is considered his free will because he doesn’t know that he is the killer of Laius and if he knows the truth, then he will exile himself. If he didn’t declare it, then he would not be exiled even though the truth is revealed. Also, Oedipus decided to fight back against his father, which resulted in his father’s death, by his own free will. Thus, Oedipus’s own actions defined his own demise. Oedipus is a victim of fate; however, he is also a victim of his own free will. This may be true; however, Oedipus is more of a victim of his own fate because from the beginning of his life, he was already cursed and he couldn’t escape his fate even though he put in many efforts in avoiding
The main choice of free will that was made in Oedipus the King was for Oedipus to decide to find his own identity. The prophecy given to Oedipus states that he will kill his own father, and marry and have children with his mother. Horrified by the thought of this, Oedipus leaves his city so he can stay away from his parents to avoid the prophecy coming true. Oedipus does everything he can to try and find out the truth and his own identity; this shows his determination as a character but also shows that he is still able to make his own choice of free will. When Oedipus travels to Thebes, he is presented with another choice of free will, to become king or to continue to move on. Without him knowing, his choice to stay puts him in the hands of fate and brings him that much closer to fulfilling the prophecy. Jocasta Tries to convince Oedipus that prophecies are not accurate but ironically uses another prophecy from the play to defend her claim “Then thou mayest ease thy conscience on that score/ Listen and I'll convince thee that no man /Hath scot or lot in the prophetic art/ Here is the proof in a brief. An oracle /Once came to Laius (I will not say / 'Twas from the Delphic god himself, b...
All of this pain and suffering of Oedipus could have been avoided if he had just taken the advice from Teiresias, Jocasta, the messenger, the Shepard, or even Creon. It was ironic because not once did Oedipus listen to the warnings that these people gave to him. And every time he didn't listen, he found out information that caused him in the end to stab out his eyes. So was this story based on fate or free will? I believe that it was a mixture of both.
All of Oedipus’s woes could be traced to his own actions and choices. “Pride breeds the tyrant violent pride, gorging, crammed to bursting with all that is overripe and rich with ruin- clawing up to the heights, headlong pride crashes down the abyss- sheer down.” (Sophocles 963-967 pg. 1446). Oedipus’s tragic flaw was pride. He heeded not the words of the blind prophet and did not see the darkness in himself. “So, you mock my blindness? Let me tell you this. You with your precious eyes, you’re blind to the corruption of your life,” (Sophocles 468-471 pg 1434). This is evidence of Oedipus’s fall being caused by his own freewill and where fate had no
Throughout the play, Oedipus tries to change his fate. When he confirms through two messengers and an oracle that he is destined to marry his mother and kill his father, he completely panics. He knows that is something he definitely wants to avoid, so he decided he would attempt to change his fate. But at that time, he did not realize that your fate is your fate and it will not change.