Essay about Fate vs. Free Will (Oedipus Rex) - 607 Words

Fate vs. Free Will Sophocles creates a world that makes the reader think about the complex and mysterious battle between fate and free will in his play Oedipus The King. To the characters, fate is real and that’s what they believe in. The audience sees that Oedipus is the one making the divisions and altimetry it is himself that leads to his downfall. Apollo, the Greek god of prophecy, intellectual pursuits and pelage, told Oedipus about his tragic future. When we first encounter Oedipus we don’t see any way that he could escape such a tragic down fall. Oedipus is in search of the truth, he does everything in his power, even when every one warns him to stop searching. When he refuses to listen he shows that he does have some†¦show more content†¦Jocasta and Laius never actually made sure that Oedipus was killed. Oedipus references this at the end of the play: If Id died then, Id never have dragged myself, my loved ones through such hell (Sophocles) If this play is only about fate that takes control of Oedipus life, then Sophocles theme was that no man really has free choice, no one can make, then learn from their mistakes. That life is governed by something other than himself. Instead, Sophocles leaves the argument of fate versus free will open for more interpretations. The truth is that Oedipus choices are what led him to fulfill the prophecy. While Sophocles never directly says, what happens to Oedipus is a result of his own choices, it’s the end of the play is makes you resize that he was responsible for his own actions. Oedipus is responsible for his own down fall. Fate and free will are two completely different ideas that Sophocles is some how able to put into one in this play. As a writer he leaves it up to the reader to interpret the difference between free will and fate. Oedipus is given many chances to make choices, but do to his stubbornness, he is the one who leads to his own downShow MoreRelatedFate And Free Will Vs. The Book Of Genesis And Sophocles Oedipus Rex1428 Words   |  6 Pagesare three views that exist: the first is that there is only free will, the second view is that there is only fate, and the third view is that there is room and justification for both possibilities. The themes of fate and free will are very prominent in the book of Genesis and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. In both, the fate of the characters is decided by a higher being, but the way in which they arrive at their destinies is determined by free will and the choices they make, which leads to the demise ofRead MoreFate vs Free Will in Sophocles ´ Oedipus Rex and Shakespeare ´s Macbeth1487 Words   |  6 PagesFate and free will are two topics that are often questionable because they go hand in hand. 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