Oedipus Rex Essay, fate and free will
ESSAY RESPONSE: 'Oedipus Rex suggests that people ultimately have little control over their own lives' Do you agree?The great philosopher Socrates believed that humans rule themselves with a combination of fate and free will. In Oedipus Rex this belief becomes a realisation, with a vicious combination of fate and free will contributing to the destruction of Oedipus. Oedipus' prophecy about killing his father and sleeping with his mother, his insatiable quest for the truth, and his self-blinding all concur to destroy Oedipus' life.Before the play begins, the oracle Apollo bestows a prophecy on Oedipus that will kill his father and sleep with his mother. Oedipus describes his fears to Jocasta when he tells her that the oracle of Delphi says that, "...how I must marry my mother, and become the parent of a misbegotten brood, an offence to all mankind - and kill my father" (Oedipus 827-829). Because of this fear, Oedipus leaves his home and the people who he believes to be his parents, only to kill his true father and set the oracle in motion all be it unknowingly and accidentally. In killing King Laius Oedipus does not slaughter his entire group spar
This is an example of how fate and free will control ones life. It is arguable that Oedipus' downfall was totally his own fault or that there was nothing he could do. This unavoidable twist of fate is the one of the keys to Oedipus' destruction. She is prescribed a fate that her son would grow to kill the father so she tries to defy fate, but human nature on the part of she shepherd intervenes. Jocasta was also given a prophecy of he own by an oracle, it was foretold that the son she and Laius bore would kill his father. Oedipus' downfall is also due in large part to his own doings. The events of the play Oedipus Rex suggest that fate controls our lives, but it cannot fully fulfil itself without help from human nature and actions. He kills a group of unknown men for a trivial reason with no expectation of ramifications. The shepherd whom Jocatsa entrusted to kill Oedipus said that " [he] hadn't the heart to destroy it". The other aspect of the play which leads us to believe that people, more specifically Oedipus do have control over their lives is Oedipus' ruthless investigation. Little does he realise that his actions will have the greatest ramifications possible.
Common topics in this essay:
Laius Oedipus,
King Laius,
Oedipus Oedipus',
Creon Teiresias,
Oedipus Rex,
ESSAY RESPONSE,
kill father,
human nature,
fate free,
combination fate free,
fate human nature,
play oedipus,
king laius,
oedipus rex,
flawed nature,
fate human,
play jocasta,
oedipus' downfall,
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