Fate vs Free Will

In the play King Oedipus, Sophocles suggests that while we have free will, this translates into little control over one’s lives, as fate cannot be escaped. At the end of the play, Oedipus has been totally destroyed – the reversal of his humanist confidence and prosperity is complete. When considering the downfall of a central character, critics often consider the flaws of the character that contributed to the destruction. While Oedipus considers that he is acting freely, his actions are inextricably bound with fate throughout his life. Sophocles explores the inevitability of fate while highlighting that the way we come to it is an open question. Therefore, no matter what Oedipus did to try to escape his fate, he would never have succeeded. Yes Oedipus was bad tempered, proud, and arrogant, but ultimately, the decisions and actions of Oedipus are irrelevant; he is simply a victim of fate.

“The future is hidden even from the men who made it” (Anatole France). The individual does not know his or her fate, and a dramatic destiny is predetermined for some, and so life becomes an unravelling of events until one’s ultimate fate is confronted. So, despite huma

. . .
His confidence in his own intellect sometimes becomes arrogance, even to the point suggesting that he is the equal of the gods. He is passionate and righteous about his decisions, and so when Oedipus realises that the problems will be stopped after he finds the killer of Laius, he expounds that “if any one of you knows whose hand it was that killed Laius, just let him declare it fully now to me. ” We do respect him for such actions, for it is just, moral, and right that a king should try to resolve the problems of his kingdom and so look after his people, for such knowledge “is duty bound to me and to the gods”. He had been the saviour of Thebes from “the god-faced woman” and clearly due to his hubris he wanted to be the “saviour again. While exhibiting free will to show himself to be a king with little self-knowledge, his passionate and dogmatic nature lead him on this path of self-discovery. Oedipus is destroyed by what he discovers himself to be. Even when others strive to help, fate will have its way. It was this sense of intense pride and the belief that he was “the first of men” which caused Oedipus to follow his journey for the truth.

Assuredly a part of how and why Oedipus’ downfall occurs can be attributed to his desperate search for the truth. Time and time again, Oedipus shows his excessive pride and ignorance of the truth. Thus, one’s life is more than one knows at any given time, for the major happenings are decided by a greater force than humanity, and as such human beings have little say in their destiny. Years later, after she tries to convince Oedipus that “chance rules our lives” and that “no man possesses the secret of divination”, she ironically prays to Apollo to save her husband from his distress. His decision to take guilt onto himself and to shun the sight of the tainted world is his ultimate sad statement of human freedom. Oedipus rejects the words of the soothsayer Teiresias. Through Sophocles’ constant use of dramatic irony, Oedipus is often two things at once in the eyes of the audience: knowing and ignorant, saviour and polluter, hunter and hunted, son and husband.

Common topics in this essay:
Initially Oedipus, Creon Oedipus, Queen Jocastas, Polybus Merope, Oedipus Sophocles, Finally Oedipus, Anatole France, Assuredly Oedipus, Whilst Oedipus, Yes Oedipus, king oedipus, journey truth, father marry mother, king oedipus oedipus, search truth, truth truth, gods oedipus, free fate, name afar, oedipus name, pursuit truth self-knowledge, oedipus name afar, exercising free, truth self-knowledge,

Approximate Word count = 1655
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Already a member? Click here