Oedipus, he is not once forced to do anything against his own will. The gods never intervene to change his actions or those around him. With that being said, the question arises "If there is no such thing as fate, why does the outcome match the oracle's prophecy proclaimed earlier?" The answer lies in the motivations of the character involved. I feel that a review of the events in Oedipus Rex will help better serve my point. Instead of going in the order the play is performed in I will recount the events in chronological order in hopes of achieving a proper analysis.
             Oedipus is the son of Laius and Jocasta, the rulers of Thebes. When an oracle proclaimed that their son would grow up to murder his father and marry his mother, the couple gave Oedipus to an old shepherd and instructed him to leave the infant on a hill to perish. The man determined to carry out his instruction instead gave the baby to a messenger. This messenger turned out to be under the rule of Polybus and Meropé, the king and queen of Corinth. He brought
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