Characterization Of Fate And Free Will In Oedipus The King

Throughout the play Oedipus the King written by Sophocles, there are many themes portrayed, however hubris appears to be a prominent trait. Oedipus, the main character displays such pride that impacts his ability to perceive and understand the past as well as interact with others. When pronounced King of Thebes, he is filled with pride from such honor. The citizens of Thebes glorify him and come to him for help and comfort in their time of need. However, Oedipus doesn't treat them with the same respect, referring to the townspeople as his "poor children" (Sophocles 65) even though they are all adults. Oedipus also believes he is more valuable than everyone else for "his suffering is greater" (Sophocles 67) and he "suffers the most" (Sophocles

In Aristotle's work, the tragic hero can get caught up by hamartia which ends up leading him to his downfall. In Oedipus the King, which is a tragic play that is written by Sophocles it shows King Oedipus having many different flaws that are under the protection of hamartia that include madness, stubbornness, and pride that soon that end up leading to his final death. Oedipus shows an attitude of stubbornness during the progression of the play. Oedipus' stubbornness is uncovered early in the play when Tiresias who is a prophet of Apollo, mentions to Oedipus to terminate the investigation of Laius' killer. Oedipus quickly disagrees with him, he wants to find the man who murdered Lauis and brought the plague upon Thebes. Oedipus states, "By all the gods, do not deny us what you know. We ask you, all of us, on bended knees." Tiresias' persistence to withhold the truth is demolished by Oedipus' stubbornness and madness. Tiresias surrenders to Oedipus' stubbornness and states the truth which outrages Oedipus; "...The murder of the man whose murder you pursue is you." Oedipus stubbornness is so overpowering that he disregards Tiresias' bluntness without even a slight thought. Oedipus' statement, "To your heart's content. Mouth away!" which obviously shows his stubbornness when he disregards Tiresias' prophecy and regards it as gibberish. Oedipus' stubborn persistence will ultimately lead to his mother's death. At the end of the play Oedipus becomes aware that he was adopted and instantaneously investigates his origin. Jocasta, Oedipus' wife hesitantly encourages Oedipus to end his identity search, fearing that Oedipus would learn of his shameful sins of killing

Oedipus the King, was written by Sophocles between C.A.496-406B.C. In this play, Oedipus is a great example of Sophocles’ belief that fate will control a man’s life no matter how much free will exists.

Through the play one can see that Oedipus’ flaw is hubris. His aggression and arrogance prevents him from making rational decisions and blinds him from seeing the truth. Oedipus refutes fate and consequently, when he is forced to see reality he destroys himself. The tragedy presents hubris as a fatal flaw of human nature and therefore warns against excessive pride. Sophocles also expresses the power the gods through Oedipus’ fight against fate. Through Oedipus’ demise the audience understands that man only has free will to an extent and in the end god’s plan with follow through. The play keeps an audience entertained through drama while simultaneously depicting a warning to humanity. Overall, Sophocles’ work is revered because of the effects his precise diction

Large-scale questions of such ideas are raised in Sophocles’ play, “Oedipus the King”—a story that deals with the tragic hero, Oedipus, and his demise. Oedipus progresses through the play struggling against his own wicked destiny: the prophecy that declares that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Ultimately, Oedipus fulfills this prophecy; in fact, he had completed his fate without his own knowing and before the play even begins. Despite his belief that he was fighting against his prophesized destiny, Oedipus was ironically fulfilling it, and he slowly brings about his own downfall. He becomes a victim of his own fate. In this regard, “Oedipus the King” explores a terrifying concept: Oedipus never had free will—a puppet in every sense to the higher beings that decided his ending for him.

LaKesha Mancillas Professor Burns English 1302 December 8, 2014 The Fallen King Fate is defined as the development of events beyond a person’s control. The role of fate is not only very important in the Oedipus the King story, it is something that begins very early into it. Oedipus was born unknowingly to King Laius and wife Jacosta. He was pretty much doomed from birth.

Throughout history we notice the mistakes humans have made, always blindly taking action which they may assume is best but they always have no recognition of what the future may bring. In the Epic Oedipus Rex there are two sides to blame for his treacherous future, fate from the Gods and the actions taken by the characters in an attempt to abrogate these events. The characters in this story attempt to change his unequivocal fate but only instead ensure it upon him. The actions of these individuals throughout the Epic brings suffering, oedipal love, and death.

Traditionally, hamartia has been identified either as being a “tragic flaw”—a serious physical, psychological, or moral flaw in an otherwise impeccable character—or as being directly caused by such a flaw. For example, Laurence Berns states, “As a result of a flaw natural to his kind, the tragic hero harms and destroys those he loves most. It is those very qualities for which he is admired and honored that cause him to wreak great evils” (77). Oedipus, then, is said to be a just and noble ruler who cares for his people as though they were his own children. Indeed, Oedipus addresses the citizens of Thebes as “children” in Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus the King (111–113), and he burns with an admirable passion to discover the truths pertaining both to his own past and to the cause(s) behind the plague besetting his city . The fundamental purpose of this dramatic story is that a king picks up his legacy by killing Laius who is his father, so he can fill in as imperial ruler in Delphi. The metaphysical realities revealed through Oedipus' actions go beyond the noble/base, advantageous/injurious or pleasant/painful noted above. Oedipus' actions can be further defined as either virtuous (virtue) or vicious (vice). Virtue and vice are metaphysically manifested through Oedipus' actions in the play.

Oedipus’s elevated ego prevents himself from seeing the truth to protect his positive name and future status. As a matter of fact, Oedipus states, “Now you have me to fight for you, you’ll see: / I am the land’s avenger by all rights, / and Apollo’s champion too” (153-155). Oedipus sees himself as the hero of Thebes and strongly believes that he has the power to help the land find the murderer of King Laius. He adores the attention given to him by the people and is determined to keep them safe, to retain his favorable and productive reputation. Due to this stance, it prohibits him from establishing the truth. Later on, Tiresias tells Oedipus that he is the killer of King Laius. Oedipus reacts, “Much as you want. Your words are nothing-- futile.” (415-416). What Tiresias says is clearly hard for Oedipus to hear. In Oedipus’s eyes,

Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King, has risen many questions concerning the main character and whether or not he acts on free will or if his future is predestined by the gods. I am going to test the theory that although Oedipus believes he is acting on his own free will, he is in fact a victim of the gods. I will analyze several different sources that discuss fate and human agency in Oedipus the King and then proceed to build my original argument on the archaic debate.

The famed tragedian Sophocles is known for his unique ideas and intellect. Sophocles carefully utilizes of all of his intelligence and creative ability in order to make use of illuminating moments throughout the play which allow his audience to draw conclusions about free will, fate, knowledge, and power throughout perhaps his most iconic play, Oedipus Rex. the main character Oedipus experiences an illuminating moment when he gouges his eyes out at the discovery of the truth about his actions. This illumination is expressed in order to express Sophocles’ idea that fate overpowers free will.

Out of all Greek Tragedies, “Oedipus Rex” or “Oedipus the King” is the most done production throughout history, especially nowadays. Sophocles wrote a clear and powerful play that the audience receives a clear message of power, knowledge. fate and free will. The protagonist, Oedipus, has freedom of choosing his fate, however his lust for truth and knowledge over clouds his mind to see things clearly from the beginning and that activates a snowball effect that he could not have predicted. Thus, Sophocles suggests that humans cannot be fully responsible for their actions. Also, those who seek knowledge it is useless to gain happiness.

In the play “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles, Greek life, and life lessons are exhibited through the main character Oedipus. This play takes place in the town of Thebes, where Oedipus is king. Although Oedipus is king, he displays a profusion of ignorance, and pride. At the beginning, there is little room to feel pity and sympathy for the king due to ignorance and pride he has. But, by the end, Oedipus’ life comes crashing down and his soul turns to ruin. There is room to feel both pity and sympathy for Oedipus through his two main characteristics of ignorance, and pride.

In Oedipus king wrote by the dramatist and philosopher Sophocles, Oedipus is the only responsible of his destiny. Oedipus was the one who held his fate and destiny in his hands. Because of his actions that he made, the curse that he swore and the prophecy about him, he had to be punished for his actions and sins.

In Greek Mythology, fate and free will plays an important part in a person’s life. This was demonstrated in Sophocles play Oedipus the king. Sophocles had written this play to show people of Greece how much the gods are important when it comes to a person’s fate. It is said that a person’s fate is predetermined and no-one or nothing can change it. Sophocles does this by showing how the main character Oedipus tried to run away from his fate and how in the end his fate caught up with him.