Free Will In Oedipus And Lord Of The Flies

The themes of The Kite Runner and Oedipus Rex are free will and redemption. The author of each book shows how redemption is a major aspect in both stories by leading up to what each character did of their free will and showing the significance of how vile their mistakes were. Although the two authors thought the way to redemption was pain, the pain was very different in each book. In Oedipus rex, Oedipus took responsibility immediately and thought his redemption could only be fulfilled by exile and piercing his eyes so he could no longer see. Amir in The Kite Runner later took responsibility for his actions, he always felt guilt, never did he think he would find redemption but later he did. Amir met face to face with Assef the barbarian

Oedipus the King by Sophocles is the story of a man who was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. The story continues in the tradition of classic Greek plays, which were based upon the Greeks’ beliefs at the time. The ancient Greeks believed that their gods decided what would ultimately happen to each and every person. Since those gods destined Oedipus to kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus’ life was definitely fated. However, the gods only decided where Oedipus’ life would eventually lead; they never planned the route he would take to get there. All the decisions that Oedipus made in order to fulfill his destiny, and the decisions he made after the fact, were of his own free will,

Are we free thinking creatures? One question is usually on the minds of anybody who has ever had that thought; do we have free will or is everything determined by fate? Its my personal belief that you can't have one without the other. Your fate is determined before you are ever born,but it’s your decisions and choices that ultimately decide how you read that fate. Macbeth, The Odyssey, and Oedipus are all works that show how one’s fate is reached using free will.

Oedipus doesn’t realize the personal consequences his hunt for the murderer will have for him, and his loyalty to the truth is based on his ignorance. His pride, ignorance and unrelenting quest for the truth ultimately contributed to his destruction. An example is when Oedipus was told [after threatening Tiresias], that he was responsible for the murder of Laius. He became enraged and called the old oracle a liar. However, Oedipus thought he could outsmart the gods, but in fact, his every action moved him closer to the prophesy becoming a reality. Upon discovery of the truth of his birth from the herdsman, Oedipus cries, “O god all come true, all burst to light!/O light now let me look my last on you!/I stand revealed at last cursed in my birth, cursed in marriage, cursed in the lives I cut down with these hands”. (631). Oedipus knew that his fate had indeed come to pass and feels cursed by it. Oedipus was guilt, of killing his father and marrying his mother. He punishes himself for the sins he committed by gouging out his eyes. The true sin is when he attempts to raise himself to the level of the gods by trying to escape his fate. Oedipus is accepting the full burden of his acts and knows that he must be punished for his sins. Therefore, this last act of gouging out his eyes was the result of Oedipus’ free will and his tragic fate came about because every sin must

How does the passage fit into the work from which it is taken - where does it occur, how does it advance the plot, who is speaking, to whom is it addressed?

The events in Oedipus show that his past actions were determined by fate but what he did in Thebes, he did on his own free will. Oedipus’ actions, temper, impulsive nature and pride, as well as his erroneous judgment show free will. Personality is what decided their own free will. In Oedipus’ case, one of these was the desire for knowledge and truth about his life. This driving force in the play led to the truth of his origin. This ties in with his own aspect of free will. His free will is based on his drive for knowledge.

In life one is always presented with a choice no matter how grievous the situation is, there is always a way to overcome it. Oedipus is no exception of this. In Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, Oedipus is responsible for his downfall because of his hubris. When Oedipus hears about his fate he is determine to escape it, but by attempting to do so he ends up following his steps to fulfill his destiny, something that he tried to avoid in the first place and feared the most. Throughout the story, Oedipus is presented with similar situations and the choices that he decided to make would ultimately lead to his downfall.

Oedipus’ destiny or fate had little to do with his downfall. The prophet told Oedipus that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother, but the prophet never mentioned Oedipus murdering Laius on the highway, or solving the Sphinx’s riddle, or accepting and taking advantage of his kingship. Oedipus blinding himself was an example of free will, “for he removed from…[Jocasta’s] garment the golden brooches which she was wearing…” by choice “…and struck the sockets of his own eyes..” blinding himself Free will and hubris, according to the ancient Greeks, were separate from unavoidable fate. Oedipus’s fate was to kill his father and marry his mother. However, everything else, including fleeing Corinth, solving the Sphinx’s riddle, and finally pursuing the truth about his life, was by his own free will, a direct result of his ego and pride. Oedipus Rex is a story about the dangers of pride and arrogance, one teaching about the importance of humility and tolerance, and one stressing about the control of hubris, a potentially perilous quality that destroyed Oedipus’s vision and his life.

    During ancient times, the Greeks believed very strongly in a concept called "fate".  What is "fate"?  Fate can be defined as a cause beyond human control that determines events.  It can also be defined as the outcome or end of some sort.  In "Oedipus Rex", King Oedipus is a character that lived by fate and died by fate.  This element of fate truly impacted the storyline and the plot, while allowing for some interesting developments that may have been unforeseen by the viewing audience.

Sophocles characterizes Oedipus as overconfident and cocky as he peruses the murderer of Lauis to save the city of Thebes. This arrogance causes him to insist he has escaped his fate even when it is in his bed, and essentially blinds him to it. This self-assurance begins the fall that will end in his literal blindness. Thus he becomes the victim — rather than the conqueror — of Fate. This “blindness” to his Fate ultimately results in his literal blindness causes Oedipus to be blind to his Fate A central theme of the Oedipus the King is the tension between individual action and fate.

The theme of Fate/Destiny vs. Free will has been developed in the opening scenes of Oedipus Rex. One prominent idea that is established throughout the opening scenes is the idea of figurative and literal blindness that is strongly related to free will and fate. The theme of fate/destiny vs. free will is clearly portrayed in the pre-face to Oedipus Rex. When an oracle prophesied that King Laius very own son will kill him. This is the first time that destiny is presented. Laius and his wife Jocasta used their free will to harm their son and leave him on the mountain to die for Laius to escape his fate. As the play progresses the idea of figurative and literal blindness is presented when Oedipus and Apollo's oracle are battling with words. Oedipus

The underlying theme in Oedipus Rex is that fate is more powerful than free will. On this strong basis of fate, free will doesn't even exist. This was a popular belief among the ancient Greeks.  Fate may be accepted or denied by modern society, but in Oedipus's story, fate proves inevitable. In the play, Oedipus Rex, the characters Oedipus, Iocaste and Laios try to change fate.

The conflict of fate and free will has been going on for a long time, even going as far back as the time of the Greeks. Oedipus Tyrannus is a Greek Tragedy written by Sophocles. The play is about Oedipus’s life after he became King of Thebes and had to face his prophecy. Teiresias, a blind prophet, and Oedipus are prime examples of how fate and free will act out it’s conflict during the play.

Oedipus Tyrannus is a play by Sophocles. “Is Oedipus a play about a man who is fated to do the things he’s done, is it about a man who through ignorance committed abominable acts, but then, acting on his own free will set to right the wrongs he’d done, or is it a play about the fate of man in general-that we are the playthings of the gods, that we are without free will, and that we must reconcile ourselves to our fates?” (Essay 2) It’s hard to decide on just one view. On one hand the play seems to favor the view that our fate is already been determined. But, on the other the play seems to favor the fact that, we do in fact have free will. However, he will never blame his heartache on the gods, and at least Oedipus believes he has

In recent years, critics of Oedipus Rex have focused on the role of fate and free will in the story and the lesson that this play teaches one about the gods. These are important factors in the Sophocles’ play, however many think there may be an even deeper theme that people are overlooking. In his article, “Introduction: What Is a father?,” Pietro Pucci reflects on the modern criticisms of Oedipus Rex by discussing the chaos and definite end of Oedipus’ prophecy, and delves deeper into an aspect that offers up something entirely new: the role of a father.