Oedipus Free Will Research Paper

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,

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.

Oedipus is ashamed of himself and unsatisfied with his situation, even though it is not his fault. The gods wouldn’t have made the prophecies come true without the help of the oracle, which delivered the prophecies to Oedipus’ parents. It is obvious that the gods were planning to this fate before Oedipus’ birth, because through the oracle, they announced the two prophecies while Jocasta was pregnant. Above that, the gods didn’t mention Oedipus’ blindness in their prophecies; but instead, they mentioned only Oedipus’ shameful crimes that involved both the father and the mother. The purpose of this was to make both parents agree to kill their child, for Laius didn’t want to be murdered by his son, and Jocasta didn’t want to marry her son. This fear of terrible destiny led the parents to kill their child. On the other hand, if Laius and Jocasta hadn’t known about the prophecies, they would’ve kept the child, and thus he would know his parents, which makes it impossible for the prophecies to come true.

“‘Tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of action and life, of happiness and misery’” (Milch 12). This statement by Aristotle reflects the ideas portrayed in the play Oedipus Rex. Written by Sophocles, Oedipus Rex is a play which combines tragedy with irony to tell a story of a noble king who falls short of his greatness. The play was written around 430 BC and originally intended for an Athenian audience. They considered Sophocles their most successful playwright and consequently, his works continued to be valued highly throughout the Greek world long after his death. A closer examination of this play is needed to see just why it has been regarded as Sophocles’ masterpiece and the greatest of all Greek tragedies (Milch 16, 36).

When Oedipus was a baby, his prophecy was that he was going to end up killing his father and marrying his mother, causing both King Laius and Jocasta to be terrified, and they end up leaving baby Oedipus to die on a mountainside. “An oracle was reported to Laius once…That his doom would be death at the hands of his own son…the King had pierced the baby’s ankles And left him to die on a lonely mountainside” (185, 188-189, 193-194). But, because of his anger, Oedipus ended up making that prophecy come true; regardless of how much Jocasta and Laius tried to avoid it. “Swinging my club in this right hand I knocked him Out of his car, and he rolled on the ground. I killed him” (287-288). If Oedipus never let his anger get to him at the crossroad, he would’ve never killed his father, and his prophecy would’ve never came

He doesn’t chose to be like that; nonetheless he was created like that. The God created him to be stubborn and hubris so that the prophecy can be fulfilled. According to Sophocles, he explains that every decision he decided and every step he made leads him to his very fate. One points out that Oedipus’s desire for knowledge, directed him to his own downfall. In addition, when Oedipus met with caravan on the crossroad, it was his fate that led him to the event that was prophesied before.

When Oedipus is “blind” from the truth, he is “safe” from his destiny. He is safe because if he doesn’t know anything about the prophecy, it won’t come true in a way. He believed his biological parents to be the King and Queen of Corinth. So when he killed King Laius, it would have been just a random person to him and not his real father. But once he learns of the prophecy, this is when the actual prophecy unfolds. He flees Corinth because of what the oracle said to him. Thus setting in motion the events of the play. If Oedipus was never made aware of the truth, then he could have remained blissfully ignorant and may have not fulfilled the prophecy.

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.

In the book Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus had received a prophecy from Apollos that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus then left Corinth, the place where he grew up, so that he would not have to carry out the prophecy and kill his dad Polybus. While he was traveling he came across a group of people and he killed them in defense. His biological father Laius was among those group of people that died at the crossroads. Oedipus prophecy was false in his view but it took an old blind prophet to come in and open his eyes to the true outcome of the prophecy.

Is Oedipus fated to suffer? Will be what happens in life is " [a] attempt to justify the ways of God to man?" (E.R. Dodds 35). Is Oedipus the King ‘’ a tragedy of destiny’’ (Dodds 35) an example of what can happen in life?

Everyone has, and plays a part, in their destiny. Your destiny could be a part of the average destiny, where you live an average life and so average things. Your destiny could be something great, where you live a great life and do great things. Or your destiny could be much like Oedipus’s destiny and be full of tragedy. Oedipus destiny ends with him killing his father and marrying, and having kids with, his mother. Oedipus’s destiny ends it tragedy, it ends in his downfall, his demise. Many people played a part in making this fate, this demise, come true. Many people did not know they were doing it either. In the play Oedipus Rex, Oedipus’s demise is ultimately caused by himself, his biological parents (King Laius and Queen Jocasta) and the Shepherd.

Since the beginning, Oedipus’ fate has been chosen by the gods. When it was prophesied that Laius and Jocasta were to have a son that will kill his own father, marry his mother, and bear her children, they were unraveled. Since Laius and Jocasta feared the prophecy, they tried try to put fate into their own hands, which causes them to fulfill the same fate they had sought to escape. In the same way, when Oedipus was made aware of the same prophecy, by a drunkard, he attempts to control his own fate. In the attempt to flee from his horrid fate, he runs away, unknowingly fulfilling the oracle, becoming a victim of the gods’ ill doing.

In Oedipus The King, Sophocles defines the relationship between fate and free will throughout the play. Fate defines events that are inevitable and unavoidable,while on the other hand free will is known as one’s ability to act upon his own dissection. Oedipus the son of king of Laius and Queen Jocasta is the main character who is mainly targeted by fate. Since birth Oedipus was cursed by the phrocephy to someday kill his father and marry his mother.

Ancient Greek Theatre began in Athens, Greece. At religious festivals, the Greek performed plays of tragedy in open-air amphitheaters in honor of their Greek gods and more importantly in support of their religious beliefs. As displayed in the play Oedipus the King, fate is the main theme. Moreover, free will plays an immense significance regarding his fate throughout the play. Prophesied at birth, Oedipus, born to King Laius and Jocasta, unknowingly one day is to kill his father and marry his mother.

The Human Condition can be interpreted in many ways throughout art, life and literature. In literature, any thematic concern about how we live our lives or just human society. Oedipus is the destined main character to do horrible things. He tries not to succumb to fate, but it serves impossible as the human condition occurs and the prophecy is fulfilled. During this greek tragedy, Oedipus confronts different issues related to the thematic concern; however human nature is prevalent as the story unfolds.