Many times, people have told me that I can do anything if I try hard enough. I have often found it inspiring that I am able to determine the course of my life through my own choices. However, in harder times, like a failed audition or a breakup, it is comforting to think that maybe it was fate all along. The play Oedipus Rex and the Broadway musical If/Then both show that fate is ultimately unalterable and how knowledge changes the way we use our free will in our lives leading up to that fate. Fate is the way life ends up, regardless of the way we use free will in all of the choices we make in between. In Oedipus Rex, both Oedipus and Laius seemingly have choices to avoid fulfilling their prophecies, whether by leaving home or killing
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I have always been interested in horoscopes, zodiacs, and psychics. If given the chance to travel in a time machine, I would go to the future instantly to see how everything turns out. Similarly, Oedipus and Laius consult an oracle to figure out their destinies. When they do not like what they hear, they try to use this knowledge to change their fate. However, this knowledge only changes how they get there. Oedipus could have killed Laius in a battle or maybe even a complete accident if he had not decided to move to change his fate. Jocasta reminds Oedipus that “Not a man on earth can see a day ahead… Better to live at random, best we can” (1071-1072). We should not waste time trying to figure out what our future is; rather, we should live our lives pursuing what we believe to be our own destiny. Similarly, in the musical, Elizabeth’s friend convinces her about the power of signs, and she then uses this perceived knowledge to dictate her next few choices. Again, in the end, none of it makes a difference. She later forgets the signs, puts her focus on living the best life she can, and it works out well. Elizabeth focuses on living the best life she can while Oedipus is focused on avoiding his fate, and ultimately, both of them end up at their fates regardless of their actions. Fate will guide the choices we make with our free will, so it will turn out the way it was supposed to be all
I have always been interested in horoscopes, zodiacs, and psychics. If given the chance to travel in a time machine, I would go to the future instantly to see how everything turns out. Similarly, Oedipus and Laius consult an oracle to figure out their destinies. When they do not like what they hear, they try to use this knowledge to change their fate. However, this knowledge only changes how they get there. Oedipus could have killed Laius in a battle or maybe even a complete accident if he had not decided to move to change his fate. Jocasta reminds Oedipus that “Not a man on earth can see a day ahead… Better to live at random, best we can” (1071-1072). We should not waste time trying to figure out what our future is; rather, we should live our lives pursuing what we believe to be our own destiny. Similarly, in the musical, Elizabeth’s friend convinces her about the power of signs, and she then uses this perceived knowledge to dictate her next few choices. Again, in the end, none of it makes a difference. She later forgets the signs, puts her focus on living the best life she can, and it works out well. Elizabeth focuses on living the best life she can while Oedipus is focused on avoiding his fate, and ultimately, both of them end up at their fates regardless of their actions. Fate will guide the choices we make with our free will, so it will turn out the way it was supposed to be all