In Oedipus, a man is blindly led to a life of tragedy obviously. He is devastated to discover his truths, once the fate he was trying to avoid occurs. Do we have free will in our actions or is everything fate. Maybe, were just blinded by our reality, the question that has been circling through the minds of mankind for centuries. If we truly were to accept the idea of fate, we would also have to accept that person’s actions are not of their fault. Fate, might not be as inevitable as some want it to be.
In the play, Oedipus, written by Sophocles, one could ask the question of “Did Oedipus have any choice if he began his fate so mysteriously on his own?” Maybe he did and his lack of a working thought process got the better of him. No one can be destined to fail without a choice with in a situation. A writer states, “Oedipus's destruction comes not from his deeds themselves but from his persistent efforts to learn the truth...Here, Oedipus is arguing that while it is impossible to avoid one's fate, how you respond to your fate is a matter of free will ”(2 and 7). In this quote the writer explains how fate should be looked as a choice to accept not as irresistible fact. The events in the play show an underlying relationship of a man’s free will existing with fate that the Greeks believed guided the universe. Man was given the freedom to choose one’s own actions, and was ultimately held responsible for them. Something that also crosses the mind is that if Oedipus “successfully” ran from his fate then maybe by him not knowing the truth sooner made it worse. Yes, his reaction may have been strong, but he wanted to see no more of what evils he had done unknowingly. Oedipus says, “Upon the murderer I invoke this curse- whether he is one man and all unknown, or one of many- may he wear out his life in misery or doom! If with my knowledge he lives at my hearth, I pray that I myself may feel my curse.” (pg. 438; lines 266-271). The fact of knowing after he had so harshly accused and insulted those who had tried to help, makes his internal guilt even stronger. From the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus took many actions leading to his own downfall. Oedipus could have waited for the plague to end, but out of compassion for his suffering people, he demanded answers. When he learned of Apollo’s word, he could have calmly investigated the murder of the former King Laius, but in his hastiness, he passionately curses the murderer, and in so, unknowingly …show more content…
Oedipus replied, “It was Apollo, friends, Apollo, that brought this bitter bitterness, my sorrows to completion. But was the hand that struck me was none but my own.” (pg. 467; 1450-1453) He claimed full responsibility for his actions. Oedipus was guilty of killing his father and marrying his mother, but perhaps the true sin lay in his overzealous attempt to raise himself to the level of the gods by trying to escape his fate. The chorus chants how in prosperity, he was envied by all men, he was honored highest above all honors, and how he won happiness by pride (by slaughtering the Sphinx, and by trying to deceive the god’s will). But, how ultimately, Oedipus was judged for it, causing a reversal of fortune in his prosperous
In the play, Oedipus, written by Sophocles, one could ask the question of “Did Oedipus have any choice if he began his fate so mysteriously on his own?” Maybe he did and his lack of a working thought process got the better of him. No one can be destined to fail without a choice with in a situation. A writer states, “Oedipus's destruction comes not from his deeds themselves but from his persistent efforts to learn the truth...Here, Oedipus is arguing that while it is impossible to avoid one's fate, how you respond to your fate is a matter of free will ”(2 and 7). In this quote the writer explains how fate should be looked as a choice to accept not as irresistible fact. The events in the play show an underlying relationship of a man’s free will existing with fate that the Greeks believed guided the universe. Man was given the freedom to choose one’s own actions, and was ultimately held responsible for them. Something that also crosses the mind is that if Oedipus “successfully” ran from his fate then maybe by him not knowing the truth sooner made it worse. Yes, his reaction may have been strong, but he wanted to see no more of what evils he had done unknowingly. Oedipus says, “Upon the murderer I invoke this curse- whether he is one man and all unknown, or one of many- may he wear out his life in misery or doom! If with my knowledge he lives at my hearth, I pray that I myself may feel my curse.” (pg. 438; lines 266-271). The fact of knowing after he had so harshly accused and insulted those who had tried to help, makes his internal guilt even stronger. From the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus took many actions leading to his own downfall. Oedipus could have waited for the plague to end, but out of compassion for his suffering people, he demanded answers. When he learned of Apollo’s word, he could have calmly investigated the murder of the former King Laius, but in his hastiness, he passionately curses the murderer, and in so, unknowingly …show more content…
Oedipus replied, “It was Apollo, friends, Apollo, that brought this bitter bitterness, my sorrows to completion. But was the hand that struck me was none but my own.” (pg. 467; 1450-1453) He claimed full responsibility for his actions. Oedipus was guilty of killing his father and marrying his mother, but perhaps the true sin lay in his overzealous attempt to raise himself to the level of the gods by trying to escape his fate. The chorus chants how in prosperity, he was envied by all men, he was honored highest above all honors, and how he won happiness by pride (by slaughtering the Sphinx, and by trying to deceive the god’s will). But, how ultimately, Oedipus was judged for it, causing a reversal of fortune in his prosperous