Oedipus Rex is an Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles in 429 BC. The play greatly focuses on the themes of fate and free will. Fate is the development of events that are beyond one’s control. These are events that have been set from the beginning and no matter how determined you are to change it, the conclusion will always be the same. In Greek times, your fate was predicted by the Gods, which set the path that your life must follow to reach its inevitable outcome. Free will, on the other hand, is the belief that your life has no predetermined end; life is just a combination of each individual's choices and experiences. It is the belief that everyone has the liberty to life how they chose, the only outside force working against them is the
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The play revolves around Oedipus’ fate, is full of moments of free will that lead to it. The first prophecy was given to Oedipus’ parents; they were told that he would grow up to wed the mother and kill the father. In response to this, the parents decide to kill the child in order for the prediction to never come true. However, as in many Greek tragedies; it is their free will that makes the prophecy come true. The irony being, if they left the boy to live and raise him themselves; it is unlikely that he would end up marrying his own mother or killing his father. Later in his life, Oedipus was told he would wed his mother and kill his father. As a reaction to this news, he ran away from home, believing to have left his real parents behind. However, it his own actions, his own free will, that made him leave. If he didn’t leave home, he would have likely ever met his real parents. After leaving home and meeting a man he didn’t know was his father; he decided to kill him and his slaves in cold bold. Again, it was his own free will, his own choice to kill this man that lead to the prophecy to come to true. Many years later, when the original prophecy had come true; Oedipus was told that it was he who killed him, father. Oedipus, not believing this to be true, tried to find out who the real killer was. He was even told by Jocasta to stop looking for the killer because it will only lead you to misery. Oedipus, …show more content…
Fate, as I see it, is an uncontrollable end point in your life. Fate could be the fact that you were born into a poor family and it’s your fate to grow up poor. Freewill, one the other hand, is the belief that there is no outside force acting on your life and everything you accomplish, either positive or negative, is because of you. Freewill means that if you don’t put any effort into your life, you won’t be successful. I personally on top of other external factors that affect our lives, the butterfly effect is the biggest. Your life is always being affected by people’s choices, not just your own. This means that not only your own free will determines the outcome of each individual day, but other people's choices too. Some people, including me, see this as a version of fate when you are being affected by external
The play revolves around Oedipus’ fate, is full of moments of free will that lead to it. The first prophecy was given to Oedipus’ parents; they were told that he would grow up to wed the mother and kill the father. In response to this, the parents decide to kill the child in order for the prediction to never come true. However, as in many Greek tragedies; it is their free will that makes the prophecy come true. The irony being, if they left the boy to live and raise him themselves; it is unlikely that he would end up marrying his own mother or killing his father. Later in his life, Oedipus was told he would wed his mother and kill his father. As a reaction to this news, he ran away from home, believing to have left his real parents behind. However, it his own actions, his own free will, that made him leave. If he didn’t leave home, he would have likely ever met his real parents. After leaving home and meeting a man he didn’t know was his father; he decided to kill him and his slaves in cold bold. Again, it was his own free will, his own choice to kill this man that lead to the prophecy to come to true. Many years later, when the original prophecy had come true; Oedipus was told that it was he who killed him, father. Oedipus, not believing this to be true, tried to find out who the real killer was. He was even told by Jocasta to stop looking for the killer because it will only lead you to misery. Oedipus, …show more content…
Fate, as I see it, is an uncontrollable end point in your life. Fate could be the fact that you were born into a poor family and it’s your fate to grow up poor. Freewill, one the other hand, is the belief that there is no outside force acting on your life and everything you accomplish, either positive or negative, is because of you. Freewill means that if you don’t put any effort into your life, you won’t be successful. I personally on top of other external factors that affect our lives, the butterfly effect is the biggest. Your life is always being affected by people’s choices, not just your own. This means that not only your own free will determines the outcome of each individual day, but other people's choices too. Some people, including me, see this as a version of fate when you are being affected by external