The Theme Of Fate And Free Will In Oedipus The King

In "Oedipus the King," the theme of fate and free will plays a very strong adversary throughout the play. Sophocles portrayed the opening of "Oedipus the King" as a tragic discovery upon Oedipus as he killed his father and marries his mother. Although Oedipus was well known by the Athenians, he is self-confident, strong willed, and intelligent as well as a caring and compassionate person. Oedipus was a victim of fate, as he was not entirely controlled by it. He was bugged by the concern that the people of Thebes are suffering and wanted to find a solution to it as soon as possible. This prophecy foretold upon him by the oracles of Apollo at Delphi was inevitable no matter what he did to avoid it. As his past actions were strongly determined …show more content…
Himself is an important theme in the play as well as the struggle of fate versus anyone else. Oedipus ' first objective was to rid Thebes of the plague by exposing and exiling the muredere of King Laius. But his search for the murderer is interrupted by the news of Polybus ' death. Oedipus then begins his quest to discover the identity of his parents. As an adult, Oedipus meets Laius on the road as the two fight and Laius is killed. While moving to another kingdom, he murders his father and marries his mother as he does anything to rid himself and in the end becomes the cause of his own demise. When he realizes his children, he laments the fact that this could happen to him. When Oedipus found out the truth, he did not want to see anymore of what has become of him. Driven by fate, Oedipus questions his wife, Jocasta, about an infant she cast out and discovered by him. Oedipus internal conflict with himself is obvious as he struggles no to believe it. He blinds himself, thus fulfilling Teiresias prophecy instead of joining Jocasta in …show more content…
Oedipus rejects the Oracles prophecy when he hears "thou art the man, thou the accursed polluter of this land." This demonstrated Oedipus willingness to defy the prophecy as nothing inevitable can be done or harm him as King. However, when Creon came around with the reasoning behind the suffering, it was obvious the Oedipus was more arrogant than caring. With the problem at hand and a solution to find, he was very confident to discuss the problem to the people of Thebes when Creon suggested to be talked in private. Even after he was told what the problem was, he still felt as though the problem could be solved. His arrogance shows again when Tiresias tells him that he was a murderer. Instead of asking why Tiresias thought this, he immediately began to criticize and insult him. He also began to accuse Tiresias of conspiring with Creon to overthrow him. Although the truth was noticed now, at that time Tiresias could very well have just been telling him that something he did indirectly caused the death of Laius. Instead of trying to find out why Tiresias thinks he is a murderer, Oedipus immediately decides to doubt the powers of the prophet that he and all the other citizens have always