Fate Vs. Free Will In Oedipus The King

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Fate vs. Free Will Many believe that fate is what will control a person’s destiny and once it is set up for them, there’s no changing it, but others believe that free will has also a big part to rewrite a person's destiny. Oedipus was born with a terrible fate that wasn’t his fault or his choosing. All he could do was try to change his destiny or help it come true. Oedipus had no idea what actions he took would be the right one. The only thing he could do was try and choose a path that may or may not lead to his fate. In Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles, Oedipus from the very beginning had his destiny already set out for him, but along the way, he used his free will to help seal his destiny. Oedipus and King Laius always tried to run …show more content…
All of these character traits he used by his own free will. Oedipus first uses his pride by believing that he can escape his fate, even though he knew that once a person's fate was decided then there was no escaping it, but Oedipus believed that if anyone could then it would be him. He also uses his pride and temper when he kills Laius. Instead of walking away from the stranger that pushed him off the road, he kills him. By killing the man he ends up completing one half of the curse. Even though Oedipus still has no idea who he killed and what the end cause for his actions will be, doesn’t make it right. He also uses his temper when he says this, “And on the murderer this curse I lay (On him and all the partners in his guilt):-- Wretch, may he pine in utter wretchedness! And for myself, if with my privity He gain admittance to my hearth, I pray The curse I laid on others fall on me. See that ye give effect to all my hest, For my sake and the god’s and for our land, A desert blasted by the wrath of heaven” (Sophocles 244-253). Oedipus doesn’t think about who the man could be or if it could even be him, and instead of thinking about what this information means and what he should actually do with this information, he just acts because his temper took over. Since he cursed himself he actually added another part to his …show more content…
One example is when Creon comes back with Tiresias and Oedipus pushes Tiresias to tell him the truth. Tiresias at first refuses to help to protect him from the truth, but Oedipus finally makes him and his first statement is, “How terrible to know when it does not help the knower,” (Sophocles 136-138). After that Tiresias tells him the truth and all Oedipus does is call him a liar. Throughout his life he is always searching for the truth, but even when he gets it he either denies it or he won't open his eyes to realize that the truth has been right in front of him all along. Oedipus being blind to the truth is what makes his fate actually come to

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