Oedipus- Fate And Free Will Essay, Research Paper

Fate and Freewill

& # 8220 ; Oedipus the King & # 8221 ; , written by Sophocles between C.A. 496-405 B.C. is an illustration of Sophocles & # 8217 ; belief that destiny controls a adult male & # 8217 ; s life despite his capableness of free will. Be life decided by destiny, in that there is some maestro program for our lives? Do we travel through life doing opportunity determinations without intent? If life is pre-determined by destiny, are we responsible for our actions? The Greeks believed to a great extent in prognostications, pre-determined life, and godly Torahs. Fate and freewill are explored and brought to visible radiation in the drama through the chief character, Oedipus. Oedipus is influenced by his interior strengths ( free will and plume ) and unmanageable forces ( destiny ) . While Oedipus has free will to do his ain determinations, destiny continues to uncover itself in the terminal. Sophocles shows how no 1 has control over their life, and that destiny is more powerful than immorality.

At the minute of his birth, Oedipus seems to hold a pre-determined set of events that would take to his ain devastation. Although he has free will, the determinations he makes are set within the bounds of destiny and stop up conveying the prognostication to life. The writer suggests that worlds have free will, but are limited by higher order that controls our way in life. For illustration, the God Apollo tells Oedipus, & # 8220 ; You are fated to match with your female parent, you will convey a strain of kids into the light no adult male can bear to see-you will kills your male parent, the 1 who gave you life! & # 8221 ; ( 844 ) Here, Apollo reveals Oedipus & # 8217 ; destiny and starts him on his way in life. Small known to him, hearing his hereafter leads him closer to his destiny. Seconds after hearing Apollo & # 8217 ; s words, Oedipus tells Jocasta, & # 8220 ; I heard all that and ran. I abandoned Corinth ever running towards some topographic point where I would ne’er see the shame of all those prophets come true. & # 8221 ; ( 844 ) Oedipus believes in Prophetss, but feels he can avoid pre-determined life by flying the metropolis of his 2nd parents. His running turns out to be his first stairss down his pre-conceived way in life. Oedipus runs from the prognostication and kills a adult male at & # 8220 ; that really topographic point where the great male monarch, you say, met his death. & # 8221 ; ( 844 ) That adult male turned out to be his male parent. The writer shows how Oedipus & # 8217 ; picks in life did non do a difference in his hereafter. His running from Corinth proved that his life was pre-determined by destiny and nil could be done to alter it. His free will and pick to avoid destiny really brought his closer.

Oedipus believes Apollo & # 8217 ; s words about his hereafter and leaves Corinth in hopes to alter the hereafter, but Sophocles shows how seeking to outwit destiny will merely take one to it. In fact, Oedipus wavers between believing in Prophetss. Oedipus farther shows his assurance in the Prophetss when asks what he can make to assist salvage his metropolis. Oedipus provinces, & # 8220 ; I sent Creon, my married woman & # 8217 ; s ain brother, to Dephi-Apollo the prophesier & # 8217 ; s oracle-to learn what I might make or state to salvage our city. & # 8221 ; ( 825 ) Oedipus receives his reply and declares it as the truth. He does non outguess what destiny has in shop for his metropolis and knows nil can be done about it. After hearing the intelligence that, & # 8220 ; all would be good & # 8221 ; , Oedipus answers, & # 8220 ; Of class, but what were the God & # 8217 ; s words? There & # 8217 ; s no hope and nil to fear in what you & # 8217 ; ve said so far. & # 8221 ; ( 825 ) Oedipus accepts what will come of the metropolis & # 8217 ; s destiny. He trusts Apollo & # 8217 ; s words and must happen the liquidator of King Laius in order to free the metropolis of the pestilence. What he doesn & # 8217 ; T know, is that the seeking aid from the plauge brings him a measure closer to his destiny.

The writer shows us that his free willed determinations and actions can non get the better of destiny. Once he left Corinth, Oedipus believed he outsmarted his ain fate. Many old ages passed and he thought he accomplished everything he could to avoid get marrieding his female parent and slaying his male parent. While citing the blind prophesier Tiresias to happen out the individuality of King Liaus & # 8217 ; liquidator, Oedipus is put face to confront

with the harsh world that he may be his father’s slayer. Tiresia warns, ” you and your loved 1s live together in opprobrium, you can non see how far you’ve gone in guilt.” ( 833 ) Here Tiresias reveals that Oedipus and his female parent live in wickedness and has no thought that he has been walking his fatal way despite making everything he can to avoid it. After hearing his words, Oedipus’ assurance in prognostication alterations. He begins to doubt the power of Supreme beings in anticipating one’s hereafter. Oedipus ignores the prophesier and pays no attending to these “absurdities” and “riddles” . He refuses to believe destiny has control of his life. Conversations with his married woman, Jocasta, Oedipus’ doubts the Prophetss more. Jocasta tells him, “Listen to me and larn some peace of head: no accomplishment in the universe, nil human can perforate the future.” ( 842 ) She tries to carry Oedipus non to believe in prognostication. Jocasta farther explains that Laius was killed “at a topographic point where three roads met” . ( 842 ) She besides tells Oedipus that her babe male child, “wasn’t three yearss old and the boy’s male parent fastened his mortise joints, had a henchman fling him off on a waste, trackless mountain.” ( 842 ) She tries to state him, that her babe was killed and couldn’t have murdered his male parent. Oedipus reconsiders his belief in prognostication, but it does no good when he realizes that when he fled Corinth, he came across “this three-base hit crossroad” and killed a group of work forces. This aftermath up call for Oedipus opened his eyes more to the possibility that prognostication is existent and life is predetermined.

So far, the writer has shown how adult male is free to take and make as he pleases, but can non get away his ain destiny. Still discrediting, Oedipus decides he needs to hear from the shepherd. Jocasta tells Oedipus that it was a set of & # 8220 ; stealers & # 8221 ; that murdered Liaus and that the courier, & # 8220 ; the lone subsister & # 8221 ; , holds the reply. Oedipus tells Jocasta that if he killed Laius, so the Prophetss were right. Oedipus says, & # 8220 ; Else I & # 8217 ; m doomed to match with my female parent and cut my male parent down & # 8221 ; ( 845 ) He continues to oppugn why he, a adult male who makes his ain determinations, can non roll from destiny even with cognizing the result. He asks, & # 8220 ; Why wouldn & # 8217 ; t a adult male of judgement say-and wouldn & # 8217 ; t he be right-some barbarian power has brought this down upon my caput? & # 8221 ; ( 845 ) Here, Oedipus says that he is a free willed adult male, free to make as he pleases, so why should he believe that some higher power has control and decides what will go on.

As we head towards the flood tide of the drama, Oedipus & # 8217 ; determinations seem to hold no consequence on the result forecasted by the Prophetss. The more truth revealed, more thre destiny seems to command his life. Oedipus & # 8217 ; desire to happen the truth about Laius & # 8217 ; decease and the enigma of his heritage brings him another measure closer to the world of his luck. He eventually meets with the courier that tells Oedipus that Polybus, the adult male that raised Oedipus, was & # 8220 ; no more your male parent than I am. & # 8221 ; ( 850 ) Still desiring more replies, Oedipus inquiries the courier who tells him he was a & # 8220 ; gift & # 8221 ; to Polybus and that he received baby Oedipus from a shepherd. The shepherd admits to giving the courier a babe, and that Jocasta gave him the kid for fright that the prognostications would come true. Hearing this, Oedipus calls, & # 8220 ; O God-all semen true, all explosion to visible radiation! & # 8221 ; ( 855 ) Disgusted and humiliated, he gouges out his eyes. He comes face to face with his prognostication and can non bear to see it. After all is said and done, he can non look at himself, nor have anyone expression at him. The Chorus believed that some evil & # 8220 ; superhuman power & # 8221 ; drove him to make it, but Oedipus proclaims, & # 8220 ; Apollo-he ordained my agonies-these, my strivings on strivings! But the manus that struck my eyes was mine, mine alone-no one else-I did it all myself! & # 8221 ; ( 859 ) We see Oedipus penalize himself for his wickednesss. He can non bear the idea of looking into his & # 8220 ; father in the eyes & # 8221 ; when he & # 8220 ; goes down to hell & # 8221 ; , his relationship with his female parent, or bear & # 8220 ; the sight of his kids. Oedipus proclaims, & # 8220 ; No, non with these eyes of mine, ne’er. ( 860 )