To What Extent Is Oedipus Responsible For His Own Destiny

“Every man has his own destiny: the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him.” In other words, the connotation of this anonymous quote states that despite whatever one chooses to decide, the outcome of their choices and decisions will still result to their predetermined fate. Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus the King, demonstrates this statement throughout the play in the role of his tragic hero Oedipus. In the course of Oedipus’ actions of trying to escape his predestined fortune, his fate and flaws of being human played major roles to bring about his downfall.

Although Oedipus’s fate was already determined, he is not just a mere puppet of the gods, meaning he can control his own life. Before full knowledge of his unintentional incest, he tries to flee town in order to avoid marrying his mother. By doing this he is taking matters

With a prophecy hanging over Oedipus’ head, his fate was already in place. Portrayed as a good person, Oedipus had no control over what he would do in his life, but he tried to overcome the prophecy, he defended himself, as anyone would, and he blinded and exiled himself for the people of Thebes.

           Oedipus has spent all his life running from his fate. He has, we learn, been told that he is fated to kill his father and marry his mother. And he refused to accept that fate. He has spent much of his life moving around, so as to avoid his fate. It was a

In my opinion Oedipus was truly doomed from the beginning. He tried his hardest to avoid the prophecy he was given at birth but to no avail. Many people tried to change the course of Oedipus’s future and even went as far as holding back damaging information. Peoples attempts to change Oedipus’s fate went as far back as the day he was born. His own biological parents tried to have their infant son killed to prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled. Oedipus himself tried everything possible to escape his fate. He left his home and took on a new identity to insure his safe future. However, no amount of distance he traveled or amount of precautions he took, fate conquered all and the prophecy was

In Oedipus the king the Prophets tells Oedipus how his life will pan out and that there is nothing that he can do about it. Oedipus, however thinks he can prove them wrong being the self righteous person that he is. He believes that fate is not real and that its all about free will and individual decisions that lead to and determine the future. Oedipus is wrong for thinking that he can change his fate because the world is controlled by fate not free will.

Oedipus is a man of unflagging determination and perseverance, but one who must learn through the working out of a terrible prophecy that there are forces beyond any man’s conceptualization or control. Oedipus’ actions were determined before his birth, yet Oedipus’ actions are entirely determined by the Gods who control him completely. In the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus took many actions leading to his own downfall. He tried to escape Corinth when he learned of the prophecies that were supposed to take place in his life. Instead, he

Fate and free will have been debated by philosophers for centuries. Do humans really have free will or is our fate deided? Do we have a choice in our actions. These are hard questions to answer but Oedipus had no say in his fate. Oedipus’ fate was predecided by Apollo and his ancestor, Cadmus. Oedipus’ destiny was fully decided by the gods before he was born allowing him no way to change it.

Yes, it could be seen that Oedipus is externalizing the blame for his fate. However, is it possible that the gods are truly the cause of his demise? Depending on if Oedipus's fate is seen as predestined or doomed due to his choices(free-will), then it changes how one views Oedipus drastically. If his fate is predestined, then he lacks agency and becomes a very sympathetic character. If he has a chance not to reach this outcome but his bad choices doo him, then it's as you say. Could it be both? They both seem to exist in the play, and I'm curious what others think.

Oedipus’ destiny or fate had little to do with his downfall. The prophet told Oedipus that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother, but the prophet never mentioned Oedipus murdering Laius on the highway, or solving the Sphinx’s riddle, or accepting and taking advantage of his kingship. Oedipus blinding himself was an example of free will, “for he removed from…[Jocasta’s] garment the golden brooches which she was wearing…” by choice “…and struck the sockets of his own eyes..” blinding himself Free will and hubris, according to the ancient Greeks, were separate from unavoidable fate. Oedipus’s fate was to kill his father and marry his mother. However, everything else, including fleeing Corinth, solving the Sphinx’s riddle, and finally pursuing the truth about his life, was by his own free will, a direct result of his ego and pride. Oedipus Rex is a story about the dangers of pride and arrogance, one teaching about the importance of humility and tolerance, and one stressing about the control of hubris, a potentially perilous quality that destroyed Oedipus’s vision and his life.

Sophocles, an ancient Greek writer, wrote a play called Oedipus. The main theme that is prevalent in Oedipus is men cannot control their destiny or fate. Sophocles emphasizes that no matter what a person does he cannot control their own destiny.

Sophocles is the author of the famous play, “Oedipus the King”. In case you did not know, Sophocles is from Greece. In Greek mythology there are three goddesses who preside over the birth and life of humans. Each person 's destiny was thought of as a thread spun, measured, and cut by the three Fates, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. In the story “Oedipus the King” fate and destiny was the main theme. On Google the definition of destiny is the events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future. Fate is defined as, the development of events beyond a person 's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power. In this paper I will be analyzing the story to help you understand the significance of destiny and fate to the story.

Others believe that one’s life is based on free will actions, the person’s choices will decide where their life goes. This is known as the theme “fate versus free will”, basically the argument of everything happening for a reason and your life is planned out already or the personal choices one makes will decide where their future leads them. This theme is present throughout the entirety of the play, Oedipus the King. Throughout this play, Oedipus is struggling with many battles, like his pride but, most importantly, the need to avoid the fate prophesied for him. Once he talked with Teiresias, Oedipus had seemed outraged at the fate he was destined. This fate being that he will marry his mother and kill his father. He was determined to not have this as his fate, leading him to perform his own actions. But the question remains, was he a victim of fate or free will? The answer being, that it is a complex variety of both. Although his fate was determined already for him, his actions, after hearing that fate, led him by his own free will into

For Aristotle, a tragic hero has a hamartia (or tragic flaw) that leads to his own downfall, and so there is no argue that Oedipus undergoes a downfall in the play. But was he to be blamed for the circumstances he encountered in his life? The answer could go either way. As argued by Jocasta, “It’s all chance/ chance rules our lives. Not a man on earth/ can see a day ahead…Better to live at random, best we can” (Oedipus the King, 1068-1071). Drawing from the quotation about chances, Oedipus might have ended up in his situation not because of a future prediction, but rather as a result of coincidence. Moreover, what was important to acknowledge about Jocasta’s statement is that she said how it is better to live the “best we can”, which was something that Oedipus ended up ignoring. Even though he knows that the truth would ruin him, he

Fate and free will shows up in many stories, and plays a vital role in building up a character, or leading to their downfall. Fate and free will is a big theme in Oedipus Rex, and is the building bone to many of the characters lives. In Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Oedipus becomes king of Thebes. Before Oedipus came into power, the previous king of Thebes, Laius, was mysteriously murdered. A Sphinx came into power as the city had no king. However, Oedipus is able to save the city by answering the riddle told by the Sphinx, which no one else could figure out. The people of the city praise him for freeing them and Oedipus becomes king, and marries Jocasta. He is a strong and brave leader who is respected by the people of Thebes. However, after