Oedipus Rex Fate Vs Free Will Research Paper

Fate and Free Will Fate and free will are two opposing yet connected ideas that play a large role in Oedipus Rex. Fate is the idea in which one’s destiny is predetermined and unchangeable; free will is an opposing concept in which one has the freedom to choose and decide one’s own fate. It seems that fate and free will go hand-in-hand in this tragedy; Oedipus’ parents had the free will to take fate into their own hands. It is a vicious cycle and one in which the characters make decisions to avoid fate when, in reality, they are laying the groundwork for their own downfall. In Oedipus, an ancient Greek tragedy, fate and free will play a large role in the lives of the main characters and in their interactions with one another, ultimately leading to each individual’s downfall; if alternative decisions had been made, the outcome (their fate) may have been different. Oedipus’ situation is presented in a manner which is both complex and unsettling, “To the children whom he lives now he will be/Brother and father—the very same; to her/Who bore him, son and
If free will stands alone and fate is disabled, it may be concluded that Oedipus would have been sent away by his parents as they chose to do, but that this horrible outcome would not play out; he would not kill his father or marry his mother. Also, if fate stood alone with no use of free will, a more interesting situation comes into light; Oedipus would be able to stay in his real home, grow up there knowing his fate, and end up killing his father and marrying his mother. Now, this seems a bit extreme, but the point is to prove that fate and free will go hand in hand. It is not up to one to decide which is to blame; fate is only inevitable up to a certain point, the point in which one decides to take matters into one’s own hands (free