Oedipus Rex Fate Vs Free Will
Laura Seripieri
IB Theatre HL
Friday, October 17, 2014
What DO you know?
Sophocles, in Oedipus Rex, intended to make the reader deeply question their identity; are we defined by our choices or is destiny written, what makes us us, how do we know what we know about ourselves and when is knowledge about ourselves too much. The story does not have a certain message, rather many themes that are seen throughout the story, and each leave the reader with some kind of moral that he/she can interpret and use in their own life. For example, the theme of fate and free will.
Sophocles makes us question many elements about ourselves, one being if we do indeed have a predefined fate or if our free will is what guides us. The book explores the constant strain …show more content…
Oedipus has his free will to make his own choices, he then writes up his own fate. That being, he cannot decide for himself what his future will be, but his destiny will be shaped depending on his decisions. For example, when he decided to leave Corinth, to run away from his destiny, he really ran right into it. Meaning, his decision of leaving Corinth, made him fulfill the Oracle's prophecy, by leading him right into it. Also, his decision to pursue the facts of his past, makes him find out about the incest and the murder of his father. When Sophocles brings fate into question, it removes the responsibility that the character
Oedipus carries, being that he had no other option, that his decisions would eventually lead him to lay with his own blood, but he is not responsible for that and we cannot blame him for he was in the darkness, ignorance, about it.
The fate element of the play applies to us because it is a theme about our lives; questioning do we have a fate? Sophocles leaves it ultimately up to us to decide about our fate as
Laura …show more content…
Therefore, Oedipus is forced to forget all he knows about himself and start from scratch in order to truly see the light, become knowledgeable about himself. His own pursuit to find his true identity, makes Oedipus blinded by the truth, ruining him by uncovering his own destiny. Sophocles makes us question how much we know about ourselves and how much should we know, because Oedipus has many warnings to leave the truth by itself and remain ignorant, but he decided to pursue it regardless and knowledge, just like light, when brought too suddenly and powerful, will wound and blind.
This connects to us strongly because, as teens, our identity is not truly defined yet and we are shaping who we are. Speaking from personal experience, I have an issue knowing who I truly and because I don't know about my roots completely. I've begun researching about this and questioning my parents, but I don't know if I am ready to know the truth. Somethings are better left in the dark, for example, I could find out who I am, just like Oedipus did and bring light
IB Theatre HL
Friday, October 17, 2014
What DO you know?
Sophocles, in Oedipus Rex, intended to make the reader deeply question their identity; are we defined by our choices or is destiny written, what makes us us, how do we know what we know about ourselves and when is knowledge about ourselves too much. The story does not have a certain message, rather many themes that are seen throughout the story, and each leave the reader with some kind of moral that he/she can interpret and use in their own life. For example, the theme of fate and free will.
Sophocles makes us question many elements about ourselves, one being if we do indeed have a predefined fate or if our free will is what guides us. The book explores the constant strain …show more content…
Oedipus has his free will to make his own choices, he then writes up his own fate. That being, he cannot decide for himself what his future will be, but his destiny will be shaped depending on his decisions. For example, when he decided to leave Corinth, to run away from his destiny, he really ran right into it. Meaning, his decision of leaving Corinth, made him fulfill the Oracle's prophecy, by leading him right into it. Also, his decision to pursue the facts of his past, makes him find out about the incest and the murder of his father. When Sophocles brings fate into question, it removes the responsibility that the character
Oedipus carries, being that he had no other option, that his decisions would eventually lead him to lay with his own blood, but he is not responsible for that and we cannot blame him for he was in the darkness, ignorance, about it.
The fate element of the play applies to us because it is a theme about our lives; questioning do we have a fate? Sophocles leaves it ultimately up to us to decide about our fate as
Laura …show more content…
Therefore, Oedipus is forced to forget all he knows about himself and start from scratch in order to truly see the light, become knowledgeable about himself. His own pursuit to find his true identity, makes Oedipus blinded by the truth, ruining him by uncovering his own destiny. Sophocles makes us question how much we know about ourselves and how much should we know, because Oedipus has many warnings to leave the truth by itself and remain ignorant, but he decided to pursue it regardless and knowledge, just like light, when brought too suddenly and powerful, will wound and blind.
This connects to us strongly because, as teens, our identity is not truly defined yet and we are shaping who we are. Speaking from personal experience, I have an issue knowing who I truly and because I don't know about my roots completely. I've begun researching about this and questioning my parents, but I don't know if I am ready to know the truth. Somethings are better left in the dark, for example, I could find out who I am, just like Oedipus did and bring light