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Oedipus the King: Object of Fate or Destiny

Introduction

In life, it is within reach for there to be a good balance between fate and free will. Fate is

the pre-planned destiny, whereas; free will depends on whether an individual decides to do

something. In most life cases, people always think that they can determine their very own

destiny, but to the Greeks, this is not the case (Nussbaum, Martha., 1996). The Greeks believe

that people cannot change fate as set by the gods. Even though people cannot change their future,

they can control what fate has for them. Sophocles' play Oedipus the King, Oedipus is able to

discover his frightful fate. He is supposed to take responsibility for this fate and accept the cruel

actualities of what he is to face. The play does not primarily show a man who discovers to his

surprise, that he is powerless to govern his own life; instead, it gives an example of how

particular human beings can find ways to venture their independence within limits determined by

their destiny. Fate definitely determines character's lives in the play, even though it does not

determine them entirely.

Oedipus's entire life has been read out and dominated since his birth. The dominance of

his life included his behavior and personality though in some cases, one's character can be

overwhelmed by the environment in which one was raised. Were it not for the prophecy sent to
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Jocasta by the gods, Oedipus would not have been ejected and brought up in the environment he

did, most likely changing the way he would react in situations such as fate and destiny

determination. Therefore, the gods' prophecy influenced the conditions of his upbringing

contends fate over free will.

Oedipus’ unbending desire to unwrap the truth concerning Laius’ murder and the puzzle

encircling his birth drove him to the tragic realization of his dreadful deeds. Tiresias, Jocasta, and

the herdsman tried to block him from pursuing the truth. After realizing that the prophecy had

come to pass, Jocasta begs him just to let the puzzle go unanswered for once. "I beg you do not

track this, I beg you, if you have any care for your own life. What I am suffering is enough,”

(Sophocles. 429BC). Despite the begging, Oedipus refused to be persuaded to let the chance of

getting to know the whole mystery. He is unable to stop his hunt for the truth, even under

Jocasta's pleading. Sophocles clearly illustrates how man is unable to control his traits and

characters determined by fate.

Through his efforts to find the killer, Oedipus arraigns the blind prophet Tiresias to his

palace for questions. This scene between Oedipus and Tiresias starts the first scene to show

intense conflict; Oedipus's temper is seen for the first time. Before the scene, Oedipus's actions

were so calm, but when Tiresias fails to reveal the killer's identity, Oedipus loses patience. Not

knowing he was the murderer, Oedipus cursed himself. He goes ahead and streams the curse by

saying; "Whoever this person is, single man undisclosed in his misdeeds or one among many, let

that man pull out his life in agony, step by painful step, I curse myself too. If by any fate he

asserts to be an close to our reignage, here at my home, with my full knowledge, may the curse I

just called down upon him strike me!" (Sophocles. 429BC) Oedipus believes that, by search of

Laius’s killer, he is using his free will, which is not the case.
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Oedipus fails to perceive the consequences his chase for the murderer will have for him

and how ignorance is the loyal base to the truth. Oedipus's ignorance, pride, and

uncompromising search for the truth ultimately contributed to his destruction. An excellent

example of this is after threatening Tiresias, Oedipus was told that he was accountable for the

murder of Laius. Oedipus was angered and called the old oracle a liar. Oedipus, in his own way,

thought that he could outplay the gods by running away from his home, but that was not the case.

In fact, every action moved him closer to the prophecy becoming a reality. Upon discovering the

truth about his birth from the herdsman, Oedipus cries, 'I who initially saw the light procreate of

a match accursed, and accursed in my living with them, cursed in my killing” (Sophocles.,

429BC). Oedipus totally admitted that his fate had, beyond doubt, emerged and cursed by it.

After that, the chorus sings, "What man, what man on earth wins more happiness than a seeming

and after that was forefend? Oedipus, you are my figure of this, Oedipus you and your future!

Unlucky Oedipus, whom of all men I envied not at all” (Sophocles., 429BC). In singing this, the

chorus shows an ode on the hopeless life and the catastrophic destiny to which even the most

approved, like Oedipus in the long run, are subjected to.

At the end of this tragedy, Oedipus gouges his eyes out, the chorus questions him as to

what god admonished him to blindness. Oedipus, in return, answered, "It was Apollo, friends,

Apollo that brought this bitter bitterness' my regretions to execution. Unfortunately, the hand that

struck me was none but my own." Oedipus was declared guilty of his decisions. He was

remorseful for the murder of his father and marrying his mother, but in the end, the actual sin lay

in his overintense attempt to himself at the level of the gods by trying hard to escape his fate. The

chorus sings that in prosperity, he was envied by all men respected highest above all venerations
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and how he achieved elation by pride. But unfortunately, he was suspected of it, causing a

turnabout of chances in his flourishing life.

His intentions for marrying his mother and murdering his father from the barbarousness

of his misdeeds; by tearing up, Oedipus was accepting the full responsibility of his acts, and he

knew that it was to pay his sins. Therefore, the last act of demolition was done by Oedipus' free

will. Still, his catastrophic destiny came as a result of the nature of fate- that every sin must be

accounted for-the gods' duty in occurrences of mankind.

In this play, "Oedipus the King,” prophecies assert that fate is a true force in the world of

the play. However, the paths that humans partake towards their predetermined destinations are

set aside for them to choose by themselves as to the attitudes they adopt towards the gods'

decrees. Before the play set on stage, Laius and Jocasta left their own son for the dead to baffle

the terrible prophecy that he would someday kill his father and marry his mother. In the same

case, when Oedipus learned of his fate, he ran off Corinth, hoping that the prophecy was only

applicable to Polybus, the man he believed to be his biological father. In the play, when Oedipus

realizes that he is the one who must be dispensed to save Thebes from the plague, he straight

away agrees to submit to the decrees and leave the city. Oedipus and his parents' early choices

may have been imprudent and full of oneself, but his final options offer him a measure of tragic

dignity. Throughout this play, Sophocles admits that humans have the freedom to determine the

caliber of their characters, if not the results of their lives.

In conclusion, "Oedipus the King," in its totality, is a play that explores the styles of free

will and fate. Oedipus desired a varied result hence;, with his choices, he did exactly what he

could. To the ancient Greeks, fate was a crucial aspect of their daily lives; it formed and shaped
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human life. Fate evolved during these years primarily because the Greeks viewed it as something

unstoppable, while nowadays, it has become our destiny. It has come to the realization that fate

was the will of the gods; in fact, it was the truth unveiled by the oracle at Delphi. Sophocles, in

this play, acknowledges the importance of humility and reimbursement. The rational voice of the

chorus casts a shadow over the light on the people’s fear and astonishment of the gods.
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References

Nussbaum, Martha. "Compassion: The basic social emotion." Social Philosophy and Policy 13.1

(1996): 27-58.

Sophocles. Oedipus the King (429 BC)