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Examples Of Fate In Oedipus The King

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Recommended: Critically discuss the role of fate in sophocles play oedipus rex

Fate is often said to be inevitable, have an adverse outcome, or end and free will is the ability to choose at your own discretion. In our everyday life, we make decisions and are often told that life is about making choices. It is because we have free will that we make choices which may lead to positive consequences if the choice is rational and yet other times our decisions lead to negative consequences. Free will plays an important role in Oedipus the King and fate appears in the play but it does not dominate it. It is free will that gives humans the ability to make choices that affect their destiny, human beings have free will and do make choices all the time. Free will is distributed throughout the entire story of Oedipus the King. …show more content…

Eventually, he comes to a crossroads and comes across the King of Thebes and his horsemen who travel with him. The roads must have been to narrow as Oedipus is almost bumped by the kings’ men. His temper flares and he kills the group of men because of this incident on the road and amongst the dead is his real father, King Laios, of Thebes. Perhaps if Oedipus had not lost his temper he would not have killed the group of men at the crossroads. Does fate or free will cause someone’s temper to flare? Tempers flare because we allow it to happen and it is something we should be able to control. We can choose to get angry or choose not to get angry. Oedipus is arrogant, boastful and blames the groom leading the horses because he forced him off the road. Road rage in modern times is equivalent to this act of violence upon another human. Oedipus is determined to find out who killed the King of Thebes and he announces to the people of Thebes that he will kill the man or men that killed their king. He goes on to say that Thebes suffers due to the murder of King Laios, and he must put an end to it. “Then once more I must bring what is dark to light” (Sophocles 1071). The gods and goddesses demand justice and he must find the man that killed the king, his father, Laios. What causes Oedipus to be so determined to find the man or men who killed the King of

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