Oedipus Rex Fate Vs Free Will

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Oedipus Rex is the story of the man who desperately tried to avoid his fate, and in that way, he fulfilled it. He was ignorant about signs and messages he was given, which ultimately led to his demise. He was blind to all warnings and prophecies he was given. Oedipus’s demise was fate, as hard as he tried to avoid it, he fell into it anyway. Oedipus was sent away as an infant because his biological father learned of his prophecy, which told him that Oedipus would marry his mother and kill his father. Oedipus grew up in a different kingdom, and when he reached of age, someone drunkenly told him that he was adopted. His “parents” confirmed it, and Oedipus learned of the prophecy. Oedipus didn’t believe them, and left the kingdom to avoid killing his father. This was ignorant because he would have avoided all of the tragedy in store for him if he hadn’t left the kingdom he grew up in. …show more content…

One of the men in the carriage turned out to be his father, and in that way he fulfilled the prophecy of killing his father. In his attempts to flee from the prophecy, fate made him fulfill it. It was fate that made him encounter his biological father on that road at that exact time. Once he arrived in the kingdom, seemingly unaware of what he had done, he established a life and became the new king. He married Queen Jocasta, who, as everyone could predict, is his mother. He has now fulfilled the prophecy by killing his father and marrying his