Humans Have no Control Over Their Fate Many people have misconceptions of the world or themselves. These illusions are often destroyed which can lead to conflicts within characters. In Oedipus the King by Sophocles, this idea is portrayed quite often in many of the characters. Jocasta’s downfall is directly related to the shattering of her false illusion of oracles and their prophecies. Jocasta tries to escape her fate but ends up walking straight into it. The shattering of Jocasta’s illusion caused her to commit suicide after finding out the truth. Sophocles uses Jocasta’s suicide to show that people have no control over their fate. Jocasta believes that oracles are just humans and are susceptible to flaws. Jocasta believes that the prophecies can be changed based on the choices humans make. Jocasta tries to persuade Oedipus that oracles and their prophecies are not true and that he has full control of his fate. Jocasta tries to prove that people have control over their fates based on the choices they make: “…No skill in the world, / nothing human can penetrate the future” (781-782). Jocasta insists that oralces are human and that they are not able to foretell the future …show more content…
Jocasta realizes that humans have no control over their fate, what the oracles foretold had come true. Jocasta can no longer bear the pain of the truth: “Aieeeeee— / man of agony— / that is the only name I have for you, / that, no other—ever, ever, ever!” (1176-1178). This situation shows her reaction after Jocasta realizes the awful truth. Once Jocasta realizes that humans have no control over their fate, she leaves Oedipus and kills herself: “The queen is dead… by her own hand.” (1364-1366) Sophocles uses this example to prove that people have no control over their fate and that Jocasta is weaker than Oedipus in the sense that she is unable to bear with the