Oedipus Free Will Research Paper

630 Words3 Pages
Cody Baumgartner Mrs. Bonderer 10/20/14 Oedipus, Fate vs. Free Will Fate is possible, but can be changed. If told your own fate, and are now aware of it, it may be possible to change it. Something could be done to throw off the course of events. Fate will not be able to be changed drastically “by the gods”, but possibly slowly, over time, to move someone to where they “need” to be. Fate can be decided, or a life can be shaped by the gods. People have free will. In Oedipus the King by Sophocles, it shows the main character, Oedipus, making his own free will based on his decisions. His past is shown to him and the decisions he makes, decides his free will. One way the story shows free will is the plague of Thebes. Now Oedipus finds this plague can only end when Laius’ killer is found. “In doing this, I’m acting as an ally of the god and of dead Laius, too.”. Oedipus says declaring that he will find and banish the killer of King Laius. (Sophocles Lines 283-285) Banishing the killer of Laius shows free will because he could’ve said he would kill him. He could have done anything to him that would’ve…show more content…
He does so when he finds that Jocasta is his mother and that he killed his father. He married and had kids with his mother! “You will no longer see all those atrocious things I suffered, the dreadful things I did! No. You have seen those you never should have looked upon, and those I wished to know you did not see.So now and for all future time be dark!”. Oedipus yells this as he stabs his own eyes out. Doing this he changes his fate, with free will, in a way not even the gods could have foreseen. What he did changed his life forever and proved once and for all free will is possible. (Sophocles Lines 1516-1521) Instead of stabbing his eyes out, Oedipus could’ve went where the gods fate steered him. He could’ve accepted what he had done and went with it. But instead, he changed his path by taking his

More about Oedipus Free Will Research Paper

Open Document