Attending the University of Connecticut, becoming a professional athlete, marrying your high school sweetheart; what leads to all these things? From birth, do we have a predetermined life that is set by a supernatural presence which will result in the same outcome regardless of our actions or is it the actions we choose to take that determines the outcome of our life? Fate can be defined as the progression of events beyond a person’s control, believed to be determined by a supernatural power (Dictonary.com). On the other hand, free will is the power of acting without the control of fate or the ability to act at one’s own decision (Dictonary.com). There has been a wide debate for many decades whether humans have free will or if some supernatural power controls their destiny. In western medieval times, it is a common theme that the fate of human beings is set by the gods. But is this theme just a fictional concept passed down from generation to generation to entertain the people who listen to storytellers or is there actually a supernatural presence determining our destiny? This debate can be found in the very famous Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles called “Oedipus the King”. Oedipus, the tragic hero in this play, discovers his awful fate given to him by the oracles which causes him to suffer terribly. He discovers that he will murder his father and marry his mother. But how strong is his fate, is everything that happens in Oedipus’s life predetermined or does he have any control over his decisions?
The origin of Oedipus’ fate can be rooted back to his real father, Laius, who was the former king of a Greek city called Thebes. When his father was young, a Delphi oracle told him that his son would kill him. So, when Oedipus was born, Laius attempted to kill him to prevent his prophecy from being fulfilled. However, Oedipus was saved by the same shepherd who was sent by Laius to leave him out on Mount Cithaeron to die. In my opinion, Laius had full control over his decision to kill his son and that fate had nothing to do with it. However, I believe it was fate that allowed Oedipus to stay alive in this situation even with the odds against him. Additionally, it is hard to say if it was fate that made Oedipus be born into a family that would try to kill him. Laius seemed to have his mind determined on the fact that he would kill his son regardless on the child, Oedipus or not.
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The next significant event in Oedipus’s life was being adopted by the king and queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope. They raised him and Oedipus grew up believing they were his parents. Oedipus later heard rumors that they weren’t his real parents so he went to ask an oracle who is his true parents were. However, the oracle doesn’t directly answer his question but instead tells him that he is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Like Laius, Oedipus tries to escape his destiny by leaving Corinth to head to Thebes. This was completely Oedipus’s decision to leave and I don’t believe fate had anything to do with his actions. In controversy, I do believe being adopted was completely controlled by fate as Oedipus was too young and couldn’t possibly have any control over this decision. On the way to Thebes, “at a place where three paths crossed” (pg. 683), Oedipus met Laius without knowing who he was; they fought, and Oedipus killed him. Oedipus then arrived at Thebes after defeating a Sphinx and married the newly widowed queen, Jocasta, and became king of the city. This part was significant to me because it gave me a perception on how strong Oedipus’s fate was. This was a very interesting sequence of events that happened and I have a hard time believing this was all just luck. It was Oedipus’s own decision to kill, but fate just happened to make it be Laius who he killed and his mother who he married. This is truly an important event in Oedipus’s life as it starts to foreshadow that he is doomed by his fate but does not realize it yet.
When the play begins, a priest approaches Oedipus and tells him “A god that carries fire, a deadly pestilence, is on our town, strikes us and spares not, and the house of Cadmus is emptied of its people while black Death grows rich in groaning and in lamentation.” (pg. 688, lines: 29 -33). I thought this was a critical passage from the play because it makes us aware that Thebes is in chaos due to a plague that has entered the city and its dying residents want to know why the gods are angry with the city. More importantly, this passage reveals the people of Thebes beliefs towards supernatural existence. To me this passage implies that the city has done something wrong which has caused the gods to become upset and punish the city. I believe this supports free will as the residents want to know what decisions they made which caused the gods to become upset and how they can fix it. It is clear there is a way to stop this chaos and if this was fate that wouldn’t be the case.
In response to the priest, Oedipus sends his brother-in-law, Creon, to seek advice from the Delphi oracle and they discover the city is in trouble due to the death of their previous king, Laius. Therefore, Oedipus, sets out a search to find the murder of the previous king. I found this to be very ironic because he is the one who killed his father so he basically sent out a search for himself. Again, I got a feeling of how strong Oedipus’s fate is and believe it was purely fate that caused the city to be in chaos due to Laius’s death. However, Oedipus had control over his decision to send Creon to the Oracle for advice and then to follow that advice, starting the investigation into Laius’ murder. During the investigation, Oedipus finds out from an old blind prophet named Tiresias that he is the murderer of king Laius. After Oedipus mocks Tiresias’ lack of sight, he tells Oedipus 'Theban, and he'll have no joy of the discovery: blindness for sight and beggary for riches his exchange, he shall go journeying to a foreign country tapping his way before him with a stick. He shall be proved father and brother both to his own children in his house; to her that gave him birth, a son and husband both; a fellow sower in his father's bed with that same father he murdered.' (pg. 699, lines: 505 - 514). After hearing this, Oedipus recalls the prophecy given to him while he was at Corinth and becomes worried Tiresias claims might be true. At this point, it was clear that his fate was very strong and his destiny was inevitable whether he decided to accept it or not. However, Oedipus did have free will as he could make his own choices without being controlled. But ultimately it’s seems like his fate is guiding him to fulfill a broader outcome or destiny.
Oedipus then goes on to deny his fate as he is not convinced that the accusations Tiresias made are true. He lets his curiosity get the best of him and seeks more answers. He calls for the one surviving witness of the attack of Laius at the crossroads. This witness ends up being a shepherd on Mount Cithaeron and he was given a baby by another shepherd from the Laius household. The truth is out and Oedipus is devastated and curses himself. Jocasta hangs herself and Oedipus pushes her pins in his eyes, blinding himself. Oedipus then says to Creon, “Yet I know this much: no sickness and no other thing will kill me. I would not have been saved from death if not for some strange evil fate. Well, let my fate go where it will.” (pg. 723, lines: 1541 – 1545). This passage is very important as it solidifies that it was fate that kept him alive when he was an infant. It also reveals that he has accepted his fate and that it will control whatever happens next in his life. However, choosing to blind himself after he discovers the truth was done through his own free will. Also, not mentioned in the prophecy was Jocasta killing herself which again supports that it was her decision and not fate that controls her actions.
There is no denying that Oedipus fulfilled his prophecy which was to kill his father and marry his mother. Whether it was fate or free will that lead to this outcome is hard to tell, but both were important in this play. Throughout the play it was evident that some decisions were controlled by Oedipus’ free will, whereas certain outcomes were uncontrollable and purely determined by fate. Ultimately, I believe it was fate that led to the fulfillment of his destiny. The exact destiny that the Oracles said would happened to Oedipus came true and I can’t imagine it just being a serious of unfortunate events that led to this outcome. Oedipus’s destiny seemed inevitable no matter what decisions he decided to make. Fate was the supreme determinant of the greater events that happened in his life and by the end of the play, Oedipus seems to agree that fate will control him. However, Oedipus wasn’t a puppet to the gods; he was able to make several decisions that were completely in his control. Perhaps Oedipus will find a way to control his fate, maybe if he made more conscious decisions that please the gods it will lead to a more favorable destiny.
The title of my paper, “Don’t Read This”, had a much deeper meaning than those three simplistic words. I used this title to try to control the reader and manipulate his decisions. I wanted to see if the reader would choose to read this paper with his free will or if fate prevented him from reading it. If the reader did decide to read this paper, I believe it was his own free will since the title clearly states not to read it and he chose to do so anyway. However, if he didn’t read this paper, I believe it was fate that controlled his decision because as the reader you fully intended to read this before fate stopped you. It is interesting to think what events could have occurred from deciding not to read this paper. Maybe the reader chose with his own free will to watch his favorite TV show instead of reading this. Or maybe, by not reading this paper it made him realize he had food cooking in the oven and it was fate that stopped it from overcooking and potentially starting a fire that causes his house to burn down. Fate and free will both play an important role in our lives and as the tug-of-war between the two continues, it is important to be aware of our decisions and what consequences they may lead to.
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