Amanda Rodriguez
English P.4
Mr. Almond
10 November 2008
Free Will vs. Fate
In the play Oedipus the King, Sophocles suggest that while we have free will, this
can mean little, as fate cannot be escaped. At the end of the play, Oedipus was totally
destroyed. Both the concept of fate and free will played an important part in Oedipus's
destruction. Although he was a victim of fate, he was not controlled by it. Oedipus was
destined from birth to someday marry his mother and to murder his father. Although the
prophecy was destined to come true, Oedipus acted on his free will on certain actions that
lead to his fate. I believe that even though someone has free will on events in there life,
fate is still inevitably.
While Oedipus thinks that he is acting freely, his actions are bound with fate
throughout his life. Sophocles explains that fate is uncontrollable but how you get there is
an open question. Therefore, no matter what Oedipus did to try to escape his fate, he
would never have succeeded. Even though Lauis tried to get rid of him as a child, fate
still found a way to bring him back to kill him and to marry Jocasta. This prophecy, as
warned by the oracle, was unavoidable, no matter what he may have done to avoid it. His
past actions were determined by fate, but what he did in Thebes, he did so of his own
will.
From the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus took many actions leading to his own
downfall. Oedipus could have waited for the plague to end, but out of compassion for his
suffering people, he had Creon go to Delphi. Oedipus’s desire to uncover the truth about
Laius's murder and the mystery surrounding his own birth, led him to the realization of
his horrific deeds. Teiresias, Jocasta and the herdsman tried to stop him from pursuing the
truth. Although Oedipus acted upon his own free will, it still leads him to the same fate.
Even though everyone has there own free will to do as they please, I still believe
you cannot escape your own fate. Sophocles portrayed this very will in the book, Oedipus
the King. Oedipus made decisions that lead him to fulfill the prophecy. It was truly
inevitable. We shouldn’t let little decisions bother us in life, it doesn’t matter which way
you choice to act. Either way if things were meant to happen, they will. It’s simply fate.