The story of Oedipus the King brings up many issues regarding the issue of fate versus free will. In writing this story, Sophocles makes the point that humans are limited in their free-will capabilities. As the story progresses, it seems that the gods ultimately control the lives of human beings because all of the prophesies end up coming true. As much as the characters in the story attempt to escape their fate and take control of their own lives, they are unable to do so because of their ultimate lack of free will. Destiny prevails.
The opening scene of the play exemplifies the power of fate when Creon returns from the Oracle of Delphi to inform the citizens of Thebes that the plague will end when the murderer of Laius is banished from the city. Tiresias takes this prophecy further when he advises the capture of a man who has murdered his father and married his mother. These two prophesies begin the string realizations that unravel the sweaters of Oedipus and Iocaste.
The reader then learns about how Iocaste and Laius unsuccessfully attempted to escape their unfortunate fate and flex their power of free will. Upon hearing a prophesy that their child Oedipus is destined to kill Laius, they sent their baby away to be destroyed in order to escape this unfortunate fate. This action is the first example of humans attempting to escape their destiny and display the power of free will. As the reader knows, however, fate ultimately prevailed against free will in this case when Oedipus killed Laius and married Iocaste. Sophocles shows his belief in the power of fate over free will in displaying Iocaste’s and Laius unsuccessful attempt to escape their destiny.
On the other end of the Totem Poll, the reader sees how Oedipus unsuccessfully attempted to escape this same unfortunate fate. When Oedipus was the Prince of Corinth, he was told a prophesy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Wanting to escape this terrible fate and exercise his free will, Oedipus fled Corinth for Thebes, never to return. However, as the reader knows, Oedipus could not escape his destiny. Oedipus’s unsuccessful attempt to escape fate is another example of the power of destiny and the lack of free will that the characters exhibit. Sophocles maintains that fate is the ultimate authority which free will cannot challenge, as displayed by Oedipus’s unsuccessful attempt to flee his destiny.
Laius, Iocaste, and Oedipus all learn that fate ultimately governs their lives, and free will plays a minimal role in the hands of destiny. These three characters are like deer being hunted by the lion of destiny. They run and run and run, but no matter how far or how fast they run, the lion of fate will catch up to them and sink the teeth of destiny into their powerless flesh. They will never reach the goal of free will nor will they escape the wrath of their fate. This image appears to be Sophocles’s belief in how the world of humans is ruled. Free will is merely the prey of the Lion of Fate.
However, I disagree with the belief that fate and destiny govern the lives of humans. I believe I have free will to determine the path of my life. I do not think there is a “destiny” laid out in front of me that I must fulfill. I think I have to free will to choose what I will do at any point in my life. Both my short term and long term decisions are for me to make, not for some higher power to decide for me. I am under the belief that my life is in my hands and I can choose whatever it is that I wish to pursue in the future. I disagree with Sophocles’s belief in the power of fate. Free will is a power which all humans are lucky to have. Going back to the lion and deer imagery, I believe that we are all deer, roaming the woods with no threat of any lions coming to feed on our flesh. We are deer with the power to graze any pasture in any land. (703)
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8 comments:
G Gold - excellent job in using the deer and lion simile to describe how fate and free-will apply to life. I enjoyed reading and agreeing to the points you bring up regarding the fate of each character, especially Iocaste and Laius. On a final note, I agree that at times, humans do tend to take free-will for granted.
Wong
I agree with Mr. Wong--the deer and lion similie was great!
I wrote my blog about the conflict between fate and free will, as you did. Something interesting that I noticed was that Teiresias in Scene 1 tells Oedipus, "You weave your own doom." It contradicts all the previous and later statements that some greater force is in control. Why would a prophet, a seer of Fate, tell Rex that he designs his own destiny? It puzzled me.
Anyway, great blog entry! It was fun to read
Gary Gold--
Great basketball game yesterday. It seems as if you got into the lane at will. Back to your blog, you correctly noted the distinction between free will and fate. I find it ironic that by trying to exercise a measure of free will, each character in effect brings about his or her own fate. If Oedipus's father had not tried to kill his baby I doubt any of this ever happens. In addition, if Oedipus doesn't try to leave his homeland, none of this would have happened. I also like your confidence in asserting that you are not under the control of any fate or destiny. It is interesting because many religions do preach a degree of fate, but it clear to me that those ideas do not seem to affect you. Hopefully you will continue to roam as a deer in a lion-less forest (nice metaphor by the way).
Navdeep Khera
Gary,
I completely agree with you in saying that as humans, we lay our own paths and have the ability to interfere with our future. I also thought that the extended metaphor you used throughout the entry was spot on. It gave me a better understanding as to what you were saying about the way that Sophocles makes it clear throughout the play that there is no way for the characters (a.k.a. the deer) to escape their fates (a.k.a. the hungry lion).
Your entry was thoughtful and interesting to read. Good work!
- Katelyn
ha, bro, you are a deer, thats true, but im the lion!!!!!!!ha, that was funny, i like your blog, because it made me laugh, ha, yei, i too agree with you on fate, we all have our own destiny in our hands, and it is up to us. ya digg???-geeesh
G. Silver- Great blog entry it was very informative. I enjoyed being able to agree with your points surrounding the topic at hand. It seems to me that there is really no such thing as fate for humans as you noted. The greeks were wrong.
Firstly, I just want to say that your comparison of the unraveling of Oedipus's life to the unknitting of a sweatshirt is originally awesome. The discussion of fate vs. free will interested me as I read and forced me to ponder when I have experienced karma in my life. Do we or do we not control our destiny? It is still a question I must ponder but your blog will help with my ultimate decision. PV KINGS!
- J LO
Gray Good--Oh my. Unraveling sweaters and a lion of destiny. You are a veritable metaphorical machine this week. But here's my question: if we are indeed free (as we no doubt wish to believe) does that mean there cannot be a god who knows all, including everything we will do in the future, since if our actions could be known in advance by a higher being we would not, in fact, be as free as we would wish to think?
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