Philosophical Analysis in Oedipus Rex

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Oedipus Rex is a Greek tragedy play written by Sophocles long ago. One of the biggest issues in the play (and in life in general) was fate versus free will in the lives of humans. Is our life pre-determined? Or do the choices we make really make a difference? Oedipus had both affecting him in his life. In this play though, the dominant worldview is fate. A view that most ancient Greeks had was that their whole life was planned out, that there was nothing they could do to avoid their fate. In the story of Oedipus, there was a prophecy about him since he was born- he was destined to kill his father and to marry his mother. No matter what choices Oedipus made in the story to avoid his fate, it still took place. For example, when he’s on the roads traveling, it was pure luck (or un-luck) that the person he ran into just happened to be his father. As Oedipus said after recounting the tale: And if it chance That Laius and this stranger are akin, What man more wretched than this man who speaks, What man more harassed by the vexing Gods? (842-845) It could have been any random person, but he had to run into his father and entourage. If it had been anyone else, that half of the prophecy wouldn’t have been fulfilled then. Another example is when he was made King of Thebes. In ancient Greek, once a man was made king, it would lead to civil war if he did not take the widowed queen as his bride. So he was again pushed into the second part of the prophecy by chance and fate- he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. A final situation is ending up in Thebes in the first place. Why did he go there? Why was he made king? How did he decide to go to that city? It seems that fate arranged this as well, for he could have gone anywhere else in Greece besides his true birth place. It seems that Fate had a lot to do with shaping and manipulating the important events in Oedipus’

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