The pride he has in himself pushes him to want people to think highly of him, and he has to escape the prophecy because in the eventuation of ultimate fate he would be looked down upon severely. Several points in the play where he is pushing to find the truth show his pride, because he didn't want to be of a low birth and he wished to prove this. Oedipus is also a very impatient and violent person, these attributes come into play in the death of Laius. He killed an old man and his servants when he got enraged over the man running him off the road, and the old man turned out to be his father. So you can see how he made independent decisions, employing his own free will, and how these decisions were greatly affected by the characteristics such as pride, arrogance, impatience, over-confidence and violence along the way. Without these attributes his choices would have been different and perhaps he wouldn't have taken the unknowing steps of his own free will, laying out the path to his terrible fate.
For Oedipus, one of the things about him that affected his ultimate outcome in life was his desire for knowledge and truth. One of the driving forces in the play is Oedipus' desperate attempt to find out the truth about his origin. He pushes Tiresias, Creon, Iocasta, the oracle, the messenger, and the shepherd for information about where he came from. Each of these characters refuses to give him a straight answer at the very least. Even as he is getting closer to the answer, and everyone else has already realised it, Oedipus wants to go beyond his comfort levels for the answer. He says, "I can't stop now. Not with all my birth clues in my hands," (line59). This is a choice made by his own free will because of his great desire for truth, which is a large part of his character and which pushes him to continue his search, in the end leading to his downfall. He could have discontinued the search at any stage, however he made the independent decision to continue because he desired to know his roots, where he belonged.
"Oedipus Rex" is a classic Greek tragedy. ... Sophocles believed that man had free will, yet is controlled by a larger order. ... Oedipus Rex tried to control his destiny, and failed. ... "Oedipus Rex" is a play of destiny. ... It is destiny that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his mother. ...
The tragedy of Oedipus Rex focuses on the theme of personal responsibility and the quest of self knowledge. ... The tragedy of Oedipus Rex is based upon the theme of self knowledge, and the acknowledgment of where ones fate lies. ... Before knowing his destiny, Oedipus condemns himself unknowingly, and being a democratic man of his word, he punishes himself from the very begging of the play. ... By these words alone Oedipus used his free will to condemn himself. ... If one choices to believe in fate, they very well might believe in free will. ...
From this definition, he further expanded it by defining the profile of the Classical Greek tragic hero, basing it on what he considered the best tragedy ever written, Sophocle's Oedipus Rex. ... The author suggests that humans have free will, but are limited by higher order that controls our path in life. ... Oedipus was free not to kill a man out of a sense of insult, but the author shows how Oedipus' choices in life did not make a difference in his future. ... His free will and choice to avoid fate actually brought him closer. ... Oedipus Rex is a perfect example of what Ari...
One of the most long lasting questions throughout all of time is whether or not humans have free will or have lives that are predestine by some higher power. This idea of predestination is seen in the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. ... In Sophocles" play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles portrays his main idea of predestination through the use of discovery and reversal. ... Jocaste does believe that a person has a destiny and reason for living but "It is God himself who can show us what he wills, in his own way"(Sophocles 199-200) and not the oracles. ... In Sophocles" play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles po...
The events in the tragic play, Oedipus Rex illustrates a mixture of fate and free will. Both the concept of fate and free will led to the destruction of Oedipus. ... His past actions were determined by fate, but his decisions to flee from Corinth, murder an older man (which so happened to be his father and the King of Thebes), and to marry an older woman were that of his free will. ... Therefore the last act of destruction was caused by Oedipus" free will, but his tragic fate came about because of the destiny Apollo had but upon him. ... Oedipus was doomed at birth by fate, Apollo had c...
Being one of the most respected men of his day, Sophocles uniquely combined Greek mythology with tragedy into the two of his most known plays: Antigone and Oedipus Rex. ... Finally, the truth is forced on Oedipus with outstanding evidence, presented by the messenger, and the shepherd, so he must accept his destiny. ... When Creon realizes that his actions against both Polynices and Antigone are terribly immoral, he immediately makes an attempt to correct them by burying Polynices and attempting to free Antigone. ... He will not allow justice to come about simply because he wants to protect...
Essay on Oedipus Rex 4-3-97 In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, the theme of irony plays an important part through the play. ... The use of irony in Oedipus Rex reveals much about the character of Oedipus. ... Commentary It would be hard to find a play that has been more universally praised than Oedipus Rex ("King Oedipus"). ... Oedipus Rex Essay written by Unknown Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, (as translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald), is replete with dramatic devices - one of which is known as Sophoclean Irony. ... Both types of irony will be examined in this paper and passages fro...
EVANS Being one of the most respected men of his day, Sophocles uniquely combined Greek mythology with tragedy into the two of his most known plays: Antigone and Oedipus Rex. ... Finally, the truth is forced on Oedipus with outstanding evidence, presented by the messenger, and the shepherd, so he must accept his destiny. ... When Creon realizes that his actions against both Polynices and Antigone are terribly immoral, he immediately makes an attempt to correct them by burying Polynices and attempting to free Antigone. ... He will not allow justice to come about simply because he wants to p...
They wove a man's life and each was bound to his own destiny which was given to him. ... At the end of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, who is the King of Thebes, is forever banished from his kingdom. ... He will never be able to look at his brother or his children ever again. ... Oedipus' life was based on pride. ... If this story was to have taken place in modern times, then yes Oedipus should have been punished accordingly, but I truly believe that The King was a victim of fate, incapable of free will and that he should not have been punished....