Oedipus Rex Essays (1155 words) - Ancient Greek Theatre,

Oedipus Rex Oedipus Rex In the play Oedipus Rex, it shows many different forms of fate and freewill. Fate is a word that can be defined in many different ways. Fate can affect a persons life in many different ways. Oedipuss fate ruined his life and lead him to a horrible death. Antigones life was also thrown out to the hand of fate. Neither one of them had any freewill in there lifetime, all of there lives were based upon the fate that the gods handed to them. Both of these elements, fate and freewill, play a large role in the telling of the story of Oedipus Rex. Was his life really left to fate or was it left up to him? In most tragic plays fate and freewill play a large role in the rise and fall of the protagonist. The protagonist in a play has to either cause the fault by his own freewill or by fate causing it. Without this there would be no fall of the protagonist in a tragic play. Ignorance of a protagonist can lead to a fall do to a mistake done by there own free will. Fate can cause the fall of a protagonist without there consent or there control. The fate of a protagonist leads to a much more horrible conclusion then the mistake of a tragic protagonist do to there own freewill. Oedipus was born with a horrible prophecy told to his parents which led his parents to believe that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. They soon had Oedipus taken up to a mountain, to leave him there to die. A shepherd saved his life and raised him, Oedipus soon went back to Thebes were he was born. Oedipus believed that he was traveling away from his home town, he soon found himself at a road where three corners met. There he murdered his father without knowing it was his father. He soon then traveled to Thebes and then he married his own mother. Soon Oedipus found out what he had done. His mother committed suicide and Oedipus Tore out his own eyes and insisted on being banished from Thebes. Oedipus led the exact life that was prophesied, Oedipus had little choices to make in his life. I believe that most of the events that happened to Oedipus were left to the hand of fate. Oedipus was trying to escape his own fate by traveling a different way then what he had thought was his hometown. Fate is something that no human being can run from, no matter what they do or where they hide. This was a choice that Oedipus made, which added to the answer of what Oedipuss character flaw was. Oedipuss character flaw was that he was ignorant throughout his life, he never saw things as what they really were, he only saw them as how he wanted to see them. Fate is a element in life that can not be changed or be foretold. Oedipus had no way of changing his own fate or anyway from running from it. People cannot change there fate, as much as they think that they can. People, along with Oedipus believe that they can control there lives and that fate plays no role in there lives. But people do not understand that control is an illusion and is nothing more then something for people to believe in so that they do not feel scared, while living in this world that is based upon fate. People will always think that they control there lives even no they do not. Freewill is also an illusion that is put out by society, people believe that society gives them choices but really everybodys life is set up and is up to fate. The two conventions fate and freewill are not equal conventions in a tragic play. Fate predominates freewill because fate controls freewill in life. In the story Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is doomed to his fate, he tries to escape by using his own freewill but in the end he faces his fate. There was no way for Oedipus to escape his fate that was told to his parents. Oedipus led a very terrifying life but the hand of fate allowed Oedipus to die in peace. How Oedipus has passed away no man shall ever tell. A related factor to fate is luck and fortune, Oedipus was handed a bad fate but luck brought