Oedipus Sophocles' Oedipus the King Term Paper

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And had Oedipus remained with the parents who raised him, the prophecy would also have been unlikely to come about.

On the other hand, one might also argue that Sophocles appears to indicate that, no matter what decisions were made, free will would never have been part of it. Indeed, destiny and prophecy are so overwhelmingly strong that whatever decisions were made would have led to the final and inevitable conclusion.

Indeed the way in which the characters make use of their free will indicate that their very personalities contribute to the fulfillment of the prophecy: Oedipus' tendency towards the truth balanced with the opposite urge to hide from the deeper reality, in concomitance with Jocasta's deliberate blindness, lead inevitably towards the tragic conclusion of the play.

Source

Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Online version: http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/oedipus.html

At lines 651-690, Creon argues that he has no desire to usurp Oedipus as king because he, Jocasta, and Oedipus rule the kingdom with equal power -- Oedipus is merely the king in name. This argument may seem convincing, partly because at this moment in the play we are disposed to be sympathetic toward Creon, since Oedipus has just ordered Creon's banishment. In response to Oedipus's hotheaded foolishness, Creon sounds like the voice of reason.

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Only in the final scene of Oedipus the King, when Creon's short lines demonstrate his eagerness to exile Oedipus and separate him from his children, do we see that the title of king is what Creon desires above all.

Creon

Cause of blindness rather than blind himself - uses O's tendency towards deliberate blindness for his own end;

In the end is revealed for what he is.

Jocasta

Destiny & free will

Free will: parents and Oedipus attempt to change his destiny by separating Oedipus from the perceived danger. His real parents send him away. Oedipus is not aware of this - blindness - and flees the only home he knows to meet his destiny. Free will brought him to his destiny. No attempt or warnings from trusted sources could change this.

According to the play, there does not appear to be any choice for Oedipus, despite his attempts to run from his fate. He uses his free will to investigate the matter only when it is too late. It appears that his destiny has been determined before his own attempt to change it. Ironically, it is exactly this attempt to change his destiny that brings it to fulfillment......

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