Fate versus Free Will - Essay Example

Fate vs. free will The Early Greek tragedy portrayed the themes of both fee and free will. In most of the plays including Oedipus, the protagonists confront a supernatural power whose dictates control the behavior of other characters in the society. Adherence to the demands of such supernatural being is always mandatory since they have a way of punishing defiance. Most of such beings are powerful gods responsible for various natural phenomenon. The gods would therefore command particular actions from the characters and ensure adherence in their own unique way. In such plays, fate is a fundamental feature that determines their lifestyles and the entire social structure. According to the prevailing social structure, it is fundamental that the characters obey their gods and live as dictated by their fate. It the early Greek society, fete was a determinant of one’s potential. The people interacted with the gods who would therefore protect their loyal believers. The play, Oedipus portrays these relations as the play concludes with the previously wealthy king living in abject poverty and in despair. From birth, the gods had commanded that Oedipus would kill his parents. Oedipus’ fate thus requires him to kill his parents once he comes of age. As a command from the gods, the parents admit their fate. They therefore deliver and raise the boy despite the fact that the boy is to kill them eventually. Oedipus becomes a king to the strong economy and as a king; he enjoys autonomy over his subjects and can make any decision that will influence the lives of the people in the entire kingdom. At such a position, Oedipus stands above his fellow humans. He enjoys authority and obedience especially in the authoritarian society (Sophocles 21). At such a position, Oedipus is superior to the rest of the humans and can therefore bend any law that influences the lives of his subjects. However, the author of the play develops the character strategically with the view of portraying the conflict that ensues between him and the gods who determine his fate. While enjoying an autonomy as the king, his kingdom suffers from plague a severe disease that kill hundreds of people within the first night of its outbreak. The prevalent of the disease in the first scene is a portrayal of a conflict between the gods and the leadership of the kingdom. The people believed that such diseases as plague resulted from the gods. The king therefore sends his brother in law, Creon to summon a priest. Creon, a reliable adviser to the king admits that the plaque is a result of religious pollution. He therefore recommends the priest in order to clench the society. This portrays the essence of the relationship that the people maintained with their gods. The gods were vibrant part of the society and interacted with their subjects on a daily basis thereby influencing their daily decisions. The inclusion of this is equally strategic since it develops a scenario in which Oedipus as the king enjoys authority over his human subjects. However, he also has a superior authority who monitors his actions and influences his fate. This develops a conflict between Oedipus’ free will and his fate. As a human and a king in a strong kingdom, he is relatively powerful and influences the fate of his subjects. However, the society expects him to maintain a cordial relationship with the gods a feature that requires him to appreciate his fate. Despite his manly successes that propel him into the position of kingship, the gods wait patiently for Oedipus to kill his parents as envisaged in his fate (Barton 121). As he grows up, Oedipus develops a strong relationship with his mother. While he kills his father owing to the weak relationship between them, he feels strong attachment a feature that threatens his fulfillment of the fete. As a king, he therefore defies the gods and spares his mother’s life at the repugnance of the gods. The defiance angers the gods who therefore decide to punish him. As the play ends, Oedipus is a blind hopeless man with no family around him. He therefore requests that the new regime exile him to another kingdom where he hopes to die as an ordinary man. The rise and rapid fall of Oedipus depicts the importance of fete in the early Greek society as portrayed in their plays at the time. While fete remains a relative concept, the status quo is an equally important concept that determines the lifestyles. Opposing the status quo is likely to attract various consequences depending on the voice of reason and the consequences of such oppositions. The gods had their own reasons in the early Greek society. They required Oedipus to kill his mother as a show of selflessness in the leader for a greater social good. The gods regulated the nature of life in the society, they influenced both natural and manmade occurrences in the society thus influence the peaceful coexistence in the societies. This implies that their demands would always have consequences on the position of nature. In such a case, obedience to the fate was therefore a prerogative for a peaceful and fulfilling life. Furthermore, in most cases the gods would determine a fate that they considered befitting to the individuals. Oedipus’ case presents a perfect scenario in which adherence to one’s fate was fundamental. He kills his father but saves his mother in an evident portrayal of favoritism. Apparently, he developed attachments to his mother a trend that influences him to kill his father while showing mercy to his mother whom he could not kill easy because of the love he had for her. In order to portray a perfect refusal to accept his fate, Oedipus could have either killed both parents or spared both, killing one of his parents imbalances nature thereby exhibiting the effects of his mistake. His mother lives a hopeless life as Oedipus later realizes that he could not replace his father in his mother’s life. The little jealously that he felt against his father cleared off with time as he matured. At such a stage, he realizes that he had made a mistake which he could not however rectify. After killing his father, Oedipus lives a restless life. He has a constant reminder that he should have killed his mother as well. He interacts with his mother on a daily basis and its affects his judgment. As such, Oedipus cannot rule effective since he alludes every negative scenario in the kingdom to his inability to live his fate. Unlike his parents who accepted their fate and bore Oedipus despite their knowledge that the boy would kill them, Oedipus puts up a spirited fight against the gods as he seeks to live a free life in which he makes all his decision. Societies are relative and so are the fates. This implies that the behavior of an individual should reflect the social structure and embody the beliefs of the society. this includes adherence to the dictates of their fate. In retrospect, fate and free will are tow dependent factors as portrayed in the early Greek societies. Fete is a supernatural force that does not only influence the actions of individual but also natural occurrences. Defying fate angers the supernatural authority who determines fate. As the play portrays, even the birth of Oedepus was because of fate. The gods had determined his birth thereby informing his parents that he would kill them. In the early Greek society, gods were essential in the development of stable and peaceful kingdoms (Homer 2). They influenced fate apportioning each one a specific fate thereby living as such. The people therefore had to accept their fate since the refusal of such would result in their death. The playwright proves the point by positioning a powerful individual in the society against the gods. As a king, Oedipus has the power to formulate and implement any legislation he would wish, he did so with many other legislations as his kingdom is an economic powerhouse at the time. However, when he refuses to accept his fate, the defiance destroys him, as he dies a hopeless man while he had the chance of dying in a palace serving as a king in a strong economy. Works cited Sophocles, Sophocles I: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone. 2nd ed. Grene, David and Lattimore, Richard, eds. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1991. Print. Homer. The Odyssey. New York: Digireads.com Publishing, 2004. Print. Barton, Geoff. Developing Poetry Skills: Reading Poetry 11-14. Oxford: Heinemann, 1998. Print. Read More