Oedipus Free Will Essay, Research Paper

The characters in the story are free to make their own choices in life. Laios, upon being told that his

son will kill him and marry his wife, chooses to have him killed. If Laios had not been told this

prophecy, he most certainly would not have killed his own son. This is the way in which the gods

manipulated the people, by influencing their decisions. Without the original prophecy, Laios, his wife

and their son would have lived long happy lives. When Oedipus was living in Corinth, believing the

king to be his real father, he is also told the prophecy by the oracle at Delphi. Upon hearing it, he

decides to leave Corinth forever, thus making sure that he would never fulfill the prophecy. His

decision is understandable, although maybe not the same choice someone else would make. In his

mind, he was certain that he was doing the right thing. Oedipus is faced with another choice along his

flight from Corinth, where three roads meet. He chose to strike out in his rage at being shoved off the

road to make way for a king. He killed five men who would have done no harm to him. This was his

own choice, his own fatal flaw that was not dictated by any god.

The choices may have been their own, but they were choices that would not have been made, had

the prophecy not been told in the first place.