Free Will In Oedipus - 1046 Words

Oedipus Tyrannus is a play by Sophocles. â€Å"Is Oedipus a play about a man who is fated to do the things he’s done, is it about a man who through ignorance committed abominable acts, but then, acting on his own free will set to right the wrongs he’d done, or is it a play about the fate of man in general-that we are the playthings of the gods, that we are without free will, and that we must reconcile ourselves to our fates?† (Essay 2) It’s hard to decide on just one view. On one hand the play seems to favor the view that our fate is already been determined. But, on the other the play seems to favor the fact that, we do in fact have free will. However, he will never blame his heartache on the gods, and at least Oedipus believes he has†¦show more content†¦It does say that â€Å"we don’t think you a god.† (Lines 1-51) However, it also says; â€Å"face life’s common issues and the trails which gods dispense to men.† Different gods dispense different factors such as Zeus who is the god who serves justice, thus we have another god whom is the god of light. Oedipus sent his wife’s own brother Creon, the son of Menoeceus, to Apollo’s Pythian shrine. The purpose of sending Creon to the Apollo’s Pythian shrine, to learn how to ease the suffering of his city. What is so special about Apollo? What is the symbol of Apollo? It’s because Apollo was the god of â€Å"prophecy, plague and healing, purification, and justice; he was the son of Zeus and Leto and the brother of Artemis.† (Lines 52-101) Creon has returned from his journey, furthermore he is about to tell Oedipus, of how the god of light responded. Oedipus was very eager to hear, the information that Creon gathered from Apollo’s Pythian shrine. Creon told Oedipus that Apollo’s message was; â€Å"pollution. A hidden sore is festering in our land. We are to stop its growth before it is too l ate.† (Lines 52-101) We than start asking questions regarding what Apollo means by pollution, in addition to how are we supposed to save ourselves. Creon than replies with â€Å"blood for blood† To save themselves they must band a man, or pay blood for blood. Creon states, â€Å"it is a murder which has led to his despair. Than whom was murdered? The god said theShow MoreRelatedFate And Free Will In Oedipus Rex1577 Words   |  7 Pagesrelationship between fate and free will was a common topic explored in ancient Greek plays. Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles survived through the years with such universal questions provoked by the plot. Fate and free will were driving forces woven throughout the play and considerably difficult to distinguish for both characters and the audience. Fate was considered an all powerful force by the individuals in the play. Oedipus challenged the power of fate in favor of his free will seen through his rashRead More Free Will in Oedipus the King Essay1474 Words   |  6 PagesFree Will in Oedipus the King Oedipus the King by Sophocles is the story of a man who was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. The story continues in the tradition of classic Greek plays, which were based upon the Greeks’ beliefs at the time. The ancient Greeks believed that their gods decided what would ultimately happen to each and every person. Since those gods destined Oedipus to kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus’ life was definitely fated. However, the gods onlyRead MoreFate And Free Will : Oedipus The King1136 Words   |  5 PagesClearly depicted, in Oedipus the King, is the Greek s popular belief that fate will control a man s life in spite of man s free will. Throughout the story, the concept of fate and free will plays an integral part in Oedipus destruction and ultimately the death of his family. Destined to marry his mother and murder his father, Oedipus was guided by fate. When Oedipus learns of his fate he immediately tries to prevent it, as did his mother an d father. This prophecy, as warned by the Oracle ofRead MoreEssay on Oedipus the King: Oedipus Struggle with Fate and Free Will771 Words   |  4 Pagesfate and free will remains the biggest mystery of all; is everything we do controlled or do we have the freedom of choice? In the story Oedipus the King by Sophocles, the author uses the idea of fate and free will to explain the struggle of Oedipuss life. Fate and free will is explained as; fate is controlled by an outside supernatural force, and there is no way of controlling it. Free will is when each of us is responsible and controls all aspects of our own life. The author of Oedipus the KingRead MoreFate And Free Will : Oedipus Rex1841 Words   |  8 PagesFate and free will have many meanings towards what they mean in Oedipus Rex it’s all based on fate and free will. When your whole life is planned out for you it’s usually fate something you can’t avoid or run away from. Fate is played out in Oedipus Rex although free will happens to be your choice of action which happens to be played out in the play. Oedipus pursed information to seek certain knowledge that he should ve just left alone about his identity. Fate is responsible for Oedipus’s incestRead More Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Oedipus the King - The Paradox of Free Will1318 Words   |  6 PagesA Paradox: Oedipuss Free will in the Play Oedipus Rex William Shakespeare once wrote, Who can control his fate? (Othello, Act v, Sc.2).  A hero and leader must acknowledge above all else his honor, and the pride of his image.   In ancient Greek beliefs, a hero was a man who stood taller than the rest; he was able to better any conflict.   He did this not for himself or for any token award that may be given to him, but for the security of his fellow man.   Physical strength and superior wit areRead MoreSophocles Oedipus Tyrannus : Fate And Free Will1505 Words   |  7 PagesOver the years, most people have wondered what Free will and Fate are all about. Questions like â€Å"can people escape their fate?† will always be around as long as we think of them as important points of our life to take care of. In Oedipus Tyrannus, a play written by Sophocles, the concepts of fate and free will are highly regarded in the play’s theme. Through the play, we are shown how a series of events take a man from living a normal lif e to the fulfilling of a cruel prediction which started longRead More Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Oedipus the King3894 Words   |  16 PagesThe Concept of Fate in Oedipus Rex  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To the first-time reader of Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus Rex, it seems that the gods are in complete domination of mankind. This essay will seek to show that this is not the case because the presence of a tragic flaw within the protagonist is shown to be the cause of his downfall.    In the opening scene of the tragedy the priest of Zeus itemizes for the king what the gods have done to the inhabitants of Thebes:    A blight isRead MoreEmotions and Free Will in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King1904 Words   |  8 PagesEmotions and Free Will in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King Sophocles’ play brings up the complex issues about the relationship between human’s free will and fate predestined by the Gods. It examines the nature of human confidence to defy fate as well as human’s limited ability against the unknown force that they do not completely understand (p. 609). Several remarks were made in the play to question the authority of the divine powers. If the prophecies are wrong, however, how could the playRead More Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Oedipus the King - The Fate of Oedipus1239 Words   |  5 PagesThe Fate of Oedipus in Oedipus the King    In Oedipus the King there comes a point in the play where Oedipus learns something that plays an important role throughout the play.  Ã‚   He learns from a   oracle that he will eventually kill his own Father and sleep with his own mother.   As one could imagine this is a shock to Oedipus, and he does not believe the oracle.   However, he cannot prevent any of this from happening because it is his fate.   Oedipus is a victim of circumstances

How Stereotypes Affect Teens - 699 Words

Stereotypes can be a problem in our society, but they are especially a problem for teenagers. At my school stereotypes impact a wide range of students. My class read â€Å"How a Self Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance,† by Writer and novelist, Shankar Vedantam. In his article he argues that telling people about their race before an exam will hurt their performance. He supports his claim by providing statistics on the average test scores of blacks compared to whites. He then explains that â€Å"stereotype threats† can be done subconsciously, but they still bring down test scores. Vedantam’s purpose is to make people aware that a simple comment about someone’s race can negatively impact their performance. Because we read Vedantam’s article, we decided to do some research about stereotypes in our school. The process we used to gather our data started when our teacher gave us sheet of paper with few questions about stereotypes. Some of these questions were: How would your interviewee describe themselves?(Gender, characteristics, ethnicity) When and where do they most often encounter stereotypes? How do they deal with stereotypes? Then she paired us with a partner and had us interview them. Then we interviewed another peer outside of class. Next we anonymously entered the results of the data we collected into a Google form. After that we sorted the table by gender, and ethnicity to find out how certain groups of people reacted to stereotypes. Our class has beenShow MoreRelatedEffects Of Stereotyping In Schools1122 Words   |  5 Pages religion, political view, or how you act. Stereotyping is labeling someone because of who they are or what they do. Stereotyping places negative views on groups and people. I am going to give you some information about how stereotyping effects high schools in today’s society. In schools’ you have â€Å"the loners,† â€Å"the jocks,† â€Å"the nerds,† â€Å"the mean girls,† â€Å"the losers,† just to name a few. Stereotyping can affect how a person sees himself or herself, and it can affect a student’s progress or self-confidenceRead MoreThe Negative Portrayal of Women in Hip Hop and Rap Music Essay1239 Words   |  5 Pagesmusical artists have changed the face of hip-hop and rap and worldwide, people – mostly teens—have been striving to emulate certain artists and their lyrics, which has created negative stereotypes for hip-hop music and also for those who choose to listen to it. With vulgar lyrics referencing drugs, alcohol, sex, and aggression, it’s no wonder these stereotypes exist. However, is music really the direct cause of how teens act, or could their behavior possibly be the result of music that taps into the emotionalRead MoreIs Stem Education A Stereotype Threat?963 Words   |  4 Pages Today our society is still viewed as gender stereotype. As women we are still fighting for equality. The problem is damaging our young girls that one day will be our future. They are getting taught at a very young age of what they are meant to do and what aren’t meant to do. This issue is affecting the majority of the Latin community and therefore we have little to no girls wanting to join any STEM programs after high school. STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specificRead MoreThe Effects Of Religious Stereotyping And Prejudice On Teens1084 Words   |à ‚  5 PagesThe Effects of Religious Stereotyping and Prejudice on Teens All Muslims are terrorists, Jews are greedy bankers, and America is a Christian country. These are just a few of the many stereotypes that cause negative perceptions toward minority religious groups. Every day, religious groups across America experience some form of discrimination because of these stereotypes about their beliefs. Hate crimes and discrimination are on the rise; there have been 31% more hate crimes in 2017 than at this timeRead MoreStereotypes Of Teenagers875 Words   |  4 Pagespeople believe they are bad and only do bad things. A reason this happens is because the media cast teenagers in a bad light. Since the media beats up teens it affects many things, for example it makes people treat teenagers badly, makes a harsh stereotype for teens, and makes them feel worse about themselves. There is no doubt that the media portrays teens has no good, rotten, rebel scum that only commit crimes, and do drugs. More than half of the stories about teenage boys in national and regional newspapersRead MoreStereotype Essay708 Words   |  3 PagesHave you ever felt the impacts of a stereotype? Stereotypes can sometimes make people feel unwanted around people and possibly uncomfortable in their own skin. There’re many different types of stereotypes but they all impact us negatively. 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Gattaca examines science, religion, genetic engineering and ethics Free Essays

By opening the movie Gattaca with quotations from Willard Gaylin and Ecclesiastes, director Andrew Niccol invites us to ponder the tension between science and religion with regard to the ethics of genetic engineering. This tension is further sustained through the complex relationship of the main protagonists Vincent and Eugene, who must ultimately conquer their own physical limitations in order to find â€Å"God†. As the titles run, fingernails, hair threads and skin particles fall to the ground in slow motion, giving way to an image of a young man vigorously scrubbing himself. We will write a custom essay sample on Gattaca examines science, religion, genetic engineering and ethics or any similar topic only for you Order Now Along with a disturbing score by Michael Nyman, this obsessive-compulsive behaviour contributes to the macabre images of hypodermic needles, catheters and hospital bags of urine and blood. The shower from which Vincent has just stepped quickly converts to a furnace (is this heaven or hell? ) while the inter-title â€Å"in the not-too-distant future† runs across our screen. It is the same young man, Vincent, who provides a voice-over and our point of view in Gattaca – the antiseptic setting of a futuristic space program. Here, somnambulistic employees dressed as clones move in and out of a facility designed for cold efficiency. Note the cool blue filters, curved, shining surfaces and, again, a peculiar preoccupation with cleaning. Loudspeakers welcome visitors to Gattaca in various languages demonstrating that, along with space exploration, genetic screening has diminished both the significance and desire for global boundaries. We are already aware that in this future â€Å"blood has no nationality†. For science now enables discrimination that is far more expedient than simply skin colour. Vincent, a â€Å"God† child, is conceived without the help of genetic engineering and is quick to realise that his physical inadequacies, in particular a congenital heart condition, will prevent him from reaching his full potential. It is worth noting that the setting where Vincent’s conception takes place is made â€Å"natural† by the inclusion of beaches and palm trees. As we remain in flashback to where baby Vincent plays with a toy cluster of atoms (similar motifs are repeated throughout the film), we begin to understand the hypocrisy of what this â€Å"brave new world† has to offer. `Genoism† – discrimination on the basis of genetics – is illegal, yet it seems that poor genetic outcomes such as Vincent’s prevents insurance cover, which disqualifies him from pre-school – surely an issue that already has some currency in the world we inhabit today. But although Vincent feels displaced by his genetically superior brother , Anton (note how he walks into the frame just as Vincent tears his own image out of the family snapshot), he is determined to fulfil his dream of space travel. The initial swimming race where Vincent is beaten by Anton serves as a plot device pre-empting the climax of the film where both brothers, now adults, play â€Å"chicken† once again. Aerial shots intensify a terrifying sea and, this time, Vincent’s victory. The irony is stark as Niccol underlines the central theme of the film – what constitutes a â€Å"valid† human being? For surely Vincent, an â€Å"invalid†, has just proved that genetics has little influence over sheer determination and grit. Enter Eugene. Genetically flawless but crippled both physically and emotionally from a suicide attempt (he finished second, not first, in a swimming race), he is continually compared with Vincent, whose genetic profile dictates that he will die at the age of 30. Eugene is bitter and twisted while Vincent is single-minded and driven. Both, however, are essentially blind to what it is that makes them human. Vincent, desperate to conceal his identity from Irene, is nearly run down on a frenetically busy highway, whereas Eugene deliberately steps in front of a car in the hope of bringing about his own death. Both are so preoccupied with their own deficiencies that they almost miss their important â€Å"spiritual† journey. In fact, both these men run perilously close to becoming like Anton – robotic and devoid of emotion. It is Anton who provides the real paradox here by ruthlessly investigating his own brother’s â€Å"invalidity† and, in so doing, demonstrates that genetics does not necessarily correlate with one’s humanity. Indeed, it is Irene who, from the outset, seems to be more in touch with the natural world towards which Vincent is striving to return. Note the setting where she lives; rolling surf, pristine white sand, the warm light within in which she is constantly bathed, her disappointment with Vincent’s supposed â€Å"perfection†, her fascination with the sunrise, her ability to notice the change in his eyes after he discards his contact lenses when most people can only recognise human differences by a DNA test. Irene’s costume and hair are much softer, feminine and distinctively individual when she is away from Gattaca. Yet our focus continually returns to Vincent and Eugene, whose relationship not only dominates most of the film’s running time but develops an intimacy that is as selfless as it is full of love. The overt twinning effect (Eugene operates as Vincent’s doppelganger) combined with the homoerotic subtext belies any real attempt by Niccol to establish a meaningful connection between Vincent and Irene, with the latter finally reduced to â€Å"nominal love interest†. In an effort to conceal Vincent’s identity, Eugene’s loyalty is clearly demonstrated when, slowly and painfully, he drags his broken body up the spiral staircase – remember, he’s scared of heights. Reminiscent of a DNA strand, the staircase is a metaphor for transcendence, for raising ourselves to a new level of understanding. Eugene, determined that Vincent too will break free of his earthly bounds – his physical being – recognises the symbolism when he refers to space as â€Å"upstairs†. Earlier, Vincent tells Eugene that weightlessness is like being in the womb and that in space his legs â€Å"wouldn’t matter†. But in the end, Eugene returns to where Vincent originally emerged (this time to a self-determined cremation), his sacrifice complete as Vincent is released into space. The gift of the lock of hair is on one level a safeguard against Vincent’s disclosure but on another a unique and somewhat childlike reminder of Eugene’s innocence in a world gone mad with science and its attending preoccupation with perfection. It is Eugene who occupies Vincent’s thoughts at closure, not Irene. Despite having overcome their genetic and physical dispositions, it is clear there is no real â€Å"place† for either of these men on earth. By accentuating the tunnels leading back to the womb-like spaceship and the foetal position of Eugene in the furnace, Niccol has both Vincent and Eugene return to where science and religion originate – back to the stars, back to God, back to â€Å"home†. How to cite Gattaca examines science, religion, genetic engineering and ethics, Papers