Destiny in Oedipus Rex Do you think that fate controls the lives of ordinary people or do you think that someone's actions control their life? In the play Oedipus Rex, fate played an important role in the lives of the characters. . To avoid their predestined fate, the main characters took every precaution to avoid their predetermined fates. Queen Jocasta and her son Oedipus both tried to escape what the oracle Teresia had told them, but it would eventually come back to haunt them. [Destiny controlled the lives of the characters in this play...] NEW THESISWhen Queen Jocasta discovered that she and King Laius would have a child, she went to consult an oracle for guidance. However, Teresia had a devastating prophecy that their firstborn would kill her father the king and marry her mother. To prevent the prophecy from coming true, the king pierced the child's feet with an iron pin at the birth of his son to prevent him from using his feet. The king ordered a shepherd to abandon the child in the mountains, to let him die. [The shepherd, despite the king's order, instead gave the child to one of his friends, a shepherd of Corinth. The shepherd gave the child to his master, the king of Corinth. It was with this family that Oedipus grew up without knowing his true family or the fate that awaited him.] AVOID SUMMARY!!!When Oedipus became a young man, he went to consult the same oracle as his biological mother, Queen Jocasta. The oracle Teresia told Oedipus the same prophecy that she had previously revealed to Queen Jocasta, his mother. Oedipus, to escape the prophesied fate, fled Corinth never to return. He didn't know he was adopted. During his journey, Oedipus encountered an old man with a vile character who insulted him. Oedipus, in defense of his honor, killed the old man and all his servants. Upon reaching Thebes, Oedipus was asked a riddle by the Sphinx of Thebes. The Sphinx is a monster who is part lion, part eagle, and part human female and loves to pose riddles. [ The question he asked was: what walks on four legs in the morning, on two legs in the afternoon and on three legs at night. Oedipus answered the question correctly and the Sphinx left.