Fate Or Free Will English Literature Essay Was it the tragic fate of murdering his father and marrying his mother, or the free will of trying to escape and avoid this horrific oracle that led to the demise of the beloved King Oedipus? Some may believe that people have the free will to determine how their life will play out; others believe that everyone?s life is predetermined and our actions are controlled by just that. In the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, fate played a very important role in the life of Oedipus and the characters around him. While Oedipus was free to try and escape his fate, we ultimately are left to find that fate played a greater role and that Oedipus could not run from himself.