Fate and destiny possess enormous importance in the outcome and change of the traits of all characters in a novel, especially the main characters. Sophocles and Ivan Turgenev' novels both stress a lot on the significance of fate and destiny, increasing the degree of intrigue in the plot. In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and Turgenev's Fathers and Sons the theme of fate and destiny is very evident and contributes a great deal to the outcome of the main characters.

In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, the main character, Oedipus, the king of Thebes, an excessively proud man, who continuously tries to escape the destiny and the fate that has been set for him. Throughout the novel there is constant foreshadowing about what would become of him and what events should occur throughout his life. Teirasias, a blind prophet, and Delphi, a fortune teller, both tell him that he will kill his father and marry his mother. In both cases Oedipus refuses to accept is in denial of his true life. Another event that shows foreshadowing of Oedipus' life is when a drunken man calls him a bastard. There are also elements of irony in this play. When

Oedipus spends most his adult life trying to escape his inevitable destiny. Although he thinks he is moving further and further away by just ignoring the facts, he is actually justifying his fate much quicker. He leaves Corinth in fear of the prophecy and as a result he actually walks straight into his destiny. He reaches Thebes, where he marries the queen, who is really his mother. He has a clear conscience, thinking that his true parents are alive and well in Corinth, not knowing that his true parents are the king and queen of Thebes. He also thinks he is escaping his fate by ignoring and prosecuting Teirasias for accusing him of being the murderer of king Laius. He is really just in denial and this helps reveal the truth faster. Another factor that catalyzes the moving towards his fate is his constant questioning. Oedipus constantly questions the events going on around him, even at the moment where it is obvious that the truth is going to be revealed, he pushes to find out the truth. That is when he comes out of denial and goes into a state of great pain. If he had stopped questioning everything, he might have not met his fate until later. However still he could not escape it. No matter what Oedipus did, he was not able to run away from his destiny. He did all that he could but everything just backfired.

Even Jocasta tried to change the course of fate by giving her son, Oedipus, away when he was first born because she was told he would kill his father and marry her. With all their efforts his true fate was unavoidable and all the prophecies came true. In the end, his own actions led to the fulfillment of his prophesized destiny.

No matter how much he tried to escape his fate he was unable to keep all his feelings tied up inside. He spends most of his adult life focusing on his nihilistic and scientific views but they take him nowh

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1250
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)