Destiny cannot be controlled. No matter what someone tries, no matter what someone does, no matter what someone believes they have accomplished, they are not in control of destiny. In Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex, fate is contrasted with the notion of self-determined destiny. Duplicity, calamity and hyperreality: all these were the result of the fact that Oedipus knew too much, but at the same time too little, about his true lot in life. Although fate had granted him knowledge of his destiny, he lacked the small but crucial information about when the prophecy would come true. Therefore, the reality of what was, and reality as he perceived it, left Oedipus to choose between two sets of irreconcilable facts, both of which he believed to be true. Ultimately, his inability to reconcile two “truths” led to his mental and physical destruction. When Creon returned from visiting the prophet Tiresias, he warned Oedipus of his impending prophecy. With the knowledge of this prophecy, Oedipus learned that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother only to have cursed offspring. Hearing this, he did everything he could to make sure that this prophecy could not be fulfilled. He also tried to convince himself that this could not be true by attempting to disprove the prophecy, “You said that he reported that robbers killed the king. If he talks about 'men', it wasn't me; one man…” (Page 76, 842-847). Here he learns from his wife Jocasta that it was not a “single man” who committed the murder of his (real) father, but rather a group of “men”. He's looking for a loophole by eliminating small alterations between what he knew would happen and the prophecy, and hoping that one sticks. Believing that his “father” was still alive and...... middle of paper ......d in my marriage, and in him {Laius} I killed…” (Page:89, 1182-1185). When the misconception of his reality is shattered, Oedipus realizes that he cannot escape or change his past. Oedipus finally understands the trick of the prophecy; it had already happened. This idea of ​​inevitable fate leads Oedipus to his physical destruction, as he proceeds to put out his own eye. The fate of patricide and incestuous relationships that Oedipus was attempting to avoid was the fate he was inadvertently fulfilling. Destiny is defined as “a predestined outcome” and nothing can alter something that is destined to occur. It was too late for Oedipus to do anything about it, as the countless factors that contributed to both his mental and physical death were irreversible and dormant until the ironic and tragic end. Oedipus tried to defeat destiny and in the end it conquered him.