In Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrranus, there is an ongoing battle of fate versus free will. Sophocles continually yet subtlety comments on both perspectives of the argument. On the one hand, one could argue that Oedipus is indeed a puppet to the gods/fate because of his tragic destiny and the prophecies that surrounded him. However, one could also state that Oedipus demonstrated free will; this being made clear by his extreme pride and error in judgment. Therefore, one could argue either way whether Oedipus is simply a pawn for the Powers to play with, or whether it is his own hubris that brought about his tragic undoing.

Fate is defined as "a power that supposedly predetermines events" in the New Lexicon Webster's Dictionary. So if life or events are predetermined, does that mean immunity for someone who commits a sin? This may be the case for the tragic hero...