In Sophocles famous play Oedipus Rex, the main character, Oedipus, struggles to maintain power over opposing forces that surround him. He wrestles with both the power of other beings and fate, a major aspect of the plays twists. Using the man v. man struggles shows the nature of Oedipus, while the conflict between free will and fate exemplifies the individuals inability to change the future. From the beginning of the play, Oedipus greed for power is seen in his paranoid state of mind. When he hears that King Laios, the ex-ruler of Thebes, was murdered, he immediately decides to devote his energy to find the murderer because he himself might be the next target. His assumption that the murderer would want to assassinate him, too, represents his anxiety of a jeopardized throne. As king, he is taking early action to make sure his reign is secure and that he maintains rule over Thebes. Oedipus does not want a murderer to take away the power he has. As the story continues, Oedipus gets the notion that Kreon, his own brother-in-law, is plotting against him. Despite his own beliefs, this is false and instead another result of his state of paranoia. The two get into an argument as one throws accusations and the other creates a defense. Oedipus believes that Kreon is causing these accusations to arise because Kreon wants the power that Oedipus has. This shows Oedipus desire to maintain his reign, picking at any suspicious schemes that may be plotted against him. In both cases, Oedipus takes action to assure his own position of power because he does not want to lose it from his grasp. Both false notions are a way for Sophocles to show the main character as an insecure king who questions all possible enemies that want his power. The bigger struggle, however, lies within the idea of free will against fate. As a character in a Greek play, Oedipus is subject to the gods will and fate. As the story unravels, readers discover Oedipus has been trying to overcome the power of fate by taking actions that may drive him away from the future that was supposed to happen. For example, when the oracle in Corinth tells him that he is going to