Denial In Oedipus The King

When pride goes unchecked it leads to arrogance. When arrogance goes unchecked it leads to problems. In the case of Oedipus it caused a lot of problems. Oedipus is the main character in Sophocles story Oedipus the King. In this story Oedipus struggles with his pride and arrogance and it ultimately leads to his downfall without him realizing it.

Oedipus Rex was born with the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother. His parents try and get around the prophecy by giving away their son. Oedipus grows up not knowing not knowing anything about this he has his big prophecy over his head. and h He travels back to the city of Thebes where he then soon fulfills the prophecy. While he becomes the King of Thebes, he starts the long his journey unraveling the truth. He is a very blind man at first but he changes throughout the play. In the end, Oedipus opens his eyes and turns out to be an accepting man.

It is often said that pride comes before a down fall, but pride must first trip over the truth The downfall of Oedipus is due to flaws in his character. Throughout the play “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles, Oedipus’s character has led him to make judgements that were not in his best interest. These flaws are pride, leading to overconfidence and having poor judgement. Oedipus character also show determination which throughout the play also became a flaw as well. The character of Oedipus is ruled by fate. The tragic hero is unable to escape his fate that was spoken over his life to happen. Even though Oedipus has chosen his own actions, the consequences he is sure to face have become undeniable and cannot be changed. Due to the flaws in his character, the king will fall from the good graces of those who once believed in him.

Neil Gaiman once said, “There’s none so blind as those who will not listen.” This quote relates to the theme of sight and blindness in “The Tragedy of Oedipus Rex”. King Oedipus was a man who would not accept the truth about himself. Physically he was not blind but in truth he was. There are three examples of Oedipus’s metaphysical condition of blindness which will be listed as follows. First his denial of being the source of the plague. Second, his egotistical abilities that will form his plot to change his fate. And lastly, the consequences of his denial that will lead him to his physical and emotional destruction. It would seem that in this case, Oedipus’s fate is his own enemy.

People who are generally cocky and full of themselve tend to have a very horrible death and story that leads up to it. Oedipus is the king of Thebes, who can be full of himself sometimes, but it doesn't affect him in life. He has saved his city before by solving the riddle of the sphinx and he is trying to save it once again by finding out who killed the old king of Thebes, Laius. He has a way of finding out who killed him, but it to only lead to his tragic downfall. Many people think that it was hubris that caused his death but I just don't think that hubris is a logical explanation. He didn't know the truth about his life, his life and his actions were already predetermined, and he was just living life with curiosity.

Ignorance is bliss. However, in Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, Oedipus is a complex character that seeks the truth but not the truth about himself. Throughout the story, his character’s behavior brings many conflicts and struggles between the characters. Each time the King is confronted by a challenge, his choice in behavior causes him more problems than it resolves. Instead of stepping back and evaluating the situation and getting all the facts, Oedipus jumps to wild conclusions and unjustly accuses others of conspiring against him. While all along deep inside of him he has a feeling in his gut that there is some truth to what he is being told. He is very arrogant, quick to anger and ready to blame others before

In Sophocles’s Oedipus and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, both protagonists, Oedipus and Janie, fight hardship and misery throughout their life. They are faced with adversity, and their ability to withstand and survive their suffering determine their potential for personal fulfillment, wisdom, and happiness. Both individuals have a set pathway paved for them, either through their upbringing and social class, or through the prognostication of a curse placed upon them. Oedipus and Janie are both strong-willed and dedicated to the things most important to them, love and justice. In the end, their association with each other is split when Janie finds her happiness and self-fulfillment, while Oedipus wallows in his own self misfortune

The definition of a tragedy is a narrative poem or story that describes the downfall of a good man. Both Othello and King Oedipus Rex Fall into this class of literature, even though they were written by two totally different authors and in two utterly different time periods. These two works share several comparisons to every different, while having an honest quantity of variations similarly. Pride is characterized as one of the seven deadliest sins. Most pleased individuals will never see themselves as to be genuinely glad until they encounter the results of their pride. Sophocles and Shakespeare both location this situation in their plays Oedipus Rex and Othello. Through their honorability, their appalling imperfections, the fall these blemishes

Truth is one of the most desirable things. Yet, often times humans can not tell the difference between lies and reality. Living under a falsehood would seem normal to people living on a lie for it is the truth to them. Sophocles and Steven Spielberg emphasize this point in their literature: Oedipus the King and Minority Report. The truth can shatter a human's illusion about the world they are living in . The main characters from both pieces of literature were utterly blinded by their ambitions, that they didn't expect the truth to change their views of themselves and of the world around them.

In Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, Oedipus is given a prophecy from Apollo that he must slay his father and marry his mother. Frighten by this he decides to run away hoping that the prophecy doesn’t follow him. During his journey, he runs into a man and ends up killing him and also defeats the sphinx, making him the new king of Thebes. Shortly after being the king, it has come to his attention that the former king of Thebes has been murdered. He quickly demands to know who the killer is. When nobody comes fourth with the truth he then curses whoever the murderer is, vanquishing them from the kingdom. “For the worst penalty that shall befall him is banishment--unscathed he shall depart” (Sophocles 6). He calls in Teiresias, a blind follow that can see into the future, longing for an answer to this madness. He hints around saying that Oedipus is the killer. Oedipus stands up for himself and blames Teiresias for being jealous of Oedipus because he is the new king and all he wants is to steal the throne away from Oedipus with this outrageous alimony. During this part of the story, Oedipus shows many qualities of a leader.

Oedipus was not perfect, but had numerous tragic flaws. He made an error of judgement, combined with fate then brought on a tragedy . Oedipus tragic flaw was tragedy that was destined for downfall. A tragic hero must be an important or influential man who commits a fault, and who must then accept the consequences of his actions. Oedipus learns a lesson from his temper, his tragic flaw, and became an example to the audience of what happens when great men fall from their high social position.

His lack of knowledge generates a moral ambiguity with respect to his actions. If ignorance serves as a moral excuse, Oedipus may be free of blame. However, ignorance towards his life only renders him morally blameless in regards to his incestuous act, not Laius’ murder. Despite his fate, it is Oedipus’ hubris which causes him to murder the men at the place where three roads meet. Oedipus confesses, stating “it was the driver that trust me aside and him I struck, for I was angry. The old man saw it, leaning form the carriage, waited until I passed, then, seizing the weapon” (48). The nature of Oedipus’ knowledge is the vaguest element in the play. This vagueness is then naturally interpreted as ignorance, which would then justify his actions while creating a sense of pity towards Oedipus’ life. However, the horrific nature of his actions create some responsibility. Upon discovering his crimes, Oedipus states, “Apollo, friends, Apollo has laid this agony upon me; not by his hand; I did it. What should I do with eyes where all is ugliness?” (62). His powerful emotional reaction to this revelation again brings up the question of his moral

Oedipus is worried about the damage that the plague is doing to his people and attempts to get help. Creon tells him that it is due to the murder of King Laius and that the whoever murdered him must be found and killed. Oedipus sought the counsel of the prophet,

Every character in stories or in plays has their flaws and strengths; Oedipus is no exception to this. Oedipus has his strengths and weaknesses that shape him into the character he is perceived to be in the play. He is intellectual which is why the city looks up to him, he is caring, and tenacious. Like any other character Oedipus also has his flaws, he jumps to conclusions and makes rash decisions, he has anger issues, and hubris which eventually leads to his downfall.

Oedipus’s selfishness and temper eventually lead to his downfall. Oedipus selfishness made everyone else mad at him for him not believing them. He kept digging and digging himself into a deeper hole. This eventually made his punishment at the end worse for him. He also could not handle the truth so this made him disrespect the gods. He told Tiresias that he was lying and was just trying to help Ceron become ruler. Oedipus also had too much pride this also contributed to his downfall. He was telling the people that they would find the murderer and have him exiled. He was too blind to see that he killed the king.