Flaws In Oedipus The King

It is an almost universal taboo to shoot the messenger and a deep level of contempt is reserved for those who do. Contempt Machiavelli argues is something to be avoided. “A shrewd prince will lay his foundations on what is under his own control... He should simply take pains not to be hated” (Machiavelli 47). This is the establishment of a theme that Machiavelli continues through the rest of the book, the theme distilled is that a loathed prince cannot remain in power for his people will not support someone they hate and welcome his demise.

His role in the development of the tragedy, his sensible tragic flaw, and his dynamic

Oedipus did not accept what was being told to him. Teiresias spoke truthfully yet Oedipus became angry and spiteful, sending Teiresias away. Not a word that was told to Oedipus was considered my him, proving his blindness and lack of consideration towards the situation. Referring back to his self blinding, Oedipus at that time had succumbed to a horrifying act instead of accepting what was shared. The news came tumbling down and his actions were severe.

These traits include the hero’s tragic flaw, his position in society and his realization that his virtues had caused his demise. The tragic hero in Antigone is Creon, because he is a mature leader of society whose virtues (or flaws) cause his downfall. Creon is obdurate as he does not heed advice given from anyone during the majority of the play, he then finally follows the counsel that the Chorus Leader gives him near the end of the play. This is apparent during the argument between Haemon and Creon as Haemon tries to persuade him to listen to his subjects and change his opinions on the matter of Polyneices’ burial as well as the incarceration of Antigone. Creon disagrees strongly and becomes inflamed towards Haemon.

Through the repetition, it is clear that he is determined about his viewpoint and expresses self-destructive behaviors that inhibit Oedipus and as a result, he starts recapping the events repeatedly in his mind. The word “misery” negatively connotes his performance and thus indicating that Oedipus is degrading himself as he believes he is not worthy of happiness, love and is exceedingly embarrassed about himself and the influence he brought upon his people. Therefore, he states that nobody should ever look at his“misery.” Oedipus is eager to distort his perception of himself from a pride man with a successful future transforming it into complete

The portrait of Dorian Gray acts as his moral indicator, but Gray simply disregards it. Dorian instead prefers to curtail his sins and live his life with the absence of morality by locking away the portrait. The memory of this terrible portrait however continues to return to haunt him. This makes Dorian paranoid and he fears that the painting will be discovered and his appearance will be forever tarnished to the world. Dorian eventually sees that “his beauty to him had been but a mask, his youth but a mockery,” (Wilde, 223) and the full weight of his sins begin to become apparent.

Macbeth is a doer, his deeds and his reaction to them define where he is as a character, because of his lukewarm morals and ability to be influenced by others, he - through the course of the play - becomes desensitized and detached to reality. Macbeth’s morals are characteristically unimpressive. At the beginning of the tragedy, he knows right from wrong and understands that his actions should be thought through logically. However, Macbeth does not follow this logical thinking and relies on emotions for his true decision making.

Hamlet had no other thoughts in this matter, he chose to act as a crazy mad person and lose his honor and certainty from those who were around him to gain his dad’s name back and so the Old Hamlet kind would rest in peace. Hamlet know he will go through not an easy bath, which by that lead him to hastition in his decision, he still toke on the role of a mad person but not sure what to do, even though he know who did it, Hamlet was not certain that losing his honor which lead to losing the trust of many who were around, including his lover Ophelia. Hamlet goes back and forth, how about my honor, and my mom’s honor that has been lost from the time she thought of marrying, her husband’s brother. The action which have token at this point was i am going to bring her honor so that I could be able to start the revange. The struggle that hamlet went through is all because he knew and understand the meaning of an honorable king and hero been betrayed and killed by the person who spend the life with.

Claudius doesn’t care who he uses or what he has to do to come out on top he will do anything in Spellman, 5 his power to make sure he is secure. The king’s greed and self loathe are his fatal flaws that ultimately lead to his downfall. Instead of doing things honestly and fair Claudius is a character who would rather play dirty and scheme behind peoples backs to find quick and easy solutions to his problems. Overall Claudius deceived his best friend, his nephew, and his wife to try to end up on top and in power but he ended up losing everything he had almost the exact same way that he received through a tragedy caused at the hands of another

Not only does he refuse to admit when his actions cause something bad to happen, but his unwillingness the help the greater good rather than only himself is the deciding factor in why he is ultimately the main character to blame. After Romeo is banished from fair Verona, the Friar portrays the outcome like it can solely be linked back to Romeo when he tells, “Romeo, come out. Come out, you frightened man./ Trouble likes you, and you’re married to disaster. ”(3.3 1-4)

As the play unfolds, we see Oedipus’ virtues and weaknesses lead him to his own demise. Unfortunately, the audience can see Oedipus fate being sealed before he can see it himself. This has been provided through Sophocles use of foreshadowing. Oedipus ' sense of responsibility for his city-state drives his search for the truth, the truth that ultimately destroys him. One can say Oedipus is solely at hand for his downfall by the actions he pursues, however one can also note that if the secret of the god’s oracle was not kept hidden, his own end would have never reached fruition.

Could one's own act of pride and anger be the result of their downfall? Throughout the play Oedipus is seen as a great hero and savior to the people of Thebes however, we soon start to learn that Oedipus has a tragic flaw. Oedipus’s tragic flaw lies in his pride and anger which blinds and leads him to his demise.       From the start of his journey to the end of it Oedipus was always blinded by both his pride and his anger. During a feast at Corinth a man taunted him for not being the son of Polybus and blinded by his pride he could not think of anything else.

Oedipus, the tragic hero of Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex, has a flaw that causes his downfall. Aristotle, in his Poetics, says that “Tragedy is essentially an imitation not of persons but of action and life, of happiness and misery” (135). This tragic flaw is what causes Oedipus’ fate to hurt him and is why he loses everything. Oedipus’ tragic flaw is his blindness, which is seen in the play when he argues with the blind seer Teiresias, when he ignores the messenger from Corinth, and when he does not connect the evidence from Iokaste.

Pride is considered one of the worst of the seven deadly sins because of its destructive properties. It is a common quality of many tragic figures throughout literature, but Oedipus Rex takes the cake for the most destructive case of pride. A plague spreads across his city of Thebes, threatening the entire population. King Oedipus swears to his people that he will do whatever it takes to save the city. He finds out he has “to take revenge upon whomever killed [King Laïos]” (Sophocles 962) in order to save everyone.

Exploring the Writings of Sophocles: The Tragic Hero, Oedipus The greeks sure do love their tragic heroes, in fact, lots of plays had one. But what makes up a tragic hero and why is Oedipus one? In King Oedipus, we see recurring themes such as blindness and sight that guide our hero Oedipus through his journey. Idealisms such as these relate to the traits of Oedipus being a tragic hero. In the Classic Greek Tragedy “ King Oedipus”, the traits that make Oedipus a tragic hero are his Hamartia and his Great Suffering or Falling from grace.