Flaws In Oedipus The King

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. Machiavelli then dedicates the entirety of chapter XIX to avoiding hatred. Creon of course though his execution of Antigone earns the hatred of his people and is unable to retain his rule because of the lack of support from his people.

A tragic hero is defined as a character of noble stature, the hero has a defining flaw allowing the audience to relate to him, the downfall of the hero is caused by his fate, and the realization of the character’s defining flaw leads to their downfall. Although the name of the play is Antigone, I believe that Creon fits the role of a tragic hero more so than Antigone does. 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

He continues instead in his quest for pleasure and intern allows his soul to disintegrate even further. 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.

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. For instance, Macbeth knows that killing the king is morally wrong, and talks many times of why he should not do it.

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.

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) The Friar refuses to accept that the banishment of Romeo can eventually be linked back to him. The way that the Friar speaks to Romeo perfectly portrays his cowardice, as he refuses to own up to his own actions. However, the Friar also puts forth another type of cowardice, that he typically withholds, which is his fear of getting blamed, even at the sacrifice of others.

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.