Oedipus The King: A True Tragic Hero

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.

Creon starts off by saying, “You citizens, I have just discovered--/ that Oedipus, our king, has levelled charges--/ against me, disturbing allegations.” (612-14). Creon is trying to warn the town about Oedipus’ accusations, which the reader knows these accusations are due to the blindness of his pride. While Creon and the Chorus converse about the assumption Oedipus has made, the Chorus reveals that Oedipus may have made these accusations with an unstable mind. The Chorus says, “Perhaps he charged you--/ spurred on by the rash power of his rage,--/ rather than his mind’s true judgment.” (627-29). The reader knows Oedipus’ pride is what influenced him to excuse Tiresias and Creon for framing him. When Oedipus enters the scene he immediately starts to accuse Creon again. Oedipus tells Creon he is now “an enemy of mine” (657). This all relates to the theme pride can lead to the downfall of man because, just as Tiresias, Oedipus claims Creon is plotting against him due to his pride blinding him from the

Our pride often hinders us from taking other’s opinion into account despite good or bad. Nevertheless, sometimes it is better to listen to others for own well being. Oedipus, the protagonist, takes pride in his wisdom due to his belief of escaping fate, and solving a riddle to become a king. As a result,he embarks upon a dark journey by willing to unmask the culprit behind King Laois’ murderer to free his people from the plague. However, during the process, the Prophet alerts him to not investigate further and reminds him of his awful prophecy, where he kills his own father. Because of his wisdom Oedipus wants to escape his fate; he neglects the Prophet’s words and pursues further to approach a shepherd, who alike the Prophet has an unpreferable

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.

To begin with, in the beginning of the second episode, Sophocles establishes a conflict between Creon and Oedipus. When Oedipus sees Creon at his palace, he scolds, “You-here? You have the gall / to show your face before the palace gates? / You, plotting to kill me, kill the king- / I see it all, the marauding thief himself / scheming to steal my crown and power!” (Sophocles 594-598). Oedipus is convinced that Creon hired Tiresias to reveal false statements, so Creon could take over and become king. However, this is a false accusation, for what Tiresias proclaimed was true, and Oedipus did kill the previous king, his father, and marry his mother. Nevertheless, Oedipus does not change his judgement. When speaking to the Chorus on this matter, Oedipus reviles Creon, “He, wherever he goes, my hate goes with him” (Sophocles 745).

“To be angry is to revenge the faults of others on ourselves”, quoted by Alexander Pope. The antagonist of the play, Creon, prolongs Oedipus family's suffering by executing cruel acts and laws against Polyneices. Creon’s main goals he thought he would achieve by these acts was to obtain vengeance and to establish that he has power over everyone who resides in the kingdom of Thebes. Sophocles used Pathos, Logos, and Ethos in Creon's actions so he could compel others to follow his orders around Thebes and to obtain justice for his son's wrongful death.

An exemplar is an individual who represents and embodies the fundamental characteristics of the belief system to which they adhere. Exemplars are employed within stories, both written and spoken, to inspire individuals to act in like manner, and consequently, in accordance to the traditions and laws of their specified religion. Exemplars are—typically—rewarded for their actions and hailed as heroes, as to encourage others to act similarly. It is much easier for an individual to attempt to imitate the correct actions of others than it is to blindly follow a set of rules and commands. Nearly all religions and belief systems utilize this technique, and have done so since their initial origins. Two prominent texts that exploit this age-old technique

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.

Oedipus was a very prideful man that was sure of his past and of himself as a man, husband, father and a King. He looked after his country and over his people and made all attempts to take care of everyone in Thebes. Oedipus was the people's protector and wanted to rid Thebes of the plaque and vowed to find and deal with the murderer of Laios. Oedipus never hinter or acknowledged that he had a past where he murdered a man and seems to have put that out of his mind. Oedipus becomes more arrogant and becomes very defiant when Kreon, Teiresias and the Messanger try to talk to him about the prophecy and the oracle when attempting to find out the true murderer of King Laios. Oedipus calls Kreon, Teiresias and the Messanger liars and accuses them of being blind and even accuses them of murdering Laios. Oedipus vowed to find the person that murdered Laios and that anyone that knew of who killed him would not pay a price for coming forward and telling him. Upon hearing of a blind seer, Oedipus calls Teiresias to Thebes for his help in finding the mysterious killer or Laios. Teiresias does not want to tell his truth and then Oedipus starts to yell and taunted him. Oedipus becomes a very angry person and even blames Teiresias for Laios' murder and accuses him of treason and refuses to hear the truth.

Oedipus certainly deserved his fate. Oedipus and his actions are clearly disrespect to the gods , he faces the fate he deserves. He was doing things that would eventually lead up to the unfortunate event of his death , he was even warned by the great and wise Teiresias , but he being himself was to stubborn and did not listen. All the things Teiresias said would happen became the truth. He killed his father, married his mother, yet he tempted his fate , he deserved everything that came his way . He did not want to believe any of it he didn't listen , he thought he knew what was correct , and being the way he was , got the worst part.

There is a proverb that states, “The eyes are useless when the mind is blind.” This quote refers to metaphorical blindness, which is defined as when one is unable to comprehend the truth about situations and events. Rather than having the ability to perceive what is happening in reality, one is naïve and cannot see the veracity in events. One of the most well-known examples of metaphorical blindness is the protagonist Oedipus. Although he is exposed to signs of his predetermined fate, he chooses to not believe the prophecy in attempts to avoid the truth. The importance of sight is emphasized throughout the play; even though Oedipus has vision and his ally Teiresias is blind, Teiresias is able to decipher the truth surrounding the prophecy.

Would one prefer story that leaves them satisfied or confused? Some stories have happy endings while others do not. For example, a tragedy leaves the readers feeling empty and feel like the story should be continued. A tragedy has a character who is suffering, and they do

In Sophocles’ well-known tragic play, Oedipus the King the Chorus is only reliable at the end of the play. The Chorus is not reliable due to their change in opinion of the power of the g-ds and their inability to see the truth due to their bias towards Oedipus. The Chorus is reliable due to their ability to think logically, making them Oedipus’s voice of reason.

The story of Oedipus the king is gloomy, yet captivating. Going from a child bond around the feet and abandon by the mountainside, to marrying his mother, his story is intriguing. In search of the truth about the prophecy and putting an end to a plague Oedipus, search for king Laius’s killer, did somethings inadvertently, making him a tragic hero. His search for truth in the death of Laius the king, as well as his birth led to the ultimate destruction and downfall of his life.

It is often said that an anti-climax work is more admired than its counterparts. For reasons, the struggle of humans, the ultimate failure of a hero, and the corruption of mortal spirit have always hold its ground against classic comedy. From the ages of Oedipus Rex, a tragedy carries the irony of an egoistic giant trapped in predestined downfall. Oedipus was almost certain that he had escaped the arranged destiny. This confidence led him to pursue the murderer of Thebes until, at the end, he made the horrible discovery that his wife was his mother, and that his daughters were instead, his sisters. In this case, such a miraculous story is hugely benefited by some re-occurring elements call motif. Sophocles adaption of motif enhances the mood