Oedipus Character Analysis

When considering “The Tale of Sohrab from the Shahnameh, and Sophocles’ work Oedipus Tyrannus, each contain two main male protagonists who undertake parallel tragic journeys which highlights the perils of absent parenting, which lead to death in each tale. Son and Father Oedipus and King Laius of Oedipus Tyrannus, and Sohrab and Rostam of Shahnameh have fungible qualities that, at times make them mirror images of each, though each of their fates are different, they share the same message, actions have consequences. Beyond the obvious father-son conflicts within these two works, there are deeper similarities that make these four characters interchangeable, each man is willfully blind to the consequence of their own hubris and impulsive actions which leads them each to their downfall or death. First is the act of blind hubris by King Laius, Oedipus, Sohrab, and Rostam. The least obvious character in this comparison is King Laius, already dead in Oedipus the King, but it is the hubris behind actions which led to his death, and is the catalyst for Oedipus’ tragic journey. King Laius, on the road to see the Oracle of Delphi, after being told a second time that his son would be his demise, meets Oedipus, and this is where fate wins (Laius). At the crossroads King Laius and Prince Oedipus are

Reflecting on the road to Delphi and the altercation between King Laius and Oedipus, both exhibit blind precipitateness when they jump to violence to solve their disagreement, much like Rostam exhibited in killing his wife’s “brother” Zindeh, and Sohrab, killing his captive Hujir, the two men that could have told the two men that could have ended the father-son fight before it began (Ferdowsi). It was expeditious rage that kept the truth from being revealed in each of these violent altercations, within each tragic tale, leaving one man ruined and the other man