ipl-logo

Oedipus Strengths And Weaknesses

1085 Words5 Pages

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. Intelligence is something that is highly respected in individuals, especially in leaders. In the play Oedipus is the only one that is able to solve the sphinx’s riddle which leads the city to making him their next king. Oedipus was there for the city in a time of need and shows his intelligence by solving the riddle. This act is what categorizes Oedipus as a hero, after saving the city from a crisis it shows he is willing to do anything in order to keep the city going and look after his people. He also does not like to keep secrets from his people, for example when Creon wants to tell Oedipus the oracle in private, Oedipus insists on making the news public to the people. Doing so shows that he wants the people to trust him and wants make it known to everyone that he can be in fact trusted. Oedipus is very caring towards the people in …show more content…

Killing Laius and his men is an overreaction to his anger. This violent outburst shows that he has no self control and he does not show any remorse for what he has done. He also looses his temper with Tiresias when he is trying to explain the oracle to him. It is because of his anger that the oracle becomes true and in the end he looses everything good around him including his children and his sight. Oedipus constantly pushes people away that are only trying to help him, as if accepting help makes him seem

Show More
Related

  • Odysseus Strengths And Weaknesses

    801 Words  | 4 Pages

    Odysseus was normally viewed as a strong, heroic figure, but those who knew him knew that there was more to him then just a hero. They knew that he could be very curious at times and almost willing to sacrifice anything to find out what he wanted to know. Along his twenty year journey away from home he encountered many different gods and monsters that faced him with trials and tribulations. Through these trials Odysseus’ strengths and weaknesses were exposed in several different ways. One of the first monsters that Odysseus and his men encountered were the cyclops.

    Read More

  • Odysseus Leadership Essay

    1037 Words  | 5 Pages

    While we see many displays of character from Odysseus, the one that stands out to me in this book is his intelligence and thoughtfulness. Before Odysseus left Circe, she advised him about the sirens they would travel by. Instead of keeping this information to himself, he shares it with his crew so they can navigate past them in the best way possible and so that they know what they are up against. He says to them, “Friends… it’s wrong for only one or two to know the revelations that lovely Circe made to me alone. I’ll tell you all, so we can die with our eyes wide open now or escape our fate and certain death together”

    Read More

  • Oedipus The King: A True Tragic Hero

    1264 Words  | 6 Pages

    He is quick-tempered and spontaneous, which leads him to jump to conclusions, causing the reader to become aware of the fact that Oedipus is mortal and imperfect, henceforth with flaws. Oedipus’ error in judgment and tragic fall lead him to his downfall. His crime was due to wickedness and ignorance about his self-identity. He was not aware that Kind

    Read More

  • Odysseus Strengths And Weaknesses

    892 Words  | 4 Pages

    Have you ever been away from home for a long time and have been trying to get home? Odysseus has just started to come home from a long 10 year Trojan war. He is trying to get home to his kingdom ithaca with his family. He faces many challenges on his way home. In Homer’s epic poem “Odyssey,” Odysseus’ are strengths and weaknesses magnified during the course of his journey.

    Read More

  • Character Traits Of Odysseus

    787 Words  | 4 Pages

    But even from there my courage, my presence of mind and tactics saved us all" (12.226-230) As proven, Odysseus is a hero because he proves himself to be capable of overcoming his complications in order to achieve his mission of reuniting with his family at home

    Read More

  • Odysseus Strengths And Weaknesses Essay

    373 Words  | 2 Pages

    Personal strengths and weaknesses are magnified during the course of a journey. Some strengths that were magnified during the course of Odysseus’ journey were courage and self-discipline. There were many instances in which he proves to be a courageous man. In the Cyclops story,  Odysseus knows that whatever lives on the island he has arrived to is “a towering brute” and a “wild man ignorant of civility” and yet he decides to venture into the cave.

    Read More

  • Denial In Oedipus The King

    509 Words  | 3 Pages

    Oedipus denies the truth and faces the consequences later on in the play. He gets furious when everyone is blaming him for killing Laius. As he is blaming others, hubris appears within his personality. Oedipus becomes blinder as hubris takes over him.

    Read More

  • Flaws In Oedipus The King

    583 Words  | 3 Pages

    He discovers he is he killer he has been searching for and has married the woman that has given birth to him. Caught up in pride and continuing down the path of bad judgement, Oedipus blinds himself because he cannot bear to look at himself nor does he desire to see what others are seeing in him. Oedipus has chosen to live out the rest of his days blind so he does have to face the harsh reality that he has caused hoping it will soon vanish from his memory. Although Oedipus didn’t intend to cause any harm, his actions brought suffering to himself and those around him. His character flaws an strengths of determination, pride , and error in judgement led to his dreadful discovery and resulted in him losing everything he once

    Read More

  • Oedipus The King Leadership Essay

    634 Words  | 3 Pages

    These situations encouraged the people of Thebes to recognize Oedipus as their ruler and protector. I did not stop there as Oedipus started acting like an official leader. When the plague stroke Thebes because of the murderer of the old king, he obliged himself to end it and find the king’s killer. Oedipus’ commitment and persistence boosted his desire to know the truth of the king's killer when others advised him to not do so. At the end he sealed his own fate by banishing himself from his country for the greater good of his people.

    Read More

  • Oedipus Rex Argumentative Essay

    1378 Words  | 6 Pages

    1. Oedipus is a hero, but he represents most men at the same time. He has human characteristics and feelings, such as his curiosity towards the knowledge Teiresias possesses and his horror when he realizes his horrible actions. “If you know something about our pain tell us…Speak then! Tell us what will emerge.”

    Read More

  • Prophecy In Oedipus The King

    1260 Words  | 6 Pages

    A prophecy, told by a god or spirit, can foretell your future destiny. If you were given the opportunity to know your prophecy given the precautions that it could positively or negatively influence your life, would you ask for it or just let it slip? In Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, Oedipus is told that he would kill his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta. However, Oedipus doesn't believe this and is blind to the truth to accept it, which leads to his demise. Due to Oedipus’ atrocious decision making and the disobeying of other's orders, he realizes a sense of urgency at the end, as it was his responsibility to control his fate.

    Read More

  • Who Was Responsible For Oedipus's Downfall

    571 Words  | 3 Pages

    So when he starts telling him the truth Oedipus gets even more mad and taunts Tiresias about being blind. Then Oedipus accuses Ceron of being the murderer and that he is just trying to become king. If it was not for Oedipus’s temper he would not have killed king Laius and his men. Oedipus’s temper had a great contribution to his downfall and later his blindness. Oedipus’s pride also was a large contribution to his downfall.

    Read More

  • Oedipus Tragic Flaw Essay

    577 Words  | 3 Pages

    Oedipus was a tragic hero he was seen as a great man and was king,but he fell to misfortune because of his disability to see past his pride and anger which led to his demise. By not being able to see past his pride and anger Oedipus was not able to to avoid his prophetic destiny. He was blinded by his pride and anger so much that it became his tragic flaw ultimately leading him to his

    Read More

  • Oedipus The King Research Paper

    1224 Words  | 5 Pages

    The characters in Oedipus the King develop the plot and make it a complete tragedy. Oedipus, had some undesirable flaws as well as some good characteristics. Oedipus had a flaring temper that ruined his life. We all learned that having a bad attitude doesn’t get you anywhere in life. Oedipus was also arrogant, especially after defeating the Sphinx.

    Read More

  • Oedipus The King Essay

    1056 Words  | 5 Pages

    Through such characterization, Sophocles heightens the emotions in the play by demonstrating how these traits contribute to the catastrophic conclusion. Sophocles deliberately depicts Oedipus as a seemingly infallible yet prideful ruler in order to augment the subsequent devastation Oedipus causes, thus realizing the vision of an Aristotelian tragedy. Aristotle identifies nobleness in character as a characteristic of a tragic hero. Oedipus personifies this criterion; he is revered as one of the most adept rulers in all of Greece. Indeed, he constantly reminds himself that “I am a king . . .

    Read More

More about Oedipus Strengths And Weaknesses

Open Document