Oedipus Tragic Flaw Essay

In fact, we learn that he has had his excessive pride even as a young man and that it is his pride that leads him to unknowingly kill his own father. We learn that when he was younger he visited the oracle at Delphi and had it prophesied that he would one day kill his own father and sleep with his own mother, "Warned Laius that he would die at the hands of his son.."(Hamilton 268). In his state of anger he headed on the road again far away from his own city. A man and traveling companions were also on the road heading towards Delphi, and when they saw Oedipus, they ran him off the road. Due to his pride and anger, he struck out at the travelers, killing them

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.

In Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, Oedipus is given a prophecy from Apollo that he must slay his father and marry his mother. Frighten by this he decides to run away hoping that the prophecy doesn’t follow him. During his journey, he runs into a man and ends up killing him and also defeats the sphinx, making him the new king of Thebes. Shortly after being the king, it has come to his attention that the former king of Thebes has been murdered. He quickly demands to know who the killer is. When nobody comes fourth with the truth he then curses whoever the murderer is, vanquishing them from the kingdom. “For the worst penalty that shall befall him is banishment--unscathed he shall depart” (Sophocles 6). He calls in Teiresias, a blind follow that can see into the future, longing for an answer to this madness. He hints around saying that Oedipus is the killer. Oedipus stands up for himself and blames Teiresias for being jealous of Oedipus because he is the new king and all he wants is to steal the throne away from Oedipus with this outrageous alimony. During this part of the story, Oedipus shows many qualities of a leader.

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.

Throughout the story Oedipus’ pride is challenged. This shows that Oedipus is prideful and arrogant. He thinks that his past experiences are better than everybody else's. He thinks that he is above the gods and their prophecies. In the end this leads to Oedipus’ pride leading him to fulfill the prophecy he was trying to

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.” P.13 Oedipus questions Teiresias, curious to know what he knows. “Oh gruesomely clear it has all unraveled… I was bonded with the people I should have never killed.” P.40 Oedipus sees what he has done wrong and feels vulnerable and horror. The audience clearly sees that heroes are very human and how real their limitations. Most people would have felt that same vulnerability if the gods had made us their plaything and tormented us, writing a prophecy of our doom.

Thesis:In Sophocles play ‘Oedipus the king’,Oedipus is an example of a tragic hero because he changed from a hero at the beginning of the play into a tragic hero by the end by experiencing power,tragic flow,downfall and death.Oedipus changes into a person no can believe of,because in the beginning he was a hero for the city of thebes by solving a riddle to defeat the monster that was killing and taking over thebes.

This is first shown without Oedipus even being aware, when he kills Laius on the crossroads. He realizes later discussing the murder of Laius with Jocasta. Oedipus remembers, “I became angry and struck the coachman who was pushing me…and then I killed them all” (Sophocles 454). It did not take much to anger Oedipus into murder. Another instance of anger is when Tiresias confronts Oedipus as Laius’s killer. Tiresias states to Oedipus, “You blame my temper but you do not see your own that lives within you” (Sophocles 439). After more arguing, Oedipus speaks back, “Not twice you shall say calumnies like this and stay unpunished” (Sophocles 440). Right away, Oedipus is quick to retaliate and be on the defensive. A final example of Oedipus’s short temper is when he argues with Creon about being the killer of Laius. The argument heats up and Oedipus loses his temper and threatens to banish or kill Creon. Creon goes to Jocasta and states, “Sister, Oedipus your husband, thinks he has the right to do terrible wrongs-he has but to choose between two terrors: banishing or killing me” (Sophocles 448). Again, Oedipus must defeat those who seem to be against him even though they are not his enemy. It is his anger that causes Oedipus to lash out and act

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.

So in the end, Oedipus no longer thinks of himself. Thinking of his children 's impending marriage, Oedipus begs for his children and no longer can think of himself as anything more than a creature that embodies what it means to be pathetic:

Oedipus’s pride also was a large contribution to his downfall. He had so much that he became blind to things around around him and the things he was doing to himself and others. Everything that happens to him is brought onto him by him. He killed his father, he also married his mother. He chooses to ignore the warnings from Jocasta, he searches and searches for the killer, to soon find out it was himself.

Once the prophet Teiresias began helping Creon, Oedipus accused him of being untruthful. The last prophecy Teiresias gives is that “He will be blind, although he now can see.550 He will be a poor, although he now is rich. He will set off for a foreign country,groping the ground before him with a stick”(Sophocles, Oedipus). Unbenoiscent to Oedipus, this prophecy was towards him, thus it was inevitable. After finding out that Oedipus was her son, Jocasta, Oedipus's wife hangs herself. After finding his mother, Oedipus blinds himself and begs to be banished, which he is. Thus the prophecy became fulfilled. According to litcharts.com, “Oedipus, a man of action, describes blindness as an inability to see. Tiresias, the seer, describes it as an inability to see the truth. In calling Tiresias a false prophet, Oedipus shows his willingness to fight against any prophecy he disagrees with” (Study Guide). So even towards the end of the play, Oedipus still refuses to live according to his fate, and thus fights it any chance that he

Heroes come and go; some retain their honor, while others are stripped of all their glory and become tragic heroes. Despite belonging to different eras, both Oedipus from Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, and the comedian Bill Cosby experience a similar, successful fate then controversy leading them to their current state. Oedipus and Bill Cosby stood as elite symbols to their followers. However, when tragedy struck it didn 't take long for these heroes to crumble. Oedipus’s followers thought that he would lead them through their times of struggle as their king. On the other hand, Bill Cosby encompassed the role of the ideal father through his work on television and comedy. As Oedipus’s and Bill Cosby’s fame grew, they eventually attained an “untouchable”

Another tragedy of Oedipus as a tragic hero was that he was a proud man, who thinks he knew it all and would not listen to anyone. One of his greatest acts of hubris was that he denies his fate of the oracle and defy the prophecies of the gods that later came to reality, and despite his growing up in Corinth he was a son of the land of Thebes. Likewise, the prophecy was still to come into existence since he did not only overlooked his fate; he did whatever he wants to as the king of the

In ancient Greek society, the tragedy was a deeply spiritual and emotional art form integral to daily life. Perhaps one of the best examples of Greek tragedy is Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. The work is distinguished by the deep emotion and thought it elicits from the reader. This is in part due to Sophocles’ expert portrayal of Oedipus, who bears all the attributes of an Aristotelian tragic hero. A once powerful king turned blinded pariah, Oedipus is characterized by both his pride and his honorable character. 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.