Similarities Between Oedipus And Willy

As said by Benjamin Disraeli in Contarini Fleming, “Circumstances are beyond the control of man; but his conduct is in his own power.” Although this quote originates from 1832, centuries before Oedipus the King was published, its logic can still be applied to Sophocles’ play. Disraeli is saying that no one can help the circumstances they are born in, but everyone has the capability to live how they want. At face-value, this may seem true; in the end everyone has the ability to make a decision. Yet, it is their circumstances that drive the choices people make. This is best shown in Oedipus, whose actions were based on the circumstances surrounding him.

Oedipus, the brainchild of Sophocles in his play Oedipus the King, matches well to what Aristotle defined as a tragic hero (Tragic hero as defined by Aristotle). He possesses hamartia (tragic flaw), peripeteia (reversal), and anagnorisis (full knowledge). This archetype of a tragic hero, though, was not rigidly followed by the modern model of a tragic hero. Perhaps the most prominent example of the twentieth-century tragic hero is John Proctor, the protagonist in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Though John Proctor shares the many characteristics of an ancient tragic hero i.e: hamartia, peripeteia and anagnorisis, he is different by definition of a tragic hero as interpreted by Arthur Miller.

Oedipus throughout the novel shows that he is brave and a good leader, however he can not control what is actually going to happen. He can’t control his fate because the definition of fate is the development of events beyond a person 's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power. This means that however hard Oedipus tries to control what is going to happen he cannot escape his fate. The definition also States that it is a development or change over time. The readers knows from the prologue that Oedipus in the end did kill his father and marries his mother. Overtime he develops feeling that it could be him that killed his father and although he did try to escape his fate he did not. This proves that he is ultimately not in control of his fate.

Oedipus Rex was born with the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother. His parents try and get around the prophecy by giving away their son. Oedipus grows up not knowing not knowing anything about this he has his big prophecy over his head. and h He travels back to the city of Thebes where he then soon fulfills the prophecy. While he becomes the King of Thebes, he starts the long his journey unraveling the truth. He is a very blind man at first but he changes throughout the play. In the end, Oedipus opens his eyes and turns out to be an accepting man.

In Greek Theatre one of the main components of a tragedy is the tragic hero. A tragic hero is a man, or a woman, of high standing who is capable of great suffering. They must posses many great qualities but in the end will display a single fatal flaw in character that will lead to his or her demise. They audience must accept this downfall because of this flaw in character. This is called catharsis, the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. There a few characters in the trilogy of Oedipus that could be considered tragic heroes: Oedipus himself, Antigone, and maybe a few others. One that cannot be considered a tragic hero is Creon.

After Oedipus realizes that he fulfilled his fate of killing his father and marrying his mother, Oedipus declares,”I have been saved for something great and terrible, something strange. Well let destiny come and take me on its way”(323). Then Oedipus gouges out his own eyes so that he cannot look upon his parents in the underworld, his children, or the city he once ruled. He then asks Creon to return him to the place he should have died as a young child, the mountain.The statement reveals that Oedipus fulfilled his fate and that Oedipus truly believes destiny set him on the path of destruction. With the realization of his demise, Oedipus tries to protect himself from punishment and shame by gouging out his own eyes and exiling himself out to die in the place destiny prevented him from dying originally. After many years of luxurious living, Oedipus’s predestined fate tears his life apart and returns him to the place he should have died as an infant, the mountain.

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.

Tragedy has been a part of drama since the time of the ancient greeks, an example of such a tragedy is Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. Since then tragedy has been adapted to adhere to different societal views and conventions, such that of the american theatre. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, is an example of that. Both plays fall into the category of tragedy, but exemplify it through different aspects in their respective heroes. The roles of Oedipus and Willy Loman as tragic heroes convey the meanings of the works as wholes through the use of the literary devices dramatic irony and imagery.

In our lives, people believe that destiny controls our lives and that when things happen it 's for a reason. In into the wild by Jon Krakauer and Oedipus, by Sophocles, it shows us strong examples of destiny.

What does Superman, Perseus, and a fireman all have in common? They are all archetypically categorized as heroes. A hero is “a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character”. But there is also another character archetype of hero, the tragic hero. An example of a tragic hero is Oedipus from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. A tragic hero, according to Aristotle, is usually noble by birth, has hamaria, has peripeteia, his actions usually result in self awareness, and the audience feels pity or fear for him. A more modern tragic hero would be a man of noble stature or is extraordinary, good but not too good, his destruction proves a point, and his downfall is his own fault but also his own choice. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the protagonist,

Miller states that a modern tragic hero is a common man, because we can identify better with them as a tragic figure, because they are more similar to us. Unlike a classic tragic hero, Miller doesn't believe that a modern tragic hero has fatal "tragic flaw". Miller affirms in "Tragedy and the Common Man" that the 'flaw' is "nothing-and need be nothing, but his [the tragic hero's] inherent unwillingness to remain passive in

A tragic hero is somebody who is well-known and of high position with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. A tragic hero, is remarkable, however not impeccable, therefore being possible to relate to as a human being. The hero 's downfall is the result of a fatal flaw in his or her character. Their downfall is the result of free will, not of an accident or insignificant destiny. The hero 's fall is never a complete loss. There is always an increase in awareness, a gain in self-knowledge, or some sort of discovery on the part of the tragic hero. There are numerous events that occur within Maximus ' life that prove that he is indeed a tragic hero. Maximus is viewed as an outstanding individual for the vengeance he brings to his people. He

There was a mountain named Mount Cithaeron. On one side of the mountain was the city Corinth, where King Polybus and Queen Merope, who were unable to have children, lived. One day a citizen came to them with a gift. It was a child who was found on the mountain with stakes in his ankles. They decided to adopt the child and name him Oedipus, which means ‘swollen foot’. Oedipus grows up and his parents never tell him he is adopted. One day he is out drinking with his friends and one tells him he is adopted. He runs to his mom to find the truth, who denies it. He decides to travel to the temple of Apollo at Delphi where he talks to the oracle who tells him he will kill his father, marry his mother, and have sex with her. Frightened by this prophecy, he says

And fate controlled his actions. And the way he behaves that is because he is cursed. His knowing of the curse leads him to run and escape from it in hope to defeat it. Because going through the text we could notice that one on the main themes is blindness. Blindness is mentioned as a sign for the curse, and it might lead to his irrationality, when Tiresias said to Oedipus “you are blind to the corruption of your life” . It means that the curse affected him and caused his blindness, from what he is already knew since he was born. Consequently, his reactions also were affected. That’s true, but at the end of the story, Oedipus blinded himself as a punishment and took responsible for his undoing and committed it saying “the hand that stuck my eyes was mine, mistake no one else I did it all my self” . A question to think about is why would Oedipus blame and punish himself, even though he recognized his misfortune and that he is predestined from Gods. Of course he is responsible for that irrationality. He choose blind himself instead of making better choices, then his fate won at the

Oedipus the King is one of the most ironic plays ever written. Sophocles, the author, is a famous philosopher of the ancient times The Play is about Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who kills his father and marries his mother. An oracle warned Laius, the king of Thebes prior to Oedipus, that his son would murder him. Accordingly, when his wife, Jocasta, had a son, he exposed the baby by first pinning his ankles together. The infant, who was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife was then brought up as their very own. In the earlier years Oedipus visits Delphi and learns that he was fated to kill his father and marry his mother. He then planned to never return to Corinth.