Oedipus And Willy Loman Analysis

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All tragic heroes come across different tragedies. These tragedies often occur through the irrational decisions and actions made by these tragic heroes. Both Oedipus from Oedipus the King and Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman are portrayed as protagonists that are blind to their reality. Despite this, Oedipus seeks the truth and faces it, unlike Willy Loman, who ends up never realizing the truth. Thus, the protagonists of Death of a Salesman and Oedipus the King carry the same tragic flaws that lead to their downfalls, however, the way they see their reality differs. Oedipus and Willy are similar in the sense that they both are oblivious to the truth and reality of life. Oedipus denies the prophecy of being a murderer, he will not accept being accused for what he has not done. When Oedipus insults Tiresias by calling him blind for giving him false prophecies, Tiresias replies saying, “I pity you, flinging at me the very insults each man here will fling at you so soon.” (Sophocles) Tiresias, being blind, is able to tell Oedipus that he is the murderer of his father and that his marriage is fraud, as he is married to his own mother. As for Oedipus, even while having eyes, is not able to see the reality. This ultimately leads Oedipus to the path of his downfall because while in search for the murderer, he curses him and promises to banish him out of Thebes. …show more content…

Oedipus and Willy both fail to recognize the reality of their lives. Due to the blindness, they both face tragic downfalls. However, unlike Willy, whose tragic flaw gets in the way of showing him who he actually is, Oedipus learns the truth and deals with the punishments given by keeping his promises and fulfilling it. Overall, tragic heroes are often responsible for their downfalls through their actions, however, the way they face those downfalls impacts their

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