In the play Oedipus The King by Sophocles, Oedipus is a man that everybody looks up to. He is a heroic figure, the king of Thebes ,and therefore, a symbol of the city. Consequently, Oedipus knows his own fame and has high self-confidence of himself. However, Oedipus changes dramatically after finding out he has unwilling fulfilled the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother. Although Oedipus in the beginning has high self-confidence of himself, he, at the end, becomes a condemned man that emerges to be a symbol of agony, illustrating a change of his characterization in a negative way. Oedipus’ excessive pride in himself is best seen when Oedipus uses his name as a reason to other people To demonstrate, in the very beginning …show more content…
The prophet does not desire to tell Oedipus the truth, but he eventually does, saying Oedipus is “the curse, the corruption of the land” (400). Hearing this, Oedipus denies this and to argue, he uses his fame. He says “When did you ever prove yourself a prophet...No, but I came by, Oedipus the ignorant/ I stopped the Sphinx!” (444, 451-542) Here, Oedipus is using his fame as an excuse from the truth, which does not change anything but again reveal his arrogance. He, then, goes too far with his denial, concluding that the gods are nothing by saying “your gods-nothing” (450). By saying this, he is almost setting himself superior over god's, or at least definitely not below them. Thus, one most vivid characterization of Oedipus is definitely self …show more content…
Therefore, he no longer sees himself a man with great achievements and high fame, but the opposite, knowing his reputation has been destroyed by fulfilling the prophecy. To demonstrate, Oedipus says “I am agony-/ where am I going? Where on earth?/ where does all this agony hurl me?....My destiny, my dark power, what a lead [the destiny] made!” (1443-1445, 1448). This is a significant change of him from the beginning from being proud and self-confident when he used to use his own name as a reason. Therefore, how Oedipus views himself has dramatically changed throughout the story, excessively self-confident at the beginning but towards the end, fearful and hopeless. The Chorus, seeing this destruction of Oedipus who once they used to call him the man with “brilliant triumph,”(570) now says “generation of men… I find they come to nothing,” implying that Oedipus has become nothing at the end (570, 1311, 1314). Nothing is a very vague word but but by the comparison of his reputation from the beginning and at the end, it is fair to claim that Oedipus has become “nothing” by the end since at the end, Oedipus is no more a heroic figure but rather a symbol of
Aristoteles’s “Theory of Tragedy” suggests that the tragic flaw in Sophocles’ play Oedipus is the King’s “self-destructive actions taken in blindness,” but a worse flaw is his arrogance. There are a few opposing views that stray from Oedipus being fully arrogant. First is that he took actions to save himself from further pain. Second, by putting himself in charge was the right thing to do as the leader of his people. Third, Oedipus never tried to outwit the gods but used the prophecy as a warning to leave Corinth.
Oedipus’s persistence is seen even from the beginning of Oedipus Rex. “The first instance in which [it] is revealed is when he first encounters Teiresias, a seer who refuses to divulge the truth he admits to knowing.” Teiresias begs to Oedipus, “let me go home” . “However, Oedipus doesn't want anything withheld from him, and he gradually becomes more heated in his wheedling…” Teiresias even plainly states Oedipus’s flaw, “Why persist in asking? You will not persuade me.” Despite this comment, eventually “the prophet spits out the truth in disgust, and, cursing, takes his leave.” This is the first case in which Oedipus’s persistence causes him trouble.
Oedipus the King conveys many lessons that are relevant to people living today despite the fact that it was written by Sophocles twenty four centuries ago. Oedipus is a child destined to kill his father and marry his mother. During his life, he makes many mistakes trying to avoid his fate. These mistakes teach us about the nature of humans under certain circumstances. Oedipus possesses personality traits which causes him to make wrong decisions. Attributes like arrogance and his inability to make calm decisions in certain scenarios due to his anger causes his downfall. Oedipus’ excessive pride, like many people today, was an important factor that brought him grief. Oedipus’ lack of patience caused him to make hasty decisions which lead him to his greatest agony. Oedipus’ massive ego turned into excessive vanity, this was the first step to his downfall. Oedipus talks to Creon about the murderer of Laius. He declares, “Then I’ll go back and drag that shadowed past to light… but by myself and for myself I’ll break this plague” (Sophocles, 11). Oedipus is saying that he will be the on...
As tragic hero Oedipus displays all of the usual canon; power, arrogance, and pride. Oedipus manifests himself in a position of confidence, which he derives from his success at solving the riddle of the Sphinx and marrying a queen.“It was you who came / and released Cadmus’ Town from the tribute / we paid to the cruel songstress…” (Sophocles, 33-35) , “CREON: Then tell me this - / are you not married to my sister?” (Sophocles, 696-697). In turn, it also enabled him to make rash decisions, such as slaying his father, without personal recompense. “I was to slay my father. And he dies, / And the grave hide...
For example Oedipus says, “you pray to the gods? Let me grant your prayers” (line 245). By Oedipus making this statement, it is apparent that he feels as if he is on the same level as the gods. This explains that Oedipus thinks that he has the power to do godly things because he doubts the gods’ power and authority by questioning the people’s faith. Again, Sophocles illustrates in a chronological demonstration of the happenings of Oedipus’ downfalls. Portraying to be an equal to the gods is his first mistake that leads to a tragic ending. His pride is blinding him from seeing the truth and holding him back from what he really needs to know. Saving the city heightened his pride but also made him stubborn towards certain situations. For instance Oedipus says, “not if I saved the city- what do I care?” (line 503). Oedipus is referring to the defeat of the Sphinx and relating
At some point in our lives, we may see ourselves as superior to others. In Oedipus’ case, from the beginning of his time he was taught to believe that he was indeed superior. As a young man, Oedipus was living the life of royalty and never knew anything otherwise. Growing up in this kind of lifestyle it shaped the way Oedipus viewed himself and interacted with others. Expressing attributes like excessive pride and lack of judgement, Oedipus paves the way for his own destruction affecting not only him but those around him.
In the start of the play Oedipus' great acknowledgement is made known by the chorus who consider him to be somebody who has demonstrated his intelligence, somebody who has without any help spared Thebes in years introduce from the Sphinx, and somebody who is revered by his kin. He shows his insightfulness when the cleric states “You liberated us from the Sphinx,you came to Thebes and cut us free from the wicked tribute we had paid that unforgiving, ruthless artist. We showed you nothing, no aptitude, no additional information, still you triumphed. A divine being was with you, so they say, and we trust it-you lifted up our lives”. Another indication of Oedipus' scholarly accomplishment is his self-blinding.
Oedipus shows himself as being very pridefull when he leaves his adopted parents in Corinth. Oedipus leaves after he is told about his destiny from an old prophet. The prophet tells Oedipus that he will one day kill his father and marry his mother. Fearing this, Oedipus decides to leave Cornith. In doing this he is going against the gods, he is saying that he is not going to let this happen to him and he is going to control his own destiny.
The play "Oedipus Rex" is a very full and lively one to say the least. Everything a reader could ask for is included in this play. There is excitement, suspense, happiness, sorrow, and much more. Truth is the main theme of the play. Oedipus cannot accept the truth as it comes to him or even where it comes from. He is blinded in his own life, trying to ignore the truth of his life. Oedipus will find out that truth is rock solid. The story is mainly about a young man named Oedipus who is trying to find out more knowledge than he can handle. The story starts off by telling us that Oedipus has seen his moira, his fate, and finds out that in the future he will end up killing his father and marrying his mother. Thinking that his mother and father were Polybos and Merope, the only parents he knew, he ran away from home and went far away so he could change his fate and not end up harming his family. Oedipus will later find out that he cannot change fate because he has no control over it, only the God's can control what happens. Oedipus is a very healthy person with a strong willed mind who will never give up until he gets what he wants. Unfortunately, in this story these will not be good trait to have.
To begin, Oedipus is arrogant. There are many instances throughout the play where Oedipus’s arrogance is
Oedipus' self-confidence blinds him to the point that evading fate predestined by the gods is impossible. His pride begins to catch up to him little do...
Oedipus is the main character in the play Oedipus the King. Oedipus is thought of as a tragic figure because he was doomed from birth. Tiresias, an old blind prophet, told Oedipus' parents about Oedipus' fate. He told them that Oedipus would kill his father and sleep with his mother. So, his parents decided to have him killed, only it did not happen that way. He was passed off by two shepherds and finally to the King and Queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope to raise him as their own. Oedipus finds his way back to Thebes and on the way kills his father, but Oedipus did not know that one of the men he killed was his real father. This is the beginning of the prophecy coming true. In short Oedipus obtains the throne, Marries his mother and has kids with her. Oedipus' fate has come together without him even realizing what is going on. Eventually he is told what has happened and asks to be banished by his uncle/brother-in-law Creon. The tragedy in Oedipus' life began with his birth and the realization by his parents that his whole life was doomed.
The myth of Oedipus is one of a man brought down by forces aligning against him. Over the years, different playwrights have interpreted his character in various fashions. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus is a man who is blind to the path on which his questions take him and exemplifies the typical tyrannical leader in ancient times; in Senaca’s Oedipus, it is the fear of his questions that give Oedipus a greater depth of character, a depth he must overcome if he is to survive his ordeal.
Oedipus is living in a dream from which he is only just beginning to awake. In this dream, he not only believes that he is in control of his own fate but that he is in control of his own identity. He assumes that he has three virtues: wisdom, reason, and self-control. When he attempts to use these virtues, however, he discovers that he is mistaken on all three counts. His first mistake is believing that he is wise. From this wisdom he hopes to maintain control over the events around him, but true wisdom is actually surrendering to the fact that control is an illusion, a "seeming." His second mistake is believing that he is a rational man. Indeed, Oedipus has great cognitive powers. He has insight, but this insight is quickly negated when it clashes with his own anger, which ultimately drives Oedipus to fly in the face of reason. His third mistake is believing that he is his own man, self-created. He believes that this makes him completely free, but, in fact, he is deeply tied to his roots. By rejecting his parentage, he attempts to avoid his fate. The chorus claims that no "man on Earth wins more of happiness than a seeming and after that turn[s] away" (Sophocles 64).1 Oedipus turns himself away from happiness because he believes that he is already happy. In his hubris, he becomes the agent of his own destruction. He serves as the paradigm for the self-deluding and self-destructive spirit of the human condition.
Oedipus is depicted as a “marionette in the hands of a daemonic power”(pg150), but like all tragic hero’s he fights and struggles against fate even when the odds are against him. His most tragic flaw is his morality, as he struggles between the good and the evil of his life. The good is that he was pitied by the Shepard who saved him from death as a baby. The evil is his fate, where he is to kill his father and marry his mother. His hubris or excessive pride and self-righteousness are the lead causes to his downfall. Oedipus is a tragic hero who suffers the consequences of his immoral actions, and must learn from these mistakes. This Aristotelian theory of tragedy exists today, as an example of what happens when men and women that fall from high positions politically and socially.