Analysis Of Oedipus

Flaws into Failure Oedipus’ unspeakable actions and their discovery could be contributed to his descent from power to wretchedness, however, his true downfall occurred because Oedipus never truly knew himself. Through this arrogance, Oedipus never realized his negative characteristics until everything he held dear was taken from him. His glaring personality faults of denial, self-victimization, and overconfidence, mask Oedipus’ true identity, restricting his ability to lead others because he can not lead himself.

Oedipus, even though he was abandoned at birth, lived his entire life as royalty, however, this background has led to negative rather than positive results. The majority of this time was spent as a Prince of Corinth, but all he learned

Even though he was abandoned at birth and left for dead, his new life was one of royalty and prestige. However, when his fortunes shifted again, Oedipus the King of Thebes has become the world’s wretch. Even though Oedipus deserves this fate, as he determined it for himself, he blames a faceless god of the heavens. “He brought my sick, sick fate upon me.” pg 18, shows the true error in Oedipus’ beliefs, as the god that he has trusted to guide his life has turned into Oedipus’ object of anger. Oedipus has nothing to blame but himself for not knowing his true self. During the manifestation of the plague and decline of Thebes, Oedipus feels that he is most affected, even though a priest comes to plead for his help. “ Sick as you are, not one is as sick as I.” pg. 3, Oedipus’ statement is a direct victimization of himself over all of his subjects. The citizens of Thebes are directly confronted with death and destruction every day, however this barely concerns Oedipus as he fails to heal the city. By viewing himself as the victim, Oedipus fails again and again to develop humility and resolve, furthering Oedipus’ departure from who he truly is. Oedipus’ past has always been discoverable, but before he was forced to learn his past, he took no action to learn about himself. Oedipus’ past was accessible as soon as he became king of Thebes, but being the victim,

This leads to a clear disparity in the validity of Oedipus’ actions and shows his true weakness as a leader. Oedipus’ actions can measure up through words alone, and when a physical solution is needed his web of words often unravels, leaving only failure behind. This flaw is pointed out by Teiresias when Oedipus refuses to accept his actions as reality. “You were a great man once at solving riddles.” pg. 7, tells of Oedipus’ affinity for words over action, and refers to the banishment of the Sphinx by Oedipus. This success created an enormous sense of pride and success in Oedipus, which eventually began to corrupt his thoughts and views of others. The trial of the Sphinx enforced the irresponsibility within Oedipus and allowed his words to reign a city. Just as Oedipus turned away from his duty to dispel the plague, he desired cowardly exile that was granted to him by Kreon. The exile and the self-blinding allow for Oedipus to be free from all save pain. This desire was illustrated through Oedipus’ request. “For the love of God, conceal me Somewhere far from Thebes,” pg. 19. This condemning statement proves that Oedipus is unable to solve his own problems and will leave them to others. This flaw forces Oedipus to abandon his children, depriving them of a father, and leaves them only with the inheritance of their father’s evil deeds. Oedipus’ overconfidence causes every