The Blinding Truth In Sophocles 'Oedipus The King'

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Recommended: Role of gods in oedipus rex

Keely Mulvihill
Mr. Trotter
English 1 Honors
23 October 2017
The Blinding Truth
“Humans believe so many lies because we aren't aware. We ignore the truth or we just don't see the truth.” As said by Don Miguel Ruiz, author of Four Agreements. In Sophocles’ classic Greek play, Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the definition of a tragic hero. He is introduced as a conceited and ignorant king who disregards the gods’ power. However, as the story goes on, another, more humble and sorrowful, side of Oedipus is revealed. In the beginning of the story, Oedipus’s judgement is clouded by his ego and he is so consumed with himself that he fails to realize the surrounding hints, leading to his downfall. Through great suffering, Oedipus comes to realize his mistakes and takes responsibility for …show more content…

Right away Oedipus’ excessive pride is recognized by the way he talks down to his people. “Here I am myself you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus” (Oed 159). Some of the first lines out of his mouth are talking about the widespread of his fame. He goes on to talk about how he already knows about the plague and has sent Creon to consult the oracle. Throughout the discussion there are multiple times when Oedipus slips in a reminder about his superiority like in the quote above. And because the people of Thebes worship Oedipus like a god, it’s extremely easy for his accomplishments to go to his head and block his judgment from telling him how to handle the situation. When Creon comes back and tells Oedipus what the oracle said, Oedipus immediately wants to act and show that he has the situation under control. “No. I’ll start again – I’ll bring it all to light myself!” (Oed. 167). The ironic thing about Oedipus’s want to solve the mystery of Laius’ murder as fast as possible is that the faster he finds out, the faster the suffering and

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