An Analysis of The High-Minded Man by Aristotle

Oedipus’ pride, drawn from his own heroic qualities, is one factor of his ruining. A hero characteristically prizes above all else his honor and the excellence of his life. When his honor

621 ln. 149-150) after Creon tells him why they stopped searching for Laius’s killer. Dramatic irony is present when Oedipus tries to skirt the horrible prophecy of him killing his father and coupling with his mother, because in fleeing Corinth to avoid murdering Polybus, he is actually taking the correct path to fulfill the prophecy. Again his overconfidence and pride contributes to his impending doom; in believing that he has outwitted the gods he challenges his fate. Although he has enough reverence to the deities not to assume himself to be an equal with the gods, but greater than them it is clear through the word usage that Oedipus perceives himself to be of a greater importance than the lesser mortals that surround him “One of you summon the city here before us, tell them I’ll do everything. God help us, we will see our triumph-or our fall” (p. 621 ln. 163-165). He is conceited to think that he can shape his own destiny and the gods punish him for this arrogance.

Talk about road rage! Oedipus is pushed out the way by a wagon, and he retaliates by killing almost everyone in the wagon, including his father! Sure, Oedipus was destined to kill his father anyway, but the manner in which he did so gives an insight into his demeanor. Oedipus could have killed his father in any number of ways, but to do so in a fit of rage set off by so seemingly trivial of an event is just not rational. Murder may not have been as big of a deal at that time, but if Oedipus had tried that in today’s world, he would have either been executed or have been spending the rest of his life in a mental institution. This incident goes to show that Oedipus is a very rash and impulsive man, and this carries over into his administration and decision-making.

Oedipus’s tragic flaw is gained once he obtained his greatness and became king. Oedipus’s knowledge contained arrogance, and a metaphorical blindness that fosters his urge for the truth. Hence, Oedipus’s tragic flaw was his own intelligence, which later became curiosity for the all the burdens that is be fallen over his kingdom. He had a troubling obsession for learning the truth, so he could not sit aside so he went on a menacing quest for answers. Oedipus stated a message that reveled his flaw, “Then once more I must bring what is dark to light, but for my own sake to be rid of evil” ( Sophocles 134; 140). His pride and determination clouded his judgment to see the surface of the whole truth. The truth is Oedipus wanted to avoid his fate, but instead his own tragic flaw walked him into it. Even after Oedipus learned of the truth from the prophecy, his mind continued to deny what was the actual truth. The prophet spoke these words to Oedipus, “I say that you, with your eyes, are blind / you can not see the wretchedness of your life” (Sophocles 196-197). He still ventured on to find the alternative to his fate and he only became worse. Soon Oedipus’s pride corrupted his intelligence increasing his flaw. He now accused anyone who restated the prophecy and told all they were only after his crown.

The people value Oedipus for his ability to be honorable when they cannot, and simply expect him to set an example without necessarily following it. Oedipus tries to be lawful and honorable, yet his gaps in knowledge and understanding prevent him from doing so. Even the people halt the investigation of the king’s murder and the origins of Oedipus even though they do not have enough evidence to make any conclusions about these events. He embodies a culture which admires intelligence, but doesn’t seek to gain more for fear of discovering something unpleasant that would add to their current troubles. Oedipus blindly believes he has all the information he needs to be a successful leader, and his subjects blindly believe that Oedipus knows what he's

In order to do this, he goes about Athens questioning those he believes to be wiser than him, including politicians, poets, and craftsmen. Upon this questioning, he discovers that even those perceived as the wisest actually know far less than one would expect. Even the craftsmen, who have much practical wisdom in their respective fields, see their success as merely a tribute to their vast knowledge of many subjects. This, Socrates claims, is not true wisdom. Human wisdom can be described as the acknowledgement and acceptance that one does not know everything, nor is one capable of knowing everything. This, however, does not mean that people should sit idly by, never pursuing wisdom, for it is still vital to the attainment of a good life, which should be the ultimate goal of mankind.

Throughout the play we find that Oedipus, the protagonist of this Greek tragedy, is tested by life in a number of ways. To those in Athens who watched the performance of Oedipus the King, Oedipus appeared to be the embodiment of a perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong-willed. Ironically, these are the very traits which bring about his tragic discovery. He is portrayed as a character of

Thesis Statement: Oedipus is the personification of Aristotle’s characterization of a tragic hero through his ability to maintain and keep his virtue and wisdom, despite his shortcomings and situation in life.

At the beginning, Oedipus is ignorant and is constantly avoids and ignores the truth in order to protect his reputation. Oedipus’ unwillingness to open his ears to the truth develops when Tiresias reveals that he killed Laius and one of his responses is, “Your words are nothing-- / futile” (416-417). Although Oedipus begged to hear Tiresias’ words, he was not willing to pay attention or open his eyes to the unfortunate idea. Oedipus pushes aside the words Tiresias says, refusing to believe that he could be the one who killed Laius, the one who must be cursed. Later, Tiresias brings up Oedipus’ ignorance saying “you’re blind to the corruption of your life” (471), and telling him a few lines later that “No man will ever / be rooted from the earth as brutally as you” (488-489). Oedipus was put in his place and blatantly told that he is ignorant but his rise to knowledge will also bring his demise. Sophocles foreshadowed using Tiresias in that way, but Oedipus was so into avoiding any confrontation with the truth at the beginning that he would respond calling Tiresias’ visions “absurdities” (494). Therefore, even though the truth has been revealed to him, Oedipus still chooses to remain blind to the truth in order to remain good in the eyes of his people.

In the opening scene of the first play in the trilogy, Oedipus the King, Sophocles depicts Oedipus as a man of great stature, ruling his lands justly but hints at his own catastrophic fate condemned by his overly arrogant conduct. Initially, Oedipus exhibits intelligence, love and concern for his subjects, and deep-rooted wisdom, upholding a reputation of high moral standards. His wisdom, however, becomes self-righteous, his arrogance becoming very clear on the eighth line of his opening monologue, “Here I am – myself – you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus. ” (159). The irony of this statement rests behind the notion that Oedipus’s fame will be known and surpass the ages, but it is

Oedipus is very full of himself, he is always trying to figure out what is best for him. At the end he was still trying to be pitied by the people. He stabbed his eyes out and asked to people to look upon him with envy and feel sorry for him. Also when he was talking to Teiresias he said I am the one who solved the sphinx’s riddle not u or u little gods. He thinks he is the center of almost every conversation he has.

Along with this pride, Oedipus is a seeker of truth. He shows himself to be a thinker, a man good at unraveling mysteries. This is the same characteristic that brought him to Thebes; he was the only man capable of solving the Sphinx's riddle. His intelligence is what makes him great, yet also contributes to making him tragic. His problem solver's mind leads him

I think that the elements of Oedipus’s greatness include his willingness to do what is right for his people no matter the cost, and his readiness to help his people live prosperous lives. In the prologue Oedipus tells his people to confide their problems to him and promises that he will help in every way he can, this I feel was the first sign of Oedipus’s greatness. The amount of which he cares for the people of Thebes was also an element of his greatness. The flaw that I feel hampered Oedipus the most is his rage. Oedipus’s rage is not only talked about in the second scene but is also the reason he kills King Latios. King Latios’s death is depicted as a memory of Oedipus’s in which he is driven off the road and retaliates by killing all of

In Oedipus the king, he was a very intelligent man, who choose his fate and that led him to a tragedy later on throughout his years a king. A few factors that find their way into the

     Oedipus demonstrates these four attributes of a tragic hero very clearly. He was a great person in that he was a prince in both Corinth and Thebes, as well as the king of Thebes. He demonstrated high moral standards through his selfless love of Thebes, and his relentless search for the truth, as well as his sense of responsibility for his actions. Oedipus’ character flaw was said to be his hubris or excessive pride, his not knowing when to quit and his thinking he could circumvent his fate. We also discussed in class, that perhaps he should have been more careful about who he murdered, having a fate as he did. His downfall was obviously having to live with the knowledge of what he did, being banished and blinded by his own hand. In his own words, “I am misery!” Oedipus realizes at the end that he is not as great as he once thought he was and that he cannot circumvent the will of the gods. The theme of darkness and light is used throughout the play as a symbol or knowledge or enlightenment. When Oedipus is blinded at the end he is then able to “see” the truth.