Arrogance In Oedipus The King

Oedipus assumes that Creon desires to have him killed so that he could be King of Thebes. Oedipus also does not want to believe what Teiresias said because that would indicate that the prophecy has came true; he will be the one killed or thrown into exile. He does not believe the truth until he hears from a messenger and a herdsman. When Oedipus asks where the child came from the herdsman replies, "It was a child, them, of the house of Laius" (Sophocles 141). He is finally no longer suspicious of Creon. Without suspicion these characters would have failed terrible in their pursuit to live.

Throughout the tragedy by Sophocles, the king Oedipus relies on his personal glory to attain long lasting fame and balks when confronted with anything that might shatter this perception that he is the best. While both characters have done marvelous deeds in the past, their inherent arrogance, which is part of the tragic flaw of each of the characters,

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.

Oedipus’ foolish decisions ultimately lead to his downfall in the play. Oedipus chooses to kill Laios. He chooses to marry Iocaste. He chooses to forcefully, and publicly, assume the mission of discovering the identity of Laios’ murderer saying ironically, “I say I take the son’s part, just as though I were his son, to press the fight for him and see it won,” (633). He proceeds on this mission and chooses to ignore the warnings of Creon, Iocaste, Teiresias, the messenger, the shepherd, and anyone who attempts to stand between him and the truth; and, he chooses to blind himself. In the end, Oedipus’ most foolish choice prevails throughout the play; the choice of illusion over reality ultimately costs him his life.

Because of his commitment to his people and their suffering, he sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to Delphi to see the gods to find out why his city is under such a great plague and what he can do to stop it. Creon returns and says, “… It was murder that brought the plague-wind on the city” and that it was King Laios that was murdered years ago (Prologue, 104-105). Vowing to bring the murderer to justice and being a just King, Oedipus decrees that if the murderer reveals himself he will not be killed, he will be exiled. This determination and tenaciousness was the beginning of the end of King Oedipus.

Pride and arrogant dispositions appear in Oedipus the King from the main character because he believes he is the best. Oedipus’ prideful attitude causes his own fate, which is not what he expected. On the other hand, Oedipus’ pride is the result of his power he possesses. Subsequently, his arrogance causes him to become paranoid because he is scared of losing his hierarchical position. Hence, in Oedipus the King, the main character shows arrogance in the event of how he achieved the title that he holds.

Throughout the story of “Oedipus The King” the main character, Oedipus, proves to be the tragic hero. He makes constant judgement errors that lead to his inevitable demise. Oedipus’ fatal flaw is his arrogance. This trait first becomes evident when Oedipus tells the chorus “You pray to the gods? Let me grant your prayers.”

Sophocles used Oedipus’ pride to characterize Oedipus as a tragic man. It showed that he was destined to make himself miserable because of the hubris he was born with. He also uses it to show that there is fate, but we are a part of it and it is only what might happen based on the person we are. Oedipus came about his tragic discovery not because of an evil act or an evil trait but because of the person he was. When the oracles stated that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother, he stated what could happen. Oedipus’ fate might have been avoided if Oedipus was not the type of person he was.

Although he appears to be concerned for his subjects, Oedipus is just an egotistical man who pursues the truth in order to preserve his own dignity. Throughout the play, Oedipus is on a journey to uncover the truth about the previous king, Laios’, death. He asks a prophet, Teiresias, to tell him what he knows about the murderer. When Teiresias reveals that Oedipus himself is the murderer he was looking for, he immediately and impulsively denies the accusation and claims the prophet was lyingspewing out lies in order to dethrone him. Because a prophet accuses Oedipus of being the murderer, citizens of Thebes start to doubt his rule as a king, but Oedipus’ ego could not allow that to happen. He learns about the prophecies and in order to ease the unsettling feelings of worry and doubt over(of his nobility and worthiness of being king) from the Thebans in the minds of the Thebeans, he continues his search for the truth and does everything in his power to prove his innocence.

Additional evidence of Oedipus’ tragic flaw of arrogance can be found later during Oedipus’ conversation with Tiresias. The two start out talking in a civil manner but things start to heat up when Tiresias refuses to tell Oedipus what he knows. With all the anger and frustration Oedipus has for Tiresias he blows up and says “You helped hatch the plot, you did the work, yes, short of killing him with your own hands -and given eyes I’d say you did the killing with your own hands” (Sophocles 394-397).

The famed tragedian Sophocles is known for his unique ideas and intellect. Sophocles carefully utilizes of all of his intelligence and creative ability in order to make use of illuminating moments throughout the play which allow his audience to draw conclusions about free will, fate, knowledge, and power throughout perhaps his most iconic play, Oedipus Rex. the main character Oedipus experiences an illuminating moment when he gouges his eyes out at the discovery of the truth about his actions. This illumination is expressed in order to express Sophocles’ idea that fate overpowers free will.

Throughout the play Oedipus is driven by many factors to find the killer of King Laius, and while on that mission, he inquires much about his past and himself. One of his main strives is to find out his true identity. The city of Thebes is struck by a plague due to the death of King Laius. The Oracle of Delphi states that in order to rid of the plague, Oedipus has to commit himself to finding the murderer of the dead King Laius. Oedipus shows allegiance by going on a

In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, the character of Oedipus displays so much hubris, and arguably is easily angered, and jumps to conclusions causing the reader to conclude that he is a bad leader.

Creon returns and says that Thebes must find the murderer of the former king. Oedipus seeks for information, regarding the murder of Laius. Oedipus welcomes Teresius, the oracle, to come to his palace, but Teresius regrets it immediately. He says that Oedipus is the cause of the Black Plague, and Oedipus says that Teresius is committing treason with Creon. Then, Oedipus accuses Creon of treason, but Creon defends himself. Jocasta,

    From the beginning of this play, Oedipus made many risky actions that will take him to his downfall. Out of empathy for his suffering people, he had Creon go to Delph as he could have waited for the plague to end instead. "Upon the murderer I invoke this curse- whether he is one man and all unknown, or one of many- may he wear out his life in misery or doom! If with my knowledge he lives at my hearth, I pray that I myself may feel my curse.” (Sophocles, 477; lines 266-271) Other than just finding clues to the murderer of King Laius, Oedipus summons a terrible curse on them. Without knowledge of who it could be yet, he is actually putting the curse on himself. When Oedipus was told that he was responsible for the murder of Laius, he threatens Teiresias, becomes enraged, calls the old oracle a liar, and ignores everything the oracle says. “If a man walks with