Character Analysis: The Personality of Oedipus Essay

Oedipus Rex, an ancient Greek tragedy authored by the playwright Sophocles, includes many types of psychological phenomena. Most prominently, the myth is the source of the well-known term Oedipal complex, coined by psychologist Sigmund Freud in the late 1800s. In psychology, “complex” refers to a developmental stage. In this case the stage involves the desire of males, usually ages three to five, to sexually or romantically posses their mother, and the consequential resentment of their fathers. In the play, a prince named Oedipus tries to escape a prophecy that says he will kill his father and marry his mother, and coincidentally saves the Thebes from a monster known as the Sphinx. Having unknowingly killed his true father Laius during his

Leaders have unique character traits that ultimately determine how he or she act when faced with a difficult situation. Oedipus and Creon are noble leaders in the city of Thebes. Oedipus is the king, and Creon is the queen’s brother. Both of these men care dearly about the city of Thebes. Despite the similarities between Oedipus and Creon, they differ greatly in a number of important ways.

     At first glance, Oedipus and Creon are two very different people. But as time progresses their personalities and even their fates grow more and more similar. In Sophocles’s play “Oedipus the King”, Oedipus and Creon are two completely opposite people. Oedipus is brash and thoughtless, whilst Creon is wise and prudent. In “Oedipus the King”, Oedipus effectively portrays the idea of the classic “flawed hero”. He becomes arrogant and brash. He accuses Creon and Tiresias of treachery. Even worse however, Oedipus goes against the gods. This causes them to punish him severely. Creon is the exact antithesis of Oedipus. He thinks before he acts. Creon is wise and loyal. In Sophocles’ other

Creon’s was used to being the hero of Thebes after repairing the damage Oedipus’ horrifying end had caused, now he was faced with an uncomfortable choice. Being the new reigning monarch of Thebes, his morals were centered around keeping himself monarch. As a result, Creon’s selfishness tipped his internal scales3 of what was just and what was not. His pride was so great that he not only refused to bury the revolutionary, Polyneices, but declared, “he’ll have no burial mound, no

Creon, who is Iocasta’s brother, claims in Oedipus the King that he does not wish to have the power and responsibility of being king. Towards the beginning of Oedipus the King, Oedipus has announced that Creon is to be banished from Thebes. Oedipus was exiling Creon because he said that Creon and Tiresias were trying

Creon’s ego overpowers his sensibility and causes him to become self-absorbed. He believes his rule and his ideas should not be a guideline for his kingdom, but instead be “obeyed” by all Theban citizens. He concludes he is the “wisest king”; therefore, he is too

Life is unpredictable, and sometimes unexpected situations happen that completely change the environment in which we live. No one can think of a king or queen without considering wealth, but nobody imagines the responsibilities those kings and queens have to assume daily. Relatives are the ones who really enjoy being part of the royal family. They are the people who are not responsible for the decision making, but who have the privilege of enjoying the benefits of the kingdom. The brother of the queen, for example, does not have the big responsibilities that the king has, but he has access to all the comforts. All this can be evidenced at the beginning of the scene II in the play Oedipus the

As an advisor, Creon remained calm even in times of tension. When Oedipus accuses Creon of treason and attempting to usurp the throne, Creon remains surprisingly unflustered. When Oedipus states, “I have found you contrary / And dangerous to me,” Creon remains composed and offers the simple question “How is it that you say I injured you?” (Sophocles 20). The quarrel continues and the entire time Oedipus insults and accuses Creon while Creon just absorbs the dialogue and remains collected. Also, at the end of the play, after Oedipus realizes the truth, Creon arrives to comfort Oedipus. Creon reminds Oedipus to have faith and “trust what the God answers” (51).

As the foil to Oedipus, Creon values privacy. Further on in the story, Creon appreciated privacy. For example, Creon said “ No, Take him into the house as quickly as you can. For it is proper.” (lines 197-200, Exodus). This value of privacy acts a focal point in Oedipus publicizing private matters. Creon’s rationality is key in exploiting Oedipus’ hasty decision making. After Teiresias informed Oedipus that he is the murder, he thought it wasn’t truthful and his hasty decision making led to him to believing Creon is questing his power. However, when Creon was faced by Oedipus accusing him for chasing his power, Creon’s rationality proved otherwise. Creon replying to Oedipus saying “I have never longed for the kings power---only his rights...If i were king, I should be slave to policy”(lines 71-75, Scene II). Meaning, If Creon were to be king it would be pointless. He already

Aristotle’s pieces are either comedies or tragedies. The majority of tragedies have the main role of a tragic hero. Tragic heroes rise to power, experiences a major catastrophe, doom themselves with hamartia, have the occurrence of peripeteia, builds up events leading to their downfall, must be enlightened, and the audience needs catharsis . In Antigone, Creon fits the tragic hero mold the best.

In the story we could tell that Creon has "... You plotting to murder me, slaughter the lord – I see it all, the ravaging criminal himself conspiring to take my crown and power!" (595) The quote above, expressed by Oedipus, delineates the scene where he and Creon have a contention with one another, Oedipus making rash expectation that Creon is wanting to execute the ruler - himself, in light of the fact that it was him who brought Tiresias.

Creon does everything in his power to be a good king for the people of Thebes. He prioritizes the city over all else. He sets himself up to the chorus to be an awe-inspiring leader, one who doesn’t have anything but a vast amount of respect for his city, and he fulfills this mantle completely. Creon knows not to “expect complete loyalty from his subjects until he has been tested in office”

Oedipus is a man of nimble response and great intuition. The opening of Oedipus the King, shows the qualities make him a distinguished ruler who prepares for his subjects’ needs. During the being of Oedipus the King, a plague disrupts the piece of Thebes, leaving the people to beg their king to act quickly to end the plague. Oedipus is naturally a step ahead of his people as he had sent his brother-in-law, Creon to the oracle located at Delphi for guidance on how to end said plague. It is seen continuously that Oedipus’s quirk of acting swiftly, also noting that this swift action has a dangerous side.

The characters in a novel or play are attributed certain characteristics by the author. The opinions one might form of a character are based on these; therefore, the characteristics suggested by an author are intrinsic to the reader having a complete and subjective understanding of a work.  Characteristics are often displayed through a character s actions, in what is said about them, and what they themselves say, which shall be the focus of this essay.  Both Oedipus, in Sophocles'  King Oedipus  and Odysseus, in The Odyssey of Homer, oftenare spoken of by others, but their own words are telling, as certain emotions and traits can be seen.  Traits of a character can often be

In the story of Oedipus the King, the tragic hero, Oedipus, is masked in ignorance from the reality of his ruling of Thebes. Because of his ignorance, he is fast to make assumptions and tends to stick with them. He makes the speculation that Creon is manipulatively trying to kick Oedipus out of his position as king.