Character Traits of Oedipus in 'Oedipus the King'

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,

The theme of sight and blindness is undoubtedly important to notice while reading Oedipus the King. The number of times the words “see” or “blind” are in the play make it make it undeniably obvious that they are significant. The theme is developed throughout the dialogue, through characters such as Tiresias and Oedipus, and also directly in the irony of the play. It is important in a play about the truth because almost every character was “blind” to the truth. All of the characters, except one, can physically see, but mentally cannot see the truth.

Compassion and arrogance are timeless and universal characteristics that we see in everyday life. Compassion can be seen in caregivers such as doctors who know the harshness of some conditions that patients have, and yet they are kind and optimistic at all times for the sake of the patient. Arrogance can be seen in some people of high power, such as political leaders. These people can be blind to perspectives other than their own, act recklessly, and believe and tell others false information. These same characteristics are seen in Oedipus the King by Sophocles, which is a classic novel about one noble family’s descent into chaos and is the first play is Sophocle’s great Theban trilogy. The most apparent and major themes of the novel are about sight and blindness, about truth and falsehood, and about reason and lack of intellect. The main character Oedipus shows each of these characteristics. This story shows that compassion is equal to knowledge, and blindness is equal to arrogance. In Oedipus The King, compassion, not arrogance, leads to true nobility.

Also, when Creon asks Oedipus the possibility that he is wrong when accusing Tiresias and himself, Oedipus disregards the needs and rights of other people in order to avoid the truth of the suffering that Tiresias has bestowed upon him: “‘What if you’re wholly wrong?’ ‘No matter-I must rule’”. Oedipus became rash and selfish when faced with suffering when he threw away the rights of the citizens for his own self pleasure despite the lack of evidence and reason to do so. Therefore, when Oedipus is faced with suffering, he blames others for his own fate to avoid the truth until it is right in front of him. Therefore, unlike Tiresias and King Laius, Oedipus is more hasty and selfish when faced with suffering.

Oedipus is seen as a great ruler and listens to the needs of his people. Certain qualities make him stand aside from Achilles and Aeneas. He is seen to always be aware of situations and ready to provide a solution. An example of this would be when his people ask him to do something about the plague. Oedipus does not hesitate and sends for advice from the Oracle. Oedipus is determined and willing to do what it takes, but his flaw is having too much Hubris, or pride. “Wealth and a

In Sophocles play, Oedipus’ excessive pride and unwillingness to listen to the prophecy is his fatal flaw. When he had heard from a townsman that he was adopted he went to a prophet to confirm this news, the prophet instead told him that he would one day kill his father. Upon hearing that, he fled to Thebes, and on his journey there he killed a man at a crossroads who would come to be known as his father. All the while he had a chance to try and avoid the prophecy but he chose to ignore the knowledge that was given to him. For so long Oedipus believed he was this noble man, and in many cases he was, who never sinned and kept his word. In the end the excessive pride he had for himself about being a leader was a big part to his downfall. After finding out he had sinned by killing his father, marrying and having children with his mother, Oedipus was so ashamed of himself that he clawed his eyes out and demanded to be exiled from Thebes. In that way he seeked redemption, he had stayed true to his promise and that showed nobility.

Throughout the drama, Oedipus is blinded by his own pride, which then becomes the source of his crimes. His own pride is so giant that it brings him grief. Oedipus’s pride is the biggest flaw in his character and the reason why he sinks so low as the story goes

Oedipus did not see his own life for what it was or the mere mortal that he was. He was vain in that sense, having a lot of pride in who he was and what he had done for the city, after all he was the man who outsmarted the last plague on the city, and saved the city for the citizens. This unfortunately went to his head, and made him arrogant.

When many people think of a hero, they imagine a muscular, Superman-like figure, or a towering, courageous knight, but in our modern world, this is rarely the case. Whether it comes in the form of a powerful leader who inspires his followers, or a lone child fighting to make a difference, heroism shows special qualities in the people who exhibit it. Heroism can be recognized in others by their showing of sacrifice, mercy, and selflessness, even at great risk to themselves, and these traits can be seen in both the real world and fictional tales.

One of the first qualities that compose of Oedipus' tragic flaw within the play is his vanity. He presents this part of his personality to the audience on numerous different occasions throughout play. Due to Oedipus' fame and popularity as King it often leads to himself regarding everyone else as beneath him. As seen towards the beginning of the play when Oedipus addresses his own fellow citizens about the plague that has ravaged Thebes: "your news, poor children, is not new to me. I know it well. You all are sick––yet sick, not one so sick as I. Your pain is single, each to each–it does not breed" (Sophocles 25). It is relatively evident early on that the audience can identify Oedipus as being exceedingly, prideful. While being a king he

A king must possess select components of bravery, pride, and determination that coincide with one another in a manner to which others will perceive as commendable. However, the very qualities that make a king rise above his citizens may be the exact characteristics that lead to his downfall. This concept could be correlated to the acclaimed work of Sophocles, Oedipus Rex, whereby the epitome of a tragic hero is created in the main character, Oedipus. In essence, Sophocles has characterized Oedipus to be the embodiment of a respectable leader, possessing both extreme pride and relentless determination, which later proves to be the fatal flaw leading to his eventual, inescapable demise. This is due to how Sophocles codified this moral, or community standard, in his Theban Trilogy in order to lead the audience to understanding that the Greek Gods always punish arrogance or boastful actions.

Oedipus started off as king of Thebes after saving the city from the famine/plague by

In Act 1 King Lear decides to divide his throne amongst his three daughters; with the purpose of “conferring the kingdom onto younger strengths”. To determine whether they are worthy of the throne, he decides to ask them how much they loved him. After being, disappointed by his favorite daughter’s answer, conflict arises and results in betrayal by his confidants and his other two daughters. Regardless of the secondary character’s intentions and feelings towards the King, Lear’s impulsive behavior is comparable to that of Oedipus. Lear’s pride drives him to make an irrational decision, as he lets his feelings ruin the kingship his worked towards his entire life. It is, although, unclear whether this is typical of Lear’s behavior or a characteristic of a senile king, which foreshadows the king’s madness. Nonetheless, Oedipus’s fate is proven to be doomed since the beginning of the play, as he lives a tragedy that the reader can anticipate due to the foreshadowing of Oedipus’ name and upbringing. Pride is visible in both characters as they fail to listen to ones who care for them, and are blind in their life as rulers as well. Lear for instance, exiles his daughter Cordelia over not understanding her argument for loving him beyond words, in addition to exiling Kent, who is most loyal to him. Similarly, Oedipus is offered aid by Tiresias upon being advised he possessed the knowledge he needed; he refuses to acknowledge Tiresias’ predictions and defies him by calling him a liar,

The queen: hanging from a noose. The king: murdered. And the prince; banished and blind by his own hand. The ancient Greek playwright Sophocles ends his play, Oedipus Rex, this way, creating one of the most famous Greek tragedies. Since it is such a benchmark of theatre, this play has been analyzed over and over again. Starting in a plague, the future of the kingdom of Thebes looks bleak. However, Oedipus, the king, learns that the previous ruler, Laїos, was murdered and the only way to stop the plague is to find his killer. Knowing this Oedipus and his wife, Iocaste, then work to put the pieces of the puzzle together but they soon find out the horrible truth. Oedipus was the lost son of Iocaste and the killer of Laїos. The royal family spins out of control and ends with the king and queen dead, and Oedipus disgraced. Contrary to what one might think with this information at hand, Oedipus is not guilty of killing his father because his actions are just product of uncontrollable forces in his life battling for dominance.

In Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus Rex, Oedipus experiences his downfall from glory due to unfortunate fate and his tragic character flaw of arrogance. As Oedipus and Tiresias converse over the fate of Thebes, Oedipus begs for Tiresias to reveal who is the murderer of Laius. Instead, Tiresias asks to be sent home and suggests that they both bear their own burdens for it would be better that way. Doubtful, Oedipus replies with, “Strange response...unlawful, unfriendly too to the state that bred and reared you - you withhold the word of god” (Sophocles 367-368). In other words, Oedipus is implying that it is Tiresias’ duty to share his knowledge from the gods and by not doing so, he is breaking the law. Oedipus is exhibiting arrogance in this situation by deciding that it is unlawful for Tiresias to withhold information from him. It seems as if Oedipus views himself to be above the law and therefore holds more power than Tiresias, even though they are both looked up to by Thebes. Oedipus never considers as to why Tiresias will not share certain information with him. If Oedipus would humble himself enough to take Tiresias’ advice to heart, he might have been able prevent his downfall. Oedipus’ arrogance towards Tiresias leads to him being ignorant of other matters in his life. Oedipus should have showed more empathy towards Tiresias and been more understanding when he pleaded to keep his knowledge of Lauis’ murder to himself. As Oedipus and Tiresias continue to converse, Tiresias