Examples Of Arrogance In Oedipus The King

Due to his arrogance and narcissism, Oedipus fails to take heed of Tiresias warning of whom Creon sent him and decided that the accusations that were being made against him are attempts to steal his throne. Likewise, Oedipus tells Tiresias when he was reluctant to tell Oedipus is Laius’ killer, “What then, thou knowest, and yet willst not speak!/Wouldst thou betray us and destroy the

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,

Through the character of Oedipus, Sophocles shows the consequences of defying the divine order. Oedipus served Thebes as a great ruler, loved by his subjects; but, like most in the human race, he slipped through the cracks of perfection. Oedipus had many faults, but it was primarily the tragic flaw of hubris, arrogance from excessive pride, which doomed his existence, regardless of the character attributes that made him such a beloved king. He was doomed for downfall since his very beginning, because "to flee your fate is to rush to find it" (Oedipus Rex).

After killing a couple people, Oedipus carries on into town. If Oedipus had not had an inflated ego and just moved off the road, he would not have killed his father. Oedipus is just as arrogant as he is insecure and

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).

Oedipus also displays this uncompromising attitude in his devotion to Thebes. Oedipus' loyalty to Thebes is another factor that led to the tragic figure's ruin. Aristotle explains that a tragic character is just and good, but fatal error, pride(possibly hubris), or frailty brings about his misfortune. Oedipus fits this description perfectly. Oedipus could easily have left the city of Thebes and let the plague take its course he “would be blind to misery/ not to pity [his] people kneeling at his feet”. When Apollo's word comes back in the hand of Creon, Oedipus could leave the murder of Laius uninvestigated as it had been for so long, but “rising in his pride, he protests: he pits himself in some way against whatever…seems to him to be wrong…”(Levin 178). Oedipus can not let this investigation be overlooked; he must solve the riddle of who killed King Laius because his pride overpowers him. Oedipus' pride also reveals itself again in his loyalty to the truth.

     Oedipus is a very honest and persistent man. From the instant in which he questions Teiresias about the murder, we see that he is very persistent in trying to find the answer. Even when Teiresias begs Oedipus to stop questioning him, Oedipus forces the truth-teller to speak the truth. He goes as far as to threaten to kill Teiresias to give him the news which would accuse Oedipus as the murderer that he seeks.

Proud people breed sad sorrows for themselves. This is exemplified by Oedipus in the novel Oedipus the King by Sophocles in that it is Oedipus’s pride in his knowledge that makes his downfall at the end of the story when he realizes that he knows so little remarkably worse as he is so unable to bear the thought of being blind to the truth for so long that he literally makes himself blind out of rage and agony. Oedipus begins the story as the king of Thebes and is the pinnacle of success and nobility at the beginning. He is the one who the people come to in their time of need with the priest in the beginning of the story saying, “Oedipus, king, we bend to you, your power---we implore you, all of us on our knees: find us strength, rescue!” It

It is quite clear Oedipus has this character flaw of hubris, excessive pride in one’s self. One must have a bit of self-confidence to achieve anything in life; however, Oedipus was so blinded by his pride and self-confidence that he could not see the truth which leads him to make bad decisions. That being said, there is a recurring theme in Greek stories and that is the idea that mortal men are ruled by fate. Oedipus’s fate, that he would kill his father and marry his mother, was sealed; furthermore, the more he tried to stop his fate the more it seemed to come true. It was his fate to solve the riddle of the Sphinx and to rid the city of the Sphinx.

Oedipus’ extreme pride and arrogance created an illusion for himself in which he lived blind to the

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.

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

In the opening scene of Oedipus the King, Sophocles displays Oedipus as a man of excessive power and knowledge. However, Sophocles also hints to his catastrophic fate with his overpowering arrogance “Well, if the killer has any fears, once he hears your curses on him, he will not hold back, for they are serious” (Sophocles ###) Initially, Oedipus shows great concern for his kingdom and the people that worship him. Even though he displays love towards his kingdom, his arrogance is shown clearly early in the play. “Here I am – myself – you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus” (Sophocles, 708). This statement is full of hubris because although the people of his kingdom know his power now, the gods already have decided his fate, no matter if his people worship him or if the world knows his supposed fame.

This statement brings grief to the elders because they support and believe Oedipus. Creon defends himself against Oedipus’s accusation by Creon points out that he has an equal third (the other two thirds belonging to Oedipus and Oedipus' wife) in governing Thebes, and yet he lets Oedipus rule entirely while he enjoys his life and all the pleasures of royalty. Therefore, he says, there is no reason for him to kill Oedipus to take the throne and he does not want to rule. Oedipus is free to judge him, Creon says, but not without some proof, as it is "not right to think good men, without a reason, bad or bad men good."(Line 609) Creon believes that it takes time to judge for: "time alone can make it clear a man is just while you can know a traitor in a day."(Line 613) Oedipus threaten to do is Oedipus says that if someone plots quickly, he must respond quickly or he will have missed his chance and the other person will have gotten what they wanted. Furthermore, he calls Creon a traitor and says he wants him dead. Oedipus promises not to harm the man that comes forward, or is known to have killed Laios. He is not interested in taking this man's life, only that he no longer lives in Thebes, so that the city can get better. He therefore promises only to exile Laios' killer.

The first incidents of Oedipus’ arrogance and pride were when he went to the Oracle of Delphi about his lineage. Even though the Oracle did not answer the question about his lineage, the Oracle did give him a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Thinking that he was doing the right thing by putting as much distance between his parents and himself, it was arrogance and pride that ruled him. He believed that he could out run the gods and defy prophecy. Another example of Oedipus’ arrogance was when he was forced off the road by another chariot; he lost his temper when the old man angered him causing the death of the old man and his aides. Because of his intelligence and his keen sense being able to solve riddles; again, his arrogance was when he solved the riddle of the Sphinx. The Sphinx was so distraught that