In Sophocles’ Oedipus, Oedipus’ arrogance pollutes his mind and does not allow him to think his decisions through. He is prideful and does not suspect that he could be the one in the wrong which sets him up like a straw man to burn paired with his impulsivity. Oedipus’ impulsivity renders him a typhlotic victim of himself which his arrogance and pride do not allow him to realize. His impulsivity combined with his arrogance and pride misguide him into his guilt. King Oedipus’ arrogance, pride and constant impulsivity blind him in his actions, fueling his excruciating guilt. Oedipus’ arrogance and pride taint his cognition and blinds him in his decisions causing his harrowing guilt. While Oedipus is aware of the prophecy and in spite of …show more content…
Oedipus’ pride is like a straw man built up higher and higher only to burn when he is not ready for Teiresias’ news. Oedipus is unable to control his impulsivity and does not think things through before he acts. Oedipus does not believe that blind Teiresias could possibly be able to predict the future with his prophetic abilities and states that he doesn't believe in the prophecy,”Wide open for profit, but blind in prophecy?” (l. 393) Oedipus uses a play on words to describe that Teiresias is greedy and is not telling the truth. In response to Oedipus’ doubt, Teiresias retorts,” You are pleased to mock my blindness. Oedipus does not recognize that Teiresias was trying to help him by hiding the truth from him until it is too late because he does not respect Teiresias. Teiresias is put into a situation where he has to either tell Oedipus of his fate or try to hide the truth stating,” To be wise is to suffer. And why did I forget this, Who knew it well? I never should have come” (l. 317). Oedipus stays ignorant and continues to insist that Teiresias tell him the truth even though that it is made clear to him that this will ruin his majesty. Oedipus impulsively asks Teiresias,” If you know, do not refuse to speak! We all beseech you; we are all your suppliants” (l. 326). Oedipus’ outright disrespect for Teiresias and his longevity through his words and actions depicts his impulsivity. King Oedipus’ arrogance,
The next stage on his of the journey to self-awareness is doubt. Oedipus demonstrates the puerile arrogance by refusing to accept the truth even as more and more proof of his inadvertent sins. He uses many common coping strategies to avoid the cruel truth of his fate. For instance, when he invites the distinguished prophet Teiresias to help him cure Thebes, he begins respectfully but quickly turns impatient and insolent when the prophet refuses to answer his questions, threatening to use his power as king to punish this disobedience, though by doing this Oedipus himself displays the same defiance toward the will of the gods being channeled through Teiresias. Eventually, Teiresias angrily reveals: “I say you are the murderer of the king/whose murderer you seek.” (Oed. 362-363) Oedipus, of course, orders him away and quickly returns to his state of denial, albeit somewhat disturbed. To dismiss the idea completely, he uses another coping strategy, blame, scapegoating
“Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” says the writer C.S lewis. Indeed this is evident in Sophocles’ Oedipus The King. The rather disturbing events that takes place during the play. The pride of Oedipus, the tragic hero of the play, sets off a chain reaction of events that could have been avoided if Oedipus kept his pride in check. However, he can not and his ego inflates to the point his persona can only be described as a mental disorder. Through analyzing Oedipus’ behaviour and his interactions with the other characters in the play, it can be concluded that he suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
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,
Hubris is Oedipus's tragic flaw. He is now overly full of himself because: he rescued the city of Thebes from the Sphinx, people admire him, the citizens worship him as if he were an idol, the citizens think of him as their hero, and the Thebans have such a high esteem for him, that they made him King. One instance that proves he is filled with overbearing pride is when he proclaims, "I, Oedipus, a name that all men know." (8) This statement also brings about irony. It is ironic because his name will be remembered and well-known everywhere--as a polluter, 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.
With his great knowledge and accomplishment establishing him as a man of insight and honor he is crowned King of Thebes. Oedipus, unwilling to hear or see truth, smites a blind man in the midst of his own ignorance and denial to reality. Teiresias, a blind prophet, is stood before Oedipus to reveal his visions about the identity of the murderer. “PAGE 11/40 TEIRESIAS thou hast not spared To twit me with my blindness--thou hast eyes, Yet see'st not in what misery thou art fallen, Nor where thou dwellest nor with whom for mate. Dost know thy lineage? Nay, thou know'st it not, And all unwitting art a double foe...” Teiresias reveals Oedipus' fate to him. He reveals that Oedipus doesn't know who his true parents are, and is living a doubly bad fate. Oedipus becomes engaged and accusatory of Teiresias at the thought of someone threatening his preconceived reality. “PAGE 10/40 OEDIPUS There is strength where there is truth, but not in you Oedipus. You don't possess this quality, for you are blind in your ears, mind, and eyes.” Oedipus even goes as far as to suggest that Teiresias murdered King Laius. “PAGE 10/40 OEDIPUS Thou methinks thou art he, I think that you are he who planned this crime, and he who even committed it too..” Oedipus, self righteous and pompous, believes that he can do no wrong. His ego is so big that he tears down and slanders
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 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
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.
Pride like that of Oedipus had been the downfall of many great leaders. Oedipus is blinded by his arrogance and won’t accept the fact that he can’t avoid his fate. His pride first affects him when he is told about what his fate has in-store for him. Oedipus
Part of Oedipus’s curse is that he has an unfailing pursuit for the truth. He has heard no good news in his questionings but he keeps pursuing answers. First, he chastises Teiresias, then probes his wife, and now interrogates this Sheperd. Knowledge is the opposite of power in Oedipus’s case. The more he learns, the worse his state becomes, and his hunger for more truth increases. His fate is to hear the prophecy’s and to hear the truth regardless of the dread they bring him. In a way, perhaps Oedipus is not choosing to hear, like his lack of ability to control the other aspects of his life, he must hear these words against him. He has no choice.
Although a great and admirable king, Oedipus is a character who embodies hubris as his fatal flaw, which eventually leads him to his downfall as he finds out that he killed his father and married his mother. At the beginning of the play, Oedipus is presented as a strong and noble leader as the priest says to him, “On first arriving here, you rescued Thebes/ from paying the cruel musician’s deadly tax./ You didn’t get advice from us. Untaught,/ but with a god’s assistance, so it’s said/ and widely credited, you saved our lives” (Sophocles 35-39). Oedipus is adored and admired by all of Thebes as he single-handedly saved them from the Sphinx, which illustrates him as an ideal hero. Unfortunately, when Oedipus begins to relive a prophecy he heard many years ago, his perverse pride becomes responsible for leading him to his terrible fate. According to scholar Marjorie Barstow, because of his arrogant demeanor, “he has no clear vision which enables him to examine every side of a matter with unclouded eyes, and to see all things in due perspective” (Barstow 3). Oedipus’s pride overwhelms him, and it became a major weakness in his life as it blinds him from seeing any truth beyond what he believes at the moment. For example, he says, “But I am Fortune’s child. When she is kind,/ her gentle parenting brings no disgrace”(Sophocles 1079-1080). The pride
Oedipus’ experiences are many instances of hubris starting from the beginning, Oedipus being blinded by his pride and arrogance did only affect him, but affects the other characters. On Page 253, Oedipus was talking to Shepherd and said “watch your words old man! It’s you who ought to be rebuked, not he.” This shows that Oedipus has excessive pride, because Shepherd
His pride and self confidence is so excessive that it blinds him to the truth, preventing him from making sound decisions. This factor is what leads him on a path to his own destruction. Oedipus’ hubris is first seen in his ordeal to discover the truth about his past, while enacting a blind view towards the reality of his situation. For example, Tiresias impulsively discloses that Oedipus is the murderer of the late King Laius and that he is: "'the unholy defilement of [the] land'''(Sophocles, 21). This statement enrages Oedipus and wounds his pride because Tiresias said something he didn’t like.
However, pride is not the only characteristic, which contributes to their tragic end. For Oedipus, there exists his temper, his unrelenting pursuit of the truth and his suspicion. His temper is exhibited in the argument between Teiresias and himself, where Teiresias states the truth and Oedipus replies, "Do you think you can say such things with impunity?"(p.36) and later calls Teiresias a, "Shameless and brainless, sightless, senseless sot!"(p.36). His suspicion was also shown in this exchange where he says, "Creon! Was this trick his, then, if not yours?"(p.36). Lastly his unrelenting pursuit of the truth is demonstrated when he believes he is the murderer and that Polybus was not his