Oedipus Rex Tragic Hero Essay

Robert Anthony once said, "The problem with worry is that we attract the very thing we are trying to avoid." This quote directly relates to the Greek tragedy Oedipus the King by Sophocles. In this play, Sophocles gives Oedipus the tragic flaw, hubris (excessive pride in oneself), which eventually causes him to run into his fate that he wanted to escape.

Oedipus’ inflated ego and blatant denial of the truth is apparent from the very beginning of the play, and proves dangerous to those around him. In his opening dialogue, Oedipus discusses the plague with his citizens. Moreover, Oedipus says, “I thought it wrong, my children, to hear the truth/from others, messengers” (Sophocles 6-7). Consequently, Oedipus ignored warnings from messengers telling him that his people were starving, they tried to open his eyes to what his people were going through but in his stubbornness, he refused to believe it. Furthermore, Oedipus could not believe that he was failing his people; his ego wouldn’t allow it. Unfortunately, Instead of thinking rationally and listening to the warnings, Oedipus puts himself before the starving people of Thebes and this is not even the only time that Oedipus is seen putting himself before others due to an inflated ego. Furthermore, when Tiresias revealed to Oedipus that Oedipus was the killer, Oedipus immediately denied the allegations and attacked Tiresias. Oedipus says, “That obscenity, twice--by god, you’ll pay”(Sophocles 414). Later in the conversation, Oedipus exclaims, “Creon! Is this conspiracy his or yours?” (431). Non surprisingly, Oedipus’ irrational and paranoid thoughts that Creon and Tiresias are teaming up and plotting his overthrow are supported by no evidence. Over and over during his conversation with Tiresias, Oedipus is selfish and in denial, acting out towards Tiresias just for trying to help him. Yet, the worst comes when Oedipus accuses Tiresias of attempting to overthrow him, not even on a gut feeling, but

It is a common human flaw to only see things that are pleasing and choose to ignore distasteful situations. Falling into this trap, Oedipus, the King of Thebes in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, finds his doom by choosing to turn a blind eye to reality. The king falls from his throne by choosing to live in an illusion and failing to recognize the power of fate.

Thesis Statement: Oedipus is the embodiment of Aristotle’s characterization of a tragic hero through his ability to preserve his virtue and wisdom, despite his flaws and predicament.

rule of thebes: "What is it that walks on 4 feet and 2 feet and 3 feet

During the Ancient Greek period, Aristotle, a great philosopher, wrote a book called the Poetics to describe what makes a great tragic play. Using the Oedipus Rex by Sophocles as the basis for his book, Aristotle goes into great detail about plot, character, and much more, breaking up the components of a tragedy. Since Oedipus Rex had a huge part in the creation of Aristotle’s book, it fulfills many of the Greek philosopher’s requirements for a tragic play.

Oedipus, from the play Oedipus the King, is a very unique character whose different aspects are revealed throughout the play. As he talks with characters such as Creon, Jocasta, and Tiresias, we get a well painted portrait of the aspects of Oedipus’ character.

The ancient Greeks were famous for their tragedies. These dramas functioned to “ask questions about the nature of man, his position in the universe, and the powers that govern his life” (“Greek” 1). Brereton (1968) stated that tragedies typically “involved a final and impressive disaster due to an unforeseen or unrealized failure involving people who command respect and sympathy. It often entails an ironical change of fortune and usually conveys a strong impression of waste. It is always accompanied by misery and emotional distress” (20). The play, Oedipus the King, by Sophocles definitely demonstrated the characteristics of an impressive disaster unforeseen by the protagonist that involved a character of

The Ancient Greeks had a precise definition of what they believe makes a perfect ruler. According to the Greeks, the ideal Athenian ruler has five main characteristics. The ruler should takes care of his/her people like a parent cares for a child. The ruler respects the elderly. The ruler suffers or fights along with his people in a time of crisis.

The definition of a tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, defeat, or suffering. Oedipus is a perfect example of this. He is a leader whose flaws led him and everyone around him to horrible suffering. Oedipus’ denial and pride are the flaws in him that would eventually cause his downfall.

Oedipus was a thoughtful king in the book Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles. Before Oedipus was born, Laius and Jocasta (Parents of Oedipus, King and Queen of Thebes) went to go see Apollo. Reason being, they wanted to talk to Apollo to see what future was ahead for their family. He told them that their baby (Oedipus) would end up killing his father Laius and marrying his mother Jocasta. Them hearing such awful news, they pierced his feet together and gave him to a servant/shepherd to leave him in the woods to die. Baby Oedipus was given to another shepherd, from corinth, out of pity and was then given to his adoptive parents, Polybus and Merope (King and Queen of Corinth).

Oedipus the king written by sophecles when read for the first time the reader will realize that the audience already knows what is going to happen its just the way that the characters deal will with it. There is an oracle that says that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his mother.

Hero, a word that everyone knows, but not everyone knows that heroes also face challenges, and sometimes even a downfall. This has happened to Oedipus. He is a hero, but what we call a tragic hero. A tragic hero can go from a hero to nothing and therefore going through a downfall. Oedipus is a major tragic hero who is often studied and known. In “Oedipus Rex” Sophocles shows the character of Oedipus in the beginning as a celebrity whom everyone loves and praises to the tragic hero where he struggles to get attention as that hero he was before.

Oedipus the King, by Sophocles is about Oedipus, a man doomed by his fate. Like most tragedies, Oedipus the King contains a tragic hero, a heroic figure unable to escape his own doom. This tragic hero usually has a hamartia, a tragic flaw, which causes his downfall. The tragic flaw that Sophocles gives Oedipus is hubris (exaggerated pride or self-confidence), which is what caused Oedipus to walk right into the fate he sought to escape. Oedipus' pride pushes him toward his tragic end in the initial journey, when he kills his father, in the episode of the sphinx, and in his adamant search for truth.

Oedipus Rex is a unique story that has all the qualities it take to be a tragedy written by Sophocles. He requires that the tragic hero must be born from noble birth, and Oedipus is exactly that as he was born from Queen Jocasta and King Laius of Thebes. “I know that you are deathly sick, and yet, as sick as you are, not on is as sick as I,” is Oedipus stating his opinion on how the city of Thebes was given a plague by Apollo. The flaw that keeps Oedipus from solving this problem is that he is the source of the problem. The prophecy that Oedipus has been cursed with since birth states, “Their son would one day kill his father and marry his mother” (Sophocles I.i 200). As Oedipus tries to solve this problem the truth slowly unravels, the prophecy comes true, and Oedipus suffers a horrible fate worse then death. The story ends