Oedipus The King Research Paper

Oedipus’ pride and a heightened sense of confidence is very conspicuous throughout the play Oedipus Rex. From the beginning of the play, Oedipus accepts the idea that he can avoid the prophecy given to him by the gods. Oedipus is also seen interrogating Creon and attempting to banish him with Tiresias towards the end of the play because they are saying facts corresponding to the prophecy. He tries to become like a god himself by thinking he could control his own fate. Although Oedipus’ pride can be justified by his accomplishments of being king; the tragedy of Oedipus is the pure result of his overwhelming pride because he killed his father, mocked Tiresias, and blinded himself.

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.

Oedipus seems to believe that he is some sort of god, and that he is omnipotent. He tells the priest, “I see – how could I fail to see what longings bring you here?” (575, 70-71). Towards the beginning of the play, Oedipus is accusing a man, Tiresias, of trying to overthrow him and of killing the old King Laius. Keep in mind – Tiresias is blind himself. Oedipus condemns, “…short of killing him with your own hands – and given eyes I’d say you did the killing single-handed” (583, 396-397). This is just one of the first instances where loss of vision is mentioned. Oedipus is blindly calling him a liar, while he does not even know the truth himself. Oedipus many times claims that Tiresias cannot see something; however, the “things” he cannot see are almost always moral, not physical. It seems as though Oedipus blames Tiresias’ blindness for not being able to understand ethical situations. For example, “…you cannot see how far

           He becomes convinced that Tiresias and Creon are plotting to overthrow him, though he has no evidence to prove it and thus insults the seer which was a great crime at that time because he let himself be ruled by his anger. When Teiresias announces to Oedipus that

“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” Saint Augustine of Hippo states that pride can corrupt even the most pure of things, and that humility can make people pure themselves. Although Odysseus may not be a pure and all-good character, he experiences both the corruption of pride and the redemption of humility. Over the course of The Odyssey, Odysseus experiences unnecessary excessive pride and faces the consequences of it, but then begins to control and suppress his emotions.

When the events of Oedipus begin to unfold, and when Oedipus is slowly realizing that he has fulfilled the prophecy, he still maintains his pride. When Tiresias is trying to explain to Oedipus that he was, in fact, the killer of Laius, Oedipus disregards him, stating that he is merely "spouting riddles"(25). Tiresias rebuts, stating that Oedipus of all people, the one who bested the sphinx, would have no problem solving riddles. Oedipus cannot ignore this taunt, and allows Tiresias to continue, since he "challenge[d] there [his] strongest point"(25). Oedipus' pride prevented him from listening to Tiresias, but it allowed him to continue listening to him at the same time. By acknowledging Oedipus' feat of besting the sphinx, Tiresias was allowed to continue talking to Oedipus, which begs the question of whether or not Oedipus truly desired to hear the rest of Tiresias' words. One thing is for certain, yet again. Oedipus; pride is preventing him from solving his problems. Closer to the end of the story, when Oedipus finds out that he was abandoned by his true mother and father and left in the wilderness to die as an infant, his pride seemingly increases. His

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

In the beginning, Oedipus is told by Teiresias that he lives in shame. Of course, Oedipus feels that Teiresias is blind of not only sight, but knowledge:

One common characteristic of humans throughout history is to fear the truth as most people would rather support a lie even when the truth is right in front of them. While most people believe that the truth will set one free, it can simultaneously destroy one’s life and act as a weapon of destruction. Oedipus Rex, a greek tragedy written by the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, follows the story of Oedipus, King of Thebes, who upon hearing about the death of his predecessor, Laios, begins a search to discover the murderer, which ultimately leads to his downfall. In the play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles uses a justice motif to prove that some truths are better left unknown as it do not always lead to happiness.

Oedipus greatly proved his confidence produced by pride as shown in the quote, “’Here I am myself- you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus.’”(264)The quote show his obvious confidence in himself, as not many people refer to themselves as world famous. He is not joking when he refers to himself and all his greatness. Okonkwo

“...You can pretend that bad things will never happen. But life's a lot easier if you realize and admit that sometimes they do” (Lois Lowry). Oedipus, the main character in the play Oedipus Rex, written by Sophacles, represents a great example of what happens if you don’t realize and accept the lousy situations in your life. There are certain aspects of Oedipus’s life that lead to his great downfall, including the fact that he refused any idea of his true fate. Oedipus’s downfall was caused because of his parent’s decision to leave him, which led to his pride and curiosity.

The ancient adage “Pride goeth before a fall” symbolizes a common trait seen in tragic heroes meaning that their pride and arrogance are a significant factors in their downfall. This is mainly because their pride in themselves makes them feel like they are untouchable and everything they do is right. But what they don’t realize is that these traits make them ignorant to what others tell them or anything they hear that makes them look bad. In the play Oedipus Rex , The main character Oedipus is clearly the character that best fits this idea. His pride in himself is what makes him ignorant to the truth and what other characters in the play tell him. Also, it prevents him from accepting his true fate which he cannot avoid. But it is also his pride

not exempt from his own flaws. Oedipus’s traits of excessive pride and desire for knowing the