Oedipus the King: A Hero Essay

First, Oedipus understands that injustice is put on his kingdom. innocent people who did not harm or have any part in the murder of the King are being punished. “For you, for loyal Thebans, and for all who find my actions right, I pray the favor of justice, and of all the immortal gods"(Sophocles 15). Oedipus knows that this curse is not fair and he is determined to find the murderer. “Apollo, when we sent to him, sent us back word

Oedipus is so engrossed in his own actions and assumes he is better than Teiresias that he disregards Teiresias and considers him a charlatan. If Oedipus would have reflected upon what Teiresias said, then he might have been able to exonerate himself from his own maledictions, but his pride and arrogance governed his actions. By assuming himself as greater than others, Oedipus fails to even accept what Teiresias says and thus continuing on his blinded quest to discover the murderer of King

But, now that he can no longer literally see Oedipus can understand everything. In the first half of the story, Teiresias straight up tells Oedipus “you are the murderer of the king whose murder you seek” (26). Here, Teiresias is clearly telling Oedipus that he is the murderer. However, even with his two working eyes, Oedipus cannot seem to see the truth that he is the murderer. While having his eyes, Oedipus fails to see the truth and the flaws in his character.

Being unaware that this murderer is him. Oedipus’s fatal trait of ignorance kept him shaking his head that he was the one to do the dreadful deed, and allowing the destiny to come true. He speaks to many people about this, such as Tiresias, Creon, and the men who knew him as a baby. All of these people give him sufficient information for him to recognize that he was in fact the killer. But in his state of ignorance and denial he could not accept this fact.

In Oedipus the King, Oedipus pursues the truth about his destiny. Throughout the play, readers either believe Oedipus is being brave for finding out the truth while others could think he is being foolish. Although in some passages, Oedipus seems to be going about his expedition all wrong, he is self-aware of how his life has played out. Oedipus may not be the poster-boy for heroism, but in a way he does show characteristics of being a hero.

A possible reason for his ignorance, and a fascinating twist, could be that Oedipus had originally believed that he was the murderer of Laius, and knew at the time of the story, that he had married his own mother (Daniels and Scully, 26). All the public cursing, the whole "Now my curse on the murderer" (Sophocles, 172) was really a spectacle to throw the suspicion off himself (Daniels and Scully, 26). However, most literary scholars don't believe this, as Oedipus does seem to display a great deal of remorse when he realizes that the prophecies about him are true. If it is all a setup by Oedipus, then he is both extraordinarily intelligent and stupid, by hiding the truth for so long and being self destructive at the same time (Daniels and Scully, 26). Most believe that "Oedipus has simply chosen to ignore a real possibility" (Daniels and Scully, 21). Howard Clarke said that "[Oedipus] reaches a point where he is, literally, the captive of what he is searching for." (Clarke, 593). He reached a "point in his search where he is carried along on the tide of his of his own discoveries" (Clarke, 593). A part from these interesting interpretations, Oedipus Rex can be read from cover to cover as a normal detective story with all the basic elements; suspects, crime, clues and an investigator. The whole plot rotates around one significant event, which was the killing of Laius. So now we have the crime stated, we

(great Oedipus) to help them in every way that he can to find them safety. Oedipus knows about their pain and sorrow and he came up with a cure to help the people so he sent his brother-in-law to find out what needs to be done. When his brother-in-law returns Oedipus asks what he found out but he did not want to speak and tell them what he had found out. In line 153 Teiresias says that, “I say you are the murderer whom you seek” (Hall 764) but Oedipus says he is spatting out infamy.

The play Oedipus Rex follows the story of a man of the same name who tries to seek out the truth behind the murder of the former king to ridden of a cursed plague in their city. As things progress, he is very determined to find the killer for the very sake of justice, but of course, this being an old play of the past, there is always some drama that screws over the main character into darkness. When he tries to consult an oracle to see where the killer laid hidden, they have a heated discussion that leads to the oracle to promptly say that Oedipus himself was the killer. That

However, the driving force of Oedipus' fact-finding mission is an attempt to end the plague which racks his city. He does not realize the personal consequences his hunt will have for him, and his "loyalty to the truth" (23) is based on his ignorance of it. In fact, if we examine the events leading up to Oedipus' revelation, the incidental nature of his "quest for identity" becomes apparent. First, he summons Tiresias to name the killer, whom Oedipus does not at the time believe to be himself. Then a messenger arrives from Corinth, unbidden by the king, revealing that Oedipus is not truly Polybus' son. Finally, the shepherd reveals all of Oedipus' past, after having been called for the purpose of providing more information about Laius' death. The coincidental nature of these events is somewhat at odds with Dodds' vision of Oedipus as a sort of Greek private detective who relentlessly ferrets out clues in a self-destructive search for his parents. Oedipus is eager to find the truth, but the most pivotal witnesses for the true story of his birth either come to him of their own volition, or are convened by Oedipus in the hopes that they will tell him something entirely different. In the end, he resigns himself to the truth which would have been clear much earlier (as it was to Jocasta), had he

As things progress, he is very determined to find the killer for the very sake of justice, but of course, this being an old play of the past, there is always some drama that screws over the main character into darkness. When he tries to consult an oracle to see where the killer laid hidden, they have a heated discussion that leads to the oracle to promptly say that Oedipus himself was the killer. That wasn’t all. The oracle said that Oedipus was the killer of the king and that he would fornicate his own mother and commit the act of incest. Oedipus, now with this in mind, was more determined to seek to have justice dealt to the “true murderer” and clear his name. Keep in mind, his “justice”, personally, for him means clearing his name to keep his image as a being that is close or similar to a god. He was the one who solved the riddle of sphinx and saved the city from its terrorizing ways. He wants to appear pure in front of his people and not seem like a false figure. His understanding of justice came from his power, making his actions just in the eyes of all. His murder of his true father was not labelled a crime back then due to no knowledge of the man on the road with Oedipus being his father. By ancient Greek law, Oedipus was the stronger one of the two, so he had every right to use the road over the other, thus no need for criminal justice. It was until Oedipus heard his prophecy that justice was truly needed to assure him he wasn’t the murderer and deliver punishment to the “true” killer. Thus, his search for justice truly began at that point where he scattered all over the city to find clues concerning the former king’s

He is too proud to consider the words of the prophet Tiresias, choosing instead to rely on his own sleuthing powers. Tiresias warns him not to pry into these matters; "Just send me home. You bear your burdens, I'll bear mine. It's better that way, please believe me" (364-366). However, pride in his own intelligence leads Oedipus to continue his search. "For the love of god, don't turn away, not if you know something" (371-372). Oedipus values truth attained through scientific inquiry over words and warnings from the gods, as this is a result of his pompous pride.

Oedipus is a tragic hero because he started with noble statute. When queen Jocasta and King Lais heard about the prophecy they got rid of oedipus and he

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

Oedipus believed Teiresias was making the accusation because he was bribed by Creon. Jocasta attempts to calm Oedipus as well, citing that oracles are nonsense. She tells of an example where an oracle prophesied to her that her first born son would one day murder his father and sleep with her, Jocasta. Believing that prophecy ridiculous, Oedipus decides not to heed

In the play, we learnt that King Oedipus could not escape his destiny, no matter how much effort the other parties tried to prevent the tragedy from happening. King Oedipus tried to uncover the truth regardless of the consequences that he might be facing. During the process of investigation, Oedipus believed that he was innocent. Teiresias was trying frame him because Creon’s instigation. However, the truth was exposed when Oedipus came into contact with more information and secrets. In the end, Oedipus cast judgment upon himself.