Pride And Determination In Oedipus Rex By Sophocles

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.

Sophocles said that a man should never consider himself fortunate unless he can look back on his life and remember that life without pain. For Oedipus Rex, looking back is impossible to do without pain, a pain that stems from his prideful life. Oedipus is aware that he alone is responsible for his actions. He freely chooses to pursue and eventually accept his own life's destruction. Although fate victimizes Oedipus, he is a tragic figure since his own heroic qualities, his loyalty to Thebes, and his undying quest for the truth ruin him.

Throughout the play Oedipus the King written by Sophocles, there are many themes portrayed, however hubris appears to be a prominent trait. Oedipus, the main character displays such pride that impacts his ability to perceive and understand the past as well as interact with others. When pronounced King of Thebes, he is filled with pride from such honor. The citizens of Thebes glorify him and come to him for help and comfort in their time of need. However, Oedipus doesn't treat them with the same respect, referring to the townspeople as his "poor children" (Sophocles 65) even though they are all adults. Oedipus also believes he is more valuable than everyone else for "his suffering is greater" (Sophocles 67) and he "suffers the most" (Sophocles

Oedipus coming into Thebes defeated the Sphinx and saved the city. The people of Thebes praised him for this feat and made him their king. They viewed him as their great savior who could was so magnificent he could do anything. Obviously, this could boost a person’s ego and make them very proud. Oedipus is very aware of how important he is by announcing “Here I am myself- you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus.” This is ironic because everyone will know his name for different reasons at the end of the play. In addition to this, Oedipus put himself above his people by stating “…you are sick to death, all of you, but sick as you are, not one is sick as I.” Which is also ironic because he is the reason for his people’s sickness.

Oedipus was a powerful man that had his life ruined by his excessive pride and selfishness. The same qualities that helped him to rise and become the king of Thebes also caused him to feel a lot of pain. He lost everything that he had gained in a short period of time. Oedipus learned that having power was not all that he thought it was. His life had been a lie and he actually didn’t know anything about the place he was born until he was instructed to save it. Oedipus himself caused his downfall with his selfishness and pride.

In Sophocles’, “Oedipus Rex,” Oedipus shows his true colors by exuding hubris a number of times. Hubris means “excessive pride” and is most often used in the history of mythology. Oedipus manages to make the gods angry many times with his expression of hubris. Oedipus believes that he is able to change his fate by running from Corinth. He is basically telling the gods that the life they chose for him is not good enough. Another example of this would be when he kills his biological father. The gods hate when relatives kill each other, that is why Laius had a servant get rid of Oedipus instead of killing him himself. Oedipus also makes false accusations towards some of his friends to cover up his part of the blame. Oedipus shows excessive pride by fleeing Corinth, killing out of rage, and making false accusations towards innocent people.

In the popular Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, the plot shows how a single bad trait can lead to the fall of a once great man. The author Sophocles portrays the story of the titular where a hero rises to fame after solving the city of Thebes’ great riddle. The solution to the riddle frees Thebes of its curse from the Sphinx and relieves the city’s misery. Although Oedipus is praised and crowned king for freeing the city, he is not entirely a good man. Oedipus is very arrogant, which causes him to make several bad decisions. Through the story of Oedipus the King, Sophocles warns readers not to let arrogance blind them from reality, for it will eventually result in tremendous suffering.

Had his thinking not changed, they might not have found out who actually killed Laios. In the beginning of the first play, Oedipus did not at all think the true murderer was himself. He was trying to find the actual killer to save the land and so the killer wouldn’t later come after him (Sophocles 9). With all of the evidence and his own prior knowledge, Oedipus was able to piece together that he was the killer. After hearing the story of Laios’s killing, Oedipus recollected a similar memory (Sophocles 39). Without his wife telling him that story, they wouldn’t be on the right path to healing the land. Had his thinking not changed, he might have assumed that Creon was the murderer. It was crucial that his mindset and thoughts

Oedipus The Rex was a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles first performed in 429 Bc. Oedipus was the king of Thebes and his first goal of the story was to find out who murdered Lauis. Oedipus summons an oracle who he demands to tell him who the killer is. The oracle replies that he does not wish to tell the king anything, outraged the king demands an answer. The oracle tells Oedipus that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus is outraged naturally at his apparent future and mocks the oracle for being blind, then the oracle says he is blind. Throughout the play we see that Oedipus is a great guy well loved by the people of Thebes. He is very intelligent, a natural leader but unfortunately is fatally flawed. His hamartia is that he can not simply let things go in life which ultimately leads to his own ruin and others he loves. His ruin in life comes when he has the sudden realization of what he has done. He does fulfill his prophesy of killing his father and having sexual relations with his mother without even being aware of the situation. No great person would ever want to ruin their

When Oedipus hears that he is the killer, his pride is wounded for he cannot accept the truth. His judgment is so blurred that he also begins to view Creon as a traitor for using Tiresias. Creon’s words sum up Oedipus’s rage when he said, “Oedipus, your husband, he’s bent on a choice of punishments for me, banishment from the fatherland or death” (715-717). Jocasta is even surprised with Oedipus’s unusual character, as she said, “For the love of God, Oedipus, tell me too, what is it? Why this rage? You’re so unbending” (767-769). The reason why Oedipus pride is so wounded can be because his negative experiences with the Gods. As a baby, he was condemned to death, yet he survived and learned the horrible truth of his prophecy. In attempt to escape that life, he lost belief in the word of the gods because he refused that the prophecies should come true. This struggle between God and Oedipus only tears his moral beliefs as he has to be stone cold to survive his tribulations. This meant giving no consideration against people who presently posed a great threat to him.

Oedipus the King is perhaps one of the most famous and influential of Sophocles' plays. It is a tragic play which focuses on the discovery by Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. On the surface of this drama there is, without a doubt, a tone of disillusionment.

     The heart of the story unravels when Oedipus apparently begins to suffer a reversal of fortunes. At the beginning of the play, Oedipus is referred to by the priest as the “king of the land, [the city of Thebes’] greatest power” (16). Through all of Thebes he is thought of as a hero, a man who saved the city from the Sphinx and in his bravery has promised to find the killer of King Laius in order to save the city from doom and death. However, at the climax of the story Oedipus learns that he has been “cursed in [his] birth, cursed in marriage / and cursed in

In Oedipus The King by Sophocles, Oedipus, the great king of Thebes, suffers a reversal of fortune when he attempts to change his fate. Oedipus is prophesied to kill his father and to marry his mother so he leaves Corinth to come to Thebes so this prophecy does not come true. As Thebes is being countered by a plague, Oedipus is trying everything he can to help the citizens. Throughout the play, Oedipus seeks knowledge about the plague later leading to his downfall. Oedipus is seen as a hero to his city due to his contributions, but he soon has a tragic ending when he seeks for knowledge.

Oedipus’ intense amount of self confidence is so great that Oedipus actually curses whoever the killer is, this is an example of irony, because Oedipus later finds out that he was the killer all along, and that he ended up cursing himself. Another clue of this is a quote from Oedipus while he was talking to the prophet Teiresias, “Yea, I am wroth, and will not stint my words, But speak my whole mind. Thou methinks thou art he, Who planned the crime, aye, and performed it too, All save the assassination; and if thou Hadst not been blind, I had been sworn to boot That thou alone didst do the bloody deed.” (Sophocles 345-350). In this quote, Oedipus’ ego is once again affecting him, as he refuses to even consider what the prophet Teiresias is saying about not looking into who the murderer is, but Oedipus ironically does accuse him of being the killer. These quote help the reader realize that the mystery of Oedipus Rex for Oedipus is to discover who Laius’ killer

The first quality of Oedipus that justifies him as a tragic hero is in his lack of self-knowledge. Oedipus can be seen has someone who is not genuinely satisfied until he or she solves all of his life’s puzzles and the last riddle of his life. Oedipus physical strength gave him a great opportunity to be the king. This physical strength which he possesses and misuses also marked the beginning of his downfall. In the beginning of the play Oedipus has perfect vision; however, he is blind and ignorant of the truth about himself and his past. As a result; he gains too much pride and confidence and starts to believe he is impalpable. He desperately wants to know, to see, but he can’t. His actions must somehow overcome his blindness. Ironically, into the play a prophet was introduced, a seer, Teresias, who is physically blind, but who is clairvoyant. Teresias says to Oedipus, I tell you, no man that walks upon the earth/ shall be rooted out more horribly than you (S1. .1117). This describes Oedipus as a man ignorant to the true appearance of things, this blind man could see the truth about Oedipus, yet Oedipus in all of his physical strength cannot.