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Pride In Sophocles Oedipus The King

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One flaw in a character can appear to be minor and inconsequential to the plot of a novel. However, in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, an Athenian tragedy first performed in 429 BC, Oedipus’ hamartia results in him fulfilling a prophecy in which he unwittingly murders his father and marries his mother. His pride precipitates his blindness because he refuses to take heed of the repeated warnings received from a number of characters throughout the play. Ultimately, Oedipus’ blindness, fueled by his pride, causes him to dismiss what others have to say. If Oedipus were to contemplate the warnings from others, he could have saved himself from realizing that he fulfilled the prophecy; however, Oedipus is empowered by his arrogance, which in turn blurs him …show more content…

Oedipus finds it expedient to call upon the clairvoyant Teiresias. However, their discussion soon becomes a quarrel. Teiresias reveals the truth that Oedipus is the murderer of King Laios, and Oedipus refuses to listen to Teiresias, an immensely esteemed seer. He chooses rather to let his pride take over and act in a foolhardy way. Oedipus loses his temper and censures Teiresias saying, “This decrepit fortune-teller, this Collecter of dirty pennies, this prophet fraud- Why he is no clairvoyant than I am!... Has your mystic summery every approached the truth? When that hellcat the Sphinx as performing here, What help were you to these people?... Oedipus, the simple man, who knows nothing- I thought it out for myself, no birds helped me!” (Sophocles 21-22). Though credit should be given to Oedipus in solving the riddle of Sphinx, Oedipus goes against the practices of a truth teller and even relegates Tiresias underneath himself, as well as Teiresias’ practice of augury. 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

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