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
Teiresias states that no matter what he does or anyone does fate will play out no matter what. This makes the case for Oedipus not being at fault for the incidence because prophecy and fate was already played out. The argument between teresias and Oedipus gets heated when Oedipus starts being very ignorant and mocking god. Teresias sees this and chooses not to tell Oedipus of the prophecy but only to inform him that is what he had coming to him.
Ironically, Teiresias is blind, but he has the power to see what others cannot, and his wisdom goes beyond words. Moreover, Creon said to Oedipus “If he says that, you are the one that knows it! / But now it is my turn to question you” (542-543). Nobody but Oedipus has enough evidence to know if indeed Teiresias is telling the truth, but Oedipus refuses to accept it, and perhaps it is because he is afraid of that being his reality. The readers can also imply that Oedipus is driven by power, and he does not want to lose it. Power can be good or bad, in this case for example, it is bad because the ego and the desire to have that absolute power is what has Oedipus blind. In
“Oh my children, the new blood of ancient Thebes, why are you here?” said Oedipus when addressing his people during his first appearance (1-2). Flamboyant, yes, well in Oedipus the King, the main character Oedipus is a boastful and pompous character faced with troublesome pasts and future predicaments. In actuality, he is king of Thebes and the rightful ruler, but when a plague strikes he is quickly led into a misfortune of events that ultimately leads him to dig his eyes out in attempt to relieve him from the truth he discovers. It then becomes a revelation to distinguish the characteristic fault which leads Oedipus through such tragedy. Only to become apparent, Oedipus’s excessive pride is the main culprit behind his tragic ending. In
Teiresias is trying to steer clear of telling Oedipus the truth. Oedipus is angered when Teiresias refuses to tell Oedipus the truth of what happened. Oedipus pushes Teiresias to the point where Teiresias tells him that he is the murder of his father. Teiresias’ actions cause Oedipus to engage in irrational actions. Oedipus speaks out to Teiresias and says, “It has, but not for you; it has no strength for you because you are blind in mind and ears as well as in your eyes.”
For the purpose of this paper, I have read three different articles that all talk about the common theme of being culturally responsive in the classroom. They also touch on the issue of social justice oriented classrooms. From these articles I will share what I have learned and how they tie into my life as I enter into my teaching career and become a culturally responsive teacher that makes sure to follow social justice.
Teiresias first calls him blind, which is meant figuratively, not literally, which is further reinstated when he mentions that Oedipus still has both of his eyes. This is meant to be an insult and a reminder that Teiresias is wiser than Oedipus and knows and sees more than he does. The sight part means that Teiresias has a larger scope of sight of past events than Oedipus does. Additionally, since he spouts the gods’ wisdom, he is wiser than Oedipus. He also talks about Oedipus’ wretchedness, which refers to his unknowing murder of his father, or King Laios, and sleeping with his mother, Jocasta.
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:
Unwillingly, Teiresias the blind seer provides Oedipus with the hurtful truth. Although before the truth is announced, Oedipus describes Teiresias as a "seer: student of mysteries." Oedipus looks to Teiresias for help in finding the murderer of the former king. He is trusted and respected by everyone in the city as evidenced by his introduction as "the holy prophet In whom, alone of all men, truth was born." Yet, when Teiresias speaks, reluctantly but honestly to Oedipus, he is shunned and his credibility and motives are attacked. Oedipus
Located in the Andes mountain range, the trail passes through several types of Andean environments including cloud forest and alpine tundra. Settlements, tunnels, and many Incan ruins are located along the trail before ending the terminus at the Sun Gate on Machu Picchu mountain. The two longer routes require an ascent to beyond 4,200 metres (13,800 ft) above sea level, which can result in altitude sickness.
At one time in our lives there is a moment that we may think of ourselves as better than someone or something else. There may also be a point when making a decision leads to a great error in judgment. In the play Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles, both of these characteristics can be seen in the main character. These characteristics are known as tragic flaws. These flaws are known as hubris meaning excess pride, leading to overconfidence, and hamartia meaning errors and weakness in judgment. Both of these characteristics are the main reason of destruction and downfall in mankind and the tragic hero in this play. The tragic hero is unable to escape his misfortune that is destined to happen.
Nonetheless, in a fit of anger and ignorance, Oedipus demands to hear what Teiresias is keeping from him, “This pretense to knowledge earns Oedipus rebukes from both Teiresias and Creon. ‘Do you know who your parents are?’ asks Teiresias. The question is rhetorical, and Teiresias answers it himself” (Miller 234). Oedipus ultimately disregards these claims, and the pattern of denial continues with the chorus when they dismiss Teiresias’s allegations as words of anger. His competing claims of knowledge challenge Oedipus’s claim that he knows the truth of his life.
Oedipus intelligence could not see the truth, but the blind man, Teiresias, saw it plainly. Sophocles uses blindness as a theme in the play. Oedipus was uninformed and as a result blind to the truth about himself and his past. Yet, when Teiresias exposes the truth he is in denial. It is left to Oedipus to conquer his blindness, accept the truth, and realize fate. But instead Oedipus ridicules Terirsias blindness and accuses him of being on the side of Kreon and helping him become King. He accuses Teiresias for being paid to tell a fraudulent prophecy to him. Quickly Teiresias answers him back and tells him he is BLIND, and tells him about his past of who his actual mother and father was.
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
Sophocles' use of blindness in the play gives the reader/audience more insight into Oedipus' flaws, and Oedipus' flaws are what cause him to fulfill the prophecy. Therefore, Sophocles, in a complexly roundabout way, does in fact hint at the possibility that Oedipus was simply careless. Oedipus has plenty of opportunities to make a better choice; he is just blind to those opportunities because of his flaws.
A literature review was conducted in order to locate an article reporting the results of a primary nursing research study published within the last year. A literature search was performed using the databases PubMed and CINAHL to identify relevant evidence from the nursing literature supporting the lack of palliative care being provided to heart failure patients, and the barriers impeding these services. PubMed was used to locate the primary nursing research article on September 25, 2015. This database contains archives of medical and life sciences journal literature for the U.S. National Institutes of Health. “Heart failure” and “palliative care” were the initial search terms used, yielding 5,958 search results.