Pride In Sophocles Oedipus The King

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 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

Sophocles, in Antigone says, if we cannot determine what is right or wrong, we should ignore pride and continue living by reasoning and follow God’s laws; however, if we don’t follow God’s law we will experience the wrath of God.

Oedipus the King is a tragedy that displays irony throughout the play. In the play, King Laius and his wife Jocasta learn that in the prophecy their newborn son, Oedipus, will kill his father and marry his mother. In order to prevent the prophecy from occurring, they decide to bind and tie his ankles and then abandoned him. When Oedipus grew up, he eventually learned about this prophecy and decided to leave his parents. What he did not realize was that the parents who raised him were not his biological parents. On his voyage to Thebes, Oedipus ended up in a chariot accident

In Oedipus Rex hubris, or excessive pride, is theme that is presented throughout the text. Hubris is the main reason for Oedipus’ downfall in the story because it clouds his judgement from the truth.

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.

“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

Does the blinding truth pride hides, makes pride itself dangerous? In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus - once the proud king of Thebes - life changes through figuring out that he is the murder of the former king, and married Jocasta, his own mother. The tragedy of Oedipus is entirely the result of pride through his people, being ignorant, and losing pride. Oedipus's past accomplishments give a sense of pride. It is said that Oedipus got rid of the Sphinx on his journey to Thebes, and from this the people praised him as king (2-3).

In this play Oedipus king of Thebes by Sophocles, Oedipus was full of pride he faces several number of consequences throughout the play. He challenges people, and the Gods, and told them he did not need them anymore, he is better than everyone, it turns out he was not. He needed help from the Gods, and Laius to help make decisions in life that he would not have regret. Oedipus ended up needing Gods help, he wanted Laius to care of his daughters and be the new king when Oedipus died. If Oedipus was helpful to everyone and not full of pride, he would never faced the challenges he did in life, like losing him mom forever and losing his eyes at the end.

People lie to themselves all the time. Their pride is blinding them to the harsh truth. Pride, the sin that is the root of many others, deceives a person without them knowing it because they are prideful. Pride: “Inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, accomplishments, rank or elevation in office, which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others” (Webster). Pride can be a powerful influence in one's life, Oedipus the King resembles this blinding pride. Sophocles shows that in Oedipus the King, pride blinds people to the truth through the veracity of prophecy, irony, and symbolism.

Pride is not always a bad thing but, for the character Oedipus in the play Oedipus the King, it leads to destruction and tragedy. Oedipus is the king of Thebes and is trying to find the murderer of the old king, Laius. Oedipus finds out the truth and turns away from his people, due to shame and guilt his pride created. Oedipus thinks of himself as a noble and godly man. When someone feels this way about themselves, it can cause trouble.

Pride often hinders people from taking other’s opinion into account despite good or bad. Nevertheless, it is often better to listen to others for one’s personal well being. Oedipus, the protagonist, takes pride in his wisdom due to his belief of escaping fate, and solving a riddle to become a king. As a result, he embarks upon a dark journey yearning to unmask the culprit behind King Laois’ murder in order to free his people from the plague. However, during the process, the prophet, Teiresias, warns him that it might bring misery for himself ; however he does not pay heed and investigates further only to find that he is the murderer.

Andrew Zipp Mr. Stary English 101 15 September 2016 Pride Leads to a Downfall Oedipus Rex is a play by Sophocles that expresses immense amounts of misfortune, doubt, pride, and ignorance. Oedipus, the protagonist in the play Oedipus Rex, has a tragic flaw of pride. This flaw will lead Oedipus to an eventual downfall. Oedipus’ tragic flaw is his pride shown when he denies that he is the murderer, when he flees from his fate, and when he gouges out his eyes.

How can a powerful being fall so far when they let their own pride take over and consume them? In the play, Oedipus Rex, we take a close look on how a great king abuses his power for his own pride and desire only to then have it all taken away. There's a popular statement that holds a lot of truth to, “it takes an eternity to build up a good reputation , but it only takes a split second to have that reputation crumble.” Oedipus had his own pride challenged in many ways and unfortunately instead of the caring king that everyone knew and loved, oedipus believed his pride was more important. In Oedipus, sophocles shows how with excessive power and pride, anyone can easily lose sight of putting those whom you care for and putting yourself first could lead to a tragic demise.

The book reflects how important it is to have pride, no matter what the situation is.