Theme Of Pride In 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.

“Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” says the writer C.S lewis. Indeed this is evident in Sophocles’ Oedipus The King. The rather disturbing events that takes place during the play. The pride of Oedipus, the tragic hero of the play, sets off a chain reaction of events that could have been avoided if Oedipus kept his pride in check. However, he can not and his ego inflates to the point his persona can only be described as a mental disorder. Through analyzing Oedipus’ behaviour and his interactions with the other characters in the play, it can be concluded that he suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

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 wanted proof that he was his father’s son and stopped at nothing to get the information. We as humans are incredibly insecure by nature, that is the way we were created. We also never want to admit when we are wrong, Sophocles knew this and thus wrote Oedipus Rex to show us just how insecure we really are. Oedipus knew things were being said

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.

“Well then! Alright! I will leave nothing unsaid in my wrath. And I say to you then, old man, that in my mind I have you as one of those who has helped in Laius’ murder! Yes, old man! You have worked with them. Perhaps even you, yourself, have committed the deed! Indeed, if you had eyes that could see I would have said you did the deed all alone!” (Sophocles 346-350). When engaging with the blind prophet, Oedipus attempts to pry the truth out of Tiresias by accusing him, Tiresias of the murder. He thinks that if he starts making accusations towards Tiresias, he will in turn tell the truth so that people don’t start hearing this rumor.

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.

There was an oracle told to Oedipus when he was younger that he would kill his father and wed his mother. Jocasta tells Oedipus that prophets are not correct all the time. She went on to tell him that she once bore a child to Laius, and Apollo told them that this child would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. At that point Oedipus was scared because of the oracle told to him when he was younger. It is ironic that Oedipus could have this much guilt placed on him in this short amount of time. He replied to her, "As I listen, my queen, my thoughts went reaching out and touched on memories that make me shudder..."(lines, 759-760). Oedipus has just reacted to what Jocasta, his wife/mother, has told him. He is terrified because he believes that he may have been the one who killed Laius. Oedipus goes on to ask Jocasta multiple questions about who, what when and where this all happened. After every answered question Oedipus reacted with more and more grief. Every question showed more and more evidence that Oedipus had been the murderer of Laius. When the messenger

Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus the King, stresses the idea of who is blind and who can see by demonstrating that one cannot simply just run away from their mistakes and issues. As the story unfolds, each character makes several attempts to hide from the truth. Though the foul truths may seem to be masked within the darkness, they are eventually brought into the light, shining over the devious lies placed before it. Nevertheless, the real question lies within whether or not the person receiving the truth can endure it. By coping with the truth, one sees, but by denying it, one stays blind. One way or another, however, problems arise, secrets come out, and chaos ensues because one cannot stay blinded from the truth forever.

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.

Doom sets in for Oedipus and soon, it’s confirmed beyond any shadow of a doubt that he killed Laius. Sophocles writes, “Holds them [brooches] and rams the pins right through his eyes” (Sophocles 70). The physical danger of what would happen to the person Oedipus wished the fate upon and how they would react that he overlooked to uncover the truth becomes all too relevant when he blinds himself with Jocasta’s brooches. Just as happened with Howard in the film, the physical danger that Oedipus ignored came back to haunt him.

In spite of his previous attitude, as the story goes on, Oedipus begins to hear the truth for its entirety to gain more knowledge about his past. He starts opening his ears and asking about Laius, out of fear that he was his killer, asking questions such as “Where did this thing happen?” (807), and “When? How long ago?” (811) referring to Laius’ murder. Then, when asked by Jocasta why he is suddenly so

When demanded the answer as to who the murderer was,Tiresias told Oedipus that he, was the “defiler of this land,”(30).Essentially, Tiresias was telling Oedipus that he was the unclean that needed to be driven out of the land. Angered, outraged, and confused, Oedipus could not accept this truth of hearing he was the murderer, and further insulted the blind prophet.Similarly, Oedipus’s pride falsely led him to think that he could escape his fate that he was told about in the prophecy. While in Corinth, Oedipus went to a shrine of Apollo, where he was told a prophecy in which he would marry his mother, have unnatural children, and murder his father. “The oracle of Phoebus Apollo said that I/ Must kill my father, lie with my mother. /This drove me out of Corinth. I regret nothing - /I have married happily, raised a family, known the sweetness of power” (61). Oedipus believed that since he escaped his “parents” from Corinth, he escaped his fate and was free of murdering his father and marrying his mother. Because he did not believe in oracles nor know Laius was his father, he was certain at this point that he indeed was not king Laius’s murderer, despite Tiresias’s words. As the tragedy unfolded, it showed further evidence that he had fulfilled the prophecy. Oedipus’s pride, which was once seen as favorable to him, destroyed him in the end.

In the Greek tragedy, we see that Jocasta state that it is natural for human being to dream about sleeping with their mothers. She is right in the sense that we gain a sort of attraction and love for our parents. These natural feelings has come to be known as either the Oedipus or Electra complexes. There is a common command against incest that is both needed and jus due to the fact that it is morally wrong and disgusting. The command against incest is needed because it keeps citizens and most of all the kingdom morally in check. For someone to take their mother or father to bed and wed them is viewed in most societies as disgusting and unjust. This is portrayed in the play with the curse on the kingdom and Oedipus having no knowledge of his incestuios actions, however Jocosta knew what was going and viewed the situation as inevitable due to the wrath of the gods.