Who Is Oedipus Selfish

Throughout the tragedy by Sophocles, the king Oedipus relies on his personal glory to attain long lasting fame and balks when confronted with anything that might shatter this perception that he is the best. While both characters have done marvelous deeds in the past, their inherent arrogance, which is part of the tragic flaw of each of the characters,

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.

Oedipus is described as a hero with god-like qualities. They worship him. The people of Thebes for instance believe that Oedipus ascended to the throne through God’s guidance. Sophocles play Oedipus definitely exemplifies Aristotle definition of a tragic hero.  Oedipus is not only a king but a person born a noble. Oedipus takes his fate into his own hands and takes his decisions head on. He is his own cause of the things happening around him, to him and in his life. Sadly, his life falls apart, but by his own doing. He has to suffer the consequences of his actions in many ways. First, he forces Teiresias to reveal his destiny as well as his father’s name. Teiresias tries to avoid all these questions but in the end he has to head warning to Oedipus against forcing him to reveal those details. Oedipus is relentless and is determined to find the truth. He continues questioning Teiresias further. Teiresias finally

From a prideful, heroic king at the beginning of the play, to a tyrant in denial towards the middle, and finally to a fearful, condemned man, humbled by his tragic fate, Oedipus’ change personifies that which makes an unforgettable drama. When Oedipus is first introduced, he appears to be a confident, valiant hero and reasonably so. Taking into mind the background of the drama, we learn that this foreigner to Thebes arrives at the city limits, braves death, solves the Sphinx’s riddle and releases the city from the horrible terror. Only a man like Oedipus, a man possessing tremendous intelligence and self-confidence could have such courage. Although at times Oedipus questions the gods’ accuracy and authority, the people don’t mind because of the great deed he had done.

Oedipus is referred to as “Everyman” because he represents both the wise and the foolish people. He also represents pathos and hubris. For example, he and Tiresias accuse each other of blindness and arrogance; blindness of the truth and excessive pride. People of Thebes look up to Oedipus as somewhat of a God and savior, however hey do not directly compare him to a God. Therefore they expect him to heal the city’s wound.

Oedipus wishes for the best in for his subjects and for them to not be in misery, as later the reader learns from Oedipus, “I sent Creon/… to learn/ what I might do or say to save our city.” (lines 81-84) This displays Oedipus as a decent man and king worthy of ruling Thebes because he is compassionate and accountable for what happens in his kingdom. Next, the reader learns of Oedipus’s courage when the priest that Oedipus is talking to states, “You freed us from the Sphinx, you came to Thebes/ and cut us loose from the bloody tribute we had paid/ that harsh, brutal singer.” (lines 44-46)

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

His parents long before were given a prophecy stating their infant would grow to kill his father, and marry his mother. His father, being a king, refused that to happen and he ordered a servant to kill the infant. Fortunately, the servant did not have the heart to kill him, and instead left him to die. Coincidentally, a Shepard from another city found the infant and returned with him back to the king and queen of his city Corinth, for they could not bear children of their own. They raised the child as their own and blessed him with a good life. When Oedipus grew older, he heard rumors of adoption and traveled to Delphi to find the oracle and hear the truth. The oracle however, did not mention the adoption, and delivered a different message to Oedipus, telling him he was destined to kill his father. Fearful, Oedipus refused to return to this home of Corinth in effort to stop his prophecy and save his father, ending up on the road to the nearest city, Thebes. Whilst on his travels he participated in a quarrel with a group of men, arrogantly killed them, unaware that one of the men was the king of Thebes, and unaware that one man had escaped and ran off, back to Thebes. Finally, after arriving in Thebes, Oedipus encountered a Sphinx wreaking havoc on the city, whom refused to cease until her riddle was solved. Opportunely, it was Oedipus who solved the riddle, and was granted the place of the king, as the king of Thebes was killed shortly beforehand. Oedipus went from one position of royalty to the next, even taking the queen of Thebes as his own wife, and bearing four children with her. Proud of his success in defeating the Sphinx as the savior of Thebes, Oedipus felt his life was well deserved. Yet, it was that pride that led to the reversal of his fortune. As time passed and a plague fell on Thebes, Oedipus was adamant on finding the true murderer of King Laius, the fallen king of Thebes, to end the plague stricken

Oedipus: Proud, Productive, and Perfunctory In the Greek tragedy Oedipus the King by playwright Sophocles, the protagonist Oedipus struggles to find out his true identity. He is the king of Thebes, a city that has been burdened with a deadly plague. In order to find out why this plague is occuring and save his city, he must discover all of the details about his life and about who he really is. His characteristics change and become stronger throughout the play because of major plot events such as suicide and a mysterious murder.

     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

Unfortunately, this leads him to do a brutal acts in the future. After what the King had done the god’s, then use their power to prevent Oedipus fate to unknown himself. Although, Oedipus had a heroic imagine to Thebes that would hide the real him from the people he would worry about in the town. Oedipus had the ability to handle various situations. Eventually, Oedipus becomes king, which that makes him gain more respect from Thebes not only that, but he gets to marry his own mother. Furthermore, Teresa, the prophet, explained to him the reality of the scene about the destruction, which the reason was that Oedipus had been expelled from the Gods’ for killing his father and marrying his mother causing the god’s outraged to the plague. Oedipus becomes fully aware of the fault of those wrongdoings the ones that makes him show his attitude flaw. He accepted the answers he received, but with total ignorance. Not only

Sophocles’ Oedipus the King introduces Oedipus as a concerned ruler who openly expresses his sorrow for his plagued city of Thebes to his citizens. He affectionately addresses them as, “my poor children,” and claims that his “pain, / How great soever [theirs], outtops it all” (Sophocles, 59). Despite his royal social standing, he unashamedly reveals that he identifies himself with Thebes and cares for the well-being of its people; his deep character suggests that he is an exceptional king. Oedipus' bold actions seem to be a blessing from the Gods since they are utilized to benefit the city in its entirety. However, Oedipus’ determination to discover the cause of the plague results in some tragic discoveries of himself, and his respectful reputation gradually deteriorates.

Oedipus’ dedication about fighting the plague and controlling fate demonstrates that he is heroic. After the priest lets Oedipus know about the plague on the city of Thebes, Oedipus says, “ I sent Menoeceus’ son Creon, Jocasta’s brother, to Apollo, to his Pythian temple, that he might learn there by what act or word I could save this city” (Pg.13, L.69-73). Oedipus’ full attention is about finding information about the plague. Oedipus displays commitment in helping the citizens in his town by doing everything in his power to defeat the plague. Oedipus’ commitment is presented clearly and the citizens respect him for his actions and view him as a hero. Next, after Oedipus talks to an oracle and learns his fate about killing his father and marrying his mother, he says, “ when I heard this I fled” (Pg. 45, L. 794). Oedipus left Corinth to try to change his destiny, and entered the city of Thebes. As Oedipus entered Thebes, a Sphinx was eating the citizens and to win the hand of Jocasta, he answered the riddle. Soon after the Sphinx left, Oedipus was crowned king and was known as the hero of Thebes because he saved them from the vicious Sphinx. Lastly, after Oedipus finds out he is the cause of the plague, he says “ Take me away, and haste-to a place out of the way! Take me away, my friends, the greatly miserable, the most accursed, whom God too hates above all men on earth” (Pg.69, L. 1340-1343). Oedipus is asking Creon to exile him from the city. Oedipus feels really guilty and does not want to be seen by anyone so he wants to leave. Also Oedipus asks Creon to exile him so the plague will stop harming the city because he cares

During his flight, he Oedipus kills a caravan of presumed low-class travelers. Oedipus comes into Thebes a stranger and hero who solved the riddle of the sphinx. Believing that he is blessed with great luck, Oedipus marries the recently widowed Iokaste and becomes King of Thebes. After many years, a plague vexes the city and Kreon, brother of Iokaste, comes to Oedipus with news from the oracle. He states that the plague will be lifted when the murder of Laios is avenged. Oedipus claims that he sees and understands the terrible fate of Thebes and vows to find the murderer. Since the criminal is said to still be in Thebes, Oedipus believes that a man of his intelligence should have no difficulty in finding the perpetrator. When Oedipus is confronted by Teiresias with truth, perhaps it is Oedipus’ own hubris, which blinds him to the unthinkable truth.

In the play, Oedipus unknowingly has cursed the entire town of Thebes. He was cursed to kill his father and marry his mother but never knew who his true parents were. In result of him escaping from the town he was sent off to, he did exactly that without knowing who his parents were. This cursed the city because the killer of the