Arrogance In Oedipus The King

While in the eyes of the people Oedipus displays signs of honor, ultimately his rash decisions show his true arrogant nature. The city of Thebes is struck with a misfortune. As a result, the people of Thebes become desperate and ask Oedipus to save them from the plague and raids. Oedipus, the king of Thebes who has saved his people before, shares the pain with his people through his dialogue, “ Each one of you suffers in himself alone. His anguish, not another’s; but my spirit groans for the city, for myself, for you”(5). Oedipus is already aware of the plague that is heavily striking Thebes. He understands the pain his people are going through and makes them aware that he is also suffering in the crisis. His suffering makes the people see

However, if one closely examines the dialogue, Oedipus is claiming to be suffering the most out of all of the people, which is a sign of his true nature: arrogance. His arrogance is starting to show because he is referring to himself more than his citizens. He does not realize how he is subtly focusing on himself, which shows how he is truly arrogant. After reassuring the people of Thebes, Oedipus is informed that the cause of the plague was the murder of the previous king, Laios. In response, Oedipus interrogated many of the people he thought were suspects of the crime. Because of his arrogant nature, Oedipus has gotten into many arguments with the people he considered suspects. The arguments that follow are clear examples that demonstrate his arrogance. Oedipus first interrogates Teiresias and becomes quickly offended after he was accused of being the murderer, “Could I have told that you’d talk nonsense, that You’d come here to make a fool of yourself, and of me?”(23). Oedipus takes offense of the accusations Teiresias makes against him and deems it false due to his arrogant nature. He thinks he is right and escalate the conversation into a heated argument when his emotions intertwine with his logical