According to Aristotle, the protagonist in a tragedy must have a tragic flaw that ultimately becomes the cause of his ruin. Oedipus in Oedipus the King by Sophocles tragic flaw that caused his downfall was his pride. Three examples of when Oedipus’ pride got the better of him were: when he left his adopted parents in Cornith, the second is when he goes against Creon, and the third is when Oedipus is demanding that the messenger tell him all he knows about who his real parents are.
Oedipus shows himself as being very pridefull when he leaves his adopted parents in Corinth. Oedipus leaves after he is told about his destiny from an old prophet. The prophet tells Oedipus that he will one day kill his father and marry his mother. Fearing this, Oedipus decides to leave Cornith. In doing this he is going against the gods, he is saying that he is not going to let this happen to him and he is going to control his own destiny.
The second example of when Oedipus is shown having a great deal of pride is when he goes against Creon. Oedipus calls Creon a traitor. He says that Creon persuaded him to send for the prophet, Tiresias, to find out who murdered King Laius. He thinks that Creon and Tiresias plotted against him, saying that he was the one who murdered the king. Oedipus believes that Creon did this so he could become king.
The last example of when Oedipus’ pride gets the better of him was when he is demanding that the messenger tell him all he knows about who his real parents are. Again the messenger is trying to tell him that things would be better left untold, but Oedipus has to keep going on and on and find out. Finally the messenger tells him that Polybus is not his father, already Jocasta has figured out that she is his mother. Oedipus asks the messenger who his real parents are. Jocasta is begging Oedipus to pay no attention to the messenger and tells Oedipus, “Never find out who you are';(1073). Oedipus, of course, goes on ahead anyway and sends for the shepherd who know where Oedipus came from. Once again Oedipus pride got in the way.
In conclusion, I think that if Oedipus had not had this huge sense of pride things would have turn out a lot better for him.
Oedipus's pride caused him a lot of trouble not only when he reached the land of Thebes, where he became king, but also in his own land of Corinth. There are several examples in which Oedipus is not able to put aside his pride and put the pieces of the puzzle together in order to realize that the Oracle prophecy came true. In the beginning, he believes that he can outsmart the Oracle. In fact, when telling Iocaste about his past he states that, "They prophesied that I should kill Polybus, kill my won father; but he is dead and buried, and I am here—I never touched him, never, unless he died of grief for my departure, and thus, in a sense through me. No. Polybus has pacted the oracles off with him underground. They are empty words (I iii 54-59)." First, his pride prevents him from respecting the power that Tireseas is given by the gods by being disrespectful to him. He completely ignores Tireseas when he says, "I say that you are the murder whom you seek (I i 144)." He is told straight out that he is the murderer and instead says in response, "Now twice you have spat out infamy. You'll pay for it (I i 145)." Second, his pride prevents him from seeing the similarities between Iocaste's story of how her husband died with his own story of how he got to Thebes. Iocate tells him that Laios was killed at a place where three highways meet (I ii 185-94) and this jogs Oedipus's memory and he tells the story of how he killed a man where three highways came together.
Aristoteles’s “Theory of Tragedy” suggests that the tragic flaw in Sophocles’ play Oedipus is the King’s “self-destructive actions taken in blindness,” but a worse flaw is his arrogance. There are a few opposing views that stray from Oedipus being fully arrogant. First is that he took actions to save himself from further pain. Second, by putting himself in charge was the right thing to do as the leader of his people. Third, Oedipus never tried to outwit the gods but used the prophecy as a warning to leave Corinth.
To give context, he is largely prideful because of solving the notorious Sphinx's riddle and saving the city of Thebes, the city in which he rules as king. Once he assumes his position as king, Oedipus is dubbed as the "savior of the country" (line 60) by the citizens of Thebes; he even declares himself to be "Apollo's champion" (line 155). Oedipus internalizes the notion of him being an exemplary figure and fully demonstrates this as he delivers powerful speeches with zest, bravado, and confidence -- almost bordering the overindulgent. On numerous instances throughout the story, Oedipus declares his name to those around him; at certain points he even places himself on a startlingly similar level as the gods (although this could be inadvertent or unconscious) which can be seen as impious or irreverent toward the gods. For example, "Here I am myself -- you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus" (lines 7-9) demonstrates this, as does the following quote: "You pray to the gods? Let me grant your prayers" (line 245). These quotations adequately provide contextual evidence for Oedipus' hubris; Oedipus is consumed within his own pride and cannot comprehend the nuance of him being wrong, even when the odds are stacked against him. Animosity ensues when Tiresias states that Oedipus is Laius' murderer, Creon has wild and illogical accusations thrown at him by Oedipus when he becomes increasingly paranoid. Oedipus' unyielding stubbornness and pride overwhelm and override the actual direness of the situation, causing him to either underestimate or even dismiss the situation as a whole, which serves as one of many facets to his eventual
Throughout the play Oedipus Rex the King, Oedipus protects his pride by trying to make everyone see that he is in every way perfect, but it affects many more people than just himself. Oedipus protecting ‘morality’ has a trickle down effect. Oedipus’ actions affect everyone from his loyal subjects to both of his mother 's, Jocasta and Merope. If someone was to look at Oedipus’ life chronologically then they would see that Oedipus starts trying to protect his pride as a young man and continues even when he has no pride to hold on to, other than to just do what he said he was going to do.
The criteria for Aristotle’s concept of a tragic hero is that a protagonist is “fallible” and of “high estate”, typical of a nobleman. (Kennedy and Giola 856) Aristotle’s tragic hero concept has defined the art of tragedies since its conception. Along with Aristotle’s concept, the character Oedipus can be further defined as having “a weakness the Greeks called hubris – extreme pride, leading to overconfidence.” (Kennedy and Giola 857)
It is apparent throughout the play that Oedipus has an excessive amount of pride and a large ego, which is evident from the start of the play where in his introductory speech he declares “Here I am myself – you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus” (Sophocles, 1984, line 7-9). The fact that Oedipus introduces himself in this way displays to the audience exactly how highly he regards himself and how much importance he deems himself to have. This conceit, including his disrespect, recklessness and even stubbornness, is the root cause of the many tribulations he encounters and subsequently results in his downfall. The attitude flaunted by Oedipus resonates throughout the play. We see it in its entirety when no one confesses to the murder of Laius and Oedipus bursts into a rage at Tiresias, shouting “You scum of the earth, you’d enrage a heart of stone…out with it once and for all!”
Here, Oedipus was at the top of the social spectrum and likely had a pleasant childhood living in the palace. With the expectation of one day being King, Oedipus grew up with a sense of power and importance. In addition, growing up as the son of a King, Oedipus likely did not face much adversity growing up. Considering all of these components, it is no surprise that when Oedipus is initially faced with any adversity, he handles it very poorly. The first example of adversity that Oedipus faces is through an Oracle of Apollo. This oracle showed Oedipus a prophecy portraying him killing his father and marrying his mother. Instead of facing his problem and attempting to solve it, Oedipus runs “I heard all that and ran. I abandoned Corinth, from that day on I gauged its landfall only by the stars, running, always running toward some place where I would never see the shame of all those oracles come true” (Sophocles 880). If Oedipus had a different upbringing, there is a chance that Oedipus would have the experience to deal with a problem like this. Unfortunately, Oedipus’ poor character shows and he flees. With the Use of Irony, Sophocles shows that as Oedipus attempts to run away from the prophecy, the prophecy iscompleted. On his way out of Corinth, an enraged Oedipus meets a group of travelers that attempt to push Oedipus off the road. Unable to control his rage, Oedipus reacts hastily “I strike
In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, the protagonist Oedipus faces the realization of an ancient prophecy. Based on the prophecy, Oedipus is to kill his father and espouse his mother, Jocasta. Little to his knowledge, Oedipus has already fulfilled the prophecy. Initially, Oedipus’ emotions controlled him and his pride consumed him, only making him blind to the truth that he is the source of pollution in Thebes. Oedipus is a dynamic character who realizes his true fate. Once Oedipus fully becomes self-aware, he is no longer consumed by pride, and he no longer relies on his emotions.
Determination, anger, and pride are all factors in Oedipus’s tragic defeat. Oedipus is the tragic hero for his noble and courageous qualities, blinded by anger when he unknowingly murdered his father after he was attacked by a group of men. His actions were all in self-defense and he would have never intentionally taken his father’s life. Oedipus’s pride played a large part in his defeat; he attempted to avoid
In the story of the tragic hero, Oedipus, the reader can instantly predict that they main character is very prideful. In the beginning of the story, readers find out about Oedipus’s victory when the priest reminds him that”…. [He] freed [them] from the Sphinx” (Prologue.44). The Sphinx was a creature that had been terrorizing their city, killing those who could not solve her riddles. However, until her encounter with Oedipus, no one could stop her, and upon him solving one of her riddles, she flew into the sea and never lived to tell a riddle again. For Oedipus to be the only one to beat her at her own game made him great. He must have felt like a gift from the gods to the world and the people’s praise could have only driven his ego higher. Moreover, readers also can establish that Oedipus was an equal to the gods. He had so much pride that he put himself before the gods, asking the people of his city to “ …let [him] grant [their] prayers” (Prologue. 245), which is really a dangerous gesture. He has so much pride that he thinks he should be the only one to whom the people can pray. The people of Thebes even worship and call to him, “Oedipus, king, we
It is exactly this bad decision to which he is blind to his own doing, due to his tragic flaws. Aristotle also defined a tragic hero as having the character's flaw result from something that is also a central part of their virtue, which is Oedipus’ intelligence. Consequently, this need for knowledge pushes Oedipus to discover the truth. His intelligence directly influences his pride and arrogance, as he believes that he would have never been out-wit by the gods. A Tragic hero also usually possesses hubris, or excessive pride. Arrogance and pride virtues also play a role in his fall. Oedipus cannot accept the foretelling about his fate, due to his excessive pride. For this reason, Oedipus rejects the idea that the gods are in control of the lives of humans, and fate all together. This is evidence or his excessive pride and ego, as he believes that he cheat the gods. Oedipus commands information, however damaging it be, because he believes he can handle the truth. “Did you rise to the crisis? Not a word, you and your birds, your gods—nothing. No, but I came by, Oedipus the ignorant, I stopped the Sphinx! With no help from the birds, the flight of my own
Tragic heroes are heroes of a story with a trait or flaw that ultimately leads to their downfall. In the play Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Oedipus, the protagonist of the story, shows many examples of his pride and how his pride causes tragic events to take place. His many prideful moments in the play such as, the altercation with his father and Oedipus believing that the prophet was lying so Tiresias and Creon could take the throne. Consequently, Oedipus’ pride is ultimately the cause of his downfall and dethroning.
Oedipus, is one of the antagonists in Oedipus Rex, he is also one of the main examples of having a temper. He has a short fuse, which is just waiting to be set off. He blows up in people’s faces about nothing and accuses them wrongly and irrationally without looking into the details. Oedipus might be thought of as a great and powerful king, but he reacts suddenly and defensively to anyone who dares defy him, he blames people with problems that have not been looked into, and he is always paranoid that someone is out to get him. The first problem about Oedipus is that he reacts suddenly and defensively to anyone who dares to defy him.
In Oedipus the King, Oedipus continually seeks knowledge regarding his own past and Laius’s murder. Oedipus is warned against investigating as the truth has the potential to destroy him. Despite the cautionary advice, Oedipus uncovers more than he ever imagined. The “power of truth” is revealed and Oedipus learned the hard way that knowledge does not always bring satisfaction. Furthermore, Oedipus’ discoveries lead to the development of a prominent trait that has impacted so many leaders throughout history: pride. As a ruler, Oedipus was conceited and ignorant and believed he could escape his fate. His pride prevented him from rationally considering the best interest for himself and his city. Oedipus the king teaches the limitations
The concept of tragic hero is very important in the construction of tragedy. It is the main cause of pity and fear. The tragic hero is a character between the two extremes; he is neither virtuous nor evil. At the same time, this character is better than the ordinary men or audience, he has some good qualities. Moreover, as a tragic hero, he is moving from happiness to misery by his downfall at the end. In fact, this downfall is caused by an error or a flaw in his character not by a vice or depravity. Another feature in the tragic hero is that he has good reputation and he is a man of prosperity. It can be said that Oedipus is a tragic hero because he has all the previous mentioned characteristics and the whole play is a classical application of this concept.