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According to Aristotle, “A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall.” No one can become a hero until he recognizes his own flaws. These fatal flaws could be in his personality or in his actions, but either will get him into trouble which leads to his own downfall unless he has self-awareness and growth. In Sophocles’s play Oedipus the King Oedipus could not become the hero until he accepted the truth about his father and the prophecy. Aristotle’s quote is true and very evident in Oedipus in this play.
Oedipus refuses to see what Teiresias could, even though Teiresias flat out told him the truth, especially right after Oedipus starts to accuse Teiresias of plotting against him with Creon. For example, Teiresias
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comes out and tells Oedipus, without any metaphors, that he was the murderer. You do not even know what stock you came from, nor that, unknowing, you have been foe to your own kin both above the earth and below, among the shades.
You, the double curse of mother and father, shall leave your land one day in painful haste with darkness on the eyes that now see so straight (39).
Teiresias tells Oedipus the truth about his parents and who the murderer was that caused the plague. Oedipus’ pride would not allow him to see the flaws in his actions, and he wouldn’t believe the prophecy had come true. Therefore, he could not be a hero to Thebes yet.
In addition, Oedipus exhibits hubris about his victory over the Sphinx; Since he had saved Thebes once before, he refuses to believe he wouldn’t be the hero again. Oedipus refused to believe Teiresias could actually be a prophet and confronts him about not helping Thebes against the Sphinx. He said, “For tell me, my prophet, when have you ever seen clear? Where was your deliverance when the monster-woman wove dark song?”(38). Oedipus thought Teiresias didn’t want to help Thebes and had been feeding everyone lies from the beginning. He believed Teiresias had wanted the throne all along. This shows just how much arrogance Oedipus had because he thought the prophet was a traitor to
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him. Creon, who has been the king’s hand much longer than Oedipus has been king, feels betrayed when Oedipus once again fails to see his own flaws.
Oedipus has a short temper and is quick to make assumptions based off the smallest things. When Creon tries to defend himself against his allegations, Oedipus believes Creon is making things up to throw him off his trail. Creon urges Oedipus to listen: “I beg you fairly to hear a fair reply and then decide”(39). However, Oedipus, suspicious, cautions him with, “Are you so quick, then, to explain? You should be forewarned, I shall be slow to understand you; I have found you a malignant enemy”(39). Oedipus believes everyone is plotting against him and this will keep him from finding the real murderer, himself. If this is how Oedipus feels, then he will believe that everyone was plotting against his father too and conclude that they killed him. These flaws inevitably bring Oedipus’ downfall because he fails to listen to
everyone. As one can see, Aristotle’s quote “A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall,” is very evident in Oedipus the King by Sophocles. Oedipus could not become a hero until he realized what he had done to Thebes and his father. His hubris was his fatal flaw, and he finally became the hero he wanted to be once he realized that.
Other character flaws coming out during the investigation was that he is impulsive and he falsely accuses people. When Oedipus was talking to Teirasias, Teirasias proposed that he was the killer of Laius. But again Oedipus' quick temper occurs and he accuses Tieresius of helping Creon overtake his throne. Another example of Oedipus being impulsive was when he demanded information from the messenger from Corinth. When the messenger told Oedipus that King Polybus was not his real father Oedipus was intrigued and wanted to know the truth. On the other hand, Iocasta wanted him to stop his search because she already knew the horrible truth. Oedipus impetuously wanted to know the truth; and Iocasta, horrified, rushed away and killed herself.
Another example of Oedipus’ presumptuous temperament is when he immediately assumes that Creon is trying to take his power from him. Creon sends Tiresias to Oedipus to help him solve the crime of the plague, and when Tiresias reveals that Oedipus must die in order to save the people of Thebes, Oedipus assumes Creon is trying to take his throne. Creon even tells Oedipus, “…if you think crude, mindless stubbornness such a gift, you’ve lost your sense of balance” (Meyer 1438). Oedipus’ impulsive nature leads him to discovering the truth and reveals that he has indeed fulfilled the prophecy he was running from.
Oedipus is further censured for his overweening pride in his intellectual abilities. In his encounter with Teiresias, he reminds the blind prophet that it was he, of all involved, who solved the riddle of the Sphinx; he challenges Teiresias
In the play when Oedipus asks Teiresias to reveal the murderer of King Laois, Teiresias blames Oedipus as the murderer and Oedipus denies the blame and gets angry on Teiresias. The chorus even denies the blame on Oedipus and takes Oedipus’ side. The chorus says the following lines to protect Oedipus “This is the king who solved the famous riddle, and towered up, most powerful of men. No mortal eyes but looked on him with envy, Yet in the end ruin swept over him”(Freud 988). Oedipus on the other hand who is really mad at Teiresias blames him and Creon for plotting against him. As Oedipus was blind from the start he was unaware of his origins which will cause him to trigger the unavoidable chain of events that would lead to the fulfilment of the prophecy. But he didn’t knew the fate itself was unavoidable. The irony of theme sight and blindness is produced here when Oedipus is compared to Teiresias. Oedipus who is not blind and has the capability to see with both of his eyes doesn’t finds anything wrong in killing a man, who he later discovers was King Laois and his group. He even took over the throne of Thebes and was found to be lying with his mother thinking her as his wife and having babies with her. On the other hand is Teiresias who is really blind and unable to see than...
However, that one trait did not alone take away his position of high authority. Oedipus displayed anger throughout the whole story, which did not help him at all. During the story, we learn of Oedipus' anger as he knocked a passerby at the meeting of the three highways; "I struck him in my rage". Later, this passerby whom he angrily and quickly killed, was revealed to be Laios, Oedipus' father. Oedipus' anger also quickly shifted his judgment of Teiresias. "We are in your [Teiresias] hands. There is no fairer duty", Oedipus' respect for Teiresias quickly changed as Teiresias refused to tell of what was the trouble's cause. Oedipus began claiming that "Creon has brought this decrepit fortune teller" to mean that Teiresias was thought of as a traitor in Oedipus' thinking. Oedipus' anger is also shown as he begins to insult Teiresias by calling him a "wicked old man". Oedipus' anger throughout the beginning of the play hindered himself.
In his first dealings with the city of Thebes, Oedipus found them under the curse of the Sphinx. He actually gained his position of King of Thebes by rendering unto the city a great service, namely the salvation of the city from the Sphinx's plague. Aristotle praised the type of cleverness and practical wisdom Oedipus exhibited in his solution to the riddle as being a component of overall goodness. If it were not for Oedipus virtuous action in saving Thebes, the citizens would have suffered untold disasters at the merciless hands of the Sphinx. After proving his worth as a good man and his concern for the citizens of what was seemingly a foreign city, Oedipus was well liked by the people of Thebes.
Oedipus' quest for truth was his choice. When the Teiresias tried not to reveal the truth, The Oedipus was the one, who made the priest to talk: "This city gave you life and yet you refuse to answer! You speak as if you were her enemy. … For God's sake, if you know, don't turn away from us! We are pleading. We are begging you. … You will not tell? You monster! You could stir the stones of earth to a burning rage! You will newer tell? What it will take?"
A man has many defining characteristics - some positive and some negative. At times, a potentially positive characteristic may cause his eventual downfall. This concept can be directly related to the story Oedipus Rex. Aristotle stated, “the tragic hero falls into bad fortune because of some flaw in his character of the kind found in men of high reputation and good fortune such as Oedipus.” Essentially, he is telling us that Oedipus has a flaw that, under normal circumstances, would be a beneficial characteristic, but in his case, causes his demise. The defining characteristics of pride and determination can be attributed to the downfall of Oedipus.
This shows that he is not a purely evil character because he is saving a life and looking after others besides himself. However, running from what he believes is his fate causes him to run into his real fate which leads to his downfall as a leader. On the other hand, it causes Oedipus to take the position as king of Thebes. Being leader of the city, he is forced into
Oedipus’s persistence is seen even from the beginning of Oedipus Rex. “The first instance in which [it] is revealed is when he first encounters Teiresias, a seer who refuses to divulge the truth he admits to knowing.” Teiresias begs to Oedipus, “let me go home” . “However, Oedipus doesn't want anything withheld from him, and he gradually becomes more heated in his wheedling…” Teiresias even plainly states Oedipus’s flaw, “Why persist in asking? You will not persuade me.” Despite this comment, eventually “the prophet spits out the truth in disgust, and, cursing, takes his leave.” This is the first case in which Oedipus’s persistence causes him trouble.
Oedipus is the son of the king and queen of Thebes. A prophet tells the king and queen that his son will kill him. This causes the king and queen to become worried of the possibilities so they decide to kill their son in order to prevent the predictions of the prophet from becoming true. However, Oedipus did not die and instead was rescued and eventually adopted. As time progresses Oedipus is told that he will kill his father and this frightens Oedipus so he decides to get as far as possible from his parents. During Oedipus’s journey he stumbles upon his biological father and he was unable to control his anger so he killed his father. As time goes on he eventually marries the queen of Thebes also known as his mom. He found out that her husband was killed a long time ago so Oedipus decided to investigate. A prophet tells Oedipus that he was the one that killed the king who was his father. Oedipus is angered and is told to stop trying to solve the mystery. Oedipus eventually discovers that what the prophet told him was true and is angered. He eventually meets his end. In this case Oedipus’s biggest flaw is his anger. His anger eventually causes him to face defeat. “Who would not feel his temper rise at words like these with which you shame our city” (Sophocles 1572). The quote comes directly from a conversation he was having with the prophet that told him he was
Teiresias finally tells Oedipus the horrible truth, but Oedipus calls him a liar and fails to recognize the truth again. When Oedipus finally figures that the oracle, drunk, and Teiresias was all true, he cannot handle it and blinds himself while Jocasta kills herself. Oedipus believes he can surpass that of what any man has ever achieved.
Since Oedipus grew up in the kingdom of Corinth to some extend he was safe from his prophecy. Oedipus’ downfall can be attributed to many different things, but Oedipus own tragic flaws lead him to the path where he fulfilled his prophecy. Oedipus arrogance and pride made sure that he couldn’t have the help that he need it to understand the truth. Oedipus curiosity and willingness to don’t find the whole truth led him to the path of ignorance that was responsible for his departure from Corinth. The pride that Oedipus felt for solving the sphinx riddle and been the King of Thebes was the last nail in the coffin that led to his downfall, if Oedipus had listened to what the people that were trying to help him had to said, Oedipus could have been able to prevent his
Throughout the play Oedipus continuosly belittles and accused everyone of the crime that he is guilty of. In Act II, Scene II he calls Teiresias a "blind and impious traitor
When Tiresias first told Oedipus that he was in fact the murderer of King Laius, Oedipus got very angry and threw him out. He immediately suspected that Tiresias and Creon were teaming up to take Oedipus’ place on the throne and give it to Creon. He never actually listened to what Tiresias was trying to tell him, he just threw him out. He did this to more people throughout the story,