A Greek tragedy is one with a tragic outcome that is an inevitable result of the key character’s personal flaws. As the main characters of the Greek Tragedy Oedipus the King and Star Wars, Oedipus and Anakin Skywalker share a similar fatal flaw of extreme pride. Oedipus was arrogant about his importance, believing that if he became King he and only he could lift the curse of Thebes, even when many people told him to let it go. Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader because he believed that he was the only one who could make the big important decisions. So Vader is arrogant about his skills, while Oedipus is arrogant about his position. Inevitably, the arrogance of Oedipus and Anakin Skywalker causes their ultimate downfall through their ignorant …show more content…
hunger of knowledge, the denial of fate, and the betrayal of their allies. Oedipus and Anakin Skywalker are both so blinded by their pride and egotism that they develop false assumptions which motivate them to turn against their allies.
An example of this is with his wife, Padme, when she pleads him in desperation to return from the “dark side”. Though in his fit of anger Anakin yells, “Liar! You are with them! The Jedi turned against me. Don’t turn against me!” (Star Wars Episode III) This shows that Anakin has become paranoid that his pregnant wife would not want the best for him and that he expression of love for him is seen as defiance in his eyes. And with his lack of trust with his allies it eventually lead him to betray not only his wife but the Jedi alliance, which started his transition to becoming Darth Vader. Comparable to Anakin, Oedipus is so filled by the power and influence. He believes that any crime must have originated from other people. Similar to Anakin, who believed the Jedi’s were his enemies, Oedipus brands Creon as a traitor without any real proof, “Do you have the face to come to my palace- you who are convicted as a murderer, exposed as a robber attempting to steal my throne?” This shows that even as the King of Thebes, he fears losing his power making Oedipus believe that people are willing to betray him. When believing this, he loses a valuable friend and counselor in a time of great
need. From the false sense of security that was encouraged from pride, Anakin Skywalker and Oedipus’s pursuit of knowledge both lead to their tragic end. Anakin knows that he is the “Chosen One” that is prophesized to save the galaxy, though he starts to become too impatient and begins to resent the Jedi from holding him back from the council. Listening to the lies from the dark side, Anakin’s quest for power soon gets him involved in a world of hate and suspicion. This is shown when Obi-wan confronts Anakin in the hopes of getting him back from the dark side before it is truly too late. Anakin says,” Don’t lecture me, Obi-wan! I see through the lies of the Jedi, I do not fear the dark side as you do. I have brought peace, freedom, justice and security.” This shows that Anakin’s first motives to obtain knowledge, is ruined from his pride and ambition. The same is for Oedipus, he enjoys learning new things no matter how damaging it is, thinking that he can handle it with impunity. An example of this is when Oedipus is ignoring Tiresias’s reasons for reluctance, Oedipus makes him tell the truth, “You are the murderer; you are the defilement of this land.” It’s clear how Oedipus’s stubbornness sets his ultimate downfall into motion. When Jocasta leaves in grief after realizing the truth, Oedipus continues to remain confident, “Burst out what will! I shall know my origin, mean though it may be. I count myself the son of Good Chance, the giver of success – I shall not be dishonored.” This shows that Oedipus is completely blind to the signs of awaiting disaster that might come from the distress of others. Because he is so eager to discover the truth, he is blind to everything else. Oedipus and Anakin Skywalker greatest act of pride that leads to the final catastrophe is their denial of fate. After Anakin marries Padme he continues to see visions of her death, which makes him anxious to save her by any means, prompting him to join the dark side. Anakin tries to defy the inevitable because he loves her so much but by joining the dark side he is more prone to anger and hatred, which eventually leads him to killing Padme and Obi-wan, the people he swore to protect. Similarly, a vital cause to Oedipus’s downfall is his denial to accept his fate. Because of this Oedipus, rejects the idea that the gods control the lives of the mortals, which is the ultimate proclamation of pride. That exact decision to leave Corinth which gives him the opportunity to kill his real father Laius, not knowing it is his father and to marry his mother Jocasta. He enacts a scheming curse on the criminal that killed Laius, which is something only the god can do, “I call down this curse in the god’s name, let them be destroyed by the present plague, or something even worse.” Because he defies the will of the god he soon becomes the victim of their wrath. Both the stories about Oedipus and Anakin Skywalker have their similarities when it comes down to their denial of their fate, their great sense pride, which in turn becomes their greatest contributor to their downfall. Their selfishness leads them to reckless behavior and the irrational distrusts of others. By denying their fates, they unintentionally accomplish the very things that they feared the most.
Even the best leaders have a few flaws. In the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles, he showed that having flaws does not mean a person is a bad leader, it just means they are human and will make mistakes. Oedipus had received a prophecy when he was younger that he would harm his father and sleep with his mother. He left the city of Corinth, to avoid the prophecy and save his parents, and went to rule Thebes. Thebes King had just been murdered and Oedipus was determined to find the prior King’s murderer, but he soon found out he was the murderer. Even though Oedipus may have made mistakes, he was still a great leader. Oedipus would rather hurt himself before he ever hurt his people. When Oedipus realized his wrongful acts,
tells the priest and the suffering people of Thebes. If Oedipus did not care for
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 if his arrogance. There are a few opposing views that stray from Oedipus being fully arrogant. First is that he took actions to save himself 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. All three opposing arguments shows a different side of Oedipus other than that of arrogance.
The issues of destiny, predetermination, and foreknowledge are raised as problems, not as dogma. How much control do we have over the shape of our lives? How much of what happens to us is due to heredity, to accidents, to sheer luck. . . . These are the questions that the play raises, and it raises them as questions. It shows us men and women who are both powerful and helpless, often at the same moment. Oedipus embodies the human condition. . . . (75-76).
Oedipus demonstrates that he is not a purely evil character by fleeing his home town for safety of others, taking care of his city and accepting responsibility for his actions. Once Oedipus has grown to be a young man he is told that he is to kill his father and sleep with his mother because it is his fate. As a result “I [Oedipus] herd and fled” to Thebes so he can prevent those actions from occurring (822). Oedipus runs away from his fate to help himself out as well as his family. He does not want to kill his father; therefore, he runs away from his fate for the safety of his father. 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
In ancient Greece, the people believed that the gods ruled their lives and controlled their destiny. Their emphasis on fate was shown in their plays. This stands true to Oedipus, he could not c0ontrol his fate. Fate kept Oedipus alive through a murder attempt and to kill his father, and to marry his mother.
Anger is expressed through a variety of reasons. Vague with many divisions and levels, it comprises of different types. Anger is a powerful emotion that reveals the state of a person. Often, this emotion is uncontrollable because it is used to recompense for what has been lost and creates positive and negative effects. Particularly, it is evident when expectations and goals are unfulfilled or do not meet reality. In Sophocles’s Oedipus the King and Shusaku Endo’s Silence, the protagonists experience anger for reasons that differ. Sebastian Rodrigues's non-acceptance towards others for their lack of moral values and dignity together with Oedipus's hubris and indignation bring a similar result of emotional change.
The ancient Greeks were fond believers of Fate. Fate, defined according to Webster’s, is “the principle or determining cause or will by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as the do.” The Greeks take on Fate was slightly modified. They believed that the gods determined Fate: “…fate, to which in a mysterious way the gods themselves were subject, was an impersonal force decreeing ultimate things only, and unconcerned with day by day affairs.” It was thought that these gods worked in subtle ways; this accounts for character flaws (called harmatia in Greek). Ancient Greeks thought the gods would alter a person’s character, in order for that person to suffer (or gain from) the appropriate outcome. Such was the case in Oedipus’s story.
For our makeup assignment, we have the task of writing our opinion on the statement, “Circumstances are beyond the control of man; but his conduct is in his own power.” This means that a man cannot control what happens around him but he can can control the actions of which he takes to get through whatever life throws at him. Oedipus did very well with the circumstances he was given until he found out the news of his relationship with his mother. To stand by this quote by Benjamin Disraeli, Oedipus had no control over the circumstances that he would then discover. While, he did not have control over these events, Oedipus had the choice to react to his now biological mothers’ confession.
Oedipus the King tells the tragic story of Oedipus and how Oedipus unwittingly fulfills his prophecy. Oedipus prophecy was that he would murder his father and marry his mother. Oedipus grew up in the kingdom of Corinth where he believed that he was the son of the Kings of Corinth; when Oedipus discovered that he is destined to kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus decides to leave Corinth and try to prevent the prophecy from happening. Unknowingly to him during his escape from his destiny, Oedipus murderers his father and eventually marries his mother and fulfils the prophecy. After reading Oedipus the King I believe that one of the main ideas of Oedipus the King is that Oedipus own tragic flaws lead to the fulfillment of the prophecy and his eventual downfall.
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.
Throughout the entire play, Oedipus is presented as a static character with many flaws. Because of his many flaws, this eventually results in his downfall as the king of Thebes. Not only did his flaws lead to his downfall, but it was also his fate to kill his father and later lose his position of king and caused him to be exiled. One of Oedipus’ main flaws was focusing on only himself as king and not listening to the advice that the people around him were trying to give him. When Oedipus asked Tiresias, the prophet of the god Apollo who killed the last king of Thebes, he would not listen when Tiresias told him that he killed King Laius. Oedipus would be in denial and to the fact that he killed Laius. This flaw and many more ultimately led to his downfall. In the end Oedipus loses his eyesight just like how he was blind to his flaws, it was ironic how Oedipus was emotionally blind and that led to his physical blindness.
This essay will illustrate the types of characters depicted in Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus Rex, whether static or dynamic, flat or round, and whether protrayed through the showing or telling technique.
People with the greatest power will find the greatest downfall. Oedipus is guilty of hubris; he is a man of excessive pride. For a supposedly intelligent person, he made the choice of running away instead of confronting his "parents", thinking that he can outsmart the prophecy. From then on, he chose to kill a man that was old enough to be his father. Moreover he chose to solve the riddle of the Sphinx and accept the marriage to a woman that was old enough to be his mother. After saving Thebes, he thrived on the power he had acquired and his name is a triumph for him, as he puts it,"...Oedipus, whose name is greatest known and greatest feared."(Sophocles 185) As a king he wants people to fulfill his request and Teiresias wanted no truth to be told. Pride is his essence and when he was put into a negative light, he became really harsh. He chose to accuse Teiresias and Creon of plotting to dethrone him than accept the truth. It was actually Oedipus’ choice to invite the prophet because as he puts it, Teiresias,"...have harnessed all knowledge and all mysteries; you know what heaven hides..."(Sophocles 195). Evidently, Oedipus believes that this ...
Here is a story where Oedipus the King, who has accomplished great things in his life, discovers that the gods were only playing with him. He has everything a man of that time could want; he is king of Thebes, he has a wonderful wife and children, and great fame through out the lands. He has lived a good life, but in the end everything is taken from him.