Oedipus The King Research Paper

In one of Sophocles’s plays, Oedipus proves to be the tragic hero in Oedipus the King, a play about a powerful king whose life begins to fall apart when he learns more about his past. Oedipus learns his from the Gods that he will murder his father and marry his mother, this causes him to run away from his family in hopes of escaping this horrible prophecy. Although while doing so, he kills several men, solves a riddle for the town of thebes, and marries the queen, making himself king. Aristotle believes that a tragic hero is someone that is neither good nor bad but possesses a poor quality that will cause their downfall and while they may not be the best character, the audience feels pity for them while worrying about their own destiny.

As mentioned before, a majority of the blame can be placed on Oedipus’s temper that essentially causes him to act upon road rage, “he brawls with an old man” (Sophocles Time and Setting), and this ultimately proves he does not think about consequences. Obviously by killing his father, the prophecy is becoming true and by stopping and thinking about the God’s oracle, perhaps it is possible by sparing his father's life, his prophecy would have begun to change. His impulsive and narcissistic personality continues to prove to have an effect on his better judgement and leads to his fall from royalty. With this said, this does not necessarily mean the audience loathes him. In fact, many do not necessarily believe justice has been served because throughout the story, it is made obvious that Oedipus has good intentions and he does not deserve the punishment he receives. In the end, the audience witnesses him blind, suffering from truth and ready to live the rest of his life alone, “preserved from death precisely for disaster” (Sophocles 77), proving he understands his consequences. At this point in the story, he is begging Creon, asking for pity and accepting his own death. Not to mention, there is a great deal of pathos as he explains to his daughters that life for them now will be difficult but he wishes the best for

The fact that the audience understands his struggle to do well but yet unintentionally sabotaging their own self allows the audience to connect. As everyone attempts to make Oedipus give up on the truth, the audience can easily understand his frustration, “I’m tired of hearing that” (Sophocles 59), because often times the reader has had experience with being told what to do. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero allows the reader to realize fate can not be controlled and ultimately bringing them to worry about their own fortune. Since many people are unsure of their future, many in some ways, understand how Oedipus feels, and overall questioning whether or not he is deserving of his consequences. While the story revolves around the idea of fate and destiny, it is hard to neglect the fact that he is making his own decisions. His tragic flaw and poor judgement bring him to make choices that will later destroy him, such as during his dispute between an old man, he decides to in a “fit of temper, kills him” (Sophocles Time and Setting), thus proving the type of choices he is making in his life. Eventually he realizes his faulty choices are the reason for his downfall and he can not merely blame his prophecy. The fact that Oedipus chooses to follow the course of situations similar to his oracle proves he has free choice and each choice is further sealing his own