Oedipus Rex and “Master Harold” and the boys are dramatic tragedies that tell the story of two men who, as Kreon would put it, “serve [their] own destruction. Although the two plays are completely different in plot and setting, they are similar in respect to the irrational decisions that the main characters make. The main characters also share many of the same characteristics which include a false sense of pride, intelligence which is over shadowed by irrational decisions, clouded judgment, and shame of their actions. Although the characters serve their own destruction, it can be argued that the environment shaped the downfalls which take place in each play. Pride is a personality trait that Oedipus and Hally develop in each play that eventually serve to their destruction. Oedipus and Hally are both introduced as humble characters who develop a false sense of pride as each story progresses. Oedipus’ pride is based on his inability to accept reality, while Hally’s pride is based on social influences that shape his views on humanity. Oedipus’ demonstrates humility when the Oracle informs him that he is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus believes what the Oracle tells him and eventually leads a journey to avoid his fate. Later in the story, he develops a false sense of pride which allows him to deny the truth behind Teiresias’ prophecy. Oedipus instead interprets Teiresias’ prophecy as a threat from Kreon and reasons that it is because of his “Wealth, power, craft of statesmanship! Kingly position, everywhere admired!”. (scene 1, 163-4) Oedipus’ language suggests superiority over Kreon and Teiresias, and it is this scene where he demonstrates that the humility he once possessed is gone. In the beginning of ... ... middle of paper ... ...er believes that he is smarter and more aware than anyone he speaks to and becomes blind to the truth which was shown when Teiresia explained the prophecy. Oedipus Rex and “Master Harold” and the boys focus on character, judgment, decisions, and the relationship between the three. Oedipus and Hally are not “evil” characters but they become very unlikeable characters towards the end of their stories due to poor judgment and bad decision making. The reader roots for each protagonist and is let down by their actions throughout their stories. They serve their own destruction in their stories but also serve the destruction of their likeability from the perspective of the reader. The tragedy of each play is due to the series of poor choices that the characters make which lead to their undesirable actions. The two men become examples of disappointment and wasted potential.
In The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Allen Mandelbaum, Homer retells the story of Odysseus’s expedition from Troy to his homeland, Ithaca. Along the way, Odysseus faces numerous challenges—from dealing with Poseidon’s wrath to getting trapped on Calypso’s island. With Athena’s guidance, he returns to Ithaca to reunite with his son, Telemachus, and loyal wife, Penelope. Throughout the book, hubris or excessive pride is in display especially with Odysseus and the suitors. Hubris causes the them to neglect the gods and create careless mistakes which backfire in the future. Their incapability to make good decisions is affected by their pride which blurs what is and is not a good idea. In addition, hubris is also a trait looked down on in Greek culture. Homer lets his audience understand how pride can be part of one’s success. However, hubris will not only cause his or her downfall but also of those around them.
The hubris which Oedipus has is a fatal flaw that makes him struggle with the notion of his fate and reality. This causes him to act arrogantly and wrongly in situations he is confronted with. Oedipus demonstrates hubris by trying to deny his fate by running away from his mother and father (who he thought to be). It was destined by the Delphi Oracle for him to marry his mother and kill his father, yet Oedipus tries to alter this by starting a new life: "I was the man who should marry his own mother, shed his father’s blood ...
Along the same line as humility comes pride. Odysseus had more pride and cockiness than any of the characters I have read about this semester. He didn’t seem as bad in the Iliad, but the Odyssey really showed him in a different light. He had to swallow his pride when he had to come back to his home and get it back. Just in the fact that he came back at all was pride swallowing. He lost all of his men.
Pride caused the death of 2 innocent people in Othello; however, Oedipus becoming blind and having to live with the mistakes he made is a fate worse than death. A tragic flaw seen in both characters is the amount of pride each one possesses. Both men had the opportunity to be ordinary and to be able to get by, yet that was not good enough for either of them. Oedipus and Othello felt they could achieve more than what was put in front of them and in the process of becoming great men; they unfortunately meet their end. It is proven through Oedipus and Othello that pride is not a bad thing when it is used appropriately; however, too much pride can ruin not just one life, but also the many lives that are surrounded by that one life. By putting too much emphasis on their lives, Othello and Oedipus are responsible for their own demise.
Even before this story begins, irony is brewing and continues throughout the pages. The creative author is using this enticing technique as a backbone for his play, and also as a key component in foreshadowing the tragic plot. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is filled with many different ironies, so much so, that this reoccurring element tremendously affects the outcome of the story.
The play "Oedipus Rex" is a very full and lively one to say the least. Everything a reader could ask for is included in this play. There is excitement, suspense, happiness, sorrow, and much more. Truth is the main theme of the play. Oedipus cannot accept the truth as it comes to him or even where it comes from. He is blinded in his own life, trying to ignore the truth of his life. Oedipus will find out that truth is rock solid. The story is mainly about a young man named Oedipus who is trying to find out more knowledge than he can handle. The story starts off by telling us that Oedipus has seen his moira, his fate, and finds out that in the future he will end up killing his father and marrying his mother. Thinking that his mother and father were Polybos and Merope, the only parents he knew, he ran away from home and went far away so he could change his fate and not end up harming his family. Oedipus will later find out that he cannot change fate because he has no control over it, only the God's can control what happens. Oedipus is a very healthy person with a strong willed mind who will never give up until he gets what he wants. Unfortunately, in this story these will not be good trait to have.
In the play Oedipus Rex, Oedipus learns things that make him realize that he is not who he thinks he is. His past is slowly unavailing throughout the play from where he came from to why it happened and he is determined to learn the truth. This play is based on tragedy and some say that Oedipus himself is to be held responsible for what happens to him towards the end. As Oedipus seeks out the truth behind the prophecy going on about killing his father and marrying his mother, Jocasta realizes the truth before Oedipus does and tries to prevent him from pursuing the knowledge.
Not only does his ignorance create the flawed character inside himself, but it also causes him to run from his fate. The significance
The great Sophoclean play, Oedipus Rex is an amazing play, and one of the first of its time to accurately portray the common tragic hero. Written in the time of ancient Greece, Sophocles perfected the use of character flaws in Greek drama with Oedipus Rex. Using Oedipus as his tragic hero, Sophocles’ plays forced the audience to experience a catharsis of emotions. Sophocles showed the play-watchers Oedipus’s life in the beginning as a “privileged, exalted [person] who [earned his] high repute and status by…intelligence.” Then, the great playwright reached in and violently pulled out the audience’s most sorrowful emotions, pity and fear, in showing Oedipus’s “crushing fall” from greatness.
Odysseus and I share pride in a numerous amount of ways. Odysseus constantly thought about his pride, like in this example as he and his men sailed toward the six eyed monster known as Scylla, “But as I sent them toward Scylla, I told them nothing” (936). Telling them nothing shows arrogance. It says that he doesn’t care enough about his men to even listen to what Circe had to say. Circe told Odysseus to row quickly past Scylla in order to lose the least amount of men, but his ego got in the way of that. Additionally, Odysseus didn’t have just one instance of showing egotism and neither did I. He became one of Penelope's suitors, “I did not miss, neither did I take all day stringing my bow” (954). He was trying to win his lady back by shooting
Oedipus’ pride and stubbornness is blinding him from the truth. Pride is an emotion or yawning desire of gratification resulting from one’s own accomplishments. Because of his victory of conquering the Sphinx by solving its riddle, Oedipus pride risen tremendously. Not only does he have this great self-awareness about himself, but the
Sophocles’ Oedipus is the tragedy of tragedies. An honorable king is deceived and manipulated by the gods to the point of his ruination. In the face of ugly consequences Oedipus pursues the truth for the good of his city, finally exiling himself to restore order. Sophocles establishes emotional attachment between the king and the audience, holding them in captivated sympathy as Oedipus draws near his catastrophic discovery. Oedipus draws the audience into a world between a rock and a hard place, where sacrifice must be made for the greater good.
His view of himself leads to his own downfall, and on the way down he brings people he loves. Oedipus did not start off displaying his pride; it came out of him as a result of the actions that took place. At one time, Oedipus feared
Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus Rex, presents to the reader a full range of conflicts and their resolution after a climax.
Most characters that appear in tragedies have one common similarity. This is that they all have a tragic flaw that leads to their downfall in the end. This tragic flaw can be many different things such as greed or anger issues, but the two most common are hubris, or excessive pride, and jealousy. In Oedipus Rex and Othello, we can see major examples of these two tragic flaws, plus a little bit of greed from a secondary character in Othello. This shows that tragedies typically follow the same storyline. Of course this is not meant as actually the same story. Basically these stories contain someone who has a lot of power or high social status with a tragic flaw that leads to their death or loss of power. That statement alone describes both Oedipus