Tragedy In Oedipus The King, The Tragic Hero

Oedipus the Tragic Hero
Oedipus is depicted as a “marionette in the hands of a daemonic power”(pg150), but like all tragic hero’s he fights and struggles against fate even when the odds are against him. His most tragic flaw is his morality, as he struggles between the good and the evil of his life. The good is that he was pitied by the Shepard who saved him from death as a baby. The evil is his fate, where he is to kill his father and marry his mother. His hubris or excessive pride and self-righteousness are the lead causes to his downfall. Oedipus is a tragic hero who suffers the consequences of his immoral actions, and must learn from these mistakes. This Aristotelian theory of tragedy exists today, as an example of what happens when men and women that fall from high positions politically and socially.
Oedipus had good intentions for his people and tries to save the city when death is at its doorstep even admitting that they mean more to him that is own life “I grieve for these, my people far more that I fear for my own life”(106-106). His determination to seek the truth and care for his people not only makes him an admirable man but respectable king. His quest for truth no matter

the consequences are an aspect of his demise “Let it burst! Whatever will, whatever must! I must know my birth, no matter how common it may be”(1182-1185). He is to confident in his understanding of reality to know that this curse or prophesies has already been fulfilled. Instead of running away from his fate of killing his father and marry his mother, he unknowing runs toward his doom he is trying to avoid, “I think I’ve just called down a dreadful curse upon myself – I simply didn’t know”(906-907). Despite the good qualities of Oedipus he falls because of his mistakes and lack of good judgment.
As a tragic hero, Oedipus has hamartia or flaws that lead to his demise. One of these flaws is his excessive pride in the control over his life but in reality he has no control over fate what so ever. When Oedipus hears of his believed father’s death, he thinks he has escaped the prophecies “all those prophecies I feared – Polybus packs off with him in hell! They’re nothing, worthless” (1062-1064). Another error in judgment is when he is repeatedly told to stop looking for the truth but continues on “How terrible to see the truth when the truth is only pain to him who sees” (359-360). This warning go unheard to Oedipus for as he keeps search for the truth and end up suffering with the answers he has found. His defiance to face fate leads him to accuse Creon of “plotting to kill me, kill the king- I see it all marauding thief himself scheming to steal my crown and power” when he is told he is the murderer and the one he has been searching for. This fatal flaw of it all is that it was morally wrong to fight against what fate has in store for you in this day in age.
It seems that Oedipus could have avoided his suffering by never killing a man and never marring a women old enough to be his parents. Fulfilling this fate causes much agony and leads him to blind himself “What good were my eyes to me? Nothing I could see could bring me joy” (1472-1473). When the truth is brought to light even Jocasta, Oedipus’s wife , cant handle the pain and in the end kills herself but not before begging him to “Stop – in the name of God, if you love your own life, call off this search” (1163-1164). Oedipus blames himself for the suffering he has brought upon himself and his family saying “If Id died then, I’ve never have dragged myself my loved ones through such hell” (1487-1488), even Jocasta calls him the “agony man” (1177) for all the painful truth that has surfaced due to his search. This agony is identifiable in the reality of human life today in many human situation, tragedy is often inescapable and sadly enough like Oedipus’s life inevitable.
The life of Oedipus arouses pity from the audience because although he was a great king his weakness lies in that he was human. The tragedy he faces emits fear in us because of the many tragic situation he endures. The pity we have for his wife, Jocasta, who suffered “mourning the marriage bed where she let loose the double brood – monster – husband by her husband, children by her child” (1379-1381) with no control over any of it. Even her pleading to Oedipus to quit searching for the truth, did not stop his quest. We have empathy for Oedipus because he tried to overcome his fate but failed only to face “bloodshed, incest, misery, all your mouths lets fly at me, I have suffered it all, and all against my will” (1096-1098). The realization of his failure is the true tragedy of Oedipus that we pity.
The irony of the play is that Oedipus was a man dedicated to fighting and avoiding evil but he himself was the cause of so much tragedy.

His ideal qualities of being intelligent and powerful, but not perfect, were not enough to keep his falling into misfortune. Like many tragic heroes despite their lofty positions who make mistakes they must suffer the consequences. He then becomes an example to us all to what happens when powerful men fall from high positions. The pain he suffered was inflicted upon himself because he though he was powerful enough to control his life but in reality he was powerless. The unavoidable fate to kill his father and marry his mother create pity from the audience for the fact that we can’t control what we were destined to do no matter how hard we

try.