Oedipus

A detailed Summary of Oedipus

In the limited experience of my young life I have not come across too many circumstances where I have been under what I would call a true leader. In order to be able to state what I think a true leader to be, the first problem for me is what truly constitutes a leader. A leader can be classified as anyone who people follow in order to reach a common goal. This is a very broad definition that could include people such as a teacher, a coach, or a politician. Not everyone who serves in the above mentioned capacities would I consider a leader of people in the sense that the Odyssey and Antigone character's Odysseus and Creon are leaders. People follow these two men out of a certain amount of respect that their character demands. While their positions of being Kings is due to birth or marriage, they possess qualities that make them worthy of the positions that they occupy. Both Creon and Odysseus show great competence as rulers truly deserve the title of Kings; and even though both their prides are the cause of great hardships for themselves. By the end of each of their respective tales they have learned the wisdom of a true ruler.

One of Odysseus most worthy qualities is that of quick thinking. No matter what situation he finds hi

mself in, he is usually able to manage his way out of it. For instance when he is intoxicating the Cyclops, Odysseus cleverly tells the Polyphemos that, "My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, / everyone calls me Nohbdy" (p.156, line 366-7). Thinking ahead Odysseus knew that when the other Cyclops' asked who had blinded Polyphemos, he would have nothing to answer but nobody. This is such clever thinking on his part that he manages to save his crew and himself from certain disaster. Another aspect of Odysseus character that can be considered a worthy trait in a leader is that of his caution in unfamiliar circumstances. When telling his story to the Phaiacians he does not at first reveal his identity, which may seem rather strange at first. In reality Odysseus is being very cautious, for on first landing on the isle he has no idea where the lands loyalties lie. For all he knows they could be sympathetic to Troy's loss of the war and kill someone from the force that defeated her on sight. Only when he is absolutely sure where their true loyalties lie does he reveal himself. A true leader is one who always has their wits about them and can readily adapt to an unknown situation. Homer is always praising Odysseus on this fact throughout the epic, " Noble Odysseus, expert in adversity" is one of the many epitaphs that Homer attaches to Odysseus' name (p. 138, line 448). Even Athena compliments Odysseus at one point saying, "Whoever gets around you must be sharp / and guileful as a snake; even a god / might bow to you in ways of dissimulation" (p.239, lines 285-7). This ability to deceive others, far from being a bad thing, is in my mind one of Odysseus' best qualities. He knows how to best guard his own interests in order to achieve the goal which is on hand. While it may not be the most honest approach in the world it certainly gets the job done. Despite all these good aspects to his character there is one major flaw that causes his downfall.

The fact that Creon has a strong sense of moral value is what makes him a good leader in my eyes. The big conflict in the play Antigone is that Creon believes that Polynices should not be buried because he is a traitor. Antigone on the other hand believes that it is her brother and that she has every right by the laws of the gods to bury Polynices. Creon states that, "Never at my hands / will the traitor be honored above the patriot" (p.68, lines 233-4). In reality it would be absurd to give the man who led the invasion into the city the same burial as one who defended it. Antigone is ignoring the fact that Polynices violated a most profound law, he betrayed his home to another city. Polynices forfeited his right to a burial when he decided to betray his homeland. If someone committed treason against the United States today he would not be given more than a

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1905
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English