The Character Flaws of Oedipus rex and Their Relationship to

A detailed Summary of The Character Flaws of Oedipus rex and Their Relationship to

In the drama "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles, Oedipus' flaws cause him to become a different man. Sophocles characterizes Oedipus as a superior being with great hubris, arrogance, ignorance, and haste. These characteristics are factors that catalyzed his downfall, causing him to become humiliated, wiser, and docile.

In the beginning of the story, Oedipus owned great hubris for he felt he was almost equal to the gods. Because of his equality sentiments, he held "no fear of justice, [and] no reverence for the temples of the gods" (p 1313 line 974) due to his pride in ruling Thebes and solving the Sphinx's riddle. This pride slowed his good judgment (Berkowitz and Brunner 115. Oedipus was unable to connect that the faults Tiresias pointed out were his own. In order to protect his pride and honor, Oedipus showed aggression toward Tiresias for his questioning and was too "quick to accuse Tiresias and Creon of plotting against his royal person and station." (4 p145). By doing so, "Oedipus remarks with near-contempt the fallibility of the god's human ministers" (4 p 145). This proves Oedipus' prideful and self-glorious attitude, which undermines the divine superiority of the gods. This characteristic would change in the end as

The humility that Oedipus exhibited in the exodus greatly contrasts from his hubris and arrogance in the prologue. After realizing that he had fulfilled his horrible destiny, Oedipus was found to be "a figure of sympathy"( 2 p 289). He became an outcast that prayed to the gods for understanding instead of a great and "all-knowing" man of stature. Because he no longer took great pride in himself or received support from his city, he was forced to wander in the wilderness for the rest of his days. He knew he had brought this fate upon himself, and willingly gauged out his eyes crying, "you'll [I'll] see no more the pain I suffered, all the pain I caused!" (p1324 line 1406). This was Oedipus' way of declaring he could no longer depend upon himself because of the disastrous effects of his decisions. Therefore, he gave in to the mercy of others and their guidance in the right direction for he could not guide himself.

Oedipus' arrogance and hubris caused him to be blindly ignorant in the beginning of the story. According to Alister Cameron, this ignorance caused Oedipus to become blind and unconcerned about the consequences of his actions (2 291). His investigation of the comment he heard at the banquet was justified. However, his investigation was futile because he failed to reflect upon the prophecy's stipulations. He did not consider

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Approximate Word count = 912
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English