Oedipus The King Character Analysis

1. How does Oedipus treat those who are reluctant to obey him throughout the play? What does this tell you about Oedipus’ character?
The interactions that Oedipus has with people throughout the play says much about his character. His interactions were also his tragic flaw. Oedipus’ negative interactions with his people gradually grows during the play. In the beginning, Oedipus is a good leader who is trying to help his people during a horrible plague. We also see Oedipus’ interaction with people who he treats the best such as Jocasta, his wife/mother. Even after Jocasta tells him repeatedly to stop his search, he does not even consider it. Jocasta even begs Oedipus, but he is insistent on continuing his search. Oedipus also has a harsher side; …show more content…
In what ways is Oedipus a good king? In what ways is he a good person? How do these virtues result in negative consequences for Oedipus? How do they relate to the city of Thebes?
There were many ways that Oedipus was a good king. One of the many ways that Oedipus was a good king was the fact that he was very persistent in finding the killer of the previous king. The previous king was his father Laius. His reason for wanting to find the killer of Laius was to lift the sickness that was effecting his people. One of the ways that Oedipus is a good person is shown in the end of the play when he asks Creon to look after his kids and to bury his wife Jocasta. Jocasta also happens to be his mother, thanks to the prophecy given to Oedipus. Oedipus also asks Creon to banish him from Thebes. After all that has happened in his life, he is still trying to take care of everyone. Through the play, Oedipus’ persistence to find out who the killer of Laius was, made him lose his wife/mother to suicide. Oedipus also lost his best friend as well as the faith of his people. In the end, the Chorus (the voices of Thebes) hates Oedipus for the decisions he has made and for what he has done. Oedipus’ virtues result in negative consequences because he has caused much harm and sadness to come to Thebes. Thebes is the home of all of the bad events in Oedipus’ life. These events include, his prophecy, him being left for dead, him killing his real father, him marrying his real mother, his real mother …show more content…
To avoid this prophecy, Oedipus leaves his home to try and protect his parents from the prophecy. But what Oedipus does not know is that his “parents” are really his adoptive parents. On his journey to a new city, Oedipus ends up killing a man. At the time, he is unaware that the man that he has just killed is his father, thus making the prophecy come true. He chooses not to believe the blind prophet that he indeed ends up killing his own father because he is unaware that his father was actually one of the men he had just killed on his journey to his soon to be kingdom. In Oedipus Rex, Jocasta believes in the original prophecy that her new born son will eventually kill her husband who was the king at the time. This results in the new parents leaving their newborn child to die on a mountain top. Many years down the road Jocasta’s husband was killed by the same child who she ended up marrying. For as long as possible, Jocasta tried to hang on to the fact that Oedipus could not be the killer of her deceased husband because she believes that her son had died. She later realizes that she married her son and commits suicide. In Oedipus Rex, Creon believes in prophecies for pretty much the whole play. He seeks prophecies to aid in identifying the killer of the former king, but the prophecy for tells something in which is