Sometimes men find it hard to break free from their mothers. The tragic play, Oedipus the King by Sophocles, has a complex and interesting set of events that revolve around Oedipus and his relationship to his parents. Oedipus is a young king who is facing many galling challenges both mentally and physically. He becomes aware of a terrible curse that has fallen upon Thebes, that will only be lifted if the murderer of Laius, the former king, is prosecuted. Oedipus commits to the discovery and prosecution Laius’s murderer, which ultimately doesn’t work out in his favor. Apollo once told him news that his fate was to kill his father and gain power as king by marrying his mother. Although, Oedipus is abandoned as a child and throughout his life
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He ends up failing both of those attempts, but, because he is in such a high position, he is too prideful to realize it. Oedipus looks at himself as if he were a god which shows how his hubris causes his downfall “You’ve a wicked way with words, creon, / but I’ll be slow to learn- from you / I find you a menace, a great burden to me.” This quote presents how Oedipus views Creon and his advice; nevertheless, it foreshadows sarcasm and hints that Oedipus is under a lot of stress and doesn’t actually hate Creon. After reading Oedipus the King, the reader is most likely going to pick up on the fact that Oedipus has a very addictive personality, which goes hand in hand with his excessive pride. He becomes addicted to finding out if he was the one that killed Laius, but at the same time, his excessive pride makes him believe that he is too “god like” and powerful to have done something as evil as murder. This causes Oedipus to practically lose his mind and eventually gouge out his own eyes when he sees how the decisions he is making are affecting the people around him. Unfortunately, his hubris is the cause of all the tragic events throughout the story and at the end, he is dethroned and send out of the land of Thebes. Oedipus changes him from a young and lively king to a languid and clearly depressed man. The stress his hubris brings about this change and there was nothing he could have done to escape his fate. Sophocles did a good job of making the readers feel Oedipus’s pain during the final scenes. This tragic play is centered around Hubris, and it certainly shows just how carcinogenic pride really
He ends up failing both of those attempts, but, because he is in such a high position, he is too prideful to realize it. Oedipus looks at himself as if he were a god which shows how his hubris causes his downfall “You’ve a wicked way with words, creon, / but I’ll be slow to learn- from you / I find you a menace, a great burden to me.” This quote presents how Oedipus views Creon and his advice; nevertheless, it foreshadows sarcasm and hints that Oedipus is under a lot of stress and doesn’t actually hate Creon. After reading Oedipus the King, the reader is most likely going to pick up on the fact that Oedipus has a very addictive personality, which goes hand in hand with his excessive pride. He becomes addicted to finding out if he was the one that killed Laius, but at the same time, his excessive pride makes him believe that he is too “god like” and powerful to have done something as evil as murder. This causes Oedipus to practically lose his mind and eventually gouge out his own eyes when he sees how the decisions he is making are affecting the people around him. Unfortunately, his hubris is the cause of all the tragic events throughout the story and at the end, he is dethroned and send out of the land of Thebes. Oedipus changes him from a young and lively king to a languid and clearly depressed man. The stress his hubris brings about this change and there was nothing he could have done to escape his fate. Sophocles did a good job of making the readers feel Oedipus’s pain during the final scenes. This tragic play is centered around Hubris, and it certainly shows just how carcinogenic pride really