Oedipus Flaws

Greek Literature usually has a tragic ending in which the protagonist commits errors that leads them to an unfortunate end. The story of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles resembles an Aristotelian tragic hero. The character represented by Oedipus shows the flaws that lead him to misfortune. It is not something to rely on a higher power for, but a responsibility this “tragic hero” has no choice but to persevere through hardship and endure the tragedy of his life. Oedipus was a proud, confident man and one could see he was utterly arrogant from the beginning of the play itself. For instance, his characteristics throughout the play reflect his downfall at the end of the story. Oedipus was prideful of the person he was. He believed himself a good king, but the reality of the matter was that he was far from a great king. After solving the Sphinx riddle, he becomes king and the people of Thebes perceive him as a hero. However, this only led Oedipus to gain more self confidence since he had a kingdom that idolized him. This led his interest of solving the previous King Laius’ …show more content…
Bastrow mentions, “...nor he has a calm wisdom which is always master of his passions” (Bastrow) which means that Oedipus had no control over his anger and acted quickly as a result. He was a selfish person who didn’t listen to others, but himself and this would only lead him to more blindness. Oedipus wanted to get rid of anyone who could relate him to the prophecies. His brother in law was accused by him for joining with Teiresias and starting “rumors” in which Oedipus was blamed for the Plague in Thebes. Everyone tried to convince Oedipus from continuing the investigation, yet he continued only to find a miserable truth. Dodds states, “ The immediate cause of Oedipus’ ruin is not fate or the gods- no oracle said he must discover the truth- and still less does it lie in his own weakness” (Dodds). Every flaw he had led his miserable