Oedipus perfectly fits Aristotle’s idea of a tragic hero. He possesses many positive traits, such intelligence and being a caring leader. However, he also possesses negative traits, such as hubris, that eventually leads to his downfall. Oedipus teaches the reader important life lessons that are applicable to today’s time period. Oedipus represents the common flaws in society today such as: arrogance, temper, and self denial. These flaws ultimately lead to Oedipus 's demise. He learns he killed his father Laius and married his mother Jocasta. Furthermore, he is forced to leave his children after he is willingly exiled. Not to mention he gorged his eyeballs out after Jocasta committed suicide. All of this occurs when the city of Thebes,
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This is a common mistake most tragic heroes and people in today’s society make. Oedipus exemplifies this when he accuses Tiresias of killing Laius, “If you weren’t blind, I’d say that you alone struck him down” (23). Oedipus’s ego is making him believe he did not kill Laius and is trying to deflect the blame onto others like Tiresias and Creon. This only hurts him because he is hiding from the awful truth longer. There are great examples of psychological denial in society today. The human brain is so powerful that people may believe they did not commit a major crime. They do not want to believe what they have done so their mind pretends they are innocent. Furthermore, Oedipus is even more denial than Jocasta about the murder, as Jocasta pleads to Oedipus, “Take my advice, I beg you-do not go on with it” (77). At this point in the play, even Jocasta realizes what events have occurred. Oedipus’s ego is so strong, he still believes he is innocent after Jocasta admits to the marrying Oedipus. The longer people are in denial, the longer it takes for them to receive help. In AA classes for example, the sooner someone admits they have a problem, the sooner they can help themselves with their issues. The same rule applies to Oedipus. If he could have admitted to his mistakes sooner, he could have received help and dealt with the bigger issue, the
This is a common mistake most tragic heroes and people in today’s society make. Oedipus exemplifies this when he accuses Tiresias of killing Laius, “If you weren’t blind, I’d say that you alone struck him down” (23). Oedipus’s ego is making him believe he did not kill Laius and is trying to deflect the blame onto others like Tiresias and Creon. This only hurts him because he is hiding from the awful truth longer. There are great examples of psychological denial in society today. The human brain is so powerful that people may believe they did not commit a major crime. They do not want to believe what they have done so their mind pretends they are innocent. Furthermore, Oedipus is even more denial than Jocasta about the murder, as Jocasta pleads to Oedipus, “Take my advice, I beg you-do not go on with it” (77). At this point in the play, even Jocasta realizes what events have occurred. Oedipus’s ego is so strong, he still believes he is innocent after Jocasta admits to the marrying Oedipus. The longer people are in denial, the longer it takes for them to receive help. In AA classes for example, the sooner someone admits they have a problem, the sooner they can help themselves with their issues. The same rule applies to Oedipus. If he could have admitted to his mistakes sooner, he could have received help and dealt with the bigger issue, the