Oedipus was a tragic hero that much is clear, though he had a noble heart and always wanted to do what was right. He was just wanted a normal life, free from any prophecy he was told and tried running away from the inevitable and in the end it still didn't work out to his favor. That proves that you can't do anything to escape fate, he just learned that the hard way. In the book, Oedipus the King written by Sophocles, Oedipus is the new king of Thebes after someone murdered the king before, Laius. Oedipus is told by Apollo that to stop the chaos that has started in his homeland he must banish the killer. Throughout the book Oedipus pursuits the murderer of his fallen king while trying to find out who he is along the way. In the end he finds
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When Oedipus calls for Tiresias for help and he refuses Oedipus proceeds to call him a fake for not stepping up to answer the Sphinx's riddle and says, "…No. I came, know-nothing Oedipus, I stopped the Sphinx. I answered the riddle with my own intelligence- the birds had nothing to teach me." (24) He prides himself on figuring out the riddle of the Sphinx, but he uses his accomplishment to gloat and in return gets nothing from Tiresias. He used achievement as some kind of weapon almost, against the prophet as if to try to prove that he is, in a way, better, or smarter even. His excessive pride in this feat got him nothing but an angry prophet and no answers. The final quote that proves the last fatal flaw of Oedipus is said by Oedipus himself when the Corinthian Messenger came to Thebes to let Oedipus know that his so-called father has died from disease, "…those prophet who announced I would kill my father? He's dead, buried below ground. And here I am in Thebes-I did not put hand to sword. Perhaps he died from longing to see me again. That way, it could be said that I was the cause of his death. But there he lies, dead, taking with him all these prophecies I feared-they are worth nothing!"(pg.53) His excessive pride shows when he believes that he had escaped fates iron grips, when in reality he was too blind to realize what was right in front of him. Because …show more content…
He had a fate that couldn't be reversed, the third and final reason as to why Oedipus was a tragic hero. Oedipus was very fortunate in the end, he was originally supposed to be banished from Thebes straight away for being the murder of king Laius, and instead wasn't. That doesn't diminish the fact that he couldn't change his fate, though. When Oedipus is speaking to the Chorus he says, "It was Apollo, friends, Apollo, who brought to fulfill all my sufferings." (75) When Oedipus said this, he was saying that Apollo had all along predicted his fate, he was just too blind to realize it. It was Oedipus who had carried out the prophecy, but it was Apollo who had foreseen his misfortune. The final quote to prove that Oedipus has an irreversible fate is when he proclaims, "But I should not speak of things that should never have been done." (77) Oedipus recognizes the evil in which he lived all this time, but he also acknowledges the fact that it should've never had happened. He knows Apollo has his fate set in stone, and nothing he could've done would change that, but he is very bitter over everything that had happened and doesn't quite understand why it all happened to him. In any case, no matter what Oedipus could've done, fate would've always caught
When Oedipus calls for Tiresias for help and he refuses Oedipus proceeds to call him a fake for not stepping up to answer the Sphinx's riddle and says, "…No. I came, know-nothing Oedipus, I stopped the Sphinx. I answered the riddle with my own intelligence- the birds had nothing to teach me." (24) He prides himself on figuring out the riddle of the Sphinx, but he uses his accomplishment to gloat and in return gets nothing from Tiresias. He used achievement as some kind of weapon almost, against the prophet as if to try to prove that he is, in a way, better, or smarter even. His excessive pride in this feat got him nothing but an angry prophet and no answers. The final quote that proves the last fatal flaw of Oedipus is said by Oedipus himself when the Corinthian Messenger came to Thebes to let Oedipus know that his so-called father has died from disease, "…those prophet who announced I would kill my father? He's dead, buried below ground. And here I am in Thebes-I did not put hand to sword. Perhaps he died from longing to see me again. That way, it could be said that I was the cause of his death. But there he lies, dead, taking with him all these prophecies I feared-they are worth nothing!"(pg.53) His excessive pride shows when he believes that he had escaped fates iron grips, when in reality he was too blind to realize what was right in front of him. Because …show more content…
He had a fate that couldn't be reversed, the third and final reason as to why Oedipus was a tragic hero. Oedipus was very fortunate in the end, he was originally supposed to be banished from Thebes straight away for being the murder of king Laius, and instead wasn't. That doesn't diminish the fact that he couldn't change his fate, though. When Oedipus is speaking to the Chorus he says, "It was Apollo, friends, Apollo, who brought to fulfill all my sufferings." (75) When Oedipus said this, he was saying that Apollo had all along predicted his fate, he was just too blind to realize it. It was Oedipus who had carried out the prophecy, but it was Apollo who had foreseen his misfortune. The final quote to prove that Oedipus has an irreversible fate is when he proclaims, "But I should not speak of things that should never have been done." (77) Oedipus recognizes the evil in which he lived all this time, but he also acknowledges the fact that it should've never had happened. He knows Apollo has his fate set in stone, and nothing he could've done would change that, but he is very bitter over everything that had happened and doesn't quite understand why it all happened to him. In any case, no matter what Oedipus could've done, fate would've always caught