Pride In Oedipus The King

Improved Essays
Sophocles, a well-known Greek play writer, demonstrated in many ways how Oedipus led to his downfall. Sophocles used Oedipus the king to describe the time period and Greek culture. Sophocles exaggerates Oedipus’ actions and attitude to convey the story line. Sophocles gave Oedipus excessive pride and anger for the reader to acknowledge his downfall. Oedipus had complete power over Thebes. The people of Thebes were desperate until Oedipus came and solved the Sphinx’s riddle and the monster plunged to her death. Sophocles made Oedipus immediately become the king of Thebes to show his instantaneous authority and the vulnerability of the people for a leader after the Sphinx. A few years later, Thebes is suffering from a plague. The play begins …show more content…
His arrogance and blindness was the major characteristics of Oedipus’ personality. Sophocles made Oedipus overly prideful and very full of himself. This caused him to not only become blind, but also act blind from the truth. Oedipus didn’t believe anything people said unless they had proof. He believed that he knew it all, even the truth over the gods. The truth was very symbolic throughout the play. Everything referred back to Oedipus’ pride getting in the way of him “seeing the truth” until the ending. Oedipus’ actual downfall was because of him seeing the truth. All of his actions came forward and reality hit Oedipus. If Oedipus hadn’t been so prideful or full of himself, maybe he would have realized what was truly happening. Sophocles made significant references to “eyes” and “seeing” all throughout the play. Tiresias states: “How terrible—to see the truth when the truth is only pain to him who sees!” (lines 359-360). Although Oedipus truly knew what the truth was, he couldn’t get his mind to see it. He was so prideful that he thought nothing could stop him. Oedipus believed nothing could get in the way of what he wanted or how he would live his life. Sophocles proves his pride when Oedipus kills his father and fulfills the prophecy. Not being able to see the truth of Oedipus’ life, his pride, and the events that occurred because of it was the reason for his downfall. Everything Oedipus did for …show more content…
Sophocles made Oedipus do the one thing they are not allowed to do; think they are higher and more important than the gods. Oedipus explained how since he had gotten Thebes back and stable, that he was superior. Not only did he disrespect other powerful people, but he also disrespected the gods. There was a prophecy set on Oedipus when he was born stating that he would kill his father and marry his mother as he grew up. Oedipus tried to escape his fate by running away and killing the man who told him about the curse. While letting his pride and power get in the way, he fulfills the prophecy. If Oedipus didn’t believe that he was invincible, he could have been more careful with his decisions. The gods punished Oedipus for his disrespect and baffling pride. After finding out the truth about his family and what he had done, Oedipus stabs his own eyes out. Oedipus can’t believe what he had done and is ashamed. It is ironic that Oedipus was “blind” from the truth throughout the play, but in the end he ends up truly being blind. Sophocles made Oedipus stab his own eyes because he truly did kill himself through his actions and the way we treated everyone. In Greek culture, the Gods control your life and fate. The gods can punish you, and reward you. Everyone lived in the Greek culture to please the gods and worship them. Oedipus did the opposite and it shocked the people of Thebes. They knew Oedipus had power, but they never thought

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The protagonist is introduced as a beloved sovereign and hero. “Oedipus – power to whom all men turn – man of experience – noblest of men, we beg you, save this city. Thebes now calls you its savior…” (Sophocles, 7) However, because he refuses Tiresias’ pity—his poor judgement—a reversal of fortune occurs: his wife commits suicide, incest is revealed, and Oedipus is struck with the curse he unknowingly placed upon himself. This reversal and his enlightenment to it occur at once.…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He became king of Thebes by solving the riddle of the Sphinx. The people of Thebes respected him and came to him when they needed his help. When the city fell into a drought, the priest came to Oedipus saying, “Noblest of men, we beg you, save this city” (Sophocles 4). Oedipus did everything in his power to end the drought. In the process he finds out pitiful information about himself.…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Oedipus sought out the truth in every situation, creating his fatal flaw. He ran from the oracle he received in his former city, only because he didn’t want a certain event to take place. In the action of taking over Thebes, his new found land, he becomes hubris, excessively prideful, causing him to believe he is better than everyone, especially the judgement of certain decisions. Oedipus failed to realize the connections between the people in the prophet, but the recognition of the truth brought him to his spiral down. From that, he was determined to avoid his fate, but in the end, all the faults added up and Oedipus walked straight into it.…

    • 250 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Oedipus Pride Quotes

    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus is the king of Thebes and he is well known as a person who solves the most famous riddle from sphinx that answers are a human. In the play, Oedipus is a compelling character that is usually considered to be a good and have stronger ego and power than others. The play begins with the plague in the city of Thebes. Oedipus starts to solve the problem to get a prophecy from Apollo at city of Delphi. From the prophecy, he hears that he needs to find the murderer of a king before Oedipus which is Laius.…

    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Oedipus the King was written by Sophocles, who was famous drama writers in ancient Athens in fifth century B.C.E. Sophocles held the idea of the unity and close relationship of society and the governor of the state. He described Oedipus as a king who feels responsibility for his people’s future, for homeland and he is ready to find a resolution that can help to stop the plaque in Thebes. Sophocles tries to show the human desire to control their own life by their own accord. Sophocles believed, even though a person cannot avoid the troubles “predicted by the gods”, but the cause of these problems is the nature of the person, which is shown by the person’s actions.…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Theme Of Arrogance In Oedipus

    • 1630 Words
    • 7 Pages
    • 6 Works Cited

    Prior to the plays setting “Oedipus goes to Delphi where he asks the oracle who his true parents are. To this the god responds that he will kill his father and marry his mother.” (Hogan P. 19) Determined not to allow the prophecy to come true Oedipus runs away from his home in Corinth. During Oedipus’ travel, he encounters a small group of men “where three roads meet”. Oedipus first displays his arrogance by not peacefully resolving the confrontation he encountered, knowing that the prophet prophesied Oedipus killing his own father.…

    • 1630 Words
    • 7 Pages
    • 6 Works Cited
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Having too much knowledge can destroy, more than it can benefit. The truth can bring light into our life as well darkness. It may haunt us in the future and nothing is recoverable. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, a Greek tragedy, Oedipus becomes king after saving the city from the Sphinx but, Thebes was contaminated by a dreadful plague; a plague caused by Oedipus himself. The son of the King from Cornith, was honored and applauded by various people of Thebes for his fearless action.…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sophocles’ tragic play, Oedipus the King, serves as yet another didactic tool of Ancient Greek culture. It heavily focuses on the recurrent theme that a fate assigned by the gods can not be escaped by any means. Sophocles embodies this theme through his tragic hero Oedipus. Even though Oedipus proves himself as a confident capable leader, his tragic flaw is seen through his consistent use of human reason in his attempt to locate the murderer of king Laius. His hubris contributes to his downfall because it allows him to think he can use reason to conquer his fate.…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Oedipus encountered blindness from the past, blindness to the truth and his identity, and even physical blindness of sight. Oedipus thought highly of himself, as did a majority of the people in Thebes. When Oedipus finally realized the truth of what he had done everything changed. He was no longer respected by his people or family, not even himself. Even though Oedipus sounds like a terrible person, he was not completely bad.…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is a work heavily focused on justice. Oedipus, as the king of Thebes, discovers that the only way he can save his beloved city and its people from a rampant plague is to seek and accordingly punish his predecessor’s killer. Oedipus is determined to find justice for the city by harshly punishing the murderer, which he is successful in, but he in turn is penalized with harsh and irreversible consequences. The most pronounce theme in the play is that human beings are relatively powerless before fate and the gods. Although Oedipus tries his entire life to do what is right, by running away from home to save his adopted parents, killing the sphinx, and chasing a murderer, he ultimately faces a horrible end caused by his…

    • 1256 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Oedipus has a lot of character traits like anger, haste and truthfulness are really shown during his down fall as a man who knows nothing but later realizes he is the cause of the plague on Thebes by the end of the play. While the onion layer of the harmartia start to unfold Oedipus anger to really come full force and start to call everybody to palace to discover the truth. Sophocles in generally express concern through protagonist in Oedipus the King. Oedipus anger and arrogance leads him to a lot of red flag and more. Which cause dissatisfaction in all men such as Creon in the chorus.…

    • 1337 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The author presents this theme of sight through the words of Oedipus and showing his vain desire to see the truth. One example of this from the text is, “Oh no, not that, you pure and awesome gods, never let me see that day! Let me slip from the world of men, vanish without a trace before I see myself stained with such corruption, stained to the heart” (line 919).This example shows how Oedipus believes that his sight will be his downfall and…

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In saying this he is letting his people know that when they suffer he suffers even more. His suffering comes from the responsibility he feels for his people and feels the pain of every last one of his subjects. Oedipus put his people first wanting to solve this problem in any way possible. When he finds out that it is him who is the cause of this due to the fate the gods choose for him he blinded himself saying “This punishment… That I have laid upon myself is just” (Exodos 142-43). Oedipus knew this was his fate decided at his birth by the gods and in the end did not try to fight the gods any longer putting his people first.…

    • 1649 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Believing that he was born in to the royal family of Corinth and was next for the future heir to the throne, made Oedipus feel superior and above the rest. Oedipus then solved the riddle of the sphinx and saved Thebes from a catastrophe and was…

    • 1296 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As problems were affecting Thebes, Oedipus called for Tiresias the prophet to find out what was going on. Tiresias stated, “Were you not excellent at solving riddles? And yet this very fortune was your ruin” (Sophocles 18). Tiresias is trying to say that Oedipus solving the Riddle of the Sphinx and becoming King is leading to his destruction by fulfilling the prophecy. Oedipus refuses to believe in what he has heard.…

    • 1036 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays