Oedipus Flaws

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In Oedipus the King, Sophocles portrays Oedipus as a man who contributed to his own downfall by being the tragic hero. “The problem of knowledge and ignorance, seeing and blindness was analyzed comparatively broadly and precisely in this context” (Allan). Oedipus’s life slowly becomes a string of unfortunate events, due to his tragic flaw, which is blindness. He is blind to the truth about his life because he refuses to believe anyone and by the end of the play he is literally blind.

The city Oedipus rules over is Thebes, which is infested by a plague that the citizens feel he is supposed to fix. Oedipus tells the citizens that he has sent his brother in law, Creon, to find out from the oracle at Delphi how to fix the city. He learns that …show more content…
“In the Oedipus Rex, Sophocles had already shown the reverse. The man who sees but one side of a matter, and straightway, driven on by his uncontrolled emotions, acts in accordance with that imperfect vision, meets a fate most pitiful and terrible, in accordance with the great laws which the gods have made” (Barstow). He cannot avoid his fate and not only does he cause himself to be literally blind, he also kills his own father. “In the classical view, Oedipus is a victim of fate and bravery” (Steiner). Oedipus did not intentionally choose for his life to unravel as so, therefore he does somewhat possess the quality of bravery. Upon finding out the truth, he does go a little haywire but in the end it all works out as he finds necessary. Obviously, Oedipus is a victim of fate because if he knew the truth in the first place, none of this would have …show more content…
Oedipus’s life is terribly twisted but that is not why his life has become such a tragedy. The way he reacted to his problems made it even harder to deal with, once he found out the truth. He did not react maturely and in fact, made his situation worse. He was blind to the truth and did not know how to make his life better. Therefore, as the reader we can surely tell that his role of being the tragic hero with the flaw of blindness, contributed to his unruly

Oedipus Flaws

virtue when you’re right; it’s only a character flaw when you’re wrong.” In the story, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus definitely had stubborness as a flaw. A tragic hero is defined as a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. Oedipus is a great fit to be the tragic hero of this story because of his high status and noble stature, his tragic flaw of of stubborness, and his downfall in the end. Oedipus displayed noble stature at the beginning,…

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Oedipus Flaws

In the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles the protagonist Oedipus is the tragic hero - Oedipus embodies many characteristics but the two most important are the reversal of fortune and the realization of errors. Tragic heroes have to hold these traits to be a great developed character. He has these traits and these traits makes the character a tragic hero. For example, Oedipus was once a great king but met his downfall when he realized he was the killer of Laius showing his realization of errors…

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Oedipus Flaws

character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering or defeat” (Dictionary.com). Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is destined for downfall as king of Thebes. He is flawed and has many errors. Although his flaws and errors cause him to make bad decisions he is able to reflect on his errors and realize his wrong doings and how they negatively affected his life. Oedipus is very smart. He was able to solve the riddle of the Spinx. This is one reason he was thought to be…

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Oedipus Flaws

is put in bad situations. In Oedipus the King, the protagonist, Oedipus, is certainly that character. He's a noble, caring and concerned King towards his people. His people love and trust him, but he has this horrible flaw where his quick, impulsive temper influences his decisions. Oedipus is a flawed in the book but him being noble can make up for that. Oedipus, the tragic hero that cares and who people love but does his flaw make you question his nobleness. Oedipus shows these noble characteristics…

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Oedipus Flaws

In the play Oedipus the King written by Sophocles the protagonist Oedipus is a tragic hero. Oedipus is a noble king with many obstacles in his way. In fact these obstacles are his flaws. Oedipus is noble by his loyalty and being caring to his people. Oedipus also exhibits flaws of arrogance and others emotions towards him. Throughout the play Oedipus shows his nobleness to his people. For example Oedipus is loyal; his loyalty…

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Oedipus Tragic Flaw Essay

Oedipus does posses a tragic flaw and this is how it lead up to it. Laius and Jocasta, king and queen of Thebes, have a son named Oedipus. Laius then finds out that Oedipus is gonna end up killing him and marry his wife, so they give Oedipus to a shepherd and assign him to kill Oedipus. However, the shepherd does not end up killing the baby and another royalty family adopts Oedipus. Later on Oedipus comprehended that he was adopted and makes his way to find his biological parents. Now on his way…

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Tragic Flaws In Oedipus The King

Oedipus the King ,by Sophocles, is a world renowned play. The play shows tragedy, heroism, and excitement. Oedipus is married to his mother and has killed his father, however he is oblivious to the truth. When he realises what really happens, things become violent. Oedipus is in a position of power with a glaring tragic flaw who wants to do good. To begin, Oedipus is in a great position of power being that he saved the city from the sphinx and became the king of Thebes. Oedipus is not only the king…

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Comparing Hamlet, The Lion King And Star War

is a tragic situation, and Oedipus' broken…

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Oedipus Tragic Hero

a tragic hero. Oedipus from Sophocles’s “Oedipus the King” is a tragic hero who without knowing kills his father, marries his mother, and help spawn his brothers and sister in this epic tale. The main character Oedipus embodies the characteristics of a tragic hero with his tragic flaw, his fate which affects the kingdom, he rules and by also being doomed from the beginning of his birth. Oedipus’s tragic flaw is ignorance which he demonstrates throughout most of the tale. Oedipus is talking to the…

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Oedipus Downfall

The play “Oedipus Tyrannus,” by Sophocles, tells the story of a man whose life crumbles beneath him. In brief, Laius gets an oracle that states he would be killed by his son. Oedipus is told that Polybus is not his father and has doubts about who is parents are. He then receives an oracle that he will kill his father and wed his mother. Oedipus escapes to Thebes and defeats the Sphinx. In doing so, he is granted the right to marry the queen, Jocasta. Evidence from a shepherd and two messengers slowly…

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