Tragic heroes are defined, first and foremost, by suffering. This includes both the suffering of others around them and their own suffering brought about by their actions. In Sophecles’s classic play Oedipus Rex, Oedipus’s role as an instrument of suffering is clear from the beginning of the play, and his identity as a tragic hero can be defined by the victims and suffering he leaves behind. The question of whether Oedipus was in control of his own actions or acted on by a greater force is inconsequential in the grand scheme of things when we look at the suffering he caused to others. The fact still remains that his actions directly lead to the suffering of many people, whether they were his own actions or not. As such he can still be considered guilty and responsible for this suffering, which is what leads to his own tragic downfall. His fate is defined, not by his own actions, but by the results of his actions and how they affect others. In this way he can clearly be seen as a weapon of suffering to others.…show more content… The suffering of Thebes starts before the play begins, when Oedipus kills a traveller he meets on the road. When he kills this traveller, the king of Thebes, he knocks down the first of many dominos that will lead to more suffering. The entire kingdom of Thebes is victimized by the death of king Lauis, illustrated by the sickness, famine, and literal suffering that comes to them as a result of the unsolved murder. The plague on Thebes is said by the oracle of Delphi to be a curse from Apollo caused by the murderer in their midst, and is a literal embodiment of the suffering that follows Oedipus. That an entire innocent population of people is victimized because of Oedipus’s simple action in the past contributes to the tragic vision of the
