Arrogance In Oedipus The King
Oedipus, the play, is a story about the King of Thebes who journeys from thinking he knows who he is, to finding out who he truly is. It is about knowing oneself. In the Greek civilization, "people came to know themselves…through experience", (The Ancient World, 3). In this paper it will explain how Oedipus thought of himself, when his hubris was really showing through and then when Oedipus finds out who he really is. As stated before, Oedipus was the King of Thebes, and to a certain degree, he should have a sense of arrogance to his demeanor. The play starts with the people of Thebes crying out to Oedipus for his help during this hard time they are going through. His "whole being wails and breaks…"(Sophicles, l 84-85) for his city. He
has a kind of compassion. He "is the man" (Sophicles,l 87) as he continues showing his care for the city and reminds them of the strength he has to defeat this. He has a prideful attitude here to begin with but that pride continues growing through the play. Before Oedipus became king a Spinx was imprisoning the city of Thebes and the only way to rid of her was to solve the riddle she had. Only one person was able to do that and that was Oedipus. He was "no ordinary man.." (Sophicles, l 528) that solve the riddle, "it took prophecy, prophecy and skill" (Sophicles, l 529) no one had. This is when Oedipus' hubris begins to grow and show. He thinks of himself as a step below the gods and not as a normal man. He believes he has more powers than regular human beings. When he at the point of his highest with his thinking of being more than human, it all begins to crumble. Oedipus soon realizes that he is the man the prophecy has always been about. He is the man who "slept in [his] mothers bed and…murdered, murdered [his] father" (Sophicles, l 1481-1482). He has finally seen the "Light Light Light" (Sophicles, l 1477). Oedipus finds out the prophecy has come true and that all he thought he was was never true. He has lived a lie all his life. Oedipus has learned his true self through the experience of living his life thinking he was the god-like king to in the end find out he is the man who made the prophecy come true. He was a man who "held more power than any mortal…all men envied him" and then he became a man "pulled down and swallowed by the storm of his own life" (Sophicle, l 1956-1960). Oedipus was a king who lived the life of a unknown lie.
has a kind of compassion. He "is the man" (Sophicles,l 87) as he continues showing his care for the city and reminds them of the strength he has to defeat this. He has a prideful attitude here to begin with but that pride continues growing through the play. Before Oedipus became king a Spinx was imprisoning the city of Thebes and the only way to rid of her was to solve the riddle she had. Only one person was able to do that and that was Oedipus. He was "no ordinary man.." (Sophicles, l 528) that solve the riddle, "it took prophecy, prophecy and skill" (Sophicles, l 529) no one had. This is when Oedipus' hubris begins to grow and show. He thinks of himself as a step below the gods and not as a normal man. He believes he has more powers than regular human beings. When he at the point of his highest with his thinking of being more than human, it all begins to crumble. Oedipus soon realizes that he is the man the prophecy has always been about. He is the man who "slept in [his] mothers bed and…murdered, murdered [his] father" (Sophicles, l 1481-1482). He has finally seen the "Light Light Light" (Sophicles, l 1477). Oedipus finds out the prophecy has come true and that all he thought he was was never true. He has lived a lie all his life. Oedipus has learned his true self through the experience of living his life thinking he was the god-like king to in the end find out he is the man who made the prophecy come true. He was a man who "held more power than any mortal…all men envied him" and then he became a man "pulled down and swallowed by the storm of his own life" (Sophicle, l 1956-1960). Oedipus was a king who lived the life of a unknown lie.