Preview

Oedipus Arrogance Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
403 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Oedipus Arrogance Essay
Often in literature a main character descends from their throne. Most commonly due to tragic flaws that a character posse’s. Oedipus the almighty king of Thebes arrogant in his ways was awarded the throne after rescuing the people of Thebes from the sphinx. Although held in high reverence Oedipus downfall was alike to many other tragic heroes who fell from their powerful thrones due to the startling arrogance of their ways, also their absence of fear for the gods for these two reasons led to his heart wrenching demise. Unfortunately, Oedipus arrogance was one of the many reasons that lead to his downfall. “You pray to the gods? Let me grant your prayers” (Line 245). Oedipus clearly portrays his arrogance by overemphasizing his ability to save the people of Thebes. Making it seem as though the people of Thebes should be putting their faith and pointing their prayers toward Oedipus instead of the sky. Painting the vivid image that he can provide for them better than the gods on Olympus can. Consequently, his excess pride forged the dark path which leads to his fall from power. …show more content…
“But if any man come striding, high and mighty in all the says and does, no fear of justice, no reverence for the temples of the gods- let a rough doom tear him down, repay his pride, breakneck, ruinous pride!” (Lines 972-975). Oedipus is guilty of doing in of the things that cause someone to be stricken down from the place they stand. Post saving Thebes from the sphinx and once awarded the throne Oedipus think of himself as mighty in all of his ways, respect for the gods never existed. “Huddling at my altar, praying before me, your branches wound in wool” (Lines 2-3). The altar is a place where citizens go to pray to the gods, instead Oedipus claims the altar as his own. Oedipus lack of reverence for the gods bring grief, and doom crashing down heavily upon

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Throughout the Oedipus trilogy by Sophocles, the Greek concept of hubris is a prominent cause of the constant disastrous results. Most characters who show great pride and self-confidence have disastrous consequences. The character most represented by this shortcoming is none other than Oedipus. Oedipus constantly shows his weakness of excessive pride.…

    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus ascended the throne of Thebes; as to many years ago he had solved the riddle of the Sphinx, saved the city of Thebes and was welcomed as King. We see that this quality makes him an excellent ruler who anticipates his subjects’ needs. Taking up the responsibility of being a king by serving the citizens, Oedipus is adequate to the challenge, believing he can purge the land. Oedipus the King is a character that tempts fate, thinks he can change fate as a man who…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hubris In Oedipus The King

    • 1852 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Hubris represents the extreme pride and arrogance of a character that often leads to his or her downfall. This foolish pride or confidence describes both the attitude and the often-violent behavior of many characters in classical mythology. Despite the individual nature of this trait, hubris often creates lasting consequences for any group in which the offender takes part, as a result of the wrongful action. In many cases, hubris represents the overconfidence of these individuals in their accomplishments and capabilities, especially when mortal characters go so far as to compare themselves with the gods, which indicates a loss of touch with reality. As Aristotle wrote in Rhetoric, “Hubris consists in…

    • 1852 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Pride In Oedipus Rex

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The people believed at the time of Sophocles that an individual achieves his destiny as a result of his own fate. This is true in the case of Oedipus the king, whose anger; pride and blindness towards the truth bring his tragic downfall. At the start of the play, Oedipus is depicted as a confident ruler, who saved Thebes from the curse of Sphinx, furthermore, he becomes the king overnight. He declares his name gladly just as it were itself a recuperating charm: “Here I am myself— / you all know me, the world knows my fame: / I am Oedipus” (7–9). At the end, this pride becomes the curse for him (Sophocles, 1882).…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Flaws Essay

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages

    and led to his status as a static character. A static character is a character who does…

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus blinds himself in shame, accepting full responsibility for poising the city and willingly takes the punishment of exile. In the end, Oedipus’ arrogance led to his downfall. He lost his wife, his eyesight and his kingship. He uncovered the riddles of his life and found out that he was the boy who was the subject of the prophecy. His intelligence, egotism and arrogance led to this finding which caused him losing all that he had. The resolution of his life puts Oedipus above any other tragic hero. He unravels his life in a way that pushes the limits of agony a human can take and there he finds incomparable greatness of…

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The stubbornness of Oedipus is another cause his downfall in the story was so hurried. He was always so tenacious about saving the city he was reigning over that he could not stop and take the advice of the people around him, who were trying to help him through the Pestilence that was caused by the Greek God Apollo. This flaw also came into play when it came to the investigation of Laius’, the previous king of Thebes, murder, which was the final thing that led him to…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Flaws

    • 1084 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Another flaw of Oedipus that leads to his self-destruction is his excessive self-pride. He made it his mission to find the killer of Laius in order to end the misery that the plague in Thebes caused. He was sure of himself that he will save the land, ironically not realizing that he is the one at fault. He sees himself as being all mighty since he presumably escaped his fate. He was able to save Thebes from the Sphinx so he thinks history can repeat itself and he can be a hero ones again for his people.…

    • 1084 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Oedipus the King Oedipus was a very strong willed confident man. He was a great leader, though at times he showed hubristic characteristics. He like to brag that “[everyone] knows [him], the world knows [his] fame,” (Oedipus the King. 7) and that he was the greatest person. He also thought the he was the most powerful man. These hubristic characteristics are what arguably led to his downfall. This was Oedipus’s tragic flaw. He was not humble by any means in this first book, but in the second book that all changed. After Oedipus could see the truth, and realized that his prophecy of killing his father and having children with his mother came true, he blinded himself. He wanted to escape what he could see (metaphorically) so he blinded himself (physically). In Oedipus and Colonus, Oedipus was old, weak, and weary. He was humble and pitied himself. He had to rely on his daughter, Anitgone, to guide him and care for him wherever he went after his exile. He has faith in the gods and realized that they are always watching you and know if your faith has faltered. In the first book he thought that he could prove the oracle wrong and show that the gods were not always right, but in trying to outrun his prophecy he caused it to happen. He changed drastically mentally and physically because of this. He lost all of his pride and was only full of pity. Also, he gouged his eyes out to try to escape seeing the truth.…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    * Oedipus’ arrogance is demonstrated very early on in the play, when his uncle ‘unknown at this time’, Creon, returns with news from the Gods. On his arrival at the palace of Thebes, Oedipus demands the news. Creon is reluctant though as he brings only bad news, “If you want my report in the presence of these people...I’m ready now or we might go inside”. Oedipus in reply say’s, “Speak out, speak to us all. I grieve for these my people, far more than I fear for my own life”. This ignorance to accept advice from Creon, led the problem to become public to the people of Thebes, which later results in Oedipus’ own demise as he had the potential to deal with it privately.…

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pride In Oedipus The King

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the beginning of the story, priests appear at the front of his house. They say that Thebes has been struck with plague and they ask Oedipus to lift it off them. Oedipus says “the world renowned and glorious Oedipus” (8). Evidently, Oedipus is very proud of his accomplishments as he refers to himself as “world renowned and glorious.”. When he first arrived at Thebes, he was able to get rid of the curse of the Sphinx and ever since then, he has thought very highly of himself. Later in the story, Oedipus has a suspicion that he is the one that killed Laius. He begins to worry and sends for a peasant who might be able to confirm this suspicion. The chorus…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus The King is most likely one of the greatest tragedies ever recorded. This play tells the story of the great downfall of a once honored king who by the end of the story, becomes a great curse. This is mainly due to his great sense of pride. It was believed by the Greeks that people with this immense pride thought that they were above the gods. Aristotle believed that the protagonist of every tragedy must have some type of tragic flaw that will eventually lead to his demise. To Oedipus ,of Oedipus The King, pride is his tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. Some examples of his pride taking over him were: when he correctly answered the Sphinx’s riddle, when he abandoned his adoptive parents in Corinth, and when he killed Laius in the crossroads.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus the King

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the polis of Thebes, Oedipus was the not only the king but he was also the hero of the community. The security and health of the community depended on him and he was expected to meet every urgent crisis with a plausible solution. He was celebrated for acting decisively and making decisions and then acting on them. With all his past accomplishments and achievements, Oedipus developed a strong sense of confidence, which fueled his over inflated ego. Unfortunately, when circumstances did not turn out in his favor, such as in his conflict with Tiresias the blind prophet, Oedipus became rigid and refused to see the problem on any one else’s terms except his own. Oedipus only wanted things to go the way he thought they should go. Whatever stood in his way he tried to overcome publicly and without any compromise from the opposing party, which was illustrated in his argument in front of the palace with Creon over the murder of the former King Laius. Ultimately his attitude of confidence with no compromises contributed to his disastrous and sad end. In most cases, intelligence and diligence are valuable traits to possess, but for Oedipus they contributed to his eventual downfall. Oedipus was known for being extremely intelligent and was very talented at solving riddles. To earn the right to be King of Thebes, Oedipus solved a riddle, which as a result…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pride In Oedipus The King

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “I, Oedipus, a name that all men know” said a very hubristic and “blinded” Oedipus. There are three causes that result in hubris, or overwhelming pride, that occur through Oedipus numerous times throughout the play Oedipus The King, and many other leaders. These three causes are: A situation in which a kingdom or a society is experiencing a downfall and is in need of a savior, something fortunate happens that puts the character in a favorable position and in an ideal setting in place, and an above-average denial, ignorance, or “blindness” to new-found knowledge which may place the character in an unfavorable or degrading position or situation with people of the kingdom or society in which the character is located.…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Essay

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages

    "What walks on four legs at dawn, two legs at noon, and three legs at nightfall." This was the riddle posed by the Sphinx who at the time was destroying the city of Thebes. The riddle was solved by none other than Oedipus who was made king for ridding the city of the Sphinx. Ironically though, Oedipus in his life comes to embody the riddle of the Sphinx and its soulution. Firstly, the Sphinx is percieved as a curse on Thebes and Oedipus also becomes a curse by the end of the play. Secondly, Oedipus's physical health embodies the riddle. Thirdly, Oedipus's emotional state also resembles the riddle. Lastly, the events of Oedipus's life relate to the theme of identity in the play.…

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays