Oedipus Rex Hero

How would someone feel if they were born with a curse set upon their life? A man named Oedipus Rex is born in Thebes with a punitive curse in the form of a prophecy. No matter how hard or far he tries to run from this curse he cannot escape it and it will follow and harass him throughout his whole life. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is doomed from the start, he is very prideful, and he must suffer more than he deserves. Oedipus being doomed from the start proves that he is a tragic hero because he is destined to do terrible things according to the prophecy that is placed on him. This curse and prophecy is that Oedipus would be son and husband to his mother, brother and father to his children, take part
in the demise of his father, become blind, and be driven out of the land where he is born. Throughout his life Oedipus takes every possible step he can to make this prophecy less and less likely to become fulfilled, but it is still not enough to escape his true destiny. Even his biological parents Laius and Jocasta made an attempt to dispose of this prophecy by trying to kill Oedipus on his mountain before he could kill his Laius like the prophecy proclaims by bounding his hands and ankles and leaving him for dead. Oedipus did not die on the mountain because a herdsman from Corinth found him there and decided to save him and give him to the king and queen of Corinth who could not bear children of their own. Secondly, Oedipus’ pride helps make him a tragic hero in a few different ways.
His pride started to build up after he left Corinth and is almost thrown off the road where the three crossroads meet. When the five men try to throw him off the road Oedipus fights back and kills all five of the men and in doing this he unknowingly kills his biologic father Laius. After this it continues to grow when he returns to his birthplace the City of Thebes. When he gets to Thebes there is death throughout the city and they are being terrorized by the Sphinx and the only way to stop this holocaust is to solve the Sphinx’s riddle. Oedipus solves this riddle and the Sphinx is forced to leave the city and take its destruction with it. The city of Thebes then makes Oedipus their king for his act that saves them from their common adversary. As king of Thebes, his pride builds up all the way. During his reign the land has a curse on it and when he learns that it is because the city’s last king’s murderer is bringing this curse on the land. When he investigates who murdered the king, his prideful spirit he forces Tiresias and others to tell him what the oracle has revealed. He finds out that he murdered the king who is his father and he is married and has two kids with his mother who is his wife and the
queen. Lastly, he is a tragic hero because he suffers much more than he deserves. It starts as an infant on the mountain and it doesn’t end until his death when he is blind. His prophecy came true and he unknowingly married and had kids with his mother when he became king and killed his father were the three crossroads meet. The realization of these things led to his mother and wife Jocasta committing suicide and Oedipus gouging his eyes out with gold chased brooches because he didn’t want the crimes he committed. After all this Oedipus is thrown out of the city and left to wander the land in his blindness. Oedipus’ life is very rough and the hardest part of everything is not knowing that you did these terrible things until it is too late. This is how Oedipus Rex is a tragic hero because he is doomed from the start, he is very prideful, and he must suffer more than he deserves.