Hubris In Oedipus The King

Fate of Hubris For thousands of years in human exploration, there has been a interminable search for knowledge. Today people look back to the simplicity of life before civilization and wonder if the knowledge that we have acquired helps or hurts our lives. Similarly, in Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus, the main character, is determined to find and punish the murderer of his wife’s late husband. Through the character’s arrogance and the use of metaphorical blindness, Sophocles displays how mysteries lead to the self-discovery of an individual. In the beginning of the play, the author portrays Oedipus as a proud and arrogant man which causes him to initiate the search for the answer of the mystery. Oedipus is introduced with a problem in his kingdom so he sends “Creon, Jocasta’s brother, to Apollo, to his Pythian temple..[to] learn there by what act..[Oedipus] could save this city” (78-82). Creon reports that the Black Plague will terminate when “the man whom had murdered the previous king of Thebes, Laius,” receives death or banishment (112-113). Oedipus is oblivious to the fact that he is the killer of Laius so he orders his men to begin to probe for clues. He wants to be projected as a king who will go to any extreme for the kingdom’s prosperity. By showing his dedication, his subjects will respect him at a greater level thus giving him immense power over the city. Oedipus summons a prophet,

Oedipus’s arrogance blinds him from seeing clues that lead him to the truth. His pomposity caused him to receive the punishment he was determined to enforce on the murderer of King Laius. The constant reference to blindness and darkness indicates Oedipus’s fate. In addition, it emphasizes the dramatic irony throughout the story. Oedipus discovered that fate is what brought him his luxury and his downfall. Even when the course of life is altered, fate can never be