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Oedipus Rex Character Analysis

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In the play Oedipus Rex, tragic flaws are character traits that talk about the downfall of the protagonist. In Oedipus Rex it talks about how Oedipus himself struggles with his life due to him finding information that makes him rethink about who he really is. Later in the play it talks about how he received the information on how he has married his mother, and killed his father. Although he didn’t like the information he received, he decided to blind himself and leave his town of Thebes. These various symbols throughout Oedipus Rex helps to illustrate the theme that a person’s truth is unavoidable.
In the play sight represents knowledge and blindness represents the forgotten information. In Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex, Oedipus states, “I must …show more content…

During the play Oedipus states to Teiresias “You child of endless night! You cannot hurt me or any other man who sees the sun” (1. 359 - 360). What this embodies is that Oedipus gotten distracted due to Teiresias aggressively talking to him making Oedipus feel confused to why he was talking to him like that and his response to Teiresias was that he was a liar. Therefore, Teiresais stated that if he was lying, how come Oedipus cannot tell if he was lying because normally Oedipus could figure out the meaning of a tricky question or statement that is given to him. But due to him not knowing the full truth about himself, that is why Oedipus cannot tell if Teiresias is lying or not. Also in Sophocles’ play Oedipus finally understands what Teiresais was explaining to him and how his prophecy came true, which went like this “O Light, may I look on you for the last time” (4. 1120). What these symbolic forms mean is that Teiresias was trying to inform Oedipus that whatever is done in the dark will come to light and everyone will know the full truth about you. Then his prophecy came true and he does not like the effect it has on him. Therefore, Oedipus himself cannot believe he found out that he had married his own mother and had children with her. But not only that he found out he was the murderer who killed King Laius (his father) and was destroying his town apart trying to find out who the murderer is and blaming other people. So his reaction was to physically blind himself so he won’t have to see all the wrongs he has done and to leave Thebes so the town can live in

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He blind because of his arrogance. After the plague hits Thebes, Oedipus orders to see Tiresias and when he does he lets his arrogance get in the way. Once he became arrogant he blamed Tiresias. Tiresias they replied, “All right, King: you mock my blindness. Hear me well: you have your

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But now in a reversed position, Oedipus is a man that is physically blind but in truth is not. All things considered, Oedipus was in denial and was blinded from truth. As he came closer to the truth he finds himself praying that the prophecy will not come true. His earnestness causes a panic within him that leads him to abuse his power into changing his destiny. But as a result, all thing must come to an end especially Oedipus’s physical sight.

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In the playwright “Oedipus the King”, by Sophocles, the protagonist Oedipus has learned that his prophecy is destined for him to marry his mother Jocasta

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P.13 Oedipus questions Teiresias, curious to know what he knows. “Oh gruesomely clear it has all unraveled… I was bonded with the people I should have never killed.” P.40 Oedipus sees what he has done wrong and feels vulnerable and horror. The audience clearly sees that heroes are very human and how real their limitations. Most people would have felt that same vulnerability if the gods had made us their plaything and tormented us, writing a prophecy of our doom.

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With the heroic light the people of Thebes have him under, he gladly baths in it. In an obstinate fashion he tells his subjects he will rid the kingdom of the plague by finding King Laius’ killer and goes forth to do so. This leads him to look to Tiresias, a prophetic man without sight. Oedipus then commands to get answers that will help him uncover the mystery of the death of the previous King. Tiresias respectively rejects to answering the questions remembering his place but Oedipus forges on his path for answers and an argument ensues: “…You are blind in mind and ears as well as in your eyes”

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The blindness of having the eyesight but cannot see and the blindness of poking his eyes so as not to see again the social evils that he had done (Calame, 1996). His metaphorical blindness came out of pride, ignorance and as a result of the people who knows the truth and hide it from him. The second bit of his blindness comes out of shame that makes him want to avoid seeing the cause of his actions. Comparing Teiresias and Oedipus the King, Teiresias has the insight and knowledge when Oedipus has eyesight without knowledge that is termed as ignorance (Calame, 1996). Oedipus out of pride and ability to see feels that he knows the truth while he is far from the truth.

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First, he was blind to the truth about his own life. Oedipus had no idea that his real parents were Laius and Jocasta, he was so blind that he got mad at anyone that would even suggest an idea such as that. As the story went on though, Oedipus could no longer run from the truth; he was forced to open his eyes to the reality and truth of his life. Oedipus killed his father and married his mother; he is the brother to his own kids and the son of his own mother. Oedipus was the one that was causing all of the downfall and bad times in Thebes.

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Oedipus married his mother, Jocasta is dead and Oedipus pokes his eyes out, Thebes is in mourning. “Aaah, all has come to pass. All is true!” (line 314, part 2) what Oedipus is trying to find is his misery, Oedipus is tormented by his

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Oedipus Rex Henry Rollins once stated, “Weakness is what brings ignorance, cruelty, and pride, all these things that will keep a society chained to the ground, one foot nailed to the floor.” In Sophocles play Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, the king of Thebes, weakness is his fate. Throughout the play, Oedipus is trying to outrun his fate because he feels the gods are subordinate to his powerful figure. Oedipus is seen as a god throughout Thebes because he defeated the mighty Sphinx, who was once haunting over the city. After defeating the Sphinx, Oedipus took over as king by killing his father and coupling his mother as his hubris blinded him from reality.

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Although throughout most of the play Oedipus is not physically blind, he is blind to the fact that his fate has come to fruition. When questioned about the former king of Thebes’ death, Oedipus claims that “[he] never saw the man” (Sophocles 7). However, it is later revealed that Oedipus killed the king and that he was his father, thus fulfilling the prophecy. Oedipus’ sight prevents him from seeing the truth and from accepting his fate.

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Introduction The story of Oedipus the king is gloomy, yet captivating. Going from a child bond around the feet and abandon by the mountainside, to marrying his mother, his story is intriguing. In search of the truth about the prophecy and putting an end to a plague Oedipus, search for king Laius’s killer, did somethings inadvertently, making him a tragic hero. His search for truth in the death of Laius the king, as well as his birth led to the ultimate destruction and downfall of his life.

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So in the end, Oedipus no longer thinks of himself. Thinking of his children 's impending marriage, Oedipus begs for his children and no longer can think of himself as anything more than a creature that embodies what it means to be pathetic: “When you come to the age ripe for marriage, who will he be who will run the risk, children, to take for himself the reproaches that will be banes for my parents and offspring alike? What evil is absent? Your father slew his father; he ploughed his mother, where he himself was sown, and he sired you in the same fount where he himself was sired.

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Brilliantly conceived and written, Oedipus Rex is a drama of self-discovery. Achieved by amazing compression and force by limiting the dramatic action to the day on which Oedipus learns the truth of his birth and his destiny is quite the thriller. The fact that the audience knows the dark secret that Oedipus unwittingly slew his true father and married his mother does nothing to destroy the suspense. Oedipus’s search for the truth has all the tautness of a detective tale, and yet because audiences already know the truth they are aware of all the ironies in which Oedipus is enmeshed. That knowledge enables them to fear the final revelation at the same time that they pity the man whose past is gradually and relentlessly uncovered to him.

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