Downfall In the world everyone has flaws. There are no perfect people in this world and there never will be. It is a fact of life that everyone will have flaws. Some people’s flaws are worse than others. People could have the flaws of being late, unorganized, or being messy. Those are flaws that can be worked on. Other people could have serious character flaws that are much harder to improve upon. In Oedipus Rex, this is certainly true for Oedipus. Oedipus’ greatest flaw is his hubris. Oedipus is excessively prideful and very full of himself. The downfall of Oedipus results from his tragic flaws of hubris, anger, and curiosity. At the beginning of the story, Oedipus is very revered and respected for being able to solve the riddle of the Sphinx. When Creon returns from the oracle with news of how to end the plague, Oedipus’ hubris comes out. Oedipus begins to display his hubris when he says that he himself will end the plague. Oedipus says, “For when I drive pollution from the land I will not serve a distant friend’s advantage, but act …show more content…
He would never have known Jocasta was his mother when he solved the riddle of the sphinx and became the King of Thebes. But his not knowing is only part of his downfall. He would not have arrived at such a tragic end if he was not so full of hubris when it came to finding the killer of Laius. He wanted to be the one to end the drought for his ego, so he could be even more revered. His anger hurt him many times because it provoked Teiresias to tell him his fortune in riddles that he had to solve. His curiosity led to his downfall, because instead of listening to people when they did not want to tell him what they knew, he pressed them and did things to make him talk. He could not avoid his downfall, but his tragic flaws only expedited the