Oedipus Strengths And Weaknesses

Every character in stories or in plays has their flaws and strengths; Oedipus is no exception to this. Oedipus has his strengths and weaknesses that shape him into the character he is perceived to be in the play. He is intellectual which is why the city looks up to him, he is caring, and tenacious. Like any other character Oedipus also has his flaws, he jumps to conclusions and makes rash decisions, he has anger issues, and hubris which eventually leads to his downfall. Intelligence is something that is highly respected in individuals, especially in leaders. In the play Oedipus is the only one that is able to solve the sphinx’s riddle which leads the city to making him their next king. Oedipus was there for the city in a time of need and shows his intelligence by solving the riddle. This act is what categorizes Oedipus as a hero, after saving the city from a crisis it shows he is willing to do anything in order to keep the city going and look after his people. He also does not like to keep secrets from his people, for example when Creon wants to tell Oedipus the oracle in private, Oedipus insists on making the news public to the people. Doing so shows that he wants the people to trust him and wants make it known to everyone that he can be in fact trusted. Oedipus is very caring towards the people in

Killing Laius and his men is an overreaction to his anger. This violent outburst shows that he has no self control and he does not show any remorse for what he has done. He also looses his temper with Tiresias when he is trying to explain the oracle to him. It is because of his anger that the oracle becomes true and in the end he looses everything good around him including his children and his sight. Oedipus constantly pushes people away that are only trying to help him, as if accepting help makes him seem