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The Metamorphosis In Sophocles Oedipus The King

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In life one of the greatest virtues is self-reflection. By being able to do so, individuals will be able to recognize both his or her positive and negative qualities. Often authors look at this when creating a novel or a play. Sophocles used this idea in his famous play Oedipus. Due to Oedipus’ stubbornness and excessive pride he is unable to see the truth about himself, causing his hubris to lead to his of his downfall.
One of the main ways Oedipus contributes to his downfall is because he has absolutely no idea that he is the one who filled the prophecy. He is incapable of believing that he could have played a role in the death of his father. When Oedipus is arguing with Kreon once he hears about his past, Kreon challenges him to go …show more content…

During an encounter with Creon, it becomes clear that Oedipus is too stubborn as well as too proud to see the truth about himself. Creon has been loyal to him however, when he tells Oedipus information about his past, he verbally attacks him accusing him of being disloyal. Oedipus screams, "Creon, the soul of trust, my loyal friend from the start steals against me... so hungry to overthrow me he sets this wizard on me, this scheming quack, this fortune-teller peddling lies, eyes peeled for his own profit--seer blind in his craft!" Unfortunately, Oedipus is too proud to realize that Creon actually is sharing the truth and turns against him. This behavior ends up contributing to his …show more content…

When the blind prophet Tiresias tells him the truth and reveals the horrors of Oedipus’ past, rather than accept it, he lashes out. This is clear when Oedipus retorts:
Sirrah, what mak’st thou here? Dost thou presume
To approach my doors, thou brazen-faced rogue,
My murderer and the filcher of my crown?
Come, answer this, didst thou detect in me
Some touch of cowardice or witlessness,
That made thee undertake this enterprise?
As a result of Oedipus’ arrogance he is incapable of believing anything that other people say to him. This shows his lack of self awareness as he is not able to see anything negative about

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Oedipus’s ultimate downfall was due to his arrogant personality. Oedipus 's egotism is revealed on page 60 when Oedipus hears the news about his “father’s” death, “Ah! Undone then!... Well, my wife, and i am done...yes, had it all arranged-that I should kill my father. Ha!

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For instance, he initially feels superior over Tiresias, “But you did not come forth with this, knowing some clue from birds or gods; instead I came along, the idiot Oedipus!”. His presumptuousness later fuels his disappointment, especially once he reflects on the unsuccessful endeavours at avoiding the prophecy and how his self-entitlement is based on an illusion. The crux of the matter is, hubris is present in all societies; it causes individuals to overestimate their capacities and underestimate the costs of their actions. Therefore, the effect of the story becomes more poignant, considering that individuals are able to further relate to Oedipus. This empathetic connection with the character forms a stronger emotional response from the audience, leading to a larger and more meaningful sense of catharsis once they reach the ultimate

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Oedipus as a king has hubris or excessive pride and sees himself as having superiority over all others. “I thought it wrong, my children, to hear the truth from others, messengers. Here I am myself—you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus” (Lines 1-6). This sets up the view that exactly from the beginning of the story, Oedipus is worshipped as this highly renowned king. This sets up the dramatic irony that even though Oedipus is praised, the people reciting the story are the ones who along with Oedipus will discover the truth about his life.

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Oedipus’s main issue was he married mother, he killed his own father, and so the curse of the Thebes occured. When Tiresias told him the truth, he started to deny Tiresias saying and began to insult him. “ It does but not for you, old man. You’ve lost your power, stone-blind, stone deaf-senses, eyes blinds as a stone!” Sophocles, line 422-424, page 278.

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John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is an American classic which utilizes many different kinds of philosophies. One such philosophy is proletarianism. Proletarianism is the description of the injustices of the laboring classes. Put simply, it is when one social class is pitted against another. There are many examples of this philosophy throughout Steinbeck’s novel.

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First his denial of being the source of the plague. Second, his egotistical abilities that will form his plot to change his fate. And lastly, the consequences of his denial that will lead him to his physical and emotional destruction. It would seem that in this case, Oedipus’s fate is his own enemy.

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Oedipus denies the truth and faces the consequences later on in the play. He gets furious when everyone is blaming him for killing Laius. As he is blaming others, hubris appears within his personality. Oedipus becomes blinder as hubris takes over him.

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Oedipus’ hubris is evident when he states: “Or why when the bitch-dog Sphinx of riddle sang, you never spoke a thing to break the spell? And yet her riddle called for insight trained-no traveler’s guess-which you plainly showed you did not have either from theology or birds. But I, the Oedipus who stumbled here without a hint, could snuff her out by human wit, not taking cues from birds” (Sophocles, Oedipus the King, 23). Oedipus’ arrogance and his hubris is evident here because he thinks of himself as larger than Apollo’s priest, Tiresias. His arrogance is also supported by the fact that he was the one solving the riddle of the Sphinx, saving thousands, and no one, in years, has spoken to him in a candid attitude like Tiresias.

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He did not want to believe any of it he didn't listen , he thought he knew what was correct , and being the way he was , got the worst part. Oedipus showed disrespect to the gods. His power was a part of his ignorance , being king. He tries to put himself in a god's position , thinking he is that powerful.

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His lack of sight creates the fact that bad things happen when blind to the truth. Oedipus rex was adopted, and he was blind to that. He did not realize he was adopted. He killed his biological father, not knowing it his father and he will not admit that he killed his father .Oedipus promises not to harm the man that comes forward, or is known to have killed Laios.

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After his accusations, Oedipus mocked Teiresias for his blindness, and told him to leave the palace as Oedipus had grown tired of him. Oedipus’s imperfect nature stopped him from learning the truth from Teiresias before it was too late, and lead to great loss at the end of the play. Throughout the story of Oedipus the King, the imperfectly noble nature of Oedipus is displayed for all to learn from. His temperamental and overzealous nature made him argumentative and combative when Teiresias tried to tell him the truth about the murder, causing Oedipus to accuse his good friend Creon of being a usurper.

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Namely, one of the most staggering, is his altercation with Tiresias. He calls on Creon to find Tiresias, as he is a blind prophet who would be able to tell Oedipus how to cure the plague of Thebes. When the prophet arrives, he tells Oedipus that “[quote]”, and he refuses to tell him the murderer that has created his discord. This causes Oedipus to become enraged, as he accuses Tiresias of being “[quote]” (Citation). Tiresias, angered by these insults, turns on Oedipus to tell him the truth - Oedipus had killed Laius, and coupled with his own mother.

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Oedipus was a tragic hero he was seen as a great man and was king,but he fell to misfortune because of his disability to see past his pride and anger which led to his demise. By not being able to see past his pride and anger Oedipus was not able to to avoid his prophetic destiny. He was blinded by his pride and anger so much that it became his tragic flaw ultimately leading him to his

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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.

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Oedipus’s selfishness and temper eventually lead to his downfall. Oedipus selfishness made everyone else mad at him for him not believing them. He kept digging and digging himself into a deeper hole. This eventually made his punishment at the end worse for him. He also could not handle the truth so this made him disrespect the gods.

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