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Theme Of Pride In Sophocles Oedipus Rex

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Refusal to yield due to pride is a human weakness evident in both the ancient times and today's society. In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, King Oedipus refuses to yield when Tiresias urges him that “there’s no help in the truth” (Sophocles 17). Since Oedipus is too proud and stubborn to believe Tiresias, he ignores Tiresias’ advice and unfolds the truth concerning his own past and King Laius’ death, thinking that he will save Thebes from the plague, but ends up only harming himself and his loved ones. Like Oedipus, Muhammad Ali, a professional boxer, is also proud of his beliefs and refuses to yield and join the U.S. military when drafted during the Vietnam War, despite the criticism and punishment he receives. Ali stated that his “ ‘conscience [won't]
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The Odyssey, a story based on a great warrior who not just shows his mind but his faults. One fault being his pride. As of the day he went to fight the Trojan War, he was lost at sea for 20 years. Odysseus fought with smart and the hope of being able to defeat everyone in his path. One example of this is Odysseus built the trojan horse which helped him win the Trojan war.

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In Homer’s the Odyssey, Odysseus’ hubris is his pride. Odysseus is a self-made, self-assured man that prides himself on his tactical victories and conquests. Odysseus is the genius behind the Trojan Horse, the cunning man that outsmarted Polyphemus, the Suitors, and Circe. Odysseus is truly a man who can do it all. Odysseus ultimately wants his fate to be in his own hands.

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His decision was vastly looked down upon because many believed he was refusing his country by refusing to serve. However, “History has vindicated his principled stand against a war nearly everyone now considers a mistake” (Muhammad Ali's Anti-War Stand Was Civil Disobedience, Not Draft Dodging) because this form of civil disobedience is now justifiable. His stand for what he believed in went against what most felt was right in the time, but abided by his morals and was seen as so later on; this opposition of an “immoral and unnecessary war” further asserted the necessity of civil disobedience in a contemporary society by demonstrating a public figure against the will of the government. His so-called “draft dodge” was a mere cry for help against an unjust means of protruding power and superiority over another nation.

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In the epic, The Odyssey, written by Homer, the main character, Odysseus, spends 10 brutal years trying to find a way back home to Ithica after the Trojan War. Throughout his journey he is met with multiple obstacles including losing every one of his crew members. Although he faces physical monsters, I believe that his biggest enemy is his pride. Many believe that Odysseus’ best quality is how honorable he is, but I believe his honor is often mistaken for his hubris. This is very evident in book 9 when Odysseus and his crew are on the island of Cyclops.

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A legend to a great many people would be somebody who has strength and has gambled or yielded his life for others. To others a man that has found or accomplished something exceptional. In antiquated Greece a legend was viewed as a man frequently of heavenly family, celebrated for his courageous achievements and favored by the divine beings. In the epic "The Odyssey" Odysseus shows every one of the characteristics of a legend, for example, his intelliegence, quality, devotion, and strength. ​First a critical quality that an epic legend must have is knowledge.

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Pride can be one of man's strongest qualities. In Sophocles' play, Antigone, the Theme of pride becomes the cause for destruction for both Creon and Antigone in the play.. Creon's Pride blinds him to the injustice he commits against Antigone and the gods. Antigone's pride leaves her no choice but to be killed because of her beliefs. They Both automatically surrender to their own hubris and demonstrate how uncontrolled pride leads to personal downfalls and destruction in Antigone.

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“Humble yourself or life will do it for you,” is a common quote used by many. This idea of being humble to avoid consequences applies well to the book Antigone by Sophocles. It shows how if one has too much pride, they will be humbled in one way or another. In Antigone, Creon had tunnel vision, not listening to anyone. His fatal flaw was hubris, ultimately leading to the downfall of him.

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And they depended he enlist in the war or be sentenced to prison. But Ali refused to fight in the Vietnam war because he felt as if he shouldn’t have to stand beside people and fight if those people would even stand beside him and fight for equality amongst African Americans in America. Ali told Black Scholar in an interview that he wrote a poem about it, saying “Hell no, I ain’t going to go. Clean out my cell, and take my tail to jail Without bail. Because it’s better there eating, watching television fed, than in Vietnam with your white folks dead”.

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Critic Northrop Frye claims that tragic heroes “seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them… Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divisive lightning.” A perfect example of this assertion would be King Oedipus in the classical tragic play “Oedipus Rex,” written by Sophocles, where Oedipus, himself, becomes the victim of his doomed fate. As someone who was born and raised of royal blood, he becomes too proud and ignorant, believing that he was too powerful for his fate. Using the metaphor “great trees [are] more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass,” Frye compares the heroic but unfortunate Oedipus to the great trees as they both are apt to experience victimization of tragic situations

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Pride often leads to someone’s downfall - this idea has been developed from the playwright “Oedipus the king” through Rey’s interactive oral presentation. He discussed that Oedipus’ excessive pride over his knowledge due to solving riddles allows him to not listen to others including the respected Prophet , his dear relative Kreon - he seldom pays heed to them and decides to pursue further for searching the predecessor’s murderer . His own path opens up hidden , dark truth about his life. From the presentation it has been evident that Oedipus was not smart enough to realize that the path he set for himself, will eventually bring nothing but pain.

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From world wars to present day national elections, pride can always be connected to many appalling, life-changing issues. Pride has always either been negative or positive, and it has been around forever. In the epic play Antigone, Sophocles demonstrates how Creon’s hubris allows for the downfall of himself and the killing of his family. Creon’s fatal flaw is his hubris. Creon not only loses his family, he also loses the trust of his people.

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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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The Freedom of Oedipus is the Freedom of Thebes: Why Oedipus Cannot be Free Until the Truth is Exposed In Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus, the theme of human fate versus free will is explored in the age-old tale of the king of Thebes who inadvertently murdered his father and married his mother. The play opens with Oedipus, a strong man and compassionate leader whom the audience can easily admire. By the closing of the play, a journey of self-discovery has lead Oedipus to his fall from kingship and exile from the city he loves, as well as the suicide of his wife and his self-blinding.

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Hubris is one of the many themes that were brought up in the Iliad. Its definition is extreme pride and arrogance shown by a person that will bring downfall to that person or to others. The first time this theme is brought up is when Helen leaves with Paris. Agamemnon uses Helen as an excuse to rile up all the Greek kings. Agamemnon knew that if they beat Troy, then he would control a major passage of trade which would make him the undisputed ruler of all of Greece.

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