Oedipus
OedipusOedipus: flawed by his own devices
The best way to teach anyone a moral is to tell him or her a story about it. It leaves the reader or listener with a better feel for the issue portrayed in the story. Perhaps the first use of this in writing is Sophocles’s classical drama Oedipus Rex. Oedipus, the tragic hero, falls prey to his own weaknesses. Pride sets him up for a hard fall, when he makes many self-incriminating events public. Persistence causes him to pursue his own destruction, even when many warn him to stop. Finally, uncontrollable rage is the underlying factor in many of the tragic events in the play.
Oedipus’s pride forces him to make everything a public event that makes himself look better, but unfortunately these public appearances lead to his downfall. Even in the very beginning of the play, Oedipus comes before the crowd and says, quote. I deemed it unmeet, my children, for you to hear these things at the mouths of others, and have come here myself, I, Oedipus renowned of all.quote pg77. This proclamation leads up to the detailing of a plague, something all of the residents know about. Oedipus is making big shows out of small topics, something he will regret later. No news of how to stop the plague is even mentioned until Creon comes. Oedipus again makes more incriminating evidence public when he tells Creon, quote. Speak before all. The sorrow, which I bear, is for these more than for my own life. quote pg79 The notoriety Oedipus gives Creon’s speech brings more problems simply because of the details in the speech. Creon tells of a defiling thing that roams the local land. Again, Oedipus does the nobler thing, and decrees that whosoever should come forward to claim responsibility would only be forced into exile. However, if that person hides and does not come forward, then the punishment will be death. In the end though, Oedipus turns out to be the defiling thing, and his own proclamation forces him into exile from Thebes. From these facts, it is apparent that Oedipus’s downfall is due, in part, to his egotistical ways.
Oedipus’s persistent quest to find information about his birth, even when others counsel him not to, leads him to his dreadful ruin. Teiresias, a blind prophet, goes to Oedipus. He tells Oedipus that he is the defiling thing, but does not make his declaration entirely public, giving Oedipus a chance to escape his first tragic flaw. Oedipus does not comprehend the seer’s warning, and accuses him of treason. His first chance now gone, his second presents itself when Jocasta comes down to interrupt Creon and Oedipus who are feuding over the matter Teiresias brings up. Jocasta questions the two, but the chorus interrupts her with the timely advice, quote Enough, surely enough,...
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