Oedipus Rex Sophocles Tragedy Oedipus Rex example essay topic

Essay: Oedipus Rex Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus Rex is at heart about the relationship between free will and fate. In a traditional tragedy, the hero is a noble character who is destroyed because he possesses a fatal flaw. In Oedipus Rex, on the other hand, Oedipus is apparently destroyed by the gods or by fate, as he fulfills the horrible prophecy to murder his father and marry his mother. There does not seem to be a tragic flaw which brings about his downfall; his downfall is fated to happen from his birth. The dramatic irony of his quest for justice seems to doom him more than any character trait of his. To be a tragic hero, he has to have free will, and be able to triumph over his fate.

Oedipus at first seems like he is not a tragic hero, but on closer analysis, he has both the noble qualities and the hamartia, or tragic flaw, of a traditional tragic hero. Oedipus becomes a tragic hero by accepting responsibility for his horrific fate. His clearest heroic quality is his compassion. As the play opens, the city of Thebes, of which Oedipus is king, is being ravaged by a horrible plague.

His primary desire is to prevent the further suffering of others. "O children, wailing loud, ye tell me not / Of woes unknown; too well I know them all, / Your sorrows and your wants. For one and all / Are stricken, yet no sorrow like to mine / Weighs on you. Each his own sad burden bears, / His own and not another's. But my heart / Mourns for the people's sorrow and mine own. (Oedipus Rex.

63-69)". This is no political posturing, Oedipus wants an end to the plague. Oedipus shows this when he says, privately, to Creon, "Speak out to all. I sorrow more for them Than for the woe which touches me alone. (Oedipus Rex, 99-100) " This desire to help his people comes at the beginning of the play to establish Oedipus' character as essentially good, and to stand in stark contrast to the horrifying truths that are later revealed about him.

Oedipus' tragic flaw is his hubris, or pride, and his wrath, which cause him to make wild accusations and prevent him from realizing the truth about himself. Oedipus' is sure than he and he alone can solve the woes of Thebes, and discover the murderer. When Teiresias, the blind seer, refuses to tell Oedipus what he knows of Laius' murderer, Oedipus rages and accuses Teiresias of committing the crime himself. "Yes; I will not refrain, so fierce my wrath, / From speaking all my thought.

I think that thou / Didst plot the deed, and do it... (Oedipus Rex 363-365) " When Teiresias finally tells Oedipus the truth, that he is the murderer of Laius, Oedipus accuses Teiresias of conspiring with Creon, his close friend and brother in law, to try to overthrow Oedipus from the throne of Thebes. "Creon the faithful, found mine earliest friend, / now seeks with masked attack to drive me forth. (Oedipus Rex 408-409) Oedipus' pride prevents him from seeing the truth about himself even when those around him, including Io caste can see.

This fact is even exploited by Sophocles, quite ironically, when the blind man, Teiresias, can see what the sighted man, Oedipus, cannot. Oedipus' third main character trait, his thirst for knowledge, also adds to his status as a tragic hero, albeit in a much more ambiguous way. At times, it acts as a flaw, helping to bring about his inevitable downfall. Throughout most of the play, however, Oedipus' thirst for knowledge acts as a virtue. As the play progresses and Oedipus learns more of the truth about himself his desire to learn more becomes more and more insatiable.

Even when he knows that the knowledge he gains will be horrific, he "needs must hear it, come what may. (Oedipus Rex 1208) " This can be seen as either a flaw or a virtue. On the one hand, he seeks the truth above all else, and accepts even terrible truths. On the other hand, he pursues knowledge single-mindedly, and his knowledge of his horrible deed, more than the deed itself, is what brings about his reversal of fortune. Oedipus' thirst for knowledge, because it is so ambiguous, defines his character more than the other traits. Oedipus, like Faust, wants only to know, even if his knowledge will ultimately destroy him.

For Oedipus, at least, ignorance can never be bliss. These traits paint a picture of Oedipus as a classical tragic hero. He is a complex character with noble qualities as well as flaws. For Oedipus to be a true tragic hero, however, he has to have freewill.

If he is not ultimately responsible for his tragic downfall, then he becomes just another man. Oedipus Rex is a play, in essence, about the conflict between man and his fate. Oedipus proves himself in this respect. Any man could have been fated to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus' response to his situation is what creates the tragedy. The prophecy could almost be seen as secondary, a mere setting in which Oedipus' makes his journey of self-discovery.

When viewed in this context, the play makes much more sense as a tragedy. The conflict isn't that he kills his father and marries his mother, it is that he swears to discover and punish the murderer of king Laius. When the play is viewed in this light, it becomes obvious how his tragic flaw leads to his downfall: his vengeful pride hinders his quest for the truth, and makes the tragic moment of realization much more intense. Even his noble compassion fits more into this concept of the play, as it sets in motion his eventual downfall.

Oedipus is clearly a tragic hero, capable of producing the catharsis just because every action he takes and every line he speaks is laden with tragic irony, which would have been even more effective to the original Greek audience because they would, for the most part, be familiar with the Oedipus myth. Oedipus shows he has free will in his response following the shock of realization. He puts out his own eyes, blinding himself forever. At first, this seems like the irrational act of a broken man. More careful examination, however, reveals that this is the supreme act of rebellion against the gods in this play. In tearing out his own eyes, Oedipus is showing the gods that he still possesses the power of his free will.

He even defies them verbally, saying, "Apollo! oh, my friends, the God, Apollo! / Who work eth all my woes-yes, all my woes. / No human hand but mine has done this deed. (Oedipus Rex 1385-1387) " For a cursed man to defy the very god who curses him or for any man to tear out his own eyes are both acts that require a tremendous amount of willpower.

The act of tearing out his eyes further establishes him as a true tragic hero as it counters his tragic flaw. At the start of the play, Oedipus is proud, and never needs the aid of others. By the close of Oedipus Rex, he is unable to even walk around unaided. In this way, he forces himself to lose his pride.

Perhaps his most telling act is his decision to carry out his justice on himself, exiling himself for his crimes against Thebes. By assuming the responsibility for his fate, Oedipus achieves mastery over it. By taking responsibility for something which he could easily have blamed on Apollo, or on his fate, Oedipus shows himself to be a truly noble character. Had the play ended when Oedipus learned of his fate, it would have lacked the tragic weigh that it had. Oedipus is truly able to shine when he is given the opportunity to respond to his fate and achieve mastery over it. In this way, Oedipus shows himself not only to be the perfect tragic hero, but also the perfect existential hero.

His conflict is with the uncaring universe, and he never gives it up. He seeks knowledge, even when he knows it will destroy him. He is able to forge meaning in his suffering. Most importantly, he is able to defy his fate by embracing it, in the same way that Sisyphus does not resist rolling his rock up the hill. In accepting the punishment for his fated actions, Oedipus is able to infuse his fate with meaning. Oedipus mocks the very gods who have cursed him.

Oedipus is unable to escape his fate, but he can achieve dignity despite it. At first glance, Sophocles' Oedipus Rex appears to be a very unusual tragedy. The main character seems bound by fate, making him not much of a tragic hero. He does however have the qualities of a classical tragic hero. His compassion makes him a truly august character, while his prideful wrath is his tragic flaw. His inquisitiveness is a more ambiguous quality, acting both as a flaw and virtue, and giving his character true complexity.

His actions in the play show that he does. When the curse is viewed as just mere setting, it becomes clear that Oedipus is a tragic hero. The real conflict comes out of Oedipus' promise to discover who Laius' murderer was and punish him. When the play is considered in this sense, Oedipus' tragic flaw, his prideful rage, is actually what brings about his downfall. In this light Oedipus' character becomes much grander.

He isn't able to change his fate, but he is able to respond to it. The act of putting out his own eyes is a way of defying the gods by showing his willpower. By punishing himself with exile, Oedipus takes responsibility for his actions, even if he is not responsible for them. In this way, Oedipus shows himself to be the perfect existential hero.

The reason the Oedipus story is universal is that it touches on the theme of free will versus fate that has always and will always trouble people.