The Strong Character and Unavoidable Destiny of Oedipus Rex Essay

The Strong Character and Unavoidable Destiny of Oedipus Rex Oedipus the King, by Sophocles is about Oedipus, a man goddam by his mass. Like almost tragedies, Oedipus the King contains a tragical hero, a heroic figure ineffective to escape his own doom. This tragic hero usually has a hamartia, a tragic flaw, which causes his downfall. The tragic flaw that Sophocles gives Oedipus is hubris (exaggerated pride or self-confidence), which is what caused Oedipus to walk redress into the fate he sought to escape. Oedipus pride pushes him toward his tragic end in the initial journey, when he kills his initiate, in the episode of the sphinx, and in his adamant essay for truth. Pride like that of Oedipus has been the downfall of many great leaders. Oedipus is blinded by his arrogance and wont accept the fact that he cant avoid his fate. His pride eldest affects him when he is told about what his fate has in-store for him. Oedipus explains to Jocasta that he was told that he was fated to deceitfulness with his mother and show to daylight an accursed breed, which men would not endure, and he was doomed to be murderer of the father that begot him. When he heard this he fled (Sophocles 45, 1.792-4). Ironically the pride that caused him to attack to avoid his fate, put him on a path to it. On his send away from Corinth, he unknowingly met with his father, King Laius. When Oedipus tells Jocasta of his encounter he says that he met with a rigging at an intersection and they fought over the decline of way. He also mentions one man (King Laius) struck him and said that He King Laius was gainful in full and ... my stick had struck him backwards from the car and he rolled out of it. And then I killed them all (45, 1.801-13).... ...ppen. Oedipus fate business leader have been avoided if Oedipus was not the type of person he was Oedipus was a tragic hero. Sophocles, instead of killing Oedipus in the end of the novel, chose to give Oedipus a fate worse then death. Oedipus found out who he was and that he killed his father and slept with his mother. His tragic end was a result of his hamartia, hubris. His pride was what caused him to attack the carriage and kill his father, which led to him marrying his mother. He could have ignored the mere right of way argument, but the person he was inside couldnt. His self-confidence and pride, glum into arrogance, and caused him to curse himself. Ironically the traits Oedipus had which led to him becoming a rich and goodish king ultimately led to his tragic end. Perhaps if Oedipus had been a variant person inside, he might have been able to escape his fate.