Family secrets are generally bad, but if they were known could people possibly make different choices in life? In the story of Oedipus the King, Oedipus’ entire life is build around so-called “family secrets”. In the end of his misguided choices which result from his lack of knowledge of his heritage lead to the development of his character and his tragic fall. The development of Oedipus’ character is essentially lead by a family secret. A secret can misguide our lives; it can mix up our identities and mold them into something we would not normally be. Also this clouds his mind and makes it difficult to make clear choices. [Evan Imber-Black pg2] Oedipus’ character is filled with fear and pride. The fear of Oedipus is fuelled by the frightening possibility of the prophecy being fulfilled. This makes him feel like the only option is to run away from his problems. After running, Oedipus is left feeling like he has forgotten his problems behind him and there is nothing that will be able to stop him so his pride starts to swell. Oedipus’ pride is starting to grow is because he has become a great king and feels like the prophecy is long gone. Problems within the city begin to arise at Oedipus’ feet he is lost in what actions he should take because he is blind to the truth, because he is the problem. When Oedipus seeks help through is pride he lashes out at Tiresias because in Oedipus’ mind the prophecy has been avoided. In the end Oedipus’ fear and pride could have been minor or not at all if he had known the truth about his heritage. The beginning of Oedipus’ tragic fall starts before he has even risen to be a king because at birth Oedipus’ origin is being hid from him, a situation which in time creates the reason for his choices. Oedipus is only running from the truth, the only truth he knows, the prophecy of killing his father and marring his mother. If Oedipus at the beginning was told who his real father is Oedipus would have possibly stayed in Corinth and not been running from his problems in the first place. Also if Oedipus would have not been running away from his problems he would not have been traveling and came across the crossroads where Oedipus kills his father.
Not knowing or knowing a deep family secret can affect the choices we make. Fear, dimidiation, and pride can form from not knowing certain pieces of information and mislead our character. [Evan Imber-Black pg2] Oedipus from the beginning was misleading, in this he makes his own mistakes which lead to his tragic fall. When Oedipus makes the choice to run, he believes he is making the right decision based on the information he knows to be the truth. If the truth was known from the beginning Oedipus would have gone down a different path and not been in the dark his entire life.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
This instantly places him right on top and boosts him up to fulfill the Kings position. His intuitive instincts and drive to put together his life signified him as a man always on a hunt. These qualities where huge attributes to his life however, he also had many negative traits which would end him. He was a man with a huge temper which leads right to his downfall. Since his temper is what ultimately killed his father, it was obvious that it would not stop there. His lack of emotion and sensitivity to these killing sprees was a sign of a broken man unwilling to wear his heart of his sleeve. A man of pride. This follows even more problems for Oedipus as time continues. He refuses to listen to Teiresias, the blind seer of Thebes. He is informed about his future and is taking back by all that makes sense to him now. He is left alone to figure out what to do next. Instead of handling the situation calmly and effectively, he goes out on an rampage and seeks to kill his wife/mother for not telling him to the truth. Once he arrives, he instantly finds her hung by her own hair. This forces him to completely lose his right state of mind and punishes himself by gauging his…
- 471 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Oedipus did not know his real parents. The King of Corinth was his foster dad. The king gave him the name Oedipus, because…
- 1492 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
His pride started to build up after he left Corinth and is almost thrown off the road where the three crossroads meet. When the five men try to throw him off the road Oedipus fights back and kills all five of the men and in doing this he unknowingly kills his biologic father Laius. After this it continues to grow when he returns to his birthplace the City of Thebes. When he gets to Thebes there is death throughout the city and they are being terrorized by the Sphinx and the only way to stop this holocaust is to solve the Sphinx’s riddle. Oedipus solves this riddle and the Sphinx is forced to leave the city and take its destruction with it. The city of Thebes then makes Oedipus their king for his act that saves them from their common adversary. As king of Thebes, his pride builds up all the way. During his reign the land has a curse on it and when he learns that it is because the city’s last king’s murderer is bringing this curse on the land. When he investigates who murdered the king, his prideful spirit he forces Tiresias and others to tell him what the oracle has revealed. He finds out that he murdered the king who is his father and he is married and has two kids with his mother who is his wife and the…
- 690 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Although ruling with an iron ego, Oedipus has the admirable qualities that a leader of any place would and should possess; he has a deep devotion to the Theban population, “whose fame all men acknowledge” (Sophocles, 8). At the outset of the play, Oedipus’ intentions were honorable; he was determined to find Laius’ murderer and went to such lengths to end the plague on his people. His intentions were there and good. As a man of such noble status, he was dedicated to his people. Despite his dedication and apparent likability, it is his immense pride that disallows him from seeing his true nature: a hot-tempered, proud and cocky individual who ends up, in a paradox, blind as he “sees” the truth that he murdered his own father and has married and procreated with his mother, however unaware of that fact he was. Even in seeing his own truth, no pun intended, Oedipus begs for exile as a way to escape his cursed family; he asks his brother-in-law Creon to protect his daughters/half-sisters Antigone and Ismene in a move of selflessness counteracting his normally proud…
- 1447 Words
- 6 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Oedipus had been living a lie his whole life. He was raised by people who weren’t even his real parents and didn’t know of his origins. Maybe that was a good thing. When Oedipus invites Tiresias over to talk about Laius’ death, Tiresias refuses to tell Oedipus anything. Tiresias then says “This day will give you a father, and break your heart.” (Sophocles, Pg. 24) Because Oedipus doesn’t know anything about his true family, he curses at Tiresias. Oedipus sends Tiresias away in a fit of rage. Why won’t Tiresias tell me anything? The less Oedipus knows the better.…
- 513 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
According to Adade-Yeboah, Ahenkora, and Amankwah (2012), “Tragedy is of action and not character as Aristotle puts it” (p. 10). Therefore, Oedipus’ tragedy deals with his ignorance and not his character. Oedipus is ignorant in the fact that he does not realize he is committing patricide or incest (Adade-Yeboah et al., 2012, p. 11). Oedipus grows up knowing two opposite people that he thought were his parents, which leads to him killing his biological father and marrying his biological mother. Oedipus then goes on to search for his biological father’s killer and soon realizes that it was he himself who committed the atrocious acts toward his family. He came to this realization after it was revealed to him by an oracle. Originally, Oedipus believes that the man he originally kills is only just a shepherd, when in return it is his biological father. According to Greenburg (2012), “Oedipus has been told, and has come to believe, that at the end of his life and in death he will have the power to protect the city that has taken him and buried him” (p. 52). Oedipus maintains the belief that things will always be the way he knew them to be and he would be in charge of the city he knew and loved. He maintains this belief until an oracle reveals his misfortune. At first, Oedipus and his wife (biological mother) refuse to believe that what they were told is true. According to…
- 1506 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays -
In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (rpt. in James P. Place, Literature: A reader for Freshman Composition II, 1st ed. [Boston: Pearson, 2011] 122-168), the oracles had prophesied that Oedipus would kill his father and beget children by his mother. Oedipus does not want to do the things that Apollo predicted; he is no puppet, but indeed the controller of his own fate. Oedipus was unwilling to have his fate come true; he was frightened that he would kill his adopted parents. He believes they were his real parents, therefore he left to Thebes. The decision he made was based on the stories he heard. This led to Oedipus’s own downfall.…
- 456 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Oedipus is the main character in the play Oedipus the King. Oedipus is thought of as a tragic figure because he was doomed from birth. Tiresias, an old blind prophet, told Oedipus' parents about Oedipus' fate. He told them that Oedipus would kill his father and sleep with his mother. So, his parents decided to have him killed, only it did not happen that way. He was passed off by two shepherds and finally to the King and Queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope to raise him as their own. Oedipus finds his way back to Thebes and on the way kills his father, but Oedipus did not know that one of the men he killed was his real father. This is the beginning of the prophecy coming true. In short Oedipus obtains the throne, Marries his mother and has kids with her. Oedipus' fate has come together without him even realizing what is going on. Eventually he is told what has happened and asks to be banished by his uncle/brother-in-law Creon. The tragedy in Oedipus' life began with his birth and the realization by his parents that his whole life was doomed.…
- 620 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Sophocles' Oedipus Rex revolves around the story of Oedipus, who now is King of Thebes, searching for the murderer of the past king. The tragedy is not so much that Oedipus is the murderer and committing incest with his mother. After all, he was fated to do so, and Oedipus commits these crimes unknowingly. The real tragedy of Oedipus is his trying to defy his destiny and compounding the troubles with his pride. Oedipus has the chance to stop the search for the murderer before the investigation starts. Even blind Teiresias, who tells Oedipus that he is the guilty party, wants Oedipus to stop although Teiresias can see the outcome and knows Oedipus' destiny. It is Oedipus' pride that, in telling the members of his court that he will search for the murderer, leads him down the ever narrowing path to the truth and his pride that will not allow him to stop the search.…
- 725 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Oedipus started his life with a prophecy that he would kill his father, and marry his mother. Oedipus had no idea that his real parents were Laius and Jocasta, and he was blind…
- 696 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
However, if the people chose not to speak up and were covering up for a family or friend they will be banished and not spoken to or able to attend religious activities. He will be cursed and live a life in misery. Oedipus summoned Tiresias as suggested by Creon and also the chorus. When Oedipus asked Tiresias of whom the murderer is, Tiresias refuses to say anything and…
- 1192 Words
- 5 Pages
Powerful Essays -
“Oedipus the King” was a tale depicting the human experience; each human has a great victory, shortly accompanied by a great demise; the rollercoaster of life. Oedipus had his great success soon become the reason for his fall. With Oedipus’ deadly flaw being ‘hubris’; his excessive pride led him to believe he was on the level of ‘gods’. Once he paraded that he was invulnerable (untouchable by even the gods), his fall would be all the more tragic. Throughout the tale however, Oedipus uses many rhetorical devices towards all his subjects without even recognizing.…
- 504 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
* showcase your critical thinking skills through analysis and insight and must demonstrate control of the topic at hand.…
- 351 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
When Oedipus is completely blind to the truth, he is safe from fulfilling his terrible destiny. It is when he begins to see the truth that he starts to approach his fate. "...a drunken man maundering in his cups / Cries out that I am not my father's son! / ...the suspicion / Remained always aching in my mind," Here, on page 42, Oedipus, in a very minor way, starts to see the truth. By becoming slightly aware of the truth, Oedipus's situation only got worse as his knowledge only escalated with every curious inquiry. Because of what the drunkard said, Oedipus learned about the oracle ("[Oedipus] should lie with [his] own mother... / ...and that he should be his father's murderer" (42) ) and fled for safety from what he thought was his fate. However, he was doing the exact opposite; while fleeing from Corinth, he met his real father, King Laїos, and killed him. He then made his way to Thebes where he married his real mother, Iocaste.…
- 965 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
1. After Oedipus blinds himself I think that he does show his previous pride. I was surprised when he blinded himself after seeing his wife/mother dead as she committed suicide. When he came out in front of the public he displayed his pride as confidently as he had when he could see. He wanted the public to know about what he has done, i.e. killing his father and marrying his mother, and he demands to receive the punishment that any normal citizen would receive. He shows his self-confidence after his blinding because even when he is blind he shouts, “’open the doors, someone: show me to all the people of Thebes…’” (Knox 94), which shows that even though he is physically impaired, he has enough confidence that he can leave his home and reveal his face. Usually when a person has more power, such as Oedipus did as King, they expect to be treated differently, but Oedipus expected to be treated like a citizen would be treated for his crimes. From my personal opinion, I think that Oedipus seems completely defeated by the blinding. On page 95 Oedipus says, “Darkness, dark cloud all around me, enclosing me, unspeakable darkness…”. Darkness has a known connotation for depression and sadness. This sentence is very negative and he uses dark words that express his sadness and guilt. Depression is normally linked with darkness and clouds, compared to sun as happy, and when he used “darkness” and “dark cloud” it is evident that Oedipus is crushed to find that what the prophets had said was true. While Oedipus has the same level of confidence, I believe, from the context, that he is distraught over the recent events.…
- 835 Words
- 2 Pages
Powerful Essays