Preview

The King's Change In Oedipus And Colon

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
662 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The King's Change In Oedipus And Colon
It only takes that one traumatizing moment to change what someone is. One moment, a man could be cheerful, but at the next be full of tears or filled with hate. When a person realizes that he or she had wronged in some way, they tend be overwhelmed and have a desire to pay repentance for their mistakes by doing harmful or crazy actions or activities. In the books “Oedipus Rex” and “Oedipus and Colonus,” Oedipus, the protagonist, faces things which cause him to do these harmful things and which cause him to change his personality as well. Oedipus changes how he acts, what he looks like, and his mannerisms after the events of the book. “Oedipus Rex.” Oedipus changing his physical expressions and going to the extreme when punishing himself was …show more content…
With the title as king of Thebes, Oedipus was shown to be arrogant and aggressive as shown when he was questioning the holy prophet, Teiresias (Fitts and Fitzgerald 16). During the questioning, Teiresias mentioned that Oedipus was responsible for the death of his father (Fitts and Fitzgerald 24). The king of Thebes refused to listen to the words of the holy prophet and so had lead Teiresias away from the palace (Fitts and Fitzgerald 24). When Teiresias was shown to be right, Oedipus lost some hope and changed his personality. He was shown to be loving towards Antigone and Ismene; and he had befriended the king of Athens, Theseus, despite the slight misunderstanding at the beginning of “Oedipus at Colonus” (Fitts and Fitzgerald 118). Oedipus was no longer an arrogant man in the second drama but a fair man who wanted to keep good people safe from …show more content…
Oedipus was not only known to behave aggressively in “Oedipus Rex” but also to have aggressive speech as well. In the first drama, the king of Thebes was shown to speak harshly to others who had done nothing to him (Fitts and Fitzgerald 17). In “Oedipus at Colonus,” Oedipus was shown to be kinder when he spoke. When Oedipus told the Chorus his name, the Chorus wanted him to leave the country immediately due to his “family curse” (Fitts and Fitzgerald 98). Despite this however, Oedipus spoke kindly to the Chorus and asked then of the promises that were made towards him (Fitts and Fitzgerald 98). Oedipus also spoke kindly to the King of Athens, Theseus. The son of Laius spoke to the king of Athens with great respect. When Theseus told Oedipus his actions were childish, Oedipus asked Theseus to get to know him first (Fitts and Fitzgerald 118). Oedipus’s aggressive speech changed upon realizing the mistakes made in “Oedipus Rex.” When that traumatizing moment occurs, there will be a change. This change might change a person physically like it did to Oedipus, and will almost certainly linger in their mind and scar it with this thought. Oedipus was changed for the rest of his life when he found out that he was responsible for marrying his own mother and slaying his own father. Knowing this, Oedipus changed his own character by changing his facial features, changed his behavior, and changing the way he spoke. This traumatizing

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus ascended the throne of Thebes; as to many years ago he had solved the riddle of the Sphinx, saved the city of Thebes and was welcomed as King. We see that this quality makes him an excellent ruler who anticipates his subjects’ needs. Taking up the responsibility of being a king by serving the citizens, Oedipus is adequate to the challenge, believing he can purge the land. Oedipus the King is a character that tempts fate, thinks he can change fate as a man who…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hubris In Oedipus The King

    • 1852 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Sophocles wrote Oedipus the King in the 5th century BCE, in contrast with the work of the Roman Ovid. The character of King Oedipus demonstrates his attitude of overconfidence from the beginning, as he speaks to the children outside his palace and introduces himself as, “I, Oedipus whom all men call the Great” (Oedipus the King 73). As a result of this hubris, he tries to defy the prophecies given by the gods, but he goes on to follow the prophecy as it was laid out and do exactly what he was most afraid of doing (Oedipus the King 83). The Oracle of Delphi gives him the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother, but his overconfidence convinces him that he can overcome this; instead of taking the advice of the prophet Teiresias, he attacks Teiresias in anger over the prophecy (Oedipus the King 80-81, 86). He embarks on an adventure towards Thebes from Corinth, and on his way, he kills an old man and marries the queen of Thebes (Oedipus the King 105), completely unaware that in doing so, he is fulfilling the prophecy. Throughout the story, his pride shines through both his actions and his attitude, as he attempts to prove that he knows more and is more powerful than the prophet, stating, “it has no strength for you because you are blind in mind and ears as well as in your eyes…You life is one long night so that you cannot hurt me or any…

    • 1852 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Vs Creon Essay

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Oedipus’ quick temper leads him to have dreadful interactions with others that end up leaving some people no more. While Oedipus was on the road traveling away from his home city, he has a confrontation and scuffle with a man, and in the…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus blinds himself in shame, accepting full responsibility for poising the city and willingly takes the punishment of exile. In the end, Oedipus’ arrogance led to his downfall. He lost his wife, his eyesight and his kingship. He uncovered the riddles of his life and found out that he was the boy who was the subject of the prophecy. His intelligence, egotism and arrogance led to this finding which caused him losing all that he had. The resolution of his life puts Oedipus above any other tragic hero. He unravels his life in a way that pushes the limits of agony a human can take and there he finds incomparable greatness of…

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to McManus (1999), “In a perfect tragedy, character will support plot, i.e., personal motivations will be intricately connect parts of the cause-and-effect chain of actions producing pity and fear in the audience” (Paragraph 5). The pity and fear in Oedipus is apparent throughout the story. Peter Struck (2009) states, “Oedipus dynamic and multi-faced character emotionally bonds the audience; his tragic flaw forces the audience to fear for him, without losing any respect; and his horrific punishment elicits a great sense of pity from the audience”(Paragraph 5). This pity helps reinforce the idea of a tragic hero, because Oedipus is not responsible for his flaws. Pity is displayed through multiple actions. One way pity is displayed is through Oedipus’ pleas to the god’s for forgiveness. Pity is also displayed as Oedipus punishes himself as well as receives punishment from Creon. According to Struck (2009), “In effect, Oedipus is dead, for he receives no benefits for the living; at the same time, he is not dead by definition, and so his suffering cannot end” (Paragraph 4). Despite atoning for his wrongdoings, Oedipus continues to suffer when the play ends. He suffers in the fact that he is blind and everything he once had and knew is no longer true for him. Oedipus blinds himself in order to pay for the sins that he committed against his family. This shows that Oedipus is not a coward and is able…

    • 1506 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    His anger would always overwhelm his intelligence and reason, and that’s what got him into problems through that play. For an illustration of this flaw; he yelled at the Blind prophet, Teiresias, and afterwards accused the murder on him out of fury about the fact that he would not talk to him about the situation, “ Rage? Why not! And I’ll tell you with I think: You planned it, you had it done, you all but killed him with your own hands: if you had eyes, I’d say the crime was yours, and yours alone.” (Sophocles, 215). The Hubris that Oedipus had been the main reason he never listened to the people that were trying to help him or let them help when it was most necessary. This hubris caused him to become egotistic during the story “I, Oedipus who bear the famous name…” (Sophocles,…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Oedipus the King Oedipus was a very strong willed confident man. He was a great leader, though at times he showed hubristic characteristics. He like to brag that “[everyone] knows [him], the world knows [his] fame,” (Oedipus the King. 7) and that he was the greatest person. He also thought the he was the most powerful man. These hubristic characteristics are what arguably led to his downfall. This was Oedipus’s tragic flaw. He was not humble by any means in this first book, but in the second book that all changed. After Oedipus could see the truth, and realized that his prophecy of killing his father and having children with his mother came true, he blinded himself. He wanted to escape what he could see (metaphorically) so he blinded himself (physically). In Oedipus and Colonus, Oedipus was old, weak, and weary. He was humble and pitied himself. He had to rely on his daughter, Anitgone, to guide him and care for him wherever he went after his exile. He has faith in the gods and realized that they are always watching you and know if your faith has faltered. In the first book he thought that he could prove the oracle wrong and show that the gods were not always right, but in trying to outrun his prophecy he caused it to happen. He changed drastically mentally and physically because of this. He lost all of his pride and was only full of pity. Also, he gouged his eyes out to try to escape seeing the truth.…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The short tempered Oedipus turns toward torture when he does not get what he desires. The same shepherd who saves Oedipus from agonizing death as a diminutive child, undergoes superfluous and brutal torture when he refuses to confess the prophecy of Oedipus. Oedipus, while in the midst of soliciting his prophecy states, “So, you won’t talk willingly— then you'll talk with pain” (302). Oedipus begins entwining his arms, causing the shepherd tremendous amounts of pain.…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Oedipus At Colonus, Sophocles transformed the tragic story of Oedipus into a story of redemption with strong morale message. The story feels a little more fabled than tragic, a bedtime story that a mother would tell their kids to project the message that one should always be kind to their parents (Eteocles curse) and to the unfortunate ones (the hero, Theseus aiding Oedipus in Colonus).…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Throughout the play “Oedipus Rex”, the main character Oedipus has a number of different character traits throughout the play. His out-look on the stories situation evolves as he begins to learn the truth about who he really is. Oedipus takes on the characteristics of a hunter as well as becoming the hunted; he is a sower yet also the seed, and a sailor-helmsman of the city. Each of these images has their own significance.…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the play “Oedipus At Colonus”, show a older and wiser Oedipus that has learn acceptance through his suffering. His suffering play the role of giving him the pieces he was missing from his life, like who were his real parents and who he really is. With the suffering giving him information he was missing, it was also a wake call to accept who he is and his…

    • 69 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    odepus essay

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Introduction: Many people in the world have great power, though only few abuse it. Oedipus is one of these people that abuse their great power. He is the king of Thebes and he likes to show it, from commanding everyone to obey his orders to calling the people of Thebes his children.…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Justice Analysis

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Once Oedipus is confided in with the horrible truth of who he actually is, Oedipus stabs his eyes, blinding himself and leaves Thebes in self- exile. His mental stability is deteriorated once he finds out that he unknowingly committed incest, and killed his father. The issue here is the issue of justice. There is little that can be done to restore justice to what has happened to Oedipus. Oedipus feels that through his own actions of blinding himself and then going into self- exile, he feels that some justice has been restored. The person who is responsible has been punished and there is a belief that what he has done will help to bring order and redemption to Thebes, since in Oedipus’ mind he believes that he has caused all of this havoc. Oedipus is an important figure because he is able to assert power to restore justice even when both elements are absent in his world. However, injustice is present in his world. Oedipus must go through self blinding and self exile in order to deal with the well-being of his mental body, his conscience rather than the well-being of his physical body, because of his parents mistake. Oedipus' actions restore the moral and ethical order to a world that seems to lack…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus is a dynamic character, he is changing throughout the play while trying to maintain peace within himself as king, even if circumstances goes beyond his reach. Although he tried to maintain peace, it didn’t quite work. In the beginning…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays