Pride In Sophocles Oedipus The King
“The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple” (Oscar Wilde). On the surface things can seem rather simple and straightforward, but when looking in depth at things, they are almost never what they seem to be. In Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King, Oedipus decides that to end the plague he must avenge the death of Laius, the former king of Thebes. Without any information about Laius’ death, Oedipus became angry and sent a curse down on the murderer. Tiresias, a prophet, soon revealed to Oedipus that the true identity of the murderer was Oedipus himself. Not only did Oedipus find out that one of the men he murdered years before was the king, but it was also revealed that Laius was his father and his wife, Jocasta, was his mother,
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For instance, Oedipus killed Laius and three of his servants after they had tried to kick him off the road. Oedipus believed he had deserved better than to be kicked off the road, so he furiously attacked and killed them as a form of revenge. Instead of settling it in a nonviolent way, Oedipus let his pride get in the way and committed murder. Additionally, Oedipus again fell victim to his excessive pride when he refused to believe that he was the murderer. As soon as Tiresias disclosed that Oedipus was the perpetrator, Oedipus immediately denied it and alleged that Tiresias and Creon formed a conspiracy against him. He had no reason to call out Tiresias and Creon, two highly respected men in the city of Thebes, but he did so because he was overly confident in himself. Furthermore, Oedipus stubbornly searches for the killer even when he is warned about the consequences of continuing. Tiresias comes to Oedipus in the beginning of the search and is reluctant to share what he knows with Oedipus. Tiresias says, “Dismiss me, send me home. That will be the easiest way for both of us to bear our burden” (19). Oedipus’ hubris doesn’t allow him to ever suspect that he could be the killer, so he gave Tiresias a peremptory order to spill the truth. Also, Oedipus ignores Jocasta’s motherly warnings about ending the search. She pleads to him, “In God’s name, if you place any value on your life, don’t
For instance, Oedipus killed Laius and three of his servants after they had tried to kick him off the road. Oedipus believed he had deserved better than to be kicked off the road, so he furiously attacked and killed them as a form of revenge. Instead of settling it in a nonviolent way, Oedipus let his pride get in the way and committed murder. Additionally, Oedipus again fell victim to his excessive pride when he refused to believe that he was the murderer. As soon as Tiresias disclosed that Oedipus was the perpetrator, Oedipus immediately denied it and alleged that Tiresias and Creon formed a conspiracy against him. He had no reason to call out Tiresias and Creon, two highly respected men in the city of Thebes, but he did so because he was overly confident in himself. Furthermore, Oedipus stubbornly searches for the killer even when he is warned about the consequences of continuing. Tiresias comes to Oedipus in the beginning of the search and is reluctant to share what he knows with Oedipus. Tiresias says, “Dismiss me, send me home. That will be the easiest way for both of us to bear our burden” (19). Oedipus’ hubris doesn’t allow him to ever suspect that he could be the killer, so he gave Tiresias a peremptory order to spill the truth. Also, Oedipus ignores Jocasta’s motherly warnings about ending the search. She pleads to him, “In God’s name, if you place any value on your life, don’t