Analysis of Oedipus the King: Impact of Character Traits on Destiny

In life flaws have always played a vital role in affecting the way matters resolve themselves. The faults found in people have led to the greatest catastrophes in history, from the wars caused by greed and the differences highlighted by pride. In ‘Oedipus the King’, Sophocles weaves a message that has existed since the world was created within the fibers of the play’s plot: beware of what resides within you, since your most overlooked and hidden traits may lead to your own demise. Just as what happened with Oedipus due to his anger, pride, and resolution.

Firstly, one of Oedipus’s tragic flaws is the anger that resides within him and which sometimes drives and controls his decisions. For instance, during the scene where Oedipus pled with Teiresias for clues regarding the murderer’s identity, Teiresias refused to speak. Without trying to reason with the prophet, Oedipus allowed his anger to shadow his wisdom and logic, thus giving himself the audacity to accuse Teiresias of being involved in the crime somehow. “You planned it, you had it done, you all but killed him with your own hands.” Furthermore, this flaw is brought attention to after Oedipus discovered the truth about his true parents, he headed towards the palace in a blind rage with the intent of killing or harming Jocasta, as she was his wife and mother at the same time without thinking of what killing her might achieve. “From one to another of us he went, begging a sword, hunting the wife who was not his wife, the mother whose womb had carried his own children and himself.”

In addition to that, Oedipus’s arrogance prevents him from listening to the concerns of the people surrounding him. He instead spent his time admiring his strength and wisdom, so much so that he forgot his place and spoke badly of the gods with the argument that he had with Teiresias; it showed just how much Oedipus’s self-importance has sidetracked and affected him. “Your birds – what good were they? Or the gods, for the matter of that?” Furthermore, he believed that he was great enough to escape his destiny and prevent the prophecy from occurring by escaping Corinth and never meeting his parents again. The gods, however, were not easily tricked, and Oedipus ended up meeting and killing his father at the crossroads, effectively accomplishing of what the Oracle foretold would happen. “As I wandered farther and farther on my way to a land where I should never see the evil sung by the Oracle.”

Lastly, Oedipus’s unfaltering determination to unearth the truth about the murder led to him uncovering secrets that led to his fall from glory. For example, Oedipus showed his resolve in the scene where he ignored Jocasta’s warnings along with those that Teiresias issued in the beginning of the play and summoned the shepherd regardless that all the evidence pointed towards incriminating himself. This is portrayed in his saying: “Let it come! However, base my birth, I must know about it.”

In conclusion, mistakes make people grow and become better people, but they can also cause a person to go down a bad path, one where the fate is darker than anyone could have perceived. The play served as a reminder that even the greatest of men could fall, that a everyone life is fragile and uncertain, and everything could tip to one side or the other from a few tragic flaws. Oedipus served as that reminder, since his rage, arrogance, and sense of purpose changed his fate from a respected king of Thebes to a blind beggar exiled from the city he once used to rule.

Bibliography

1. Burgess, Anthony, et al. Oedipus the King. University of Minnesota Press, 1998.