Oedipus The Tragic Hero
Based on the reading of Aristotle's "On Tragic Character" it is clear that the Greeks view the protagonist of Sophocles' play "Oedipus the King" as a hero. How does Oedipus himself meet the terms of Aristotle's requirements for a hero? When analyzing Oedipus's character the reader gets a sense of compassion and that he believes in doing the right thing. Oedipus's intentions and morals are good. His emotions, his thoughts, even his errors, have a dedicated loyalty. Aristotle says, a hero reveals in his speech or in action what his moral choices are, and a good character will be one whose choices are good. Oedipus shows compassion in his choices, through out the story. For example, when he heard of the prophecy that he would one day kill his
father and marry his mother, he takes his fate into his own hands and runs away. Although Oedipus had good intentions, his action became the opposite of his anticipated effect, because he attempted to change his fate. Unfortunately he is not only a hero, he is a hero of tragedy. As king Oedipus said that once he finds out who killed king Laius, he would sentence them to death. Oedipus recognizes his errors and suffers profoundly for them. He stood by his people and kept his word. This enables him to become human and see his place in the universe. Above all he was a character who was dedicated and loyal to his people, this makes him a hero. He shows his dedication and loyalty by punishing himself for his people. ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography**. After his punishment his people were saved from the plague that was killing them off. He did eventually marry his real mother and murder his real father without knowing. He then decides to take action and find the murders and sentence them to death. This became a tragedy when he finds out he himself is the killer. Oedipus had struggled against his fate convinced he was doing the right thing but his fate was all along a misfortune.
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