Tragic flaw of Oedipus Rex
The Greeks considered tragedy the greatest form for literature. Many readers today would agree. Is a tragedy's end fate? Or is it tragic flaw? Unlike the critic's opinion being that one cannot pinpoint Oedipus' tragic flaw, I disagree. I think that we can pick out, just by carefully reading and analyzing the play, that Oedipus indeed had a tragic flaw. It is for this reason that we can say that this play is not an example of "fate", because if it were, it wouldn't matter what the characters did or said since the end would be predestined for them all. In Oedipus Rex though, we see many examples that Oedipus' tragic flaw is his excessive pride. As the play progresses, other characteristics appear and further add to the problem to such a point that it is inevitable that it will end in tragedy. Therefore the tragedies were not a result of a plot by the fates, but rather a result of the characteristics that the characters possessed. There are several characteristics that characters in tragedies could have, but out of all of those, pride is the most prevalent of all. It seems to be the biggest tragic flaw that eventually causes the downfall of one or more of the characters. As mentioned before, the tragic f
Oedipus becomes a prophet like Tiresius. In lines 141 and 142, we can clearly see Oedipus' tragic flaw. Of course at that time, Oedipus failed to realize his connections to Jocasta and Laius, but recognition of the truth brought him to his downfall. So we can see that because of Oedipus' excessive pride and determination to avoid his 'fate', he walked straight into it. He even mocks the fact that Tiresius is blind because in line 353 and 354, Oedipus says to Tiresius, "If you could see, I should have said the deed was yours alone. We can see this when he is talking to Creon, asking him to take him into exile (lines1525-1533). When avenging Jocasta's previous husband, and his true father, King Laius' death, he was blinded by his pride to the concept that perhaps he was the murderer. Now Oedipus not only sees how the prophecy was played out, but also is able to look beyond the surface of things. As the very last statement from the Chorus says, "we must wait, and see his end, scrutinize his dying day, and refuse to call him happy till he has crossed the border of his life without p!ain. law of Oedipus excessive pride, or 'hubris. This I do not see as a downfall, because had he not realized his fate, he would have lived in ignorant bliss for the rest of his life. Then, when Tiresius still declines to tell Oedipus of his fate, Oedipus starts to accuse Tiresius as being the one who killed Laius. He had fulfilled the prophecy because of his own actions, which he had believed were beneficial. His pride of conquering the Sphinx led him to the marriage of Jocasta, his mother. However, other events opened his eyes to the tragedy, which had taken place.
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