Oedipus: The King Who Unknowingly Killed His Father - Essay Sample

Introduction

Oedipus is one of the main characters in the play, Oedipus the King and through what revolves around him has helped in the development of the play from the start to the end, how have his traits helped in the development of the play but before we analyze the character let's look at the summary of the play.

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Plot Summary of "Oedipus the King"

Oedipus the king is a play by Sophocles from the Greek ancient, the play is all about Oedipus who was the king of Thebes after killing his biological father king Laius unknowingly and marring his own mother Jocasta (Sophocles 21). This happens after king Laius learns from the oracles that his son will be his end and orders the mother to kill the infant immediately, but the mother and the servant ignore killing the son and offers him to the shepherds in the field who later sold the son to the childless King Polybus of the Corinth who brought up Oedipus as his own his (Sophocles 10). From the rumors from the kingdom that the Polybus and Merope are not his biological parents and after consulting oracles telling him that he would kill his biological parents who he knew were Polybus and Merope, he decides to run away so that such thing cannot happen, on his way to Thebes he meets king Laius who is the biological father and kills him unknowingly and he is made the king of Thebes for rescuing them by finding the answer to the riddle and marries Jocasta. Later Thebes is faced with plague and it can only be solved by finding the killer to king Laius and it is known that Oedipus is the killer to king Laius and marries his biological mother and they all end up regretting what has happened.

Character Analysis: Oedipus as the Main Character

In our character analysis, we are going to analyze Oedipus as the main character in the play and his build-up in the play. King Oedipus is a man of action and great insight at the beginning of the play, this is seen from his top qualities and how he anticipates being a good leader to help the people of Thebes when the people of Thebes are faced by plague and beg him to do something he is in the first step to send Creon to seek for advice on what should be done to the land to do away with the plague but later we realize that the swift actions of Oedipus have some dangerous side (Finglass 34). At the start of the play, Oedipus is having much confidence and with good reasons that he has saved the land of Thebes from the curse that was facing them and becomes the king overnight, Oedipus proclaims his name proudly as if he was a healer himself for the charm but at the end of the play, his name becomes a huge curse to the land of Thebes.

Swiftness and confidences of Oedipus continue in the play when he interrogates Creon and threatens to abandon Tiresias when he is told the truth about him killing king Laius, he orders for the shepherd who escaped when king Laius was killed he also orders for the shepherd who took him to Corinth and when the truth is brought out about him being responsible for killing his father he rushes to the palace and stubs his eyes and he wants to be exiled after realizing what he has done (Delbanco 45). He accepts that his life is out of control and in mess and spends most of his time sitting and not doing anything.

The Tragic Hero's Journey: Oedipus's Development

When Tiresias comes with the news that he knows what will happen and that the worse is coming to happen this angers Oedipus and rants around making Tiresias the madder, Oedipus short temper worsening the situation when he orders for Creon to be killed and accuses him of trying to overthrow him from the power (Delbanco 45). Creon and Tiresias explain to Oedipus what they have from oracle are true and for the plague to end then it must be fulfilled, but still, Oedipus believes he is not the cause of the death to king Laius. Oedipus plays to be tough with limited knowledge and later he realizes that his ignorance from the past is the most tragic.

At the start of the play Oedipus is the ki8ng of Thebes and is full of adoration and acclaim for all his desires, he brags that the whole world knows his name as king Oedipus and it is a clear indication that is he getting a big head about the things around him people coming to him to solve their problems with the recent plague (Finglass 34). His confidence is noticeable from the way he reacts to the problems affecting the people of Thebes, Oedipus thinks he can handle the plague alone and not following the wisdom from the gods of the land but when Creon comes back from oracle he realizes that things are not in his side and his measures cannot work.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a tragic hero would not be a tragedy if they avoid the truth facing them, we see this from the play when Oedipus from the start of the play ignores the truth from the gods but he later comes in terms with the truth he was avoiding at the start. The events that shape Oedipus throughout the play are what we call the tragic character how he reacts to the challenges and changes his perception is what makes and characterizes Oedipus the King.

Works Cited

Delbanco, Nicholas, and Alan Cheuse. Literature: Craft and Voice. Fiction. Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, 2010.

Finglass, P. J., ed. Sophocles: Oedipus the king. Vol. 57. Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Sophocles, E. A. Oedipus the king. Classic Productions, 1994.