Sunday, December 29, 2019
Oedipus Selfishness Essay - 756 Words
Oedipus was a powerful man that had his life ruined by his excessive pride and selfishness. The same qualities that helped him to rise and become the king of Thebes also caused him to feel a lot of pain. He lost everything that he had gained in a short period of time. Oedipus learned that having power was not all that he thought it was. His life had been a lie and he actually didn’t know anything about the place he was born until he was instructed to save it. Oedipus himself caused his downfall with his selfishness and pride. Oedipus’ inner blindness led to him remaining a static character throughout the story because he never really went through any major personality changes like Jocasta. He remained selfish, prideful, and temperamental†¦show more content†¦Oedipus was also a very selfish man. There are many places in the book that show Oedipus really only cares about himself. King Lauis’ murder was just one. He did all of the investigating to find out who his parents were for himself. Not for Jocasta who could possibly be his mother. He only cared if something bad was happening to him. He made everyone who might have known anything about him drop everything they were doing and come to him to tell him their story. He thought he didn’t need the gods so he insulted them by talking about how they didn’t help with the riddle and he did it all by himself. He was extremely self centered. Oedipus also cared more about himself than he did his wife or children. He didn’ t think about anyone but himself when he found out he was married to his mother. He stabbed his own eyes out not even thinking about his children or how they would survive. He just knew that he couldn’t handle what he had seen so he was going to take the coward’s way out. Oedipus also cared too much about himself to kill himself. Instead he wanted to be paraded around Thebes blind so the citizens would pity him and talk about him. He gave his children to Creon without a second thought and didn’t even think about how that might be a burden on him. Oedipus himself caused his own downfall with selfishness and pride. He only cared about his wellbeing and no one else. Selfishness was the burden he carried all through hisShow MoreRelatedThe Characters Of Oedipus Rex By Sophocles973 Words  | 4 PagesMaya Fleischer Ms. Hampson World Lit II CPA 11/7/17 Oedipus Essay Whether positive or negative, individuals have various characteristics that define them. Many people struggle to find a balance between confidence and arrogance. Oedipus, King Laius, and Queen Jocasta fall into this category, as they all possess this character flaw. Throughout Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, these characters make decisions based on what is best for themselves. 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