Oedipus the King

Oedipus the King

A hero whose destruction is brought upon by a fault in his or her own character is known as a tragic hero. This fault, that causes the characters downfall is know as the character’s tragic flaw. Oedipus from Oedipus the King fulfills the requirements of a tragic hero. He is the main character of a tragedy. He possesses a tragic flaw in which he is blind to what goes on around him causing him to fall from his noble position. However, Oedipus was a good leader, and had earned the respect of his people before the tragic events. Even the noblest character (as seen in Oedipus) can fall from the top simply because of a minor character flaw.

When a character is a tragic hero he or she must also be the main character of the story as well. Oedipus is the main character of the story Oedipus the King. Oedipus was given up for adoption at birth because his parents were afraid that he would fulfill a horrible prophecy. It was said that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. Later on in life he fulfilled his destiny bringing about his downfall. This makes Oedipus a tragic hero because the story is written around him and his life making him the main character of the tragic story.

Oedipus’ tragic flaw is that he is blind to the events that take place around him and refuses to believe the truth. Many people try to tell Oedipus the truth but he refuses to listen to them in lives in his own little bubble. An example of his blindness is when he is told that he is the killer of his biological father. Immediately he refuses to believe what is true and shrugs off what actually is. Because he was putting it off for so long that when he found out that it was actually true he couldn’t handle the truth and ended up killing himself.

Like most people, Oedipus had many flaws, however he was still a great leader throughout the land of thebes. The people of Thebes look up to Oedipus because he defeated the sphinx. Also when his kingdom was being faced with a horrible plague he was able to bring his people through it instead of them all dyeing off. Many other countries have been wiped out by plagues but Oedipus was not about to let that happen. What proves this statement is the “black plague” wiped out most England. Even with all his good leadership skills that one tragic flaw brought about his downfall.

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