Essay, Research Paper: Oedipus

Every person has different facets in his or her personality. Generally, the good traits outweigh the bad. However, when this does not happen, the unpleasant aspects break through and hide the favorable conditions. In the play, Oedipus, by Sophocles, the character Oedipus, in a search for the truth, at first appeared to be a caring individual. Because of Oedipus' persistent quest for the truth, his unpleasant aspects became very apparent. While Oedipus was a noble king, he was incredibly stubborn and had an egotistical hunger for power.
Oedipus cared for his people. When Oedipus arrived at Thebes, after unknowingly killing King Laius, his father, he was halted by a Sphinx. The Sphinx had confined Thebes until someone could answer his riddle. Oedipus answered it and the town was overjoyed. The priest told Oedipus, "...think upon your fame; your coming brought us luck..." (305). The town felt that they owed everything to Oedipus, however, he was the cause for their plague that came later. Oedipus yearned for the truth about the killer of Laius. As Creon stated, "God now bids us revenge it on his murderers." (305). Oedipus felt he had to seek vengeance on Laius's murderer for the good of the town. Oedipus believed the Gods put the plague on Thebes because they wanted revenge on Laius's murderer. This proves Oedipus had noble intentions because he only started the search for truth for the good of his people. Later, after Oedipus revealed the agonizing truth, he banished himself. Oedipus said, "It is his purpose to cast himself out of the land that he may not bring all this house under his curse" (325). This is significant because it shows even after the turmoil Oedipus went though, he still thought of his people before himself.
Even though his intentions started out noble, Oedipus had irrational persistence and stubbornness. Oedipus continually asked Tiresias for a prophecy, but then would not believe him. An example of this is when Oedipus begs Tiresias to stay. Oedipus pleaded, "For God's love do not turn away - if you have knowledge" (308). Whenever Tiresias would give Oedipus his prophecies, Oedipus would not believe him. Therefore, it was very irrational and stubborn to continue to question Tiresias if Oedipus was not going to accept Tiresias' words. "You shall rue it for having spoken twice such outrageous words," proclaimed Oedipus (309). However, this was after Oedipus asked Tiresias to repeat himself. Not only did Oedipus have troubles with Tiresias, but he also quarreled with Creon. When Oedipus explained to Creon that Tiresias hinted that Oedipus was the killer of Laius, Creon tried to rationalize it. When Oedipus, however, was called crazy, he retorted with, "I am sane at least in my own interest" (313). Oedipus could not believe that he could be the killer of Laius. This has significance because it shows how closed-minded Oedipus was. Another sign of Oedipus' stubbornness is that he would not give up his search. Even after Jocasta said, "For God's sake if you set any value upon your life, give up this search my misery is enough" (321). Oedipus would not even halt his quest for Jocasta. Oedipus was very hard-headed and had phenomenally irrational persistence.

Another unattractive quality in Oedipus was his pride and his way of abusing his power. Oedipus proclaimed that the killer of Laius would be expelled and punished severely. Oedipus told his people, "If he fear for himself and being guilty denounce himself, he shall be in less danger, suffering no worse thing than banishment" (307). Oedipus was abusing his power as ruler. It is uncertain if he would have made the same announcement if he had known he was Laius's killer. However, Oedipus would not have had to banish himself later if he had not made that statement. Another sign of Oedipus' pride is that he would not believe he could actually be the killer of Laius. When Tiresias stated, "You are the defiler of this land," Oedipus was shocked that Tiresias could suggest such a thing (309). Oedipus felt Tiresias was trying to put the blame on Oedipus for his own benefit. "So brazen in your impudence? How do you hope to escape punishment?" was Oedipus' reply to Tiresias' suggestion that Oedipus was the killer of Laius (309). This is meaningful because Oedipus had too much pride to accept the truth; that he was the killer of Laius. Furthermore, after Jocasta realized the truth about her life, and Oedipus did not give up the search, he felt it was because Jocasta saw him as inferior. Oedipus felt Jocasta wanted him to stop searching because it was possible Oedipus was a slave. Oedipus said, "Though I be proved the son of a slave, yes, even of three generations of slaves, you cannot be made base-born" (321). Oedipus continued the search for no one but himself, even while Jocasta and Tiresias inveighed. Oedipus only felt that Jocasta did not want him to continue his search because there was a possibility he was not of royalty. This proves further that Oedipus was egotistical and had an amount of pride to the extreme. He turned the search for all truth into a quest for himself, and not for his people. He felt he could control everyone because he was king. He did not care about whether Jocasta or his people wanted him to proceed with his investigation.
Oedipus was a noble king, however he was incredibly stubborn and had an egotistical hunger for power. Oedipus had virtuous intentions however his flaws pushed through and became more apparent than his noble qualities. When the corrupt qualities shine through in a person's personality more than the benevolent characteristics, the person becomes taken over by his or her own flaws. The facets of one's personality are supposed to complement his or her nature. When this does not happen, the cliche situation happens: the collapse of a person and his or her life.