Oedipus The King: The Noble Quality Of Determination

409 Words2 Pages
Oedipus has the noble quality of determination. An example of Oedipus’s determination was when Oedipus put a curse on himself. When a plague affected the city, Oedipus sent out his brother-in-law, Creon, to the oracle in Delphi, who said that the plague will be gone once the murderer of Laius was found. Oedipus then said, “If by any chance he proves to be an intimate of our house..., may the curse I just called down on him strike me!” Oedipus was dedicated to find out who murdered Laius. Oedipus states that he will curse himself if the murderer happened to be a member of his household. Oedipus is committed to solve this case because he wanted his people to be happy so that he can rule Thebes in peace. Oedipus sent for Tiresias, the blind prophet, who could tell Oedipus who the murderer of Laius was. This…show more content…
When Tiresias refused to tell Oedipus who the murderer was after intense questioning, the hero got very mad. “I have such fury in me...You helped hatch the plot, you did the work, short of killing him with your own hands...” Oedipus wanted to find the murderer of Laius; he even had the nerve to accuse Tiresias without any actual evidence. Oedipus’s anger led him to blame others for the murder. Another example of anger would be when the hero began to suspect that it was himself who committed the murder. After hearing some details about the murder, Oedipus was talking to a shepherd who had once served King Laius. The shepherd had given a child to the messenger, who in turn had given him to Polybus and Merope, his adopted parents. Oedipus wanted to know who the child was, and was determined to find out and began torturing the shepherd to get the answer. Anger led Oedipus to be very cruel towards the shepherd and torture the shepherd out of aggravation, since the shepherd refused to say anything. Oedipus’s anger led him to be cruel towards the shepherd. Anger is the negative quality that led to Oedipus’s
Show More
Related

  • Antigone Tragic Hero Essay

    712 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the classic play Antigone by Sophocles, the protagonist has shown qualities of a tragic hero while explaining is considered a tragic hero. It tells of her royal blood, along with her tragic flaws which are evident which does lead to her downfall, and is worthy of concern. Many would argue against the idea that she is the most tragic hero in the story. However it can be seen that a large portion, if not all of her qualities most definately display it above the other characters. Antigone is depicted

    Read More

More about Oedipus The King: The Noble Quality Of Determination

Open Document