Oedipus The King Essay, Research Paper

Oedipus: King Of Riddles?

In Greek mythology the prophets or Gods are seldom incorrect in their

anticipations of the hereafter. Yet the characters still seek to contend the

anticipations. Do their personalities and traits decide their hereafter, or does

destiny take its class no affair what? Oedipus was a astute adult male furnished

with humor and mind, yet his deficiency of penetration ( the ability to see and

understand clearly the interior nature of himself ) and his haughtiness led to

his death, non destiny.

Oedipus & # 8217 ; s aret? ( an exceeding ability or gift ) was unknoting

conundrums, and work outing any mystifiers with easiness. He had a excess of the

aptitude to look outward, but unluckily he had a lack of the

ability to look inward. This endowment of looking outward made him renowned

for decoding conundrums and enigmas. Yet when Tiresias appears and speaks

in conundrums, Oedipus can non work out them because of his deficiency of penetration.

Tiresias & # 8217 ; s conundrums are clear in what they province, but Oedipus can non

understand them because he doesn & # 8217 ; t cognize himself good plenty. Tiresias

conveys,

All ignorant! And I refuse to associate my vocalization with a ruin

such as yours. ( Pg.42 ) At this point in the drama, Oedipus still can non

perceive who the liquidator of King Laius is, even though the conundrum is

obvious. Oliver 2 Oedipus has the ability to grok the conundrums, but

he won & # 8217 ; t let himself to accept the truth. When Oedipus saved Thebes from

The Sphinx, he answered this hard mystifier. The Sphinx demanded, What

animal is it that walks on four pess in the forenoon, on two at midday, and

on three in the eventide? With his high command of conundrums and holding an

unfastened head, Oedipus replied, It is Man. As a kid he crawls on four. When

he grows up he walks unsloped on his two pess, and in old age he leans

on a

staff.1 This mystifier is far more complex than Tiresias & # 8217 ; s rudimentary

conundrums, so Oedipus has the ability to work out the conundrums but can non allow

himself do so, because of his ostentation. Oedipus is so chesty that he

can & # 8217 ; t believe that he could perchance hold done anything incorrect. He suffered

from the wickedness of hubris. That is, he was really conceited, and conceited. No affair

how straightforward Tiresias & # 8217 ; s conundrums were, Oedipus & # 8217 ; s pride wouldn & # 8217 ; t allow

him work out them. Finally, Tiresias came right out and said what he meant

without a conundrum, and Oedipus still couldn & # 8217 ; t accept that he did anything

incorrect. Tiresias merely stated, I say, you murdered the adult male whose liquidator

you require. ( Pg.37 ) Following that comment from Tiresias, Oedipus shielded

himself by impeaching his brother in jurisprudence, Creon ( his uncle in world ) , of

coercing these innuendos from Tiresias. Of class, this wasn & # 8217 ; t true, it

was merely a authoritative illustration of Oedipus & # 8217 ; s haughtiness seeking to support itself.

Oedipus & # 8217 ; s termination was caused merely because of his haughtiness and his

deficiency of ego cognition. He didn & # 8217 ; t understand himself good plenty. He could

unravel any enigma besides

Oliver 3 his ain being.

All of his life Oedipus had solved enigmas and mystifiers about

topics other than himself. Now that he was faced with conundrums impeaching

him of something, his ain haughtiness kept him from the truth. Oedipus would

have solved Tiresias & # 8217 ; s riddles outright if it weren & # 8217 ; T for his pride,

and deficiency of penetration.

Finally, the truth is forced on Oedipus with outstanding grounds,

presented by the courier, and the shepherd, so he must accept his

fate. Was he non able to work out Tiresias & # 8217 ; s conundrums because his haughtiness

wouldn & # 8217 ; t let him to, or did he acknowledge the replies instantly, his

amour propre non leting him to admit the truth?