Oedipus Rex - A Classic Hero

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In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero. Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he finds out his life story. a tragic hero must cause his own downfall. a tragic hero must be an important or influential man who makes an error in judgment, and who must then suffer the consequences of his actions. Those actions are seen when Oedipus forces Teiresias to reveal his destiny and his father's name. When Teiresias tries to warn him by saying "This day will give you parents and destroy you" (Sophocles line 428), Oedipus still does not care and continues with his questioning. The tragic hero must learn a lesson from his errors in judgment. A prophecy is foretold to Laius, the father of Oedipus, that the destiny of Oedipus is a terrible one beyond his control. But when it is prophesized to Oedipus, he sets forth from the city of his foster parents in order to prevent this terrible fate from occurring. Oedipus's destiny is not deserved because he is being punished for his parent's actions. His birth parents seek the advice of the Delphi Oracle, who recommends that they should not have any children. When the boy is born, Laius is overcome with terror when he remembers the oracle. When he relies on his status, he is blind, not physically, but emotionally. He is blind in his actions; therefore he does not see that the questioning would bring him only misery. Later, after his self-inflicted blinding, Oedipus sees his actions as wrongdoing when he says "What use are my eyes to me, who could never - See anything pleasant again?" (Sophocles line 1293) and that blindness does not have to be physical as we can see when he says, "If I had sight, I know not with what eyes I would have looked" (Sophocles line 1325). In the play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles portrays the main character, Oedipus, as a good-natured person who has

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