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In our daily lives, we encounter people who hold themselves above others, and not often do we find ourselves wanting to be around these people. This feeling is frustrating in the fact that these people see themselves as better than others, and that pride is what makes them insufferable. The topic of pride in abundance is not a new idea. It has been around for generations, taking place as one of the most notable tropes in Greek plays. This character, filled with an overwhelming sense of pride, almost always finds their downfall in that same pride, such as the hero Oedipus from Oedipus the King written by Sophocles. Oedipus himself finds much misfortune and tragedy due to his blindness over his own arrogance. This tragic Greek hero is a trope meant to warn the readers and audience members of the potential tragedies that follow with humans’ hubris.
Oedipus was the classic tragic Greek hero, and his story, much like others following this trope, was filled with misery and death, caused by his overwhelming sense of arrogance and, mainly, pride. This flaw, or hamartia as the Greeks called it, was the classic chip in Oedipus’ shoulder that led him to meet his untimely fate. Oedipus’ main flaws were his arrogance, self-righteousness, and pride. Oedipus makes his self-idolization known as he proclaims, “You pray to the gods? Let me grant your prayers.”(Line 245). At the time, the Gods were worshipped by the Greeks, and here Oedipus is not only comparing himself to them but also disregarding them wholly. This pride is also depicted in how he sees himself as a person. Oedipus reveals how he sees himself as he rants, “I count myself the son of Chance,/the great goddess, giver of all good things—”(Lines 1189-1190). Oedipus makes his hubris painfully obvious which fits in perfectly with the trope of the tragic hero, in order to set himself up for disaster later in the play.
After the hamartia of the tragic Greek hero has been established, there needs to be an issue stemming from that hamartia in order to fit the trope. In the case of Oedipus, his pride affects his relationships with people and blinds him to the truth. When Tiresias comes to show Oedipus the truth, Oedipus rejects it as he couldn’t swallow his pride, and this led to an argument between the two. Oedipus lets his temper get the better of him as he declared, “Nothing! You,/you scum of the earth, you’d enrage a heart of stone!/You won’t talk? Nothing moves you?”(Lines 380-382). This comes after Tiresias refuses to tell him the truth about the murder. Knowing that Oedipus committed the murder, the disagreement and name-calling lead Tiresias to admit the truth, which Oedipus immediately disputes. This arrogance is part of the tragic Greek hero, which causes the hero’s life to deteriorate. Another example in which Oedipus’ pride leads to even worse problems is when he refused to listen to Jocasta when in search of his mother. His pride in himself clouds his judgment when he says, “Even if my mother turns out to be a slave,/and I a slave, three generations back,/you would not seem common.”( Lines 1165-1167). In this, he refused to listen to reason, which later leads to the death of Jocasta and the rest of Oedipus’ life falling into shambles.
Lastly, the tragic Greek hero’s problems must be painfully obvious to those looking in as audience members or readers in order for them to identify the problem and what it causes. The problems in this trope and in Oedipus the King have very simple solutions that present themselves only to the audience at first glance. When reading the story of Oedipus, the audience can easily identify the hamartia in the story and can see how it begins to shape the plot. An example of this would be when Oedipus refuses to listen to Tiresias who speaks the truth with clear evidence. The obvious solution to his problem is shown when Tiresias says, “Just send me home. You bear your burdens,/I’ll bear mine. It’s better that way,/please believe me.”(Lines 364-366). Instead of listening to Tiresias and subsequently avoiding his fate, he points fingers at him. In addition, he uses the fact that he was able to solve the Sphinx’s riddle to cushion his pride and deflect the blame from himself. This was not the only way for Oedipus to be rid of his fate, but in each instance, he is blinded by his pride and his need to keep up appearances. This simply plays into the trope of the tragic Greek hero and shows how this character style was meant to teach the audience about being wary of our own pride.
In conclusion, the play Oedipus the King was an example of the tragic Greek hero, which is a classic trope in literature meant to warn against the flaws of humanity and the struggle that comes with them. This relates to the age-old idea that too much of one thing is a bad thing. Every person carries themselves with dignity and pride, but too much of that can harm our relationships with others and eventually cause more serious problems. While this is not a new topic, it hasn’t become irrelevant and is still observed by people on a day-to-day basis. We observe people daily who carry themselves with too much pride, so it is important for individuals to be wary and not make the same mistakes.
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