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Oedipus: Classical Example Of A Tragic Hero - Online Term Papers

Oedipus: Classical Example Of A Tragic Hero

Oedipus, the tragic hero of Sophocles’ play of the same name, is a conscientious and compassionate leader unfairly victimized by fate and the gods. When his city of Thebes is beset by plagues, barrenness, and starvation, he, as king, immediately seeks remedies for those problems. In his efforts to solve the mystery behind Thebes’ troubles, he gains the reader’s sympathy. He honestly and sincerely tries to help his city; he is blameless for his ancestors’ sins that cause his misfortune; he unwittingly becomes his own judge, jury and executioner; and finally he feels remorseful for the problems he has cause Jocasta and their children.
“I know you are all sick,” Oedipus tells his people ...

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Pythian temple, so that he might learn there by what act or word [Oedipus] could save [his] city.” (60-73) Upon returning, Creon brings with him encouraging news that saving Thebes is a simple task of finding and driving out Laius’ murderer or murderers. At once Oedipus begins this task with these words to his people: “I forbid any to welcome him or cry him greeting or make him a sharer in sacrifice or offering to the Cods, or give him water for his hands to wash. I command all to drive him from their homes, since he is our pollution...” (239-243)
Those are just two examples of the efforts made by Oedipus to find Laius’s murderer and help his city. Throughout the remainder of the play, he seeks out several people to learn what they have learned from their experiences or from an oracle. Though the ending is tragic, he does not stop until the murderer has been punished.
Oedipus first hint that he might be more involved in the misfortune of his city than he thought came from ...

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Oedipus: Classical Example Of A Tragic Hero. (2006, December 30). Retrieved November 20, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Oedipus-Classical-Example-Of-Tragic-Hero/57885

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 12/30/2006 01:21:41 AM
Category: Arts
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1062
Pages: 4

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