Saturday, January 25, 2014
And despite all of that, he's a hero?
So, after reading the end of Oedipus Rex, we wonder about the king. According to Aristotle, Oedipus is a tragic hero. Is he heroic? Why or why not? What specifically does he do in Exodus (identify three different actions) and is that enough to make him heroic? What do you think? Your answer should be one 8-10 sentence paragraph.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
After reading Oedipus Rex, I believe that Oedipus is indeed a tragic hero. In Exodus, after the big reveal in which he finds out he is indeed Laois's son, that he did kill his father and have children with his mother, he continues to act in the way he thinks is best for everyone. In the final scene of the book Oedipus takes Iocastes pin and stabs himself in the eyes with it, blinding himself. He does this because he believes he has been blind to the truth. Oedipus also asks Creon to take care of his daughters and try and make them happy, to not let what happened to him happen to them. Finally, I think the most heroic thing Oedipus does in Exodus is insist to be sent away from Thebes. In the beginning of the story, he is told that to get rid of the plague he must exile the man who killed Laois. After finding that that man is him he is still willing to, even wants to, give up everything he has as king to lift the plague from his city.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Aristotle is correct in saying that Oedipus is a tragic hero. Oedipus has once saved Thebes from a plague, which despite his background and family says something about his character. Even though Oedipus murdered his father and married his mother I think that his best interest is for his people. Next, all that Oedipus clearly wanted during the story is the truth so that he could finally find out his past in order to discover who truly killed Laois. He searched for that not only for himself, but also for the people to be cured of the plague. Lastly, Oedipus followed up on all that he promised when he found out that he was the one who killed his own father. He banished himself from Thebes in order to stop the plague and even went a step further to blind himself so that he didn't have to see the things that caused him pain. Those things including his wife and mother who killed herself, his children, and Thebes which he will never see again. In the end Oedipus turned out to be an unselfish man who was very brave, but with a very twisted pst, making him a tragic hero.
ReplyDeleteAfter we completed reading Oedipus Rex, we see Oedipus in a whole new light out of being a husband King and father.In Exodus we find out the truth about Oedipus and that he is the one that the prophecy speaks about. We already knew that the prophecy was probably true because all signs pointed to Oedipus and it all made sense. The next thing he does is exiles himself from his kingdom doing what he said he would do to the murderer of Laois. A very bold move by Oedipus exiling himself from his kingdom and family. Before he did this he took the pin from his wife's dress and poked his eyes out. Is causes Irony because the blind man Theresias said that Oedipus the king was blind. So in the end I do think Oedipus is a hero because he solved the sphinx’s riddle ending the plague. Everything else that happened is not his fault because it was his destiny for him to murder his father and marry his mother.
ReplyDeleteAfter finishing the end of Oedipus Rex I believe that it is correct to call Oedipus a "tragic hero". Once everything unwinds, Oedipus realizes the truth. The prophecy was correct. He married his mother and killed his father. Oedipus is miserable, Iocaste commits suicide and Oedipus stabs himself with her brooch. Oedipus feels so guilty for his actions, he knows he has let his people, his "children" of Thebes down. Overall, the main theme I see that makes Oedipus heroic is the selflessness. Although Oedips committed a horrible crime, he wants the best for everyone. He wants the best for his children, he wants them to be happy and he is praying that his actions have not ruined their lives. Something else that makes Oedipus heroic is that he is willing to sacrifice his life for his city, Thebes. The gods told him that the plague will only end once the man who killed Laios is removed from Thebes. Oedipus knows that is what he must do for his people, he believes he owes it to them, to his town. Therefore he knows what he has to do, he asks Creon to send him away, far away from Thebes. Lastly, Oedipus is willing to do so much for his city. He wants his children, and the people of Thebes to be happy. Oedipus wants to end the suffering. The people of Thebes look up to Oedipus and Oedipus feels as if after all of his hard work, he is a disgrace. He solved the riddle of the Sphinx a long time ago, but this time the suffering is his fault and there's nothing more he can do.
ReplyDeleteI had my doubts throughout the middle of the story, but I think that Oedipus redeems himself as a hero through his actions in the final chapter. Oedipus is a hero because he kept true to his word and went into exile, just as he had condemned Laios’s unknown murderer to do in the beginning of the book. This act lifted the plague from Thebes, even though it meant Oedipus would never see (well, figuratively speaking) his daughters or home again. Oedipus sacrificed the life he knew for the wellbeing of his subjects. Additionally, Oedipus forces himself to live with the horror of what he has done to his mother and father, explaining, “For I have sinned against them both, so vilely that I could not make my peace by strangling my own life”. Oedipus feels so horribly guilty about his past that he feels death would not be a fitting punishment. Death would mean a reprieve from his guilt, and he wants to punish himself justly for what he has done. He chooses exile means that he must live with his shame for the rest of his life. I see this as a heroic action by Oedipus because it shows bravery, and a noble determination to do right, even if it means bearing terrible consequences for his wrongdoings. Aristotle’s requirement for a tragic hero is that the character learns from his mistake and becomes a better person. Oedipus realizes that trying to outsmart the gods was a big mistake at the end of the book, and sees how much he has hurt others as a result of it. He tries to set things right by asking Creon to care for his daughters, and by leaving the city to lift the plague. Oedipus’s selfless attempts to fix his mistakes make him a tragic hero.
ReplyDeleteAfter I completed Oedipus Rex, I came to think that Oedipus is a tragic hero. He is heroic because he showed how honest he really was and how loyal his character is. Once Oedipus finds the truth he realizes that the oracle was correct that he married his mother and had his children/siblings with her. After he finds Iocaste's dead body, he stabs himself with her gold brooches. He does this because he feels he has been blinded by the truth of his actions. He is very guilty and he feels that dying isn't enough of a punishment and that he must live with this. He asks Creon to protect and take care of his kids and he tells his kids to never make the mistake he made. In the begging of the book he said who ever is the killer must be exiled, so he stuck to his word and exiled himself. Once he leaves, the plague can be cured. This shows how loyal Oedipus was to his people, and showed a great act of selflessness. He wants everyone around him to be happy except himself. He thinks he deserves this for himself and he is disgusted with what he did, but very honest and forgiving. Oedipus is a true hero because he confronted what he did wrong and helped everyone around him instead of himself to make it better.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Aristotle Oedipus is a tragic hero. His point is proven correct, when Oedipus finally learns from his mistake. In doing so he takes his final step in proving he is a tragic hero. In exodus after learning that the prophecy was is, Oedipus does three things that make him heroic. First, Oedipus blinds himself with Iocaste's brooches. This shows how Oedipus has learned his intended destiny, that one can never cheat the gods. Also, it shows that he is wise enough to know he is wrong, that he was the blind one. Next, he asks Creon to care for his daughters. In doing so he shows that he cares and thinks about others, rather than himself. In his lowest moment, he is still thinking and providing for his daughters. Lastly, Oedipus's final action is to leave his kingdom in exile. This proves that he is a truly noble man, and that he has learned. As he promised in the beginning he has saved Thebes at all costs. He is a tragic hero, and he has put his people first.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Oedipus Rex I think that Oedipus was a tragic hero in the way Aristotle described. I think he is heroic because he always tried to do what is best for the people. He had to deal with a lot, killing his father and marrying his mother but he still did what he thought was best for the people of Thebes. In Exodus Iocaste kills herself, Oedipus blinds himself, and Oedipus wants to be exiled from Thebes to go somewhere far away from anyone. Oedipus said he would exile the murderer of Laious and he was sticking to his word because he himself killed Laious. Even though there are bad qualities like Oedipus’s short temper I think he is a hero because he wants to make others happy, he always wants to do what is best for the city and he wants his family happy. He had many tough decisions to make and he did what he thought was best. Sometimes he bad bad choices but in the end he learned from it, he blinded himself at the end of the play and I think that showed that he was blind the whole time, he had a destiny that could not be changed. In the end I think he is a hero, he tried doing what was best with the situation he had to work with even though he couldn’t control much because it was destiny.
ReplyDeleteI personally believe that Oedipus is not a tragic hero. He did some good things, but I still do not think he is a hero overall. This all happened because he tried to outsmart the gods and get past the prophecy. Towards the end of the story when Oedipus finds out it was him who killed the king, and after Iocaste dies he gouges out his eyes. I don't think him gouging out his eyes was heroic in any way, that was more to help him take his own pain away. It was helpful to his city that he exiled himself but he mentioned before that the person would be killed and because it was him he slacked and just exiled himself. There are flaws to him and it was good that he tried to help his city, but I don't think he's overall a tragic hero.
ReplyDeleteIn a way Oedipus is a tragic hero but he is not all hero material. His whole journey started because he wanted to betray the gods by leaving corinth. By the end of the book he decides to gouging out his eyes which in my mind would not be a heroic action. By him gouging his eyes he was showing how he wants his own pain that he caused himself to be over. But in the end he decided to keep his own pain my living. Which in a way was very heroic. He was not a perfect hero but he was not a villain.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the end of Oedipus Rex, we wonder about the king. According to Aristotle, Oedipus is a tragic hero. In Exodus, Oedipus learns from his mistakes, gouges out his eyes, and learns his most important lesson. Oedipus learns from his mistakes on page 78 when he says, “Ah dearest ones, I had neither sight nor knowledge then, your father by the woman who was the source of his own life!” This shows that he realizes that he was arrogant by saying that he knew nothing even though he thought he knew everything. Oedipus gouges out his eyes because he couldn’t see, figuratively, when he did have eyes, and now that he’s blind, he will have to trust people to survive. The most important lesson that he learns is that the gods are in charge.
ReplyDeleteI think Oedipus is very heroic. Although he made very severe mistakes, it is human nature, and anyone who succeeds will make mistakes in life. In Exodus, he shows 3 different ways he is a true hero. First, he chooses to be exiled from Thebes, which takes a lot of courage to do. Second, he chooses to live, which is worse than death. It is worse because it means everyday he has to live through the guilt and pain; this will cause Oedipus much more pain and suffering than he would be dead. Finally, he blinds himself, causing him to really see what he did. When blind, you can listen and trust more people because your other senses become stronger.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Oedipus is a tragic hero. Oedipus does many things that make him heroic but in the end his flaws are too much to overlook. At the beginning of the book he is a mighty king who had previously rescued Thebes from a plague. Another plague comes and he gets rid of it too. He does this by expelling himself sacrificing himself for the greater good. While everything he does is for the good of Thebes and he never means to harm anyone, I feel like most of the awful things he did could have been avoided. As stated in class, a dinner conversation would have probably helped him figure out that he was married to his mother. He also didn’t have to kill the person who ran into him on the side of the road. He kept his past hidden and it is because of this that everything bad happened.
ReplyDeleteOedipus is a hero. A tragic hero, but a hero nun the less. Oedipus was a hero because he saved the city of Thebes not only once, but now twice. He does several actions that I believe make him a hero. The first, he blinded himself. I believe that this was a act of heroism because he knew that he had been stubborn and didn't want to see all that he had caused. The next thing, he exiles himself from the city. This really shows his devotion to the good of the city and not just him being selfish. He did not just want to be king, but he wanted the city to prosper. After all the definition of a tragic hero entails a person losing something because of there flaw. And this is exactly what happens to Oedipus. Because of his quickness to anger he is being exiled from the city.
ReplyDeleteOedipus is a tragic hero considering he was the foundation of Aristotle's definition. He has his flaws and makes his mistakes in the beginning but that does not make him a hero. What makes him a hero is the fact that he cares more for the health and safety of other than himself. One example of this is his solving/ending of the second plague. Oedipus could easily stay in his palace and dictate his people or be overthrown. But instead he decides to do what the gods said had to be done in order for the plague to be removes. He exiles himself a blind embarrassed man. He dos not kill himself like Jocasta although that would also end the plague. But he knows he has to deal with what he's done and live with the consequences. So that's exactly what he does. He makes his mistakes but learns from them and deals with them soon after. That is why Oedipus is a tragic hero.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI find the characters Antigone and Ismene interesting because they seem close. It seems like they have a good relationship, but they are totally opposite. One is always wanting to follow the rules and stay out of trouble. "They mean a great deal to me, but I have no strength to break laws that were made for the public good." (56) Ismene. She is admitting that she is scared and does not have the guts to put her own life in danger. Meanwhile Antigone does not care. She wants to do as she pleases. "You may do as you like, since apparently the laws of the god mean nothing to you." (56) Antigone. This quote shows that Antigone, is more willing to die. She believes that the gods are more important than the people and that she would willingly sacrifice herself to be on their good side, to obey them. I think that the sisters are almost the two sides of Oedipus. Oedipus had a loving and caring side, not wanting to get in trouble and follow the rules which represents Ismene. He also had a short tempered, strong leader side which represents Antigone. In terms of the similarity to Oedipus Rex, I find that Antigone is most likely going to end the same way, in tragedy.
ReplyDelete