How does Oedipus Rex Exhibits Weakness of Character - Essay Example

The play observed in the research begins with a plague in Thebes, the land of Oedipus. In response, he sent Creon, his brother-in-law to the oracle at the worshiping place for Apollo. Creon returned bearing the news that once the murderer of the former King Lauis had been banished, the plague will end. Then, the blind prophet named Teiresias was pursued by Oedipus for interrogation, but the prophet denied him of any answers. Oedipus threatened the blind prophet until he got the answer. Oedipus became furious when he was accused as the murderer of his father and marrying his mother that will lead to a blind life. When Oedipus went back to the palace, he saw Creon and charged him with treason. Luckily, Jocasta and the Chorus begged Oedipus for mercy. Creon was able to escape. Then, Jocasta comforted Oedipus as she guaranteed him that oracles do not work as she experienced the lies of the prophecy. According to her story, she and Laius gave their son to a shepherd to kill him using a pin and prevent the prophecy of having their son committing the murder over his father. What really happened was the murder happened where three roads meet and five robbers were responsible for the crime that killed Laius. The story matched the memory of Oedipus so he called for the witness. Jocasta was surprised as Oedipus shared his story when he learned that he was not the son of the father he knew and he had killed a man at the crossing of three roads due to insult from his victim. (Sophocles 55). Afterwards, Polybus, the known father of Oedipus was reported to be dead. They rejoiced for a little bit as Jocasta had taken it as a proof to support her claims that oracles are worthless. The prophecy will not come true according to a messenger as Merope was not the real mother of Oedipus and he would not visit Corinth (Sophocles 95). The messenger started to reveal what he knew though the servant was the one who knew the whole truth regarding the baby who grew up to be Oedipus (Sophocles 99). With that, Jocasta came to understand the whole truth and tried to stop Oedipus from knowing it. He did not stop from knowing the truth and got the answers from the old shepherd. He went back to the palace and saw Jocasta in a chamber hanging (Sophocles 77). In response, he took her brooch and blinded himself and set for an eternal exile. Before leaving the city, he left his children under the care of Creon while the Chorus lamented for the tragic fate that came upon their King. Oedipus had shown his strength and highness as he had shown from the start of the play. He was able to save Thebes from the sphinx and its curse by solving the riddles. Oedipus was depicted as strong and intelligent that made him a king quickly. He was also known for being wise as he can make good decisions that earned the trust of the people of Thebes (Ramphos 5). Slowly, the image projected by Oedipus changed as his fate came to his senses. He did not expect that a tragedy would approach him as he was all high and mighty being the king of Thebes. He was viewed as a savior and a hero who happened to free the people from curse. His downturn as a character was shown with his hasty decisions and actions when he got the first answer regarding the solution to the plague. It showed his swiftness in action, but that time depicted his weakness as he accused Creon of paying the blind prophet Teiresias for condemning Oedipus as the source of the plague. It seemed ...Show more