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Oedipus Character Analysis

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Oedipus Character Analysis
Oedipus’s is a character of confidence and instantaneous action throughout the play. In just the few short pages of the play we see him interrogate Creon and threaten to banish both him and the oracle Tiresias, bring forth both the survivor from his confrontation with Laius and the shepherd who delivered him from the mountain to Corinth as an infant, and gouge out his own eyes and requesting Creon to banish himself as a form of punishment for killing his own father and sleeping with his mother. Throughout the story, Oedipus is always making swift decisions and action in an attempt to keep his head above water as his own fate tries to swallow all that he holds dear. As his fate rapidly begins to suffocate him, it is easily apparent that some of his swift, confident decisions are becoming more dangerous and rash. His attempt to banish both Creon and Tiresias off of pure accusation due to Tiresias’ unwillingness to inform him of Laius’s killer is a perfect example of how his anger and frustration can get the best of him. In the end however, Oedipus makes up for his crimes in a noble form of punishment to his own self. In order to save both his city and his family he begs forgiveness from the gods by cutting out his own eyes and requesting that Creon banish him from the city. This final act of noble sacrifice shows that even till the end, Oedipus was a man of swift action and always had a plan. Oedipus would have been a great king if it were not for the terrible events that were set to become of him at his

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