Oedipus the King - Assignment Example

In this essay I will argue how Oedipus from Oedipus the King by Sophocles is a protagonist possessing the tragic flaw of excessive pride.
In Oedipus the King, the action opens as Oedipus is approached by plague-stricken masses asking help from him as king. When he sees his people gathered around him as if he were a god, his response to them is “What means this reek of incense everywhere, / From others, and am hither come, myself, / I Oedipus, your world-renowned king”. His pride in his role as king is evident as he chides them for appealing to other forces than himself in their burning of incense to cloud the air. It is also obvious that Oedipus is not secure in his position as king. This is evidenced by his tendency to pronounce his greatness to the people, as if finding it necessary to remind them of his importance and of who he is in relation to themselves.
Throughout the action of the play, Oedipus’ personality reflects pride and a determination to force things to go his way. When Oedipus received the prediction that he was doomed to kill his father and marry his mother, he was determined to avoid this fate by taking his future in his own hands.