1. Oedipus The King Group 2 Kaitlyn Turner Aksa Prasad Shruthi Srinivasan
Jason Jiang
Jeffrey Wu

2. Literal Meaning
How do hubris, pride, arrogance, and ignorance affect Oedipus and other characters within the story? Why does Sophocles only mention Oedipus as an excessively prideful character? What other characters may have represented these traits?
Oedipus was the subject of the prophecy, the backbone of the tragedy. His pride and arrogance led him to continue in search for the truth despite being advised against it by both Jocasta and the Shepherd. It was also because of his pride that he chose to pursue this matter after Tiresias accused Oedipus and Oedipus argued with Creon. Oedipus's hubris prevented him from seeing the possibility of his own fault in the matter and led to his downfall after pressing to avenge Laius's murder. His ignorance towards the connection with Laius and his heightened pride led to an even greater tragedy after the prophecy was fulfilled, after ignorantly believing that he dodged fate. Sophocles would have wanted to relate this to the audience, to show them the consequences of hubris.

3. Hubris in Other Characters
Creon: Prideful in dealing with Oedipus's hubris. Despite being accused of disloyalty, Creon calmly addressed Oedipus and later even agreed to take care of Oedipus's children. His pride led to a greater feeling of regret and guilt within Oedipus once the truth was revealed.
Jocasta: Prideful in the face of fate. Jocasta believed that she avoided the prophecy and arrogantly told Oedipus that prophecies aren't real. In the end, her disregard to fate led to even greater tragedy in her suicide.
Tiresias: Steadfast in his pride. With knowledge of the truth, Tiresias got into a conflict with Oedipus who refused Tiresias's words. Tiresias was too prideful to explain his claim, thus leading to Oedipus's future conflict and search for the truth that ended with the tragedy.
Laius: Believed that he had the power to defy prophecy, a power only vested in gods. His pride led him to toss his child out, but came back to bite him as the first victim in fulfilling the prophecy.
Apollo:

4. Literary Devices: Tragic Irony
"The wealth and happiness they once had was real while it lasted, but now – weeping, destruction, death, shame– name any evil you will, they have them all.”(Sophocles 94)
This quote illustrates the pure intensity of the downfall and misery of Jocasta and Oedipus. Sophocles shows us that at this very moment, they are almost the embodiment of any evil you can think of. They have invoked every possible torment on themselves from their crimes and ignorance/resistance to the truth. This demonstrates the adverse effects that come with the resistance to seek the truth.

5. Archetype: Arrogant/Prideful King
“Wealth, absolute power, skill surpassing skill in the competition of life – what envy is your reward!”(Sophocles 26)
This dialogue shows the true thoughts of Oedipus on his high horse– he thinks that anyone would only ever accuse him of a crime if it was in the pursuit of his throne. He is never guilty of crime, and he believes that he possesses absolute power over all man, which puts him on the same level as a god. This aids Oedipus’ ignorance in impeding him from realizing the truth about his identity. He is too caught up in his own pride that he does not stop to consider the words of Tiresias.

6. Literary Device: Symbolism
Corinthian Messenger: “You had your ankles pinned together, and I freed you.”
Oedipus: “It is a dreadful mark of shame I have borne since childhood.” (Sophocles 94)
Oedipus’ swollen ankles and his scar from being pinned at his feet represent a shame that will never go away, a point of weakness for him. This is also true for the fate of Oedipus. His ankles demonstrate that he has been essentially cursed since the moment he was born, a real-life example of an Achilles heel. His ankles and therefore his fate are his weakness, and both lead to his downfall.

7. Example of Hubris (Pride)
"Chorus Leader - 'That is good advice, my lord, for anyone who wants to avoid mistakes. Quick decision are not the safest.' Oedipus - 'When a plotter moves against me in speed and secrecy, then I too must be quick to counterplot.'" (Sophocles 41)
This is an example of Oedipus' pride because he believes he knows better than his closest advisors. After setting his mind on trying to prove that Creon was a traitor, he relentless pursued his ideas even though they may have been wrong. This eventually led to the reveal of his prophecy and his tragic fall. Overall, his hamartia, hubris, is highlighted throughout the text as a way to contribute to his final tragic fall. 

8. Example of Hubris (Pride) in Another Character
"Tiresias - 'I say that without knowing it you are living in shameful intimacy with your nearest and dearest.'" (Sophocles 25)
Here is an example of Tiresias' pride. His power of prophecy gives him fearless speech and the audacity to insult the King (Oedipus). 
However, nothing bad happens to Tiresias despite have pride similar to Oedipus. This makes the tragic story of Oedipus even tragic because it adds the element of unfairness. It makes it seem almost as if fate was solely trying to punish Oedipus while giving everyone else a pardon.

9. Significant Moments
Significant Moment 1: Oedipus asks the citizens of Thebes to reveal the murderer
He claims to have no knowledge of the murder; he cuts himself off from any accusations and accountability. His ignorance is crucial in the story, conveying Sophocles’ intention for the audience to sympathize with Oedipus’ actions. Oedipus takes comfort in his reputation, clinging onto what seems rational and questioning all accusations throughout the story until his inevitable downfall.
Oedipus obsesses over his reputation and takes pride in his heroic deeds. Out of all his characteristics, hubris is one of the most destructive; it makes him excessively self- confident, irrational, and arrogant. He is not one to back away from a challenge. His pride gives him a burning desire to bring this murderer to justice. Through these characteristics, Sophocles shows how even a hero can be defeated by their own pride.

10. Significant Moments Cont’d
Significant Moment 2: Jocasta tells Oedipus of the prophecy
Even though Oedipus is beginning to view the situation without his clouded, prideful perspective, Jocasta refuses to accept the prophecy’s legitimacy. She takes comfort in her ignorance, trying to convince Oedipus that there is nothing to worry about. Ironically, in her attempt to disprove the prophecy, she proves its accuracy.
Oedipus recognizes the circumstances of his death and the realization that he is responsible gains strength and begins to overwhelm his conscience. He gradually loses faith in his reputation, and his pride becomes severely wounded.

11. Significant Moments Cont’d
Significant Moment 3: Jocasta kills herself; Oedipus gouges his eyes out
In this moment, Jocasta realizes that she married and had children with her own son, committing incest. Since incest was considered one of the most intolerable sins in their society, she was overwhelmed with shame. In her pride and ignorance, she had believed that her relationship with Oedipus was healthy and honorable. She had begged Oedipus to abandon his hunt for the truth, hoping that he would preserve the integrity of their relationship. Oedipus still hangs onto his pride, refusing to give up. Jocasta is devastated and kills herself.
Jocasta’s death marks a significant turning point for Oedipus. His pride and self-confidence had sustained his desire to prove his innocence, even when the truth of the prophecy was slowly and inevitably unravelling. His guilt drives him to insanity.

12. 2017: Unusual Origins
Prompt: "Oedipus Rex" features a character whose origins are unusual or mysterious. Analyze how these origins shape the character and that character's relationships, and how the origins contribute to the work as a whole.
These origins would be Oedipus' back story that remains a secret at first until he and Jocasta talk about Laius' death. His unusual backstory is what has kept Oedipus from realizing himself that he has fulfilled the prophecy of killing his dad and marrying his mom. This creates the irony of the piece and eventually leads to Oedipus' downfall, along with ruining all of his relationships with all of the characters due to his actions that he was trying to avoid. 
This prompt relates to ours because Oedipus' ignorance and the traits seen by all of the other characters is because of Oedipus' origins. Oedipus' entire backstory is finding out the prophecy, attempting to avoid it and instead doing exactly what he is fated to do. 

13. 2000: Mystery
Prompt: In “Oedipus Rex” identify the mystery and explain how the investigation illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole.
The mystery in Oedipus Rex is mentioned in almost the entire story and it is to find the murderer of the king before Oedipus, which was Laius. This mystery and its investigation was intentionally done to reverse the evil that was cast upon Thebes, however the outcome led to a self-evaluation of Oedipus himself. The entire investigation allowed him to find his true roots, however it also showed the theme of shame and led to his ultimate downfall.
This prompt relates to ours since the ignorance and pride that Oedipus had during his past situations led the city of Thebes to be cursed. The investigation of Laius’ murderer also revealed the prideful and arrogant character that Oedipus was when he confronted Tiresias, and overall the shame that he felt led to his exile and downfall.

14. Works Cited
Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Translated by Bernard Knox, Simon and Schuster Inc., 1994.
Pictures:
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