after bearing children with Jocasta a plague kills many of the inhabitants of Thebes. Oedipus is told by the gods to find the killer of Laius. He is very diligent in the inquiry and finally comes to the horrible truth that he himself is the murderer. Jocasta kills herself at the horrible realization that she has laid with her son. Oedipus puts out his eyes, at which time he finally sees the truth. This fulfills the final part of the Sphinx's riddle for Oedipus will have to walk with a cane for the rest of his life because of his blindness. This will give him the walk on 3, which man walks with at the end of his years.The Sphinx's riddle was used by Sophocles to characterize Oedipus as a tragic man and as a parallel to his life. The riddle describes the 3 stages, which Oedipus went through in his life. Also in answering the riddle Oedipus inevitable brought about his own tragic ending by a horrible discovery.The statement that Joseph Campbell makes that defines a hero as “someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself,” I believe very much that this applies to the story of Oedipus the King. He alone had to realize a life lesson and by doing so hurt himself and the ones he had loved. Oedipus in his journey showed others that you must not physically open your eyes up, but as well open them in a fourth dimension, so to speak. He realized that just because he could “see” did not mean he could understand and believe. Unknowingly Oedipus gives himself, because he has destroyed his life to show others that you must be willing to accept and believe. Even thought we can’t call Oedipus a “hero” because he does not fit all the characteristics of a true hero, we call him a “tragic hero.” He still did teach a lesson and by far gave himself to something bigger than himself.He was a very self-confident, intelligent, and strong willed man. Yet these were the very ...
