mpromising attitude in pursuit of the truth when he argues with Jocasta about the herdsman. Oedipus asks Jocasta if the man that is standing before him is the man that she sent for, and the man whom the shepherd is speaking of. Jocasta begging Oedipus asks him why do you want to know the truth? Forget him, forget everything, it’s all just a waste of time. Oedipus asks Jocasta, “What –give up now, with a clue like this? Fail to solve the mystery of my birth? Not for all the world”(Sophocles 1155). Jocasta seemingly upset tells Oedipus, in the name of god, if you love yourself and your life, call off the search for the truth! My suffering is enough! Oedipus then tells her to have courage, even if his mother turns out to be a slave it would not effect her. Again she begs him to stop, but to no avail, Oedipus is focused on discovering the truth of his identity, even if it means the fall of his family and house, he is ready for the truth. Oedipus is a good man, a man of honor and compassion and this is proven by what the characters in the play say about Oedipus. Only when Oedipus falsely accuses the characters of Tiresias and Creon, do the characters speak badly of the king. In his book Interpretations: Sophocles Oedipus Rex, Harold Bloom tells us: In the eyes of the priest in the opening scene he is the greatest and noblest of men, the savior of Thebes who with divine aid rescued the city from the Sphinx”(37). “The chorus has the same view of him: he has proved his wisdom, he is darling of the city, and never will they believe ill of him (ln.504)”(37).Wilkins 4Even though Oedipus has a very bad temper, which he shows very often to those close to him, Oedipus also has a compassionate side. Oedipus’s compassionate side is shown when he speaks to the citizens of Thebes; Oedipus tells the citizens that he understands their problems, and that he pities them. Oedipus says that even though each citi...
