Term Papers on Haemartia: The Tragic Flaw

Term Paper Title	Haemartia: The Tragic Flaw
# of Words	712
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	2.85

Haemartia: The Tragic Flaw
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October 7, 2002

Word Count – 670

A tragedy of fate, by definition, satisfies the moral sense, it brings forth pity or fear, and it tells a story of misfortune by reversal of situation, all of which are fulfilled by Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. Oedipus, the main character of this play, has a serious flaw that is exploited throughout the play. All tragic plays, however, always include a character being portrayed as a hero, only to become a failure at the end. In Oedipus Rex, the Kings major weakness, which led to his downfall, was his reckless behavior. His quick, uneducated decisions made him look like a fool.

Curiosity played a large role in Oedipus’s demise. His yearning to find the killer was only an ironic ending to find that the killer was himself. “You do know something, and will not tell us? Out with it! You no feeling at all,” said Oedipus to a blind man named Teiresias. Fate would eventually show forth, why must Oedipus interrogate the knowledgeable man such as he does? The answer is his outraged curiousity.

After Oedipus’s informative conversation with Teiresias, he meets a messenger who tells Oedipus that he knows that truth of the problem. “What do you mean? In the name of God tell me,” proclaims Oedipus to the messenger. Oedipus, yet again, recklessly badgers a source of information that is bound to come forth through fate anyways. Oedipus is on the break of insanity due to his ignorance and lack of knowledge.

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As the play progresses, it seems as though Oedipus already knows the truth, but is only looking for answers to prove himself wrong. His constant badgering is for his own sake, rather than the sake of his city. “You will die now unless you speak the truth… Where did you get him? From your house? Somewhere Else? You are a dead man if I have to ask again.” Oedipus has become a madman at this point, surviving only on information that will soon destroy him. Oedipus once says to the Shepherd, “I ...

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