Ignorance In Sophocles Oedipus The King

A tragic hero possesses all the great abilities that make a good man except for the ability to acknowledge their own flaws. The great king Oedipus falls off his throne due to these same flaws in his character. In scene ii of Oedipus Rex, Sophocles uses the literary device of irony to develop the central idea of ignorance, and how it can affect one’s actions and future. Ignorance can plague a man’s mind and affects his whole life and his actions. Oedipus was from another land originally, and when he heard of his fate he “ran away from Corinth” (Sophocles 955). Running away from Corinth is what led him to the city of Thebes. His action displays situational irony because him running away from his fate and problems causes him to ultimately fulfill his predicted fate. His …show more content…
Then [he] killed them all”, and also said that if “that stranger was somehow linked to Laius, who is now more unfortunate than I?” (Sophocles 977). He killed someone even with the knowledge of his horrible fate that consists of killing someone. His lack of knowledge of the person leads to his actions. This shows how his ignorance results in this action that fulfills one of the most important parts of the prophecy. This shows dramatic irony because of how Oedipus did not know that his father was Laius while the reader and audience did. It is obvious when he does the one thing that starts the completion of the prophecy. This reveals part of Oedipus’s character, how he is oblivious to the consequences he faces with his actions. He does not think about how his actions affect his future, and this flaw leads to his downfall. He still believes that Polybus is his father, and this ignorance to the truth of his past led him to where he ended up. When Oedipus learned that he killed Laius, he still thought that the second part of the prophecy has not come true. He also believed that if he went back to his native land that, “[he] must get