Name: Hoang Phuong Mai

Student ID: 200172

GLOBAL HUMANITIES ASSIGNMENT 1: THESIS-BASED OUTLINE

Prompt 2:
According to Aristotle’s theory of tragedy, a tragic character should have a flaw, and as a
result of that flaw, or error in judgment, tragedy befalls the character. Does Oedipus have
one such flaw which brings about the tragedy of the play? If so, what is the flaw, or
where does he err, and why is that significant for our understanding of the text? Or, by
contrast, is Oedipus not to blame for what befalls him – and, if so, why is that significant?
Write a thesis-based outline in which you examine the significance of Oedipus’ flaws
in character for our understanding of the play.

1.) Introduction
Oedipus’ over-reliance on emotions and rejection of rationality upon formulating
judgments have resulted in his downfall as an Aristotelian tragic hero.

2.) Subpoint/Topic Sentence #1

Oedipus lacked rationality in his way of obtaining knowledge and ended up making
uninformed decisions.

a. Provide textual Evidence.

“When I learned this, I left Corinth at once,
making out my position by the stars
and getting as far away as I could to prevent
such terrible predictions from coming true.” (99)

i. Interpret your textual evidence.

1. When Oedipus learned of the oracle, he immediately ran
away from Corinth without assessing the likelihood of the
oracle or considering other possibilities. He even received a
hint that his parents might not have been his birth parents, but
refused to examine it carefully before taking actions. The act
of running away symbolizes a rejection of critical thinking,
or, in other words, rationality, which is essential on the path
of acquiring new knowledge.

2. Oedipus’ failure to examine knowledge and ask questions

was his first step in creating the sequence of actions that
fulfilled the oracle.

3.) Subpoint/Topic Sentence #2

Oedipus failed to control his emotions and acted rashly without considering the
consequences.

b. Provide textual Evidence.

 “[…] in my anger
I struck him, that driver who had blocked my way.” (99)

“[…] I struck him with it hard,

and he rolled out of the carriage, and I killed him
and all the others, too. If that man had
any connection at all with Laius, then I
am the saddest, the most miserable of men.” (100)

i. Interpret your textual evidence.

1. In his encounter with the supposed Laius, Oedipus, failing to
hold back his anger, killed the man and the whole crew. Had
Oedipus wished to resist the oracle more resolutely, he should
have had completely abstained from murder and marriage.
Oedipus risked the possibility of killing his own father simply
to satisfy his unquenchable rage at that time.

2. Oedipus’ murder of a man he met on the street was a result of his

lack of control over emotions. Because of his rash action,
Oedipus further fulfilled his fate without being aware of it.

4.) Subpoint/Topic Sentence #3

Oedipus was a typical Aristotelian tragic hero, for it was his flawed actions and
choices, not an oracle, that decided his fate.

c. Provide textual Evidence.

“Apollo drove me to this, my friends, to these cruel torments.” (127)

i. Interpret your textual evidence.

1. Oedipus blamed his fate, blamed the gods for driving him to
this tragic ending. However, what he received in the end was
actually the consequence of his flawed choices. By failing to
examine the oracle critically and unknowingly killing Laius
on an impulse, Oedipus had carried out possibilities that
could have been avoided, and those possibilities were
important ones that brought about the tradgedy.
2. Oedipus, as a tragic hero, created his own fate through his
defective personality, specifically his rejection of rationality
and over-reliance on emotions.

5.) Conclusion
In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus was to blame for the flawed choices that led to his fulfillment of
the horrendous oracle. He first refused to examine the oracle carefully before making
crucial decisions, then murdered a group of people on an impulse despite being warned
about the killing. Had he not committed the two major errors, he could have been on a
different path without a twisted ending. In conclusion, Oedipus had always been given a
choice to decide his life, but it was his defective, careless decisions that drove him to
tragedy.