Oedipus the King is Indeed a Tragic Hero

The downfall of a hero follows from his very nature. In Sophocles
play, Oedipus the King, the playwright focuses on a man named Oedipus, the king of Thebes,
who is trying to discover the truth about his past. When he was born, his
parents learned from an oracle that their child would someday be the cause
of their death. Believing the oracle, they abandoned their infant son with
the intention of killing him. However, without their knowledge he is
rescued and raised by another couple. After many years, Oedipus visits a
different oracle and is informed that one day he will kill his father and
sleep with his mother. He flees his home for fear that he is a danger to
his parents safety. The frightened Oedipus travels to Thebes, but on the
journey he becomes engaged in a quarrel. He kills King Laios and Laios' men
not realizing that the king is his biological father. Af ter reaching
Thebes he becomes the new king by solving a riddle and lifting a plaque
from the city. Oed...