Oedipus and Willy - Sophocles Oedipus the King

In the play written by Sophocles Oedipus the King the Main character Oedipus shares a common personality trait with that of Willy Loman the main character in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Both Oedipus and Willy are very prideful and therefore are doomed from the start. Their pride keeps them from seeing reality for what it is. It is their pride and their avoidance of failure that is the cause for their demise. Willy Loman is a good looking American man working hard to avoid poverty. He wants to create a great life for his family and live the American dream. Then there is Oedipus, a great king who wants to protect and keep his people safe. Oedipus is somewhat into himself and loves being the king of Thebes. Both characters have a common struggle. They both want to maintain a positive life and have a positive outcome for their family. It is ironic that both Willy and Oedipus give into their destruction during their pursuit to happiness.

Oedipus is very prideful in a way that makes him react falsely in situations. He wrongfully blamed and ridiculed the elderly prophet Tiresias after he told Oedipus that he was the murderer. "I say you are the murderer you hunt" (Sophocles 921) Oedipus also believed that he could somehow outsmart the gods by running away from Corinth. After his contact with the elderly prophet, Oedipus's life begins to get out of control. He starts accusing and judging many people even his faithful brother in-law Creon. "You-here? You have the gall to show your face before the palace gates? You, plotting to kill me, the king- I see it all, the marauding thief himself scheming to steal my crown" (926). All these confrontations, Oedipus is just trying to save his people. "Speak to us all, I grieve for these my people, far more than I fear for my own life" (914). After much interrogation, accusation and discontentment, Oedipus finally receives tragic information that he is the one responsible for his predecessor Laius's death and he is the one that must be banned from Thebes. Oedipus's realization of being a murder disturbs him even more because now he knows the prophecy is coming true and that he married and slept with his own mother. Oedipus is overwhelmed with shame. In the depths of his despair he stabs his eyes out, his wife commits suicide and he loses his title of king. Oedipus cannot be held fully responsible for his destruction because he had no knowledge of what he did. When he killed the man on the road he did not know the man was the king of Thebes. Had Oedipus known he was the king he would not have killed him. Oedipus was simply trying to run away from Corinth to avoid the horrible fate that was destined for him and live a happy and successful life. "Apollo told me once- it is my fate" (937). Although Oedipus's pride helped him believe that he could alter his destiny, he is not responsible for his death because it was his fate. His fate was prophesized which mean that no matter what he did his destruction would come anyway, therefore he is a tragic hero. Perhaps if Oedipus was not so prideful he could have outsmarted the prophecy although unlikely.

Willy Loman is a hardworking man because he wants to obtain the American dream. Instead of his dream coming true he becomes very disconnected by the capitalistic system and becomes mentally and financially unstable. Unlike Oedipus Willy was completely responsible for his destruction. Willy and Oedipus share similar traits such as their pride and their ability to make decisions which lead to their destruction. Willy unlike Oedipus is not a tragic hero. Willy cannot be a tragic hero because he had full power and complete ability to stay clear of