Character Analysis The Personality of Oedipus Essay

There are many facets of personality of a minor character that authors may utilize to supply contrast to the main character of their work. Some of these contrasts are extremely noticeable and some are not. One such facet is with the use of a neutral character; to not only showcase the main character’s flaws, but so not to detract from the moral of the story. Creon, from the play â€Å"Oedipus the King† by Sophocles is used for both of these reasons. Sophocles wished to show that one cannot escape fate, yet did not want to cloud this issue with a possible coupe against his main character Oedipus. He also showed how, at times one character can act completely irrational, while one remains calm in the face of serious accusations. Creon is the†¦show more content†¦Creon in an astonishing display of â€Å"sound common sense and executive ability† (Peterkin 265), offered marriage to Iocasta, as well as the position of king, to anyone who could solve this riddle and free the country of the suffering inflicted by the Sphinx. Oedipus bested the Sphinx, and claimed the kingdom and his spouse. Although Creon could have remained in power, he proved to be a man of his word. He relinquished the dominant authority in Thebes to Oedipus and seemed to â€Å"have ac-cepted the situation with good grace† (Peterkin 265). After a long established rule as king, a plague afflicted the land. Over the years, Oedipus had â€Å"delegated much of his authority, in complete reliance on his efficiency and dependa-bility† (Peterkin 265) to Creon. In trying to relieve his subjects suffering, Oedipus sends his valued right hand man, Creon, to consult the oracle. Oedipus was hoping to receive some revelation as to why his kingdom was suffering so. Upon his return, Creon prudently wanted to speak privately with Oedipus. During this exchange, Creon is presented as a cautious, yet matter-of-fact kind of person. The King would not hear of a private conversation as he wanted everything to be in the public’s eye, so as not to hide the truth. Creon reveals, as tactfully as possible, that the Gods were angry that King Laios murder went unpunished. This is what was causing the plague to besiegeShow MoreRelatedSigmund Freud s Theory And Criticism1345 Words   |  6 Pagesis written out it may perhaps fill half a page. The analysis setting out the dream-thought underlying it may occupy six, eight or a dozen times as much space† (819). This quote is telling us, as readers, that writing our dreams are simple. It does not take a lot of time to discuss or a lot of space on the paper to write it down. 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