Lesson Learned, Avoid Hurbis

             Immediately after Tiresias warns Oedipus about his fate, Oedipus’s first reaction is denial. In his mind, there is no possible way that he could have possibly killed his father, and married his own mother. Jocasta, his wife/mother, enters the room during his breakdown and attempts to calm him down, telling him that all prophecies are invalid.  Oedipus continues on about how he is need of more proof, so he sends out a search for the only man who had survived the battle at the crossroads. The man who had survived gives Oedipus the news that a man did kill King Laius during the battle, and Oedipus instantly begins to convince himself he is the murderer. He refuses to believe this, so he demands for more information. Jocasta begs Oedipus to stop investigating, but at that moment, she realizes Oedipus is her son, and she has committed the sin of incest. This eventually leads to Jocasta hanging herself, and Oedipus blinding himself with his mother’s gold pins.

Hubris was the cause of these tragic events during the remainder of the play. Oedipus refuses to accept the truth because, in his mind, he is a god – a man who contains no flaws. “Do not seek to be master in everything, for the things you mastered did not follow you throughout your life.” (1721-1723). He has too much pride in himself to accept his wrongdoings and the fact that he has caused the plague that reigns over Thebes. Many Greek plays pertain to the audience, teaching them a lesson that no mortal can outsmart the gods. The chorus makes it clear to “count no mortal happy till he has passed the final limit of his life secure from pain” (1727-1728). In the end, hubris, once again, has consumed another victim.

“There's a disease that young writers are susceptible to, which is, I will do this because I can - hubris, I suppose - without stopping to work out why.”

-          David Mitchell

The man in the cartoon is so "full of himself", believing that he has no flaws. This man symbolizes Oedipus, for Oedipus has too much pride in himself. The quote also correlates with the overall idea of hubris.