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Is one capable of dramatic change throughout the course of his life? Oedipus appears to have metamorphosed from being a stubborn, hubris dictator in Oedipus Rex, to an admirable and modest citizen in Oedipus at Colonus. Looks can be deceiving, just as Oedipus was deceived of the truth he once knew. Throughout the course of Sophocles’ plays, Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus, Oedipus portrays equivalent characteristics in three main areas: superiority, determination, and courage. Throughout his life, Oedipus continually proves that he is better than others. At the commencement of the play Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is proud, for the people of Thebes have beckoned him to extinguish the plague. The people of Thebes summon Oedipus for he is “no god, [but] omnipotent with gods” (6). Oedipus believes he is the only person who endures the power to purge the plague, and that no other man, or god could protect Thebes. Oedipus announces, “Not for any far-flung friend,/but by myself and for myself I’ll break this plague” (11). Oedipus is the perfection of all; he is faultless in his ways. Words could neither batter nor bruise him, for no insult could be true. When Oedipus is asked if he would like to hear the report from Creon publicly, his response is “Speak out to all. It’s more for them than me, though more my own than my own soul” (8).
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