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Defend: too much self-esteem leads to arrogance which ultimately results in tragedy for the persons involved and those close to him/her

"Oedipus is torturing himself, tearing his heart with grief. His vision to weigh the present against the past is blurred by fear and terror" (Sophocles 1308). In the play Oedipus Tyrannus by Sophocles, Oedipus is blind with high self-esteem, or pride. Oedipus is the man who saves Thebes from the Sphinx and is the current king of Thebes. He promises the people of Thebes that he will find the murderer of Laius, to restore the dying city-state of Thebes. However, his pride gets in the way of Oedipus accepting the truth of who the murderer is until it becomes too late. Oedipus's extreme sense of pride leads to his tragic demise because it blinds him from realizing and accepting the truth, leads him to place the blame on innocent people, and causes him to make rash and illogical decisions.

Even though Oedipus is a great leader, his self-esteem makes him blind to the blatantly obvious truth, which outweighs his excellent characteristics as a person and leader. "You traitor! Do you think that you can get away with this" (Sophocles 1298)? Oedipus is in instant denial and is extremely angry because Teiresias reluctantly tells him that Oedipus is the murderer of Laius. Oedipus does not believe Teiresias because he does not wish to tarnish his ego. On a deeper level of thought, Oedipus is also dishonoring the standards of Greek society because he is disrespecting Teiresias, who is a prophet. During this time, prophets are considered higher in stature than kings because they are directly associated with the gods. However, Teiresias is placing Oedipus's blame, which Teiresias is the murderer of Laius, away from himself! Teiresias is reluctant at first to tell Oedipus the truth because of how horrible it is. However, Oedipus with his constant nagging, drags the fact out of Teiresias, when he blames Teiresias of the murder. Due to his pride, Oedipus cannot accept the truth that he is the murderer and instantly places the blame on Creon which ends up destroying the brotherly relationship they have.

Oedipus's extreme passion for looking superior to others, causes him to become incredibly arrogant to the truth and ends up blaming Creon, who he trusts the most in the world, as the murderer of Laius. "Why have you come, Creon? Do you have the audacity to show your face in my presence? Assassin! And now you would steal my throne" (Sophocles 1301)! Oedipus accuses Creon that he is the murderer and that Creon and Teiresias plot to steal his throne. Oedipus accuses Creon because his self-esteem leads him to complete denial of the truth. Oedipus's false accusation, which is out of pure desperation, causes a split in the brotherly relationship that Creon and Oedipus have. But, Oedipus truly believes that Creon and Teiresias plot to take his throne! First of all, Teiresias is higher in stature than Oedipus and is trustworthy because he is known for being honest. Also, Oedipus is acting in pure desperation and is tragically blind to an obvious truth due to his extreme passion for looking superior to others. This is shown, especially, when Creon argues logically that he receives the benefits of being a king without any of the work of being a king, but Oedipus is still in denial and makes an unintellectual decision to keep blaming Creon for the murder of Laius. Acting in a way to prevent one's self-image from being tarnished can lead to wrong choices such as accusing Creon, or actions, such as killing someone out of anger.

The constant passion and need to look extraordinary to others, causes Oedipus's mind to be blurred which leads him to make unintellectual decisions. "In anger, I stuck him. The old man saw it, reached for his lash and waited till I had passed. Then he had struck me on the head. But he paid-oh yes, he paid. He lost his balance and fell from the carriage and as he lay there helpless- on his back- I killed him" (Sophocles 1306). Oedipus reveals his tendency to get angry and out of control quickly. Oedipus also shows that he is easy to offend because of his concern of his self-ego. His extreme pride, leads Oedipus to make rash, illogical decisions such as killing a helpless man, who is Laius-Oedipus's father. Oedipus is showing self-defense! For someone to prove self-defense, they must be targeted first. However, Oedipus was the first to attack the group of travelers which makes him the aggressor and not someone showing self-defense. Extreme self-esteem, blurs the mind of a person, causing them to make decisions that will bring a tragic end to the people around them and themselves.
Oedipus shows that too much self-esteem will blur the mind of a person, leading to the tragic fall of oneself and those around them by blinding a person to a self-evident truth, causing a division among brothers, and driving a person to make poorly thought out decisions. Even if a person has all of the excellent characteristics that one can possess but they maintain one lousy trait, extreme self-esteem, they will not only crumble as a person but ultimately destroy the people around them that they love and adore.