Drama Essay incremental understanding of his hamartia (mistakes)

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Dramatic Purpose of Oedipus`s incremental understanding of his hamartia (mistakes)
In the beginning of the play, the audience gets the image of Oedipus as a rather prideful character. This becomes very evident when he argues with a stranger and even kills, probably so that he can have the last word in the argument. This makes it very clear that Oedipus will go to extreme lengths to prove himself right. He is a very egocentric man." He who knew the Sphinx's riddle and was mightiest in our state." (Scene 1 li.15) The sphinx further massages his ego by telling him that he is right, many a traveler had died at the paws of the sphinx for failure to solve its riddle and the torment to travelers only ends when Oedipus Triumphs over it in a battle of wits putting an end to the sphinx`s reign of terror. The sphinx asked about a creature that crawled on all fours in the morning, walked on two feet at midday and three feet in the night, he comfortably answers that it is man. This victory only serves to inflate Oedipus`s self-image of a hero. Oedipus is set on a path of self-vindication.
When talking about the prophesies that the oracle made against him, he scoffs at the predictions arguing that there is no basis for any of the oracle`s prophesy about him murdering his father then sleeping with his mother. Many a time his thirst for self-righteousness defies the obvious and it is safe to say that his conscience is blind to plain facts. This could be the motivation for the playwright to include Teiresias, the blind man in the cast of characters. His conversations with Teiresias hit a dead end when the blind man accuses him of the murder of Taius. He blatantly denies these accusations and even gets infuriated at the thought of a blind man accusing him of killing the man. This he does with full knowledge that Teiresias is not just any blind man but rather a prophet who has guided several kings of Thebes. Oedipus`s hatred for making mistakes could be his coping mechanism for dealing with insecurities he still harbors regarding the unpleasant prophesy that prompted him to flee from his home in Corinth. The thought that this could still come to fulfillment haunts him and he strives to do all he can to protect himself from the curse. The blind seer however persists by provoking him using questions on his origins, asking Oedi...