Common Factors Between Oedipus and Okonkwo Essay - 993 Words

The similarities between Okonkwo and Oedipus, of Things Fall Apart and of Oedipus the King are displayed on numerous occasions and are easy to recognize. Both men possess an egotistic nature and have an overwhelming sense of pride of their accomplishments, their successes of rising to power are short lived as they will lose along with their legacy as respected men, and Okonkwo and Oedipus were short tempered and were angered easily. The latter would contribute greatly to their downfalls. The tragedies of both Things Fall Apart and Oedipus the King link the protagonists regardless of the thousand year gap. As highly regarded members of their community, Okonkwo and Oedipus never admitted to ever acting unjustly or being wrong and misjudging†¦show more content†¦Nwoye reciprocated his father and refused to acknowledge he has a father when confronted about it. In terms of the two protagonists legacy, they generally started in the same situation, both men having to work to achieve success. Oedipus was saved by a shepherd as a newborn when he was sentenced to death by his father solely on the notice that when Oedipus grew up , he would kill his father and bear children with his mother. To escape execution, he was taken to Corinth and was then adopted and raised as the child of the king and queen. Never knowing of the identity of his true parents, he fled when he was told of his unchanging fate and left his home in pursuit to try to escape the path set for him by the gods. Once he felt he was protected from those disdainful occurences, he becomes very prideful of his triumph over the gods and loses his trust and loyalty to those he thought he refuted as does his wife. They arent true believers of the ancient Greek gods and only worshiped when it proves to be most convenient to them not because they truly seek guidance from a higher power. The y present sacrifices and pray when they were in times of need, otherwise they would mock the gods and prophecies. You prophecies of the gods, where are you now? This is the man who Oedipus feared for years, he fled him, not to kill