The tragedy of Sophocles' Oedipus the King is not just that of a man exposing the horrible truth behind his past. The greatest tragedy is the ever-changing perception of Oedipus, both by the citizens of Thebes and by the audience of the play. Oedipus exudes a great deal of self-confidence and ego, leading to a narrow vision with no room for the perspectives of Teiresias, Jocasta, or Creon, thus ensuring his own death. At the end of the play, the audience, along with the other characters, can trace the personality flaws that led Oedipus to his personal living hell. But the context of the play and the story of Oedipus, along with his unfortunate traits, actually highlight another aspect of his character. This aspect is the fact that Oedipus' incredible ego was completely deserved. His overwhelming self-confidence, which some would perceive as destructive and unnecessary, is the product of being the true manifestation of his own self-image. It was the qualities that led him to be the savior and ruler of Thebes that led to his terrible confrontation with fate, not the qualities that were the result of being a ruler. The first part of the play is dedicated to addressing the fact that Oedipus has a huge ego. He introduces himself: “Here I am: you all know me, the world knows my fame. I am Oedipus” (7-9). This introduction is not for the benefit of the audience as they are already all too familiar with the Oedipus legend. This is less of a practical introduction of the main character and more of a statement of one of his main characteristics, namely self-confidence. Ironically, the “world” and “fame” that Oedipus speaks of are completely different from those of the play's audience. The world knows Oedipus for his great ...... middle of paper ...... as a child” (1644-1647). Oedipus uses the phrase "not a man on earth", repeated by Jocasta at the beginning of the play when she challenges the idea that men foresee the future. So in this brief moment of speculation Oedipus has once again demonstrated that he has moved away from absolute self-determination, but not completely, as he has only partially moved towards the mentality of predetermination. Oedipus has a foot in both worlds. Sophocles wrote a play that walks an ambiguous line regarding the possibility of living with or without free will. But he wrote the character of Oedipus to embody not a single position on the subject, but as a classical tragic hero, who leads and saves at the cost of his own suffering and that of others. Oedipus did not bring himself to ruin through personal faults, but because Thebes needed what he had to do to become king..