Author: Noha Elkallini

I wanted to first start off by sharing a quote, written by Albert Einstein. As quoted “ The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance”. This quote is an example of how many leaders around the world today use arrogance as a way of power to themselves to control the people. You can be ignorant in a sense where you lack certain knowledge making you unaware of your own limitations. On the other hand, being arrogant according to Einstein is far more dangerous, in which you can’t distinguish the difference between your pride and stubbornness, escalating negatively the way you approach things among yourself and others. 

Throughout the play, Oedipus’ attitude is filled with stubbornness and madness that he failed as king to find the truth of Laius’ killer. Even though his own people are dying from the plague his whole focus was to find the killer and prove to himself that he is still the almighty, unstoppable, reckless king of his century. For instance, after the prophet Tiresias enters the palace, he and Oedipus quarrel bitterly, making Tiresias blurt out the identity of Laius’ murderer. As stated in lines 381-384,Oedipus tells Tiresias “ Nothing! You, you scum of the earth, you’d enrage a heart of stone! You won’t talk? Nothing moves you? Out with it, once and for all”. It can be demonstrated that instead of being caught up proving his existence of power, he should have prioritized bringing about relief to those families who lost someone to the plague. This particular scene brought to my attention how many presidential leaders around the world failed as a nation to recognize the needs of its people as the cases were going up day by day. For example, the president of India, Ram Nath Kovind, failed as a leader to control the spread of the virus and like many leaders cared about the economy rather than the lives of its people. In which there was lack of financial relief, basic medical equipment such as oxygen and due to oxygen shortage people died on the streets.