Oedipus thinks of no one but himself throughout the entire play. How can one person seem so caring and thoughtful and then turn out to be a complete lunatic? No one in their right mind would make the decisions that Oedipus made throughout each scene. First of all, why in the world would you kill a group of people just because they wanted you to get off the road? They needed to get past and a group of people should come before an individual, especially such a selfish, self-centered human being. He only expresses concern for the city's plague because he wants to look like a good king, but in reality he doesn't really care as long as everyone likes him and he is "popular." He has children and a wife that he should have considered throughout the play, however, he chose to do things that would only bring attention to himself. His wife hangs herself and he has to revert the attention back to himself by gouging his own eyes out and then begging for mercy on behalf of his children. That is the only seemingly kind-hearted gesture he gave the entire time I was reading. In reality, it isn't even all that nice because what would have been the logical course of actions was to leave Thebes, become kind of Corinth in place of his adopted father, and remain loyal to both his wife and children. In that situation he would maintain his nobility while also keeping his eyes.
I know this was just a rant, but Oedipus makes me quite angry. The end.
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