Until the very end of Oedipus the King, Oedipus maintains his unshakable belief in the absolute effectiveness of reason and logic, basing all his decisions and actions solely on these golden principles. However, as the plot progresses, the reader can see that this stubborn mindset only goes so far. Rather than saving Oedipus, the principles deteriorate and eventually become useless in the face of the irrationality of life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay From the beginning, Oedipus is portrayed as the epitome of a dutiful king, relying on logic to make his decisions. For example, when the plague hits the city, he says, "no one is as sick as I...my spirit groans for the city, for me, for you" (5). But rather than simply despairing, Oedipus uses reason to anticipate the people's cry for help: he has already sent Creon to the oracle at Delphi to find out the reason for the plague. At this point, Oedipus is very confident in his ability to help people solve this problem, proudly reassuring them: "...I myself have come to hear you, I, Oedipus, who bears the famous name" (4). After all, he has already defeated another seemingly insoluble problem, the Sphinx. So when Creon returns from the oracle, Oedipus immediately throws question after question at him, almost as if he were trying to deduce the answer to the problem on the spot. Learning that the plague is caused by the unavenged murder of the former king Laios, Oedipus announces his desire to find the murderer, reasoning ironically: “by avenging the murdered king, I protect myself” (9). He decides to summon the seer Tiresias to help him identify the killer, but when Tiresias proves reluctant to reveal his knowledge, Oedipus uses reason to try to convince him to speak. After further reluctance, Oedipus cruelly concludes: "You planned it, you did it, you almost killed him with your own hands: if you had eyes, I would say that the crime was yours and yours alone” (19). This reasoning ultimately leads Tiresias to break his silence and incriminate none other than Oedipus himself as Laios's murderer. Here we can clearly see Oedipus's logic faltering as he loses control of his anger, insulting Tiresias with "You blind, mindless, senseless, crazy old man!" (20). This anger leads him to ridiculously accuse his own brother-in-law Creon of plotting to take the throne from him: “Creon secretly desires to destroy me! (21). He approaches Creon. Yet, despite his apparent irrationality, he once again uses reason and logic when cross-examining his brother-in-law in an attempt to frame him for treason and murder. Creon explains that he has no motivation to become king, replying, “But suppose you are wrong,” to which Oedipus retorts, “Yet I must rule” (33). Thus, Oedipus' reason transformed into selfish obstinacy, even against those closest to him. Later, Oedipus becomes very alarmed after hearing Jocasta say that Laius was killed at a crossroads, remembering that he himself had killed people at a crossroads. He exclaims: “Ah, what net has God weaved for me? (39). At this point, Oedipus's faith in reason is almost over. He sees the possibility that he himself might be the murderer and so banishes himself from Thebes. Additionally, Jocasta's memories of hearing a prophecy that her son would kill his father and marry his mother cause Oedipus to suddenly remember the prophecies he had heard about himself: that he was not the son of his father and that he "should lie with my own mother, father children.