“OEDIPUS THE KING” The feature of the tragic hero as exemplified in Sophecles’ “Oedipus the King” makes the tragic character a great paradox. For unlike most, the tragic hero emerges as anything but a social person. He may begin that way, motivated by a genuine desire to help the community, as Oedipus, but what emerges in the course of the action is that he is actually, deep down where it really counts, far more concerned with himself, his own demands for justice on his own terms, than in compromising his desires ....