In Franz Kafka's classic, The Metamorphosis, the family members of Gregor Samsa, the main character who is a giant insect, ignore Gregor for most of the plot. His contempt for Gregor ultimately destroys him. In Sophocles' Oedipus the King, Oedipus neglects the wise words of many oracles and even his mother, something that leads to his death. In both of these masterpieces, the authors use irony to demonstrate that arrogance, excessive humility and selfishness embody the causes of abandonment and therefore ultimately lead to a tragic fiasco. Continuous contempt towards an individual leads to ruin for both parties. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayBoth Kafka and Sophocles skillfully allow the reader to suffer throughout the plot with sardonic scenes. Oedipus represents arrogance or excessive pride in oneself. Oedipus, a Corinthian, rules the city of Thebes and defends it as his precious fortress. As a child, Oedipus kills a "stranger" at the crossroads, but that stranger later turns out to be his biological father, King Laius. Once Oedipus grows up, he becomes king of Thebes and marries the widowed queen Jocasta, although he does not realize that she gave birth to him. During his reign, a plague strikes the city of Thebes, and an oracle tells Oedipus that Laius' killer caused the plague. As a result, Oedipus vows to find Laius' murderer and banish him. Summon the blind prophet. The first witness Teresia and other witnesses specifically admonish Oedipus and tell him that he killed Laius, so he will get the promised fate. Although Teresia warns Oedipus of the torment he will receive, Oedipus ignores it. From this point on Sophocles creates irony because Oedipus has already predetermined his final fate. The abandonment of his peers haunts him. Kafka describes a similar case in The Metamorphosis, but instead of his peers, Gregor Samsa, the protagonist of the plot, bears the consequences of abandonment himself. The plot begins with Samsa waking up to find that he has mysteriously become a giant insect. As a result, he misses the morning bus to the office and a boss employee comes to his house to talk to his parents about his absence from the office. Gregor's family needs the financial help that Gregor has provided. However, his family finds that they don't need him, so they (except his mother) ignore him and treat him like a mere pest in the house. Kafka presents the plot with dramatic and situational irony. Gregor ultimately commits suicide because he can no longer witness his family's suffering. In both works irony guides the causes of neglect. A character's actions foreshadow the resolution of the plot. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus' hamartia (tragic mistake) turns out to be his arrogance. Throughout the play several instances portray him as a bombastic and grandiloquent king who has no respect for others. As the plot progresses, it also acquires more pomp. For example, after answering "man" to the previously unsolved riddle of the Sphinx, he believes he can do anything. All his arrogance gives him all the more reason to ignore everyone's advice. Whether a blind prophet, an oracle, or even Apollo himself may seem to be right, he thinks that he alone must be right, and his righteousness will prevail. In the end Oedipus pays for discounting everyone; Jocasta commits suicide, Oedipus blinds himself and his children have no future. It can all be summed up in the words of the chorus: "A black sea of ​​terror overwhelmed him." On the other hand, Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis has too much humility, which leads him to be overlooked by the novel's antagonists. Although his physical state throughout the novel deserves partial.