Examples Of Oedipus The King Justice

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Recommended: Oedipus the king by Sophocles analysis

In a novel written by William Styron, a father tells his son that life “is a search for justice”. Justice is the quality of being fair, reasonable, and having a genuine respect for people. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King Oedipus’s relentless search for justice ultimately leads to his self-punishment, blatantly demonstrating the total control of fate in his story. Oedipus searches for a murderer of a past king, but when the story is unfolding, he starts questioning who he truly is. Justice in Oedipus’ eyes means that he can understand where he exactly came from and realize the truth. Demonstrating the importance of the truth to Oedipus, Oedipus’s investigation confuses Tiresias. She exclaims “You made me speak. You provoked me against my will” (333) when Oedipus asks him who put him up to this wrong doing. Furthermore, Oedipus’s following actions demonstrate his understanding of justice to be the truth. The shepherd and the messenger are only brought to Oedipus’s attention because of Oedipus’s rigorous search for the truth. Even when he arrives, the shepherd is afraid to tell Oedipus the entire story, so the shepherd does not tell the full truth. However, Oedipus’s cross-examination of the situation does not all add up and characterizes his definition of justice. In this …show more content…

He tried to live a life dedicated to his fellow Theban’s and family to do what is in their best interest, not his. Oedipus learns of the crimes he has committed and can realize the truth which has obviously been sheltered from him his whole life. Sometimes the truth can be too much to bear and justice comes with a price. Oedipus takes pins and pierces his eyeballs because he is “tormented by memory” (428) and what he has caused by marrying his mom and killing his dad. Fate truthfully plays a role in this outcome, he was once a man “who became [their] great and brilliant king” (615) but now is the plague of his own

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