Finding Justice In Oedipus The King

In the story of, "Oedipus Rex," Oedipus embarks on a journey to find justice. Throughout the entire story, Oedipus's actions are based on what he believes is just. With all the events that happened in the story, Oedipus realized what justice truly is and did the right thing. Oedipus learned the difference between what he thought was just, and what true justice is. Oedipus is searching for the killer of Laius, the previous king, because the killer has caused a plague that is killing people. Oedipus is faced with the task of finding out who the killer is so he can free Thebes of its suffering. He asks Tiresias to tell him who is the killer and although Tiresias is reluctant at first, he eventually tells Oedipus who killed Laius. Tiresias tells Oedipus that it is him that killed the previous king. Oedipus had stated earlier in the story that he will

Oedipus had the opportunity to not learn the truth about himself and his destiny when he was asked by Jocasta to not continue asking for messengers to tell him the truth. Oedipus could have easily avoided his punishment and continued his life as king, but Oedipus was not like that and wanted the truth to come to light. The messenger gave him the news that he had hoped would not be true. When he heard the news, Oedipus realized that he was the cause of everything. His people were dying because of his actions and was causing damage to his city. Oedipus realized that and he was going to take his punishment for it because it was the just thing to do. He delivered justice to himself by even saying himself that he wants to be punished for what he has caused. Oedipus delivered justice to just about everyone who deserved it, even himself. Even at the very end, Oedipus was always willing to do anything to make sure that justice is served. He took full responsibility of what he did and he punished himself for