Justice In Oedipus The King Essay

The term justice is often associated with the word “fairness”. It is the protection of rights and the punishment of wrongs. However, justice is not always plainly presented in black and white. To think in such a way would divide the idea into good versus evil and right versus wrong, eliminating the space that is the “in between”. A person who stumbles upon this space would be Oedipus from the play “Oedipus Rex” by the Greek playwright; Sophocles. The tragic hero learns that justice can be flawed. Similarly, he discovers that what is just to one, may be unjust to another. Upon birth, Oedipus was prophesied to kill his father and marry his own mother. To prevent this King Laius, Oedipus’ birth father, sent him away to die on a hillside. The plan fails to work and the prophecy comes true in the end. Since unknowingly murdering his father, Oedipus’s life has been a search for justice. Turmoil and destruction befall the city of Thebes and can only be stopped when retribution is paid and the murderer of King Laius is exiled or killed. Oedipus, the

Both Laius and Oedipus’ tragic fate was unavoidable from the beginning. The pair were under what was known as divine justice, where neither can escape the punishment enacted by the gods. Previously, Louis had defiled the gods which caused the rest of the prophecy to fall into place. Then, by sending Oedipus away as a child, Laius set Oedipus on the path of the prophecy. Later on, when Oedipus comes across Laius at the three crossroads, the prophecy is fulfilled and Laius is killed. Justice is served when Laius died because of his act of defiling the gods. However, Oedipus has now committed a new sin; the sin of murdering his father. Yet again, the act of committing this crime was out of Oedipus’ control, for it was already set in stone the moment Laius had violated the gods. Therefore, justice is