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Oedipus The King Justice And Injustice Essay

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In a lot of plays and stories, the characters have to search for justice in some form or fashion. In some stories people break the law, while in others something or someone is not fair. However, in a novel by William Styron, a father tells his son that life “is a search for justice.” In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, the king of Thebes, had to search for the person who committed an injustice, and he is trying to bring justice to the land once again. Oedipus responds to both justice and injustice in a very different way. When it came to Oedipus finding the person who committed an injustice by killing the king before himself, he had so much anger, and he wanted to find the culprit as soon as possible. In his rage and anger, he put a curse upon the murderer. His response to injustice was anger as well as revenge. Although he meant to help the city of Thebes by putting the curse on the murderer, his response could have been a calmer one. Oedipus does not handle injustice well because he wants to prove to the people of Thebes that he is a good ruler, so when there is an injustice he tries to get rid of it right away by doing anything he must, even if it is not the proper or most reasonable thing to do. …show more content…

Even when Oedipus figured out that he was the person who killed the king before him, he still strongly believed both justice and punishment should be served. Although he was in shock, he still courageously stepped up to receive his punishment. The respected the fact that earlier he said the murderer should be punished, killed, or banished, and was ready to get whatever Creon, the new king of Thebes, had in store for him. His response to justice was it had to be given no matter what. It was a very responsible response, given the

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Therefore, he will have to punish himself as he promised the people of the town. When Oedipus learns that he is the one who killed Laius, he is angry and unaccepting. He turns to blame the person closest to him, Creon, but, Tiresias says, “Creon is not your enemy. You are your own” (Episode 1).

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