Oedipus The King: Justice And Injustice

In this world, there exists justice and injustice. In order for there to be justice, the people must enforce it themselves because that is how life works. It is up to you to do something to benefit yourself or the rest because some people don’t have the courage to make a change. In the work “Oedipus Rex” the protagonist, Oedipus tries to show what justice means to him.
Many may argue that Oedipus does not bring justice to Thebes; that all he did was make everything worse for the land of Thebes. However, Oedipus did make positive change in Thebes even though some people don’t understand his ways. For example, when Thebes was being tormented by the evil Sphinx, Oedipus figures out the riddle that the Sphinx would repeat to people who wanted to enter Thebes. Since he answers correctly, the Sphinx gets so upset that she kills herself. This is justice for the people of Thebes because the Sphinx was treating the travelers and people of Thebes unfairly. Another way Oedipus searches for
justice is by seeking out the murderer of KIng Laius in order to rid the land of the plague from the gods. Oedipus displays a genuine, deeply concerned attitude. Truly, Oedipus cares for his new kingdom and its people. He meets directly with his subjects and promises to kill the man who has caused the plague. Here Oedipus shows that he cares about others, and that he wants to bring justice to Laius since his killer is roaming around freely without punishment. Finally, Oedipus shows one last act of justice. When learning that he killed his own father, Laius, Oedipus tragically takes his own eyesight by blinding himself and tells Creon to banish him from Thebes. Oedipus accepts total responsibility for the tragedy that occurs in his life. He doesn’t blame anyone but himself.
As weird as it sounds, Oedipus brought justice and injustice to Thebes.
He was the one who caused the plague; however, he was also the one who got rid of it by leaving Thebes. Oedipus had good intentions for others, but his fate harmed himself and others. If Oedipus had never been cursed with a prophecy, the city of Thebes wouldn’t have undergone a plague, their previous king would still be alive, and Oedipus wouldn’t have lived a terrible life. However, this is what makes up the story and without all this problems there would have been no way for Oedipus to search for justice.
In conclusion, Oedipus’ search for justice helps the work as a whole by showing that “Oedipus Rex” is not all about injustice. This helps the reader understand that Oedipus was a good man who could not escape a terrible prophecy. Due to Oedipus’ honest character, the reader never questions the integrity of Oedipus. The reader is left with the impression of a great man who greatly suffered despite his good
intentions.