Oedipus The King Justice Essay

Within the narrative, Oedipus Rex, Oedipus’ interpretation of justice is enacted through his search to find the killer of King Laius in order to cure his city of a plague. Throughout his journey, he learns the genuine truth about himself and in the end, succeeds in finding the murderer and punishes himself to save his city. Throughout the play, Oedipus’ perception of justice is seen throughout the entire Sophocles play. His perception is that justice is above all man, even himself. This is relevant in the play because throughout the play, Oedipus goes on a quest to find the killer of King Laius. However, as he discovers the truth bit by bit, he realizes that he may be the killer. For example, he recalls a time from when he ran away from Corinth, he ran into a bunch of people and killed all of them. However, a shepherd witnessed it, so Oedipus summons him and here, Oedipus learns a bit of the truth. It was also here that Oedipus realized, he may have been the one who killed King Laius. Despite that discovery, he kept pursuing for justice. Even
That is also his understanding of justice. For instance, he threatened Tiresias, a blind prophet to expose any information about the murder of King Laius. The prophet refused to answer and Oedipus threatened that if he won’t tell him, he will be marked as the killer and be executed. Oedipus knows no compassion here. He cannot afford kindness because he will not stop until he finds the killer. He would even threaten his own citizen to get information. Also, when Oedipus became suspicious that it was him. He could’ve, as stated earlier, stopped his search for the killer. He could’ve gave up on justice to avoid punishment for himself. Nonetheless, he continued the search for justice because he will not stop until justice is served. He will not stop until he finds the killer, which might be him, and bring justice upon