Oedipus The King: The Morality Of The Law

My grandma repeatedly stated that, “Life is full of injustice, but we have got to deal with that and move on.” Individuals always face injustice, and the way someone responds to this shows their true character. Most writing pieces develop around this theme, and their respective author innovate entertainment through this process. In Oedipus Rex, the main character, Oedipus, is placed in a tremendously difficult situation. He faced a great deal of injustice and the manner in which he responds is utterly incredible.

In the story of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is the protagonist and he demonstrates a very amazing character. When it comes to justice or injustice to Oedipus he seems to lean towards justice. The king of Thebes, Oedipus, portrays his justice in different manners.

The pursuit of justice is an endeavor that many find to be challenging and a quest itself, as one will come across various trials and complications that may stop them in their pursuit or may mislead them. As humans, we find moral correctness and righteousness a very appealing state to be in, as justice will act as a platform to satisfy the desire for this correctness. In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, we meet our miserable anti-hero, Oedipus, in his pursuit for truth and righting the wrong of the plague that is affecting his people of Thebes. As he makes efforts to solve this problem, he comes to find out that he is the source of the issue, thus exposing the tragic flaw of Oedipus and effectively making this play a very effective Greek tragedy. This pursuit of righteousness ends up being the downfall of Oedipus. In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex, Oedipus pursues justice through his realization of his past, his interactions with various characters in the play, and comes to understand more of justice in his situation through his reactions to adversity in this play, in order to portray a questionably successful pursuit of justice.

During the incident with Laius, he acted out simply in self-defense in order to protect himself and had no intention of patricide. I call the jury’s attention to Oedipus’s description of the murder of his father: “...and the one in the lead and the old man himself were about to thrust me off the road--brute force- and the one shouldering me aside, the driver, I strike him in anger!”(887-891, Oedipus Rex). In this incident, Oedipus was just wandering aimlessly on the road in search of a new home, when suddenly he comes in contact with a group of five that had the intentions to force him off the road by brute force. I asked the jury would you be frightened if faced with

In the book Oedipus the King by Sophocles, there are many controversies on whether Oedipus is guilty of his actions or innocent. Oedipus is a guilty man and his action proved so in the play. Oedipus should be held liable for his crimes of patricide (killing his father) and marrying and having a sexual relationship his mother. Oedipus knew nothing about the past of Thebes however, what was done cannot be taken back. His actions were wrong because incest is unethical, and murdering someone is a crime. He guilty because guilt lies in the act of doing, not in intention. In addition to the prophecy, Oedipus is also guilty of hubris because he displayed excessive pride. The choice was his, and this accounts for some of his guilt. Oedipus is

Charles could see Erik giving up as sharply as he felt it, the small spark that he’d come to label in his own mind as ‘life force’ dwindling to an ember and extinguishing. He was stepping forward before he could stop himself, blooding rushing in his ears against time as he spoke. “Dēsístite!“

The Ancient Greeks had a precise definition of what they believe makes a perfect ruler. According to the Greeks, the ideal Athenian ruler has five main characteristics. The ruler should takes care of his/her people like a parent cares for a child. The ruler respects the elderly. The ruler suffers or fights along with his people in a time of crisis.

Because Oedipus knows nothing about the past of Thebes, he is not an assassin. Oedipus committed murder but unknowingly of who King Laius was. Oedipus' honor was his claim against the murder. Had it been the other way around and Oedipus had lost the battle, King Laius' alibi would have also been for reasons of honor: for reasons of royalty. Oedipus was royalty and knew it as well did King Laius. The main idea behind Oedipus' innocence is this "royalty." Regardless of either of their class standings a fight occurred and the one to start had been King Laius? men, or group, the fact that they lost is not the fault of Oedipus. In other words, King Laius and his men wanted to discipline Oedipus for not

Although Oedipus performed many acts of righteousness, Oedipus’ understanding of morality was incorrect. Oedipus believed the more selfless acts you perform, the greater your superiority grows. Oedipus expected good deeds to end in good results, but only if you do not expect to get anything in return. Justice is performing acts of kindness without any malice. Furthermore, Oedipus is convinced he can overpower the gods and change his

Moral Dilemmas Portrayed in World Literature “For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so” (Shakespeare 688). For centuries, authors, poets and philosophers have used their writings to convey to their readers a code of conduct for life regardless of their religion, race, gender and cultural background. Literature is full of epic vices that are either from a particular era, religion or a setting which makes them specific and relatable only for specific populations. Every religion has its own checklist of sin and virtue.

Oedipus like some other understood Greek legends was blameworthy of comparing fleeting accomplishment with purity. In this way regardless of the prescience of Apollo, Oedipus inspired himself into the very destiny that was pre-appointed for him, while he was purposely overlooking the negative greetings. He didn't regard the prescience trusting that nobody and nothing could annihilate him, yet he himself brought pulverization upon himself by his merciless means and his egotism. This unnecessary pride and presumption is known as hubris and this was the lamentable blemish of Oedipus that prompted to his defeat. It is a direct result of this that Oedipus gets to be distinctly profound visually impaired and later turns into the reason for his physical

It is obvious that Oedipus does not believe that justice was ever on his side throughout his life. In Oedipus eyes it is him against himself and the prophecy laid out for him. Justice in Oedipus understanding knowledge, is being fair while having equality for everyone. a good example of this is when Jocasta hangs herself, Oedipus immediately seeks justice and gages his own eyes out. From the actions he took and previous similar in the story, the reader can infer Oedipus always wants the best outcome of a situation between both parties. Another example of his views on justice is when the priest and the beggars confronted him about the famine Oedipus agreed to help since it would also benefit him too.

Oedipus’s understanding of justice sas in a contemporary sense. The man who killed Laius was a murderer; thus, he deserved to be either put to death or be banished from the land. This unique sense of justice he expressed faltered when he realized that he himself was Laius’s murderer.

"Oedipus the King" is a tragic play showing a shift from the belief of fate to freedom of choice. Therefore, Oedipus the king is a great example of those who run from fate ends up fulfilling their fate

Oedipus is not innocent for his action at law and does in fact bear the responsibleness for the outcomes that his action at law have caused him to endure.