Justice In Sophocles Oedipus The King

Oedipus the King Throughout the play and novel Oedipus the King, Oedipus is in search for justice for the murder of King Laius. He will stop at nothing to get to the truth. Oedipus makes it a personal mission to find the murderer, and even goes against the advice of people close to him in his pursuit for justice. Oedipus understands that if the murderer is not found and exiled, the people of his kingdom will continue to suffer from the plague that was put on the land. This gives him plenty of motivation to find the killer. The only problem is that he, unwillingly and unknowingly, killed king laius. Oedipus, once he finds out the truth, understands that to save the people of his kingdom he must be exiled and that is what he wants to be done to him. He puts the people first in order for them to survive and prosper with the plague gone. Oedipus’ search for the killer does yield

Even though he tried to change the outcome of his destiny, it ends up staying the same. His fate was decided at birth, he never had control. The moment Oedipus realizes that the prophecy still came true he is destroyed. This is a significant turning point in the story because he finds out his whole life was a lie. He left who he thought were his real parents to change the outcome, but he had no idea he would accidentally run into his real father and kill him and marry his own mother just like the prophecy foretold. Oedipus’ pursuit for justice gives him the answers he was looking for but no the ones he wanted. He understands he must stop at no cost to find the killer and exile him, even if it is himself. He is successful in his search, but in the process realizes that all the terrible things that were foretold of his destiny came true. The significance of his findings is what destroys him and leaves him wanting to be