Oedipus the King represents an interesting sense of irony and justice. One could say that his entire life was an injustice, since he has a vocabulary consisting of ten words when he was sent to his death by his parents. Not only was he too young to be feared, but alternative measures could have been taken to prevent the prophecy that would doom Oedipus’ parents. Despite the unfortunate events of Oedipus’ young life, he grew to become a greatly admired hero, especially since he saved the city of Thebes from the Sphinx, a threatening creature who would not stop terrorizing the city until someone solved its riddle. It isn’t until Oedipus becomes king that we see his sense of justice. After his brother-in-law Creon returned with the words of
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He tells Oedipus that he is the one responsible for the death of King Laius, which causes Oedipus to immediately dismiss his words as a joke. Eventually, Oedipus starts making unreasonable claims, such as saying that Tiresias and Creon were working together to remove him from the throne. Instead of thinking to remember whether he had killed anyone who might have been King Laius in the past, he automatically assumes that this is not possible and that Tiresias is a blind fool. Thinking back to his earlier actions might have wielded results, however; shown in a later scene, Oedipus shows that he killed several men in a crossroad, one of whom (unknown to him at the time) was King Laius. This shows just how hasty Oedipus is, since he immediately dismissed Tiresias as a liar. The crossroad scene mentioned earlier also depicts Oedipus’ sense of justice very clearly. Since Oedipus though of the men at the crossroad robbers, it could be argued that his actions were in self defence, but even back then the punishment for stealing was mutilation several times before finally being executed. Oedipus killed them on the spot instead of wounding them and turning them in, which shows that he has a strong sense of justice and the will to deliver it
He tells Oedipus that he is the one responsible for the death of King Laius, which causes Oedipus to immediately dismiss his words as a joke. Eventually, Oedipus starts making unreasonable claims, such as saying that Tiresias and Creon were working together to remove him from the throne. Instead of thinking to remember whether he had killed anyone who might have been King Laius in the past, he automatically assumes that this is not possible and that Tiresias is a blind fool. Thinking back to his earlier actions might have wielded results, however; shown in a later scene, Oedipus shows that he killed several men in a crossroad, one of whom (unknown to him at the time) was King Laius. This shows just how hasty Oedipus is, since he immediately dismissed Tiresias as a liar. The crossroad scene mentioned earlier also depicts Oedipus’ sense of justice very clearly. Since Oedipus though of the men at the crossroad robbers, it could be argued that his actions were in self defence, but even back then the punishment for stealing was mutilation several times before finally being executed. Oedipus killed them on the spot instead of wounding them and turning them in, which shows that he has a strong sense of justice and the will to deliver it