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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3 page paper considers the punishment given to Oedipus the King, and argues that whether or not he receives justice depends in large part on how the reader defines the concept, but that the punishment seems excessive and unfair. Bibliography lists 1 source.
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3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVPuniOR.rtf
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the story? This paper argues that whether or not he receives justice depends in large part on how the reader defines the concept, but that the punishment seems excessive and
unfair. Discussion The word "justice" doesnt occur anywhere in the play though the idea of crime and punishment is a strong theme throughout the work. The difficulty lies in the
fact that Oedipus is clearly guilty of the worst possible crimes: he has killed his father and married his mother. But he did so without knowing it, so in that
sense he is innocent. If we approach this from the point of view of 21st century legal proceedings, then its hard to see how he can be held responsible for
his actions. He was precipitous and perhaps even stupid when he killed the men at the crossroads, but we can see that quarrel as self defense. Oedipus is on
foot when he meets the king, who appears to be nothing but an old man with an escort of some sort. The man who was leading, as well as "the
old man himself wanted to thrust me / out of the road by force" (804-806). Oedipus grew angry and struck the man who was trying to push him out of
the way; at the same time, the "old man," who was watching carefully, "struck me from his carriage, / full on the head with his two pointed goad" (808-809). This
has now gone far beyond an argument; we can assume that when the old man hit him, he meant to injure or kill him. So when Oedipus turns and kills
them, especially since he is outnumbered five to one, we can see it not only as self-defense, but as a very brave act. In this scenario, Oedipus kills the old
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