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Oedipus the King by Sophocles: Was the Punishment Justified?

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Oedipus the King by Sophocles: Was the Punishment Justified?
Oedipus the king is a play written by Sophocles in year/century(?) The play portrays the reign of Oedipus the King ending in his final demise after he unknowingly kills his father. Oedipus is punished for his crimes by stripping him of his kingdom and banishing him from it. Oedipus out of his own guilt and loss of pride also punishes himself by gouging out his own eyes. The point of this essay is to discuss if the punishment was justifiable. By stating out the pros and cons of the punishment.

cons and pros of the punishment will justify the punishment.
Then put thesis statemtnt…
.
Oedipus’ crown did not put him above his royal decree of banishment for murder.
Is was the punishment justifiable given the crime? Try to put this in a statement

Nature of crime and punishment: mitigating circumstances
Punishement was banishment….. Oedipus personal punishment driven by guilt was to gouge out his eyes.
Is his own guilt punishment enough?

In the play Oedipus goes on a search to get rid of the plague, he then figures out some news that was not good. Without listening to the prophecies Tiresas warned him about. Oedipus is the killer he then takes his oath but adds a physical pain that would not let him see for the rest of his life+JOIN THESE THEY ARE ABOUT THE SAME THING! +The basic reason for Oedipus to search for Laius’ killer. To put a stop to the horrific plague, the plague would come to an end when the murderer is dead or drive out of the land( 270-285). When
Oedipus finds out he is the murderer of Laius the oath he made about the banishment was the only
Option? PRO why should Oedipus crown put him above his decree.

Oedipus’ punishment, of anger he then stabs his eyes repeatedly with Jocasta’s (wife/mother) dress pins WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT this was his free will ? Trying to escape all the horror he faced. He will no longer see the faces of his children or his subject in the kingdom. Oedipus’ punishment was stabbing out his eyes actually his punishment or was it due to his internal struggles? that he did was not the only one he did, I think Oedipus intended to do some physical damage to himself. The pain of the punishment he did was to prove that he was finished with what he had seen and how is done with everything. Oedipus then took his pride and power and blinded himself for finding the truth that he was the murderer of king Laius. Part of your conclusion or discussion may a better place for it!
Pride was Oedipus’ life. The events that had happened which led to his becoming of the king. He continues on this way of life and Oedipus becomes more powerful and his pride grows. Oedipus does not stop at anything. He figures out that not only he killed his father; he slept with his own mother. He gets stripped out of his pride. He has been crushed, that it drives him to physical pain.

What is Oedipus being punished for? Maybe for killing Laius; how could someone get punished for being a victim to the prophecies? (FREE WILL? FATALIST? This could be an argument for con. Mitigating circumstances) Oedipus knows that the actions were not his choice but the gods had the choice to make for him “My god, my god-what have you planned to do to me?” effectively just elimates free will… so was his blinding himself an act of free will? Or was it part of his destiny as laid out by the gods?(814) this quote did show that Oedipus knew he had no choice in the actions. He knew being punished was the best for his kingdom to save his subjects.

Conclusion
• Repeat the thesis statement: nature of crime punishment
2 or 3 brief sentences concerning the arguments
Closing statement concerning the arguesments and what the answer to thesis question/statements is

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