Thrasymachus In The Republic

Analysis of Thrasymachus
Throughout "The Republic" there exist different characters that each holds a unique importance towards the development of certain philosophies, in this case, the meaning of "justice". Thrasymachus is such a character, which could be considered a cynic by some; he plays an imperative role in the quest for the meaning of justice in the first book of "The Republic". While Cephalus and his son Polemarchus are unsuccessful in providing Socrates with an adequate definition of justice, Thrasymachus presents himself annoyed with the dialogue between Socrates and Polemarchus, and furthermore demands an answer from Socrates in what he believes that justice is, instead of simply questioning the rhetoric of others. While Socrates
Thrasymachus believes that there are two types of people, the just and the unjust, the unjust being those who exploit and oppress others in their own benefit. Furthermore, Thrasymachus believes that the "just" are stupid or ignorant in their ways because of the fact that they play by the rules and ultimately amount to nothing. Thrasymachus metaphorically describes the just person that to be a butler or a maid, a position of inferiority when one doesn't have to choose to be that. Furthermore, Thrasymachus believes that no common good is shared by all, but only private good and that in a world where there isn't a common good, one should find your own private good and become well practiced in that good or skill. According to Thrasymachus, the just man leads a good life because he is fearful of the repercussions of his actions; While the unjust man is not fearful of these repercussions because he is stronger and more intelligent that the average person. These traits allow him to avoid social retaliation for his unjust actions and so the more unjust a man becomes, the stronger he becomes. And while Thrasymachus feels a bit of bitterness towards a tyrant or an oppressor he goes on to praise the tyrant, a man whom is unjust in such an impressive way.
How is it that Thrasymachus can be so eager to speak against justice, claiming that justice is for fools since the just life ultimately does not pay off compared to the unjust life, which is full of exploitation and oppression of the weak; But from his original argument, Thrasymachus describes justice as the advantage of the stronger party. This inconsistency reveals that even though Thrasymachus himself denies this in his speech, he himself does have an understanding of the common good that is shared in society of some underlying values or ideas of what justice is. Therefore, I as the reader, become to realize that even though Thrasymachus might portray himself as a wise and eloquent speaker, he is not as wise as he believes. From this inconsistency, Thrasymachus appears to be more concerned with the articulation in his rhetoric and the defeat of Socrates, than actually contributing to the discussion and actually finding the true meaning of