In Sophocles' Electra the driving force of the plot is the idea of ​​obtaining justice outside of a formal justice system. The show shows how the search for justice can quickly turn into a revenge plot. Without any formal authority, cycles of violence develop rapidly as justice unfolds between rival factions. The thin line between justice and revenge is the one that the characters of “Electra” walk. Despite all the horrible actions that happen in the plot, all the characters feel that they are morally right. This leads to the question of how to best serve justice and who has the right to determine what that justice is. As a modern audience we must ask ourselves whether the outcome of the work conforms to what we would consider a fair system of justice. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The climactic event in the play's plot is a brutal home invasion that leads to a double murder. If we saw an event like this enacted on the news we would be horrified by the barbarity of such a vile act, but in the context of the play we must see it as a triumph for Electra and Orestes. The choir joyfully sings: “O seed of Atreus: you have suffered and freed yourself, you have aimed and struck; you won until the finish line” (2004-2008). If we want to believe that it is a joyful event then we must reconcile it with a set of circumstances that allow us to change our vision compared to the one we had in the news situation. The facts we have to work with in this case come in the form of information we receive in the show. Electra and Orestes clearly feel that they are justified in the murder of their mother and Aegisthus. The brothers believe that Clytemnestra and Aegisthus should be killed to avenge the death of their father, Agamemnon. Agamemnon's death occurred as a result of domestic violence involving an axe, another crime we would call heinous if we had read about it in the newspapers. If this information was all we had to work with, then we might be forced to admit that Clytemnestra and Aegisthus deserved to be punished, but there are other facts to consider. When Electra confronts her mother in front of their house, Clytemnestra tries to defend her actions against Agamemnon. Clytemnestra blames Agamemnon for the death of their third daughter, and rightly so. “For this your father, this one you mourn, this unique Greek, had the heart to sacrifice your sister to the gods” (707-710). Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter to save his fleet. Clytemnestra saw justice in Agamemnon's death just as Electra and Orestes had later seen justice in Clytemnestra's death. «Your father died because of me. From me! Right! I don't deny anything. It was Justice who took him, not me alone” (703-705). Clytemnestra is clearly right. If Electra is willing to kill Clytemnestra for the death of a father, then why wouldn't Clytemnestra be willing to kill Agamemnon for the death of a daughter? Or for that matter, why shouldn't Aegisthus' relatives feel justified if they wish to kill Orestes for his crimes? These shades of gray offered in the play reinforce the thesis that revenge versus justice constitutes the key theme of the play. As illustrated by the work of Sophocles, it is quickly apparent that attempts to achieve justice without formal guidelines or laws quickly degenerate into a self-sustaining cycle of death. If everyone who lost a family member to murder went out and perpetrated the same crime against the murderer, soon there would be no one left. This eye for an eye mentality is, 2001.