There are those who seek the truth and those that choose to deny its existence. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Oedipus the King by Sophocles, various themes relating to truth are present; in particular, there is a focus on the overall theme of the rejection of the truth. Each piece of work deals with people rejecting the truth; the truth is clearly shown before them, but in each occurrence, the characters choose to discard it. Through themes of irony, ignorance and justice the overall theme of the rejection of truth is revealed.
             Irony helped each piece to establish the truth of what happens in the respective stories. In To Kill a Mockingbird, everyone in Maycomb, even the "most devout" Christians (Lee 232) expressed signs of racism towards the Black people. Both, the Bible and the law states that 'all men were equal' (205) however; it is peculiar to see that even in a law abiding and highly religious society, the most simplest of rules were completely ignored. It was this ironic perception that the townspeople possessed which eventually led to Tom's demise. Tom was sentenced to prison with the verdict of "guilty" (211); this verdict is ironic to the fact that the law is seeking the truth. Atticus proved that the evidence against Tom Robinson was invalid and that the witness' testimonies were in "serious question" (203), but the courtroom chose to reject this crucial fact. It was the court's duty to see that "all men were equal" (205). Paradoxically in the court itself, Tom was treated without a hint of fairness as the court rejected his plea of innocence. Much like in To Kill a Mockingbird, a touch of irony is used in Oedipus the King to reveal the overall theme. Oedipus was viewed as a truth seeker as he was on his quest to discover "the man whose death the god denounces" (Sophocles 102-03). However, it was ironic that this persistent truth seek...