Many people have a different definition of justice. In some fictional books the characters will show justice to other characters. In the story of Ooka and the Honest Thief the thief is given what he deserves. Another story where a character is just to another was the story of A Just Judge. One man that was just to another person was Mohandas Gandhi.
Ooka and the Honest Thief is a story about a man that lost his job and couldn't afford to buy food for his family. Every night he went out to the store and stole a handful of rice to feed his hungry children. The owner of the store went to the judge and asked him for help catching the thief. Over night the judge stayed in the rice store waiting for the crook to walk in. When the thief finally walked in, The judge recognized him, the thief was a man named Gonta. The judge asked him why he didn't steal a whole bag of rice instead of only a handful. Gonta told the judge that he would only take the amount of rice that his family needed. Gonta was later punished for his crimes but wasn't punished as much as he could have been if he wasn't honest. The judge understood that Gonta needed a job, so he gave him a job, but made him pay back the rice that he stole from the store owner. The judge's definition of justice may have been, that a man shall receive what he deserves a punishment or reward or sometimes both. Something to learn from this story is that grace should be shown to those that can change from their mistakes.
In the story of A Just Judge a king came to another town to see the wise judge there. While riding through the town he came upon a beggar that asked for a ride on the king's horse. Being a kind man, the king invited him to ride on the back of the horse. When the king got to the beggar's destination the beggar wouldn't get off the horse. The king told the man to get off the horse but the man screamed "this is my horse!" The two men were then taken to court. The judge there had a whole lot of people to deal with. When it got to the king and the beggar he took the horse and told them both to come back the next day. The next day the artless beggar was taken out to the horse stable and was asked to point to which horse was his. The beggar pointed to the correct one and so did the king. The judge noticed that the horse reacted differently to it's owner than to the beggar. A day later the beggar was punished, and the king was given his horse. The judge's definition of justice may have been that the innocent shall be rewarded and the evil doer shall be punished for his crime. A lesson that we can learn from this story is that we should look at all the little clues so that we can find out for sure who did the crime.
Mohandas Gandhi was different than all these fictional stories. His story really happened. After Britain took India in 1858 British people ruled over Indians. Many Indians became poor because of large taxes, and because Britain wouldn't let Indians trade goods with other countries. Very few Indians were allowed to become part of the government. The Indians tried to fight against the unjust British government. They tried to use violence to win their independence back but hundreds of people where killed and thousands injured. Mohandas Gandhi proposed a new technique called satyagraha. He said that they should not obey the British and burn their British clothing. He showed them how to spin cloth to make their own clothes. He showed them how to be independent. About 6 months after Indians were given back their independence Mohandas Gandhi was assassinated. Gandhi said "My life is my message" he also said that "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Mohandas Gandhi's definition of justice may have been that violence doesn't need to be used to carry out a punishment and that the innocent should not be punished. One thing we can learn from this story is that if there is a path that doesn't involve violence take it!
These stories are very helpful when trying to understand justice. The best definition may have been the just judge's. If someone did something wrong they shouldn't be treated like they are innocent they should be punished so that they can learn from their actions. The innocent shouldn't be put in jail, they should be rewarded for their actions. If the beggar had been given the horse and the king punished the results would have been very devastating. When we are punished for doing something wrong we should think of it as a reward, because almost every punishment teaches us a very valuable lesson.
Ooka and the Honest Thief is a story about a man that lost his job and couldn't afford to buy food for his family. Every night he went out to the store and stole a handful of rice to feed his hungry children. The owner of the store went to the judge and asked him for help catching the thief. Over night the judge stayed in the rice store waiting for the crook to walk in. When the thief finally walked in, The judge recognized him, the thief was a man named Gonta. The judge asked him why he didn't steal a whole bag of rice instead of only a handful. Gonta told the judge that he would only take the amount of rice that his family needed. Gonta was later punished for his crimes but wasn't punished as much as he could have been if he wasn't honest. The judge understood that Gonta needed a job, so he gave him a job, but made him pay back the rice that he stole from the store owner. The judge's definition of justice may have been, that a man shall receive what he deserves a punishment or reward or sometimes both. Something to learn from this story is that grace should be shown to those that can change from their mistakes.
In the story of A Just Judge a king came to another town to see the wise judge there. While riding through the town he came upon a beggar that asked for a ride on the king's horse. Being a kind man, the king invited him to ride on the back of the horse. When the king got to the beggar's destination the beggar wouldn't get off the horse. The king told the man to get off the horse but the man screamed "this is my horse!" The two men were then taken to court. The judge there had a whole lot of people to deal with. When it got to the king and the beggar he took the horse and told them both to come back the next day. The next day the artless beggar was taken out to the horse stable and was asked to point to which horse was his. The beggar pointed to the correct one and so did the king. The judge noticed that the horse reacted differently to it's owner than to the beggar. A day later the beggar was punished, and the king was given his horse. The judge's definition of justice may have been that the innocent shall be rewarded and the evil doer shall be punished for his crime. A lesson that we can learn from this story is that we should look at all the little clues so that we can find out for sure who did the crime.
Mohandas Gandhi was different than all these fictional stories. His story really happened. After Britain took India in 1858 British people ruled over Indians. Many Indians became poor because of large taxes, and because Britain wouldn't let Indians trade goods with other countries. Very few Indians were allowed to become part of the government. The Indians tried to fight against the unjust British government. They tried to use violence to win their independence back but hundreds of people where killed and thousands injured. Mohandas Gandhi proposed a new technique called satyagraha. He said that they should not obey the British and burn their British clothing. He showed them how to spin cloth to make their own clothes. He showed them how to be independent. About 6 months after Indians were given back their independence Mohandas Gandhi was assassinated. Gandhi said "My life is my message" he also said that "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Mohandas Gandhi's definition of justice may have been that violence doesn't need to be used to carry out a punishment and that the innocent should not be punished. One thing we can learn from this story is that if there is a path that doesn't involve violence take it!
These stories are very helpful when trying to understand justice. The best definition may have been the just judge's. If someone did something wrong they shouldn't be treated like they are innocent they should be punished so that they can learn from their actions. The innocent shouldn't be put in jail, they should be rewarded for their actions. If the beggar had been given the horse and the king punished the results would have been very devastating. When we are punished for doing something wrong we should think of it as a reward, because almost every punishment teaches us a very valuable lesson.
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