Although both Antigone, from “Antigone” by Sophocles, and Martin Luther King Jr. from “Letter From A Birmingham Jail” engage in acts of civil disobedience and fight for what they believe to be right, the way they go about these acts is quite different. Each of their reasons, actions, and consequences can be seen as opposites. Antigone refuses the help or involvement of others, which can be seen as a selfish act directly against the king while Martin Luther King Jr. involves the entire community to help the greater good. Antigone is a character who stands up for what she believes in to a point of direct civil disobedience toward the king, Creon. She puts the laws of the gods over the laws of her authority. For example, when she is talking to her sister about …show more content…
She needed to prove a point by herself and didn’t want anyone else involved. Antigone is a selfish character who only wants what is best for herself and doesn’t think about the repercussions of her actions and the effects that they will have on those around her. When Antigone decides to go ahead with her decision to burry her brother, she alone is engaging in an act of civil disobedience toward the king directly, but quite frankly she doesn’t care. Her character has little regard for powerful people especially when they have different views than her own. Antigone, as well as everyone in her kingdom, knows what the wishes of Creon are in regards to her brother, but going along with her characteristic of disrespect toward authority, she breaks the rules anyways knowing that there will be consequences for her actions. We can see this direct disobedience when Antigone says “nor did I think your proclamations had such strength” (38). This statement highlights her disregard for authority, her carelessness, and her inability to follow the rules set before
Antigone believed that divine law was higher than human law and that it was her duty to honor her brother’s corpse. Gandhi believed in equal rights for all people regardless of race or caste and fought for India’s independence using nonviolent means. Furthermore, both figures were willing to go against societal norms in pursuit of their goals. Antigone was a woman in a society where women were not expected to speak out or defy the king’s authority.
Both Antigone and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. can be viewed as rebels. Despite strict laws being enforced by their governing bodies, each chose to challenge authority in favor of their moral compasses. By objecting to the laws set in place, both Dr. Martin Luther King and Antigone fought for what they felt was truly right and just in each of their given situations. Although each character’s circumstances and actions seem to differ greatly, Dr. King would agree with Antigone’s choices to question authority in order to uphold mutual respect and honor for all individuals, as well as religious values, despite the laws set in place. Religious beliefs were Antigone’s driving force in opposing the law of Creon.
One could argue that Antigone did not act for the benefit of her society. She ignored Kreon’s proclamation that prohibited anybody from burying Antigone’s brother, Polyneices, challenging his authority, and was more focused on doing what she believed was right, burying her brother and giving him the proper burial rites, and relinquishing herself of any possible guilt for not doing so. However, one can further argue that, even though Antigone’s primary intention was to revere her brother, she did act for the benefit of her society, as she indirectly fought to preserve her society’s value of honoring the dead. Antigone does realize that she has the people’s support for her actions, as she says, “my action pleases all of them, if fear did not lock up their tongues” (Sophocles 40). The latter part of Antigone’s statement suggests that people do not reveal their disapproval of Kreon’s proclamation, due to his authority and power.
Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Antigone carry out civil disobedience in order to fight against laws that they believe are unjust. However, Antigone does this in a lone wolf way, taking direct action against the laws, while Martin Luther King on the other hand uses power in numbers and peaceful protests to achieve his ends. I sympathize with Martin Luther King Jr. because he is fighting for the good of all of humanity, and because the methods as to which he achieves his ends are more effective. Martin Luther King Jr. is fighting for more than himself.
He was an advocate of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience, which he believed were powerful tools to bring about social change. King believed in the power of peaceful protests, boycotts, and sit-ins to challenge unjust laws and practices. On the other hand, Antigone was a character who was willing to disobey the law to fulfill her moral obligations. Antigone was a strong-willed woman who believed in the importance of burying her brother Polyneices, even though King Creon had prohibited it. She was willing to face the consequences of her disobedience, including death, to honor her brother and do what she believed was right.
Correspondingly, Sophocles’ play Antigone demonstrates civil disobedience through the actions of one of the main character, Antigone. Antigone buries her brother Polyneices, which is against one of the law in Thebes. The law was just recently declared by Creon after the death of Antigone’s brother. Bree Newsome’s actions
Antigone was justifiable in her action to disobey the proclamation that Creon created. Creon is immoral in the condemned burial of Polynices. Antigone is moved by her religious perspective, family ties and passionate aspects to go against the law of the land that makes her actions just in what she did rather than unjust. The Gods’ law was more crucial than any mortals law. Antigone’s view on the gods being of a higher power made her decision non-defiant since she only broke a mortals law not the gods.
In the scene in which Creon will not allow her brother to be buried. This goes against her personal beliefs she confronts Creon when she says “if I had allowed my own mothers son to rot, an unburied corpse that would have been an agony.” Creon wouldn’t allow Antigone brother to be buried even tho Antigone felt it was the right thing to do. Antigone is talking to Ismene about burying her brother but Ismene tells her to keep the idea a secret but Antigone disagrees and says “But I know I’ll please the ones I’m duty bound to please.
When selecting a leader for any hierarchical position, the commonwealth put their confidence in someone who will put their society’s best interest first. Sometimes these leaders take their power too far and begin enacting regulations that oppress certain individuals. The oppressed occasionally find ways to retaliate against this injustice. In regards to this concept of civil disobedience, transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau once said, “Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them…or shall we transgress them at once?” Few people have elected to transgress these laws throughout the course of history.
Antigone is driven by her sense of duty and loyalty to her family, while Creon is motivated by his desire to maintain his authority and uphold the laws of the land. As a result, they fight over the issue of burying Antigone's brother, with Antigone insisting on burying him while Creon refuses to allow it. Sophocles achieves a deeper understanding of Antigone and Creon's characters by showing us their conversations with other characters. For example, Antigone's conversation with her sister, Ismene, highlights her determination and intense sense of duty.
When a person’s personal beliefs conflict with society they protest over those in power. In play Antigone Antigone protests creon by talking bad about him. In
Antigone enact this civil disobedience as a way of fighting and refusing to follow an unjust law made by and unjust King. The people of today can learn from Antigone. We the people today can take the courage and strength from Antigone and look the injustice in the eyes and fight back. We can take action like the Sons of Liberty and start a movement against the injustice and unruly laws. We can look to Antigone and partake in civil disobedience in order to make a movement to prompt change for the better in our world today.
When people defend what they believe in or who they love that is sacrifice. In order to be certain that her two brothers she loved had a proper burial and that their souls could rest, Antigone sacrificed her life. Regardless of the potential outcome; even if that means that she was going to have to challenge her uncle (King Creon), she plans on pursuing her quest. Polynices and Eteocles killed each other in battle for control over Thebes, leaving the city to the new King, Creon Jocasta’s brother and Antigone’s uncle. Because of the actions that Polynices took during the war, Creon labels him a traitor and halts any burial process, leaving his body for the animals (222-234).
Going against the law or ones ruler is justified when they violate one 's moral code or beliefs. The short play, Antigone, written in 441 B.C. by the
In the play Antigone by Sophocles, he demonstrates the many ways an unjust leader can overpower those who fight for what is right (Adams 1). In Antigone’s case, she fought for the just treatment of her brother in his afterlife and for giving him a proper burial. In her fight for justice, Antigone exhibits strong beliefs of fairness to her community regarding family, rights and morality in her battle against a seemingly unjust leader, Kreon. Sophocles’, in Antigone, displays the type of justice called fairness. He pulls the laws and unjust teachings of his time and puts them into a play for all to see and analyze.