Laws have maintained the order and stability of society from old days of ancient civilization to today’s contemporary society. As law-abiding citizens, we allow the laws to be enforced through punishments and consequences; however, when these laws threaten ethical values and justice, they are challenged in a non-violent method known as “civil disobedience.” In Sophocles’ Antigone, Antigone challenged the political authority of Creon in a defiant act that related the struggles between her duty as a citizen of Thebes and her loyalty to her family. In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” written by Martin Luther King, Jr., King protests racial injustices and systemic racism throughout the South and laments the need for civil disobedience to be used …show more content…
Antigone’s actions are motivated by her allegiance to her family, moral conscience, and religion amid Creon’s political injustice and tyranny. Antigone’s actions motivate her to demand Ismene to prove whether she is “a true sister or a traitor to your family” (26-27). Antigone maintains loyalty to her brother despite his actions which threatened Thebes. Her inability to bear the thought of her brother’s corpse being picked apart by animals and not being honored with proper funeral rites forces her to act. Antigone’s fierce allegiance to her family is laid bare as she is willing to sacrifice her life to honor her brother and defy the law in an act that she believes is morally just. Antigone’s beliefs proclaim that “Hades longs to see these laws fulfilled” to honor the burial of Polyneices corpse (Sophocles 519). She emphasizes her conviction that “it was not Zeus who made this proclamation” (Sophocles 450). Antigone has profound respect for the gods and the traditions of her people. Her actions are accomplished to pay homage to the Greek gods. She maintains that her actions are
The struggle for justice has been the motivating factor for various movements across time. From fictional characters like Antigone to famous figures like Martin Luther King, it is possible to see various differences between their approaches to the law and how to change it. In Antigone's dialogue with Creon and Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, the two characters share a variety of differences in their stances. Antigone’s dialogue with Creon focuses on religious law and how it is above mortal law while King’s letter focuses on changing mortal law without relying on religious law to dictate it.
If someone is caught breaking the law, that individual is subject to a punishment suitable to the crime. In Antigone and Persepolis, both Antigone and Marji break the law, but only one has the right to be pardoned from their actions. Even though both of these characters disobey their superiors, they are rebelling to resolve conflicts in each of their respective societies. Individually, they take on the society in which they live, whether it be Antigone versus Thebes and the king Creon or Marji versus the country of Iran and the rulers of the Islamic Revolution. Despite Antigone’s disobedience to Creon and his laws, she should be pardoned from her actions whereas Marji should face a punishment for her rebel against the rulers of the Islamic
Civil disobedience is a very strong term used to describe situations in which people are standing up for what they believe in and going against authority. When the word disobedience is used, it is automatically thought of as a negative scenario. Not all civil disobedience situations are bad. For example, in Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone shows civil disobedience when she stands up to Creon so her brother can have a proper burial. From Creon’s view, Antigone was being extremely disobedient to him, but from Antigone and the town’s view, Antigone was standing up for what she believed in and knew was right.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” If Martin Luther King Jr. and countless others had not protested during the Civil Right movement there would still be segregation and inequality. Without a doubt, there are times when it is justifiable to break a law in a democratic society. If rights are being denied, if the majority feel it is an unjust law, or even if the minorities (being that they are experts on the subject) feel it is wrong as well. Despite the social contract, it’s a citizen’s responsibility to go against the government at times.
Would you follow a law if it serves no purpose to you or others? or if you felt that it was wrong to a certain group or ethnicity? Many people know the story Antigone by Sophocles, a kingdom set in ruins as two brothers end up killing each other over a land given to them by their father. As said in lines 165-175 Creon states “Polyneices, I say, is to have no burial: no man is to touch him or the least prayer for him; he shall lie on the plain, unburied.” Being as how both brothers fought fighting for their beliefs they should both get a proper military honored burial as believed by their sister Antigone.
Throughout history, civil disobedience has helped societies grow and accept social reforms. The case of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, is an important formal written statement for the need of social change. Civil disobedience has been a useful leveraging tactic in ways to draw attention to the perceived injustice. It has had huge impacts on societies in ways to create tension that
In the play Antigone, Sophocles demonstrates the conflict between family and God through the characters of Antigone, Ismene and Creon. Antigone being ambitious and strong willed throughout the play, fights for his brothers honor and proper burial while Ismene on the other hand, is more timid fears the consequences that may occur if the laws are broken. For Creon he is the King and holds most power, until the Gods feel he is incapable. Antigone, Ismene and Creon all use logical and emotional appeals to achieve a compromise to either bury Polynices or not.
Civil Disobedience Martin Luther King once stated in "The Letter from Birmingham Jail", "Any individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment to arouse the conscience of the community over it injustice is in reality, expressing the highest respect for the law" (King 411). King meant that, if anyone feels a law is unjust and needed to expose its injustice, should willingly accept any penalty that comes in their way to help arouse people 's conscience in changing that law. In “The Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King explains the four powerful steps of the nonviolent campaign he used to protest against racial injustice for African-Americans
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.
She has a heroic and courageous personality. Throughout her quest to bury Polyneices, Antigone encounters many hindrances along the way. The death of her father Oedipus led to her greatest disputant being given power, her Uncle Creon. He would show her no mercy for breaking his laws, until it is too late. Even when her sister Ismene states “Our own death would be if we should go against Creon And do what he has forbidden!
As Antigone said when Creon asked her if she has heard of his edict, “It was public. Could I help hearing it?” (708). This tells us that Antigone knew that what she was doing was illegal and yet she still chose to bury Polyneices no matter the consequences for her. On the other hand, you could say that even though Antigone knew what she was doing was wrong, she did it because she knew that it was the right thing to do.
51 It’s a cold December day in 1773 as the Sons of Liberty prepare make history. The Sons of Liberty march up the docks of Boston to make the ultimate act of defiance against the newly established laws and taxes implemented by the tyrannous British. The British sought to tighten their tyrannical control on the colonies with unfair laws and taxes, however the Sons of Liberty weren't so willing to be forced to follow these limitations. In revenge, they dumped 92,000 pounds of British tea into the ocean.
The sisters are not the only ones that must face such choices, Creon’s son, Haemon, is in a dangerous position by fighting for Antigone and betraying his father's wishes. Antigone is a strong character that fights for what she believes in. She is not a person who is
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).
The drama Antigone places the culture of Greece on display by showcasing the many values that this culture held in reverence, including remaining loyal to family, honoring the dead, and honoring the gods. In Sophocles’ renowned drama entitled Antigone, one of the main values that Antigone chooses to honor is loyalty to family, even when that means that she has to forgo loyalty to her city and community. Even though her uncle the king, Kreon, forbade anyone to bury Polyneikes’ body because he had been on the opposing side in the battle, Antigone felt a duty to her brother to bury him. When speaking with her sister, Antigone says that Kreon’s command “…threatens our loved ones / as if they were our enemies” (Antigone 14-15).