Civil Disobedience In Sophocles 'Antigone'

During the Civil Rights movement, civil disobedience was often practiced because it was the only non-violent, yet effective way to protest against unjust laws. Rosa Parks gave momentum to the Civil Rights movement on December 1, 1955, by defying the segregation laws and remained seated when she was told to give up her seat for a white man on the public city bus. In the fictional play Antigone written by Sophocles in 441 B.C., the character Antigone rebels against the King Creon’s unjust law in a non-violent way similar to Rosa Parks’ courageous act. The heroic act of civil disobedience echoes around the world, but specifically Rosa Parks and Antigone’s acts of civil disobedience have set an example for others to stand up for what's right and

Antigone had conviction that she needed to obey the laws of the gods because they were of higher power, rather than obey King Creon’s decree of leaving her brother, Polyneices, without burial rights. In the Greek world, A dead person’s soul would never rest without proper burial rites. Antigone felt that it was the will of the gods for Polyneices to be buried and would rather obey the laws of the gods and bury her brother’s corpse rather than the laws of a man. Antigone is fearless, and she tells king Creon that she buried Polyneices without remorse for disobeying his law: “I did not think anything which you proclaimed strong enough to let a mortal override the gods and their unwritten and unchanging laws”(Sophocles 272). Antigone knew that she would be put to death if she buried Polyneices but she would rather die doing the right thing, rather than living and being surrounded with evil. Likewise, Rosa Parks believed that God was not pleased with racism and segregation. Rosa Parks thanks God that she was able to hold her ground and said, “I was fortunate God provided me with the strength I needed at the precise time conditions were ripe for change. I am thankful for Him every day that he gave me the strength not to move”(Hare 1). Rosa Parks was quiet and respectful to others, and she expected the same kind of respect in return. Not only did she stand up for herself by not moving out of her seat, she was standing up for equality and fairness for all African Americans. Rosa Parks and Antigone are very similar in the way that they both have the desire to please a higher authority. Rosa Parks and Antigone both challenged the laws with civil disobedience, and both of them succeeded in changing the