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Examples Of Civil Disobedience In Antigone

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The play Antigone, written by Sophocles in 441 BC, showcases contrasting ways humans believe they should live their lives. Just like in our lives, personal beliefs affect us and others around us. Not everyone agrees on what the excpetional precepts should be based on. Antigone expresses opposing virtues among characters. Sophocles illustrates the impact of a superior belief in civil obedience, in the Greek gods, and a persons’ loyalty to their family and ancestry. In the end, only one opinion of authority and power is decided morally correct. The significance of civil obedience is a reoccuring theme in the play. Headstrong rulers and impetuous subjects support it. The main conflict revolves around the questions of natural laws versus human …show more content…

A few characters, like Antigone, believe this from the start. Conversely, it takes another character, Creon, a great loss to come to this realization. The root behind the story of the play is Antigone’s yearning to tribute her family. Both of her dear brothers are killed and only one gets a proper burial. How is Antigone supposed to be okay with this? She isn’t. So, Antigone goes against civil law and authority to give her brother the appreciation he deserves. When she is caught by the sentry and Creon, she does not contest her conduct. At first, both Antigone and Ismene are accused of the burial and both set to be punished. Antigone takes all of the blame and does not let her sister suffer from her choices. Creon gives Antigone multiple opportunities to excuse herself through familial bonds but she refuses. She accepts the chastisement because she is proud of her dedication to her family. She exclaims: “But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down” (Prologue.55-56). Family is more important than everything, even more important than law. Antigone risks her life just to give her brother an honorable burial. She stresses the importance of familial bonds until her death. Creon comes to this realization once his actions cause his family to be taken from him. His son and wife die and he is nothing but crushed and remorseful for being so harsh to Antigone. Creon recognizes that he is nothing without his devotion to his

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1065 Words | 5 Pages

After her brother’s death, Antigone wanted to bury his body since no matter what her brother had done, he was still her brother. However, if she did bury him, it would be breaking the law King Creon had set up. Ismene kept telling and trying to persuade Antigone not to bury him but Antigone calmly tells her, “I will bury the brother I love. (Prologue, 69)” Even though Ismene told Antigone about the consequences of her planned action, Antigone was completely fine with

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782 Words | 4 Pages

In addition, Antigone has her own struggle, faceing her uncle King Creon, by herself. Moreover, Antigone was declared the death penalty, on behalf of giving her brother funeral honors. This is a very unruly move, because her brother is considered a traitor to the king and people, which ultimately means he shall not be buried. However, it shows King Creon that Antigone would do anything to modify the law, as well as taking her own life, just so her brother has a proper funeral. To emphasize, Antigone responds to King Creon, “ If I die young, I say I’d gain something” (Sophocles 20).

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883 Words | 4 Pages

For example, when she puts aside her grave fear of consequence to traverse the bridge. Antigone is overwhelmed by her own stubbornness, which leads to a tragic situation. Antigone refuses to compromise with her sister, Ismene, whom when she first learns of her brother's death. Antigone's unrepressed emotions gives a voice of dissatisfaction with Creon’s. Ever since Antigone gets herself in that situation facing Creon’s wrath, but still she doesn’t make a decision on how to bury her brother.

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761 Words | 4 Pages

Antigone defies King Creon’s law and buries her brother as a way to help his soul find peace, while invoking divine law as a defense for her actions. A soldier catches Antigone in the act, but she does not attempt an escape or deny what she is doing. Instead, she simply accepts her punishment. Consequently, she is condemned to die. On another note, Antigone being female is a large factor in the story.

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1073 Words | 5 Pages

To her the law being unjust is not right, and she will disobey it even if that means she has to risk her life. The main way she does this is by burying her brother. Polynices was her brother, and even though he is told he should not have a proper burial and rot forever, Antigone disagrees. She needs to bury him. She believes it is her right to do so, she was “I wasn’t born to hate with the other, but to love both together” (Sophocles.

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1104 Words | 5 Pages

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!

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1042 Words | 5 Pages

Antigone tries to persuade her sister by saying “ There it is, and now you can prove what you are, A true sister, or a traitor to your family” (Sophocles et al 190). Antigone tries get her sister to help her by telling her she has to make a choice between her family or let fear get in the way. Technically saying you’re with us or against us. Antigone knows that her sister Ismene will rethink her decision and take part in the burial. Antigone not only said that Ismene would be

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686 Words | 3 Pages

Antigone is the strong-willed and stubborn daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. Her argument is in opposition to her uncle, King Creon. Antigone is propelled by grief to unlawfully bury her brother. She argues that "I shall suffer nothing so great as to stop me dying with honor" (96-97). In her view, she believes that not burying her brother, dishonors both herself and her brother.

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406 Words | 2 Pages

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.

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1773 Words | 8 Pages

Antigone believed that it was her moral duty to give her brother a proper burial, despite the king's decree prohibiting it. This conflict is evident in Antigone's dialogue with her sister Ismene: "Ismene, I am going to bury him. Will you come?" (Antigone, 86) " But how can I?

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796 Words | 4 Pages

By dying with her brother, Antigone feels like she would be more content than living on her own knowing that her brother is not being respected in his death. Similarly in Anouilh’s version of the play, Creon shows that his actions and his decisions are motivated by family loyalty as well. Creon attempts to save Antigone’s life from his own capital punishment since she is family to him. During Antigone’s imprisonment, Creon speaks with her,

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552 Words | 3 Pages

In the play "Antigone" by Sophocles, Antigone rightfully decides to bury her brother, Polynices, but when the king, Creon, finds out, she does not repent for her actions. She is a woman that stands for what she thinks is right, which in this case is that Creon is wrong for condemning the burial of her brother. She shows braveness with her actions because not all people have the courage to risk their own lives so that their brother can rest in peace. For instance, Ismene states "What? You 'd bury him – when a law forbids the city?"

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1353 Words | 6 Pages

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.

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759 Words | 4 Pages

In Antigone, there was two brothers who shared being the King and one of the brothers, Polynices, wanted to start a war with the kingdom because he wanted to be the main ruler. Polynices and his brother Eteocles fight and they both end up killing each other. Their Uncle Creon, who takes position as King when they are both killed, decides that only Eteocles will have a proper burial and Polynices will be left to rot. Antigone, Polynices and Eteocles sister, thinks that Creon’s decision is unfair and takes upon herself to give Polynices a proper burial. When their other sister Ismene finds out, she is stuck between helping her sister bury their brother and following Creon’s demands.

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1113 Words | 5 Pages

She was outraged when she found out that her brother Polyneices was going to be left to rot and be eaten by animals, because he was a traitor to the city. Antigone believed that her brother deserved a proper burial even though he tried going against the city unlike her other brother Eteocles. She asks Ismene (her sister) to join her in this act of rebellion but Ismene does not want to get in trouble for going against her kings orders so Antigone does it on her own. Creon feels disrespected and punishes Antigone for not following his rules. He seals Antigone while she is alive, inside a tomb.

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