ipl-logo

Examples Of Civil Disobedience In Antigone

1005 Words5 Pages

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. This was an active representation of civil disobedience. The Sons of Liberty refused to follow these unjust laws and protested by dumping the tea into the harbor. The act of civil disobedience has three important parts to it in order for it to …show more content…

Creating change and prompting a change makes up the final part of what makes an act an act of civil disobedience and Antigone illustrates this. Antigone is able to create change in Creon. Antigone makes this change when Creon realizes his act was wrong and he would make it right. Creon says this “and I will set her free. Now I believe it is by the laws of heaven that man must live (Sophocles 156). Creon finally realizes that he was wrong and Antigone’s act made him realize this. Antigone was able to create change through her action, and thus making her act a civil disobedient …show more content…

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. Today we are all called to enact on our own civil disobedience when we are faced with injustice and unfair laws, we are called to make a stand and a declaration to stand up for what we believe

Show More
Related
756 Words | 4 Pages

On the night of December 16, 1773, Samuel Adams and other people from the Sons Of Liberty got on three ships in the Boston Harbor and threw tons of tea overboard. This was unjustified because it was destruction of private property. They didn’t own the ships, Britain did. They also betrayed the crown that was protecting them. Lastly, their protest was too harsh.

Read More
1113 Words | 5 Pages

Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. are both very important figures when it comes to discussing the topic of civil disobedience; both fought for what they believed to be right and against the injustice of the state. Antigone went against the edict of the king and buried her brother and Martin Luther King Jr. broke the law to try to end segregation and racism in America. Even though some similarities can be found between the two, ultimately they went about civil disobedience in very different ways. Antigone’s method was personal and selfish and she took an extremely defiant and rash stance while martin Luther King’s approach was more analytical and thought out. It is for these reasons that I believe King’s method was more successful and is the

Read More
1055 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
531 Words | 3 Pages

And because of this he is trying to show Haemon that he did the right thing. Creon is saying that if a man can do what is right and not let things get out of hand in his house he has the right to continue to rule the state. But if a man flaunts authority and lets things get out of control in his own home they have no right to lead, and he will never allow that to happen. So by doing this to Antigone he is keeping his house in order thereby keeping the state in order as well. Later we can see Creon using emotion as well to try to persuade Haemon that he did the right thing.

Read More
686 Words | 3 Pages

In Antigone, it is evident that both Creon and Antigone made mistakes in spite of the fact that they had right intentions. Creon attempts to uphold the law in order to maintain structure and be what he considers to be a just leader, however, Creon’s mindset remains too rigid and his actions don’t adapt in light of the circumstances. Antigone wants to stay loyal to her family and save her brother’s soul, yet she isolates herself and shows disrespect for the law. Creon does not allow Antigone any grace for her actions because he explicitly adheres to the laws of the city.

Read More
1163 Words | 5 Pages

The play initially begins with Antigone speaking with her sister, Ismene, about how she seeks assistance with a criminal act. Having her sister explain the faults in her plan, Antigone proceeded with the illegal burial of her brother. Civil disobedience is defined by “the refusal to comply with a law as a way of political protest”[2]. Antigone was protesting the political standpoint of the king with whom she believed to be wrong because he was not willing to comply with the rule of the gods. Civil disobedience will, for the majority of the time, lead to an uprising consisting of a relatively large number of people.

Read More
1786 Words | 8 Pages

In conclusion, Antigone’s action towards Creon‘s Laws corresponds to the four steps of nonviolent campaign that Martin Luther King used to protest in Birmingham. In case of Antigone, an unjust law was passed in the city that restricted her right as a woman to bury her dead brother. She noticed the presence of injustice when, one of her brothers was given a proper burial over the other, which contradicted to the laws of the gods, and decided to break the law by burying her brother. For Martin Luther king, a segregation laws was passed that restricted blacks in Birmingham to vote. King saw such laws as unjust and protested against it.

Read More
999 Words | 4 Pages

Antigone Essay When unjust laws exist, it is up to us for to decide if we are satisfied to be under such obedience or if we should either go beyond the bounds of moral principle if we find it to be a justifiable reason. Many, such as Henry David Thoreau, express that we should rather put our priorities in front and break an unjust law for it is the fault of an inequitable government who should provide for reform. If the law is unjust to such an extent, then we should go beyond and disobey that law. The boundaries of law should not be followed if it comes to the point if we wonder if we are treated as humans or subjects. We are loyal to the government, but if the government is not loyal to us, then we should take it as an leeway to break the law.

Read More
704 Words | 3 Pages

She dares to challenge the arrogant tyrant Creon by expressing her points bravely and furiously, trying to warn him that women do not always have the obligation to do what men command; she dares to protest the balance between duty and law, “…for it was not Zeus made such a law; such is not the Justice of the gods.” (Antigone), making her decisions in an equitable way and promise to find the real justice so as to give respect to her brother, Polyneices’ burial. Even though in the end Creon tries to give Antigone a lesson by putting her to prison, Antigone did not escape, for she understood that her action and pride would bring about these consequences, and she did not regret for doing this. In addition, we can also observe women power by seeing Creon’s words and behaviors. Creon’s hubris as a men affects how he thinks about women, he considered women as secondary creature.

Read More
1078 Words | 5 Pages

Everything that makes man's life worthwhile-family, work, education, a place to rear one's children and a place to rest one's head -all this depends on decisions of government; all can be swept away by a government which does not heed the demands of its people.” (Kennedy 379). Citizens must not only speak up; they must also be heard by their government as well. Creon enacted a law that he felt was just however, he did not listen to Antigone when she was explaining why she had broken that law. If Creon would have listened to Antigone and taken into consideration the reasons for her unlawful actions, he would have saved himself and his nation from the wrath of the

Read More
370 Words | 2 Pages

Those who engage in civil disobedience do so knowing that they may be punished for it. In Boston Harbor, a group of Massachusetts’s colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians board three British tea ships and dump 342 chests of tea into the harbor. The colonists’ main complaint was that they were not directly represented in the British Parliament. Therefore, any laws the British passed on taxing the colonists were illegal under the British Bill of Rights of 1689. Seemingly, this taxation without representation would render the laws unjust.

Read More
772 Words | 4 Pages

Creon is now faced with the decision to uphold the law or pardon his family. Despite Creon’s right decision to uphold the law, his family perishes at their own hand. Creon’s decision to punish Antigone is a right decision and is one that any good leader would make. He is not an evil man but one who is looking out for the state. While Creon is also looking for the respect of his countrymen, all those who disobey the law must pay

Read More
1353 Words | 6 Pages

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

Read More
1224 Words | 5 Pages

The search for justice is never ending. Justice may be delayed, denied, or postponed, however, the search is timeless. To be just is to argue for fair rights for all. It is to be someone that will help the people of the community. However, many times justice is not sought and not given to those who need it most.

Read More
765 Words | 4 Pages

Creon thinks that the people will think of him as a liar if he lets Antigone free. Ironically, the people want Antigone to be set free and honored. His hamartia, his fear of losing power, becomes so immense it corrupts him. He even declares that, “...The city is the king’s-that’s the law” (Antigone, Line 824). Little did he know that peripeteia will come rushing forward and make his life

Read More

More about Examples Of Civil Disobedience In Antigone

Related Topics

Open Document