Your theme is: Law & Order vs. Individual Morality
Most people know to follow the law and that opposing it can leave you without many options, and in jail. However, the choice between following the laws set in place by those in authority and doing as your conscience dictates is still a prominent issue today. With so many new bills being made into law, it’s no wonder that people take issue with some; the choice between following the laws and acting in a way that you see fit is something we must confront each day. In the ancient Greek play Antigone, Sophocles explores this theme through the distressing experiences of the character Antigone as she tries to bury her brother Polyneices, against the will of King Creon. This theme is explored in a similar way
…show more content…
The play includes many instances where we can see Individual Morality being favored over Law & Order. This can be seen in the lines spoken by Antigone against Creon “I disobeyed because the law was not / The law of Zeus nor the law ordained / By Justice” (Sophocles, pg. 29). Antigone asserts that Creon’s law is neither justice by human standards nor of the divine, thereby justifying her insubordination and intentions for Polyneices. After Antigone buried her brother, she was captured by Creon and said “Polyneices, / When I did the same for you, when I did / What people know in their hearts of hearts / Was right, I was doomed for it” (Sophocles, pg. 54). Antigone exclaims that what she did was noble and virtuous, and that she already knew her fate when she decided to honor Polyneices. Sophocles alludes to the fact that she was resigned to her inevitable fate at the hands of Creon’s law. Jointly, these lines show that when choosing Individual Morality over Law & Order, you must be ready to face the