Similarities And Differences Between Antigone And Martin Luther King

Antigone believes that the laws of the gods should supersede the laws of men. Personally, she feels that the consequences of disobeying Creon’s law are inferior to the consequences of disobeying these higher laws. Morality is of greater importance to Antigone than her life, and ironically enough, in the conclusion of Antigone she is sentenced to her death for her transgressions against the law. Consistently throughout the play, Antigone struggles to understand how one could value the laws of men more than the laws of the gods. “How savagely impious men use me, for keeping a law that is holy” (942-943, Sophocles). Rather than succumbing to a law that she knows is not just, Antigone demonstrates kleos by being steadfast in her morality.

In Sophocles’ piece, King Kreon prohibited the burial of Polynices, Antigone’s brother, because he was seen as a traitor to his country. Antigone blatantly disobeyed King Kreon’s proclamation because she thought that Polynices ought to be buried not only because he was blood- family, but because the gods law states that burial is a necessary ceremony. Her sister, Ismene, tried to warn her of the trouble she could find herself in, if King Kreon finds out that it was Antigone who had buried her brother, the traitor. (Blondell, 21). In addition, Antigone does not hesitate to admit to this illegal deed when the guards catch her in the act (Blondell, 37,38). While she acted out of respect for her brother and the gods, it was selfish in the fact that she was only thinking of herself. She did not hesitate to disregard King Kreon’s law and did not take any factor into consideration. Antigone accepted that her life was the price to pay for her civil disobedience, but her actions also, unintentionally, led to the death of two other people. Although, in the end, King Kreon sees that Antigone was right, the reason for which she had fought, and ultimately lost her life for, had no significant positive effect on anyone else.

“If the machine of government is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law,”1 are words once written by Henry David Thoreau. What makes a law unjust is when a code that a majority group compels a minority group to obey, and the law does not affect the majority group.2 Antigone, the protagonist in Sophocles’ book Antigone, and Martin Luther King Jr. are very similar in there approaches to dealing with unjust laws; utilizing forms of civil disobedience, sharing the same values of the Good Life: being the value of family, respect for others, and the belief of self-empowerment. However, there’s a large discrepancy between the two; Martin Luther King Jr. opposed an unjust law that directly

As described by Ancient History Encyclopedia, Eusebia encompassed the duties of citizens to themselves, each other, and the gods, forming the role a person played in their community. By refusing to honor the dead, one would be considered irreligious. Therefore, by burying Polynices’ body, Antigone believes that she is fulfilling her duty as his surviving family and as a pious person.

Antigone’s motivation is love for her family- she puts it above all else. In fact, she is willing to sacrifice her life to defend that love. Antigone goes to great lengths to bury her deceased brother, who according to an edict issued by King Creon, died in dishonor, consequently making it illegal for anyone to bury his body. Through her actions to comply with her motivations, it is revealed that Antigone’s actions are also fueled by her strong beliefs that, first, the gods’ laws

Her intent was not to cause chaos. Her intent was not to disrespect Creon. She knew the only way her brother could receive respectful passage to an afterlife was if he received proper burial. Her religious beliefs and strong love did not allow her to remain passive and not act to help her brother. Antigone’s moral standards obligated her to betray her country in order to help her brother. For these reasons, Antigone was justified in breaking the law and betraying her country.

There may be many things for which a person is willing to fight. Nonetheless, there are very few for which a person will lay down their life. Freedom, justice, peace, and love are just some issues that most place a great value on. So, how far must we go to achieve these ideals that we so greatly crave in our world today? Some believe that passive action is the best and most moral way to achieve desired results, while others insist that forceful action quickly leads to a superior outcome. For instance, Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. each fought against different injustices by utilizing nonviolent, but direct action. The two greatly felt the need for change, accepted the responsibility of their endeavors, and sacrificed their lives

In Sophocles’ Antigone and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Antigone and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used resistance against powerful leaders to follow their morals and make a statement. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s approach towards the reconstruction of society’s cultural understanding of segregation used civil disobedience in a more public and large-scale approach, whereas Antigone’s use of civil disobedience defied the law in a much more private, small-scale way to do what she believed what was right. Compared to Antigone, Dr. King’s approach was more strategic and planned out. In addition to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s advocacy for equal treatment and Antigone’s dedication to obey the gods, they used

Antigone and Dr. Martin Luther king demonstrate that breaking laws that are unjust can be a good thing by bringing reform. Their nonviolent approach of civil disobedience till this day leave an impact on how we go about social injustice. Through their actions and words, both Antigone, and Dr. Martin Luther king demonstrate that they are not afraid to die for their beliefs and inspire us to take a passive approach towards the social injustices we are faced by in our community. I sympathize more with Dr. Martin Luther King because I believe that he took a more logical approach in stopping social injustice, as well as the fact that he is willing to put his life on the line for a whole community of people, in contrast to Antigone who is willing to die for solely her brother.

The story of Antigone deals with Antigone’s brother who’s body has been left unburied because of crimes against the state. The sight of her brother being unburied drives Antigone to take action against the state and bury her brother regardless of the consequences. The concept of the Greek afterlife was far more important and sacred than living life itself. Everything they did while they were alive was to please the many gods they worshipped. They built temples for their Gods, made statues to symbolize their Gods, and had a different God to explain things that we now say are an act of mother nature. Antigone percieved her actions to be courageous and valid, and Kreone, the King, percieved them as blasphemous. The entire story focuses on

Like Creon, Antigone also never falters in standing up for what she believes in. Although Creon fights for stubborn pride, Antigone is trying to promote what is right and shows her higher reverence for God’s law rather than for Creon’s laws. In the eyes of the townspeople, Chorus, Choragos, and Haimon, Antigone is sacrificing herself to give her brother Polyneices the rightful honors due to the dead. Many side with this brave, honorable girl because she would rather suffer persecution and even death rather than give into Creon’s illogical demands. In the play, the chorus says about her, “You have made your choice, Your death is the doing of your conscious hand”. Antigone knew of the consequences before she acted and in doing so she chose her fate. At the time, she pleaded her sister Ismene to help her bury Polyneices but was rejected. Despite being alone in trying to rebel and perhaps she may have been afraid, Antigone goes out of her way and puts her life on the line to bring her brother respect.

     Antigone's decision to bury her brother caused harm to many people. First, she tried to convince her sister Ismene to help her. She did this by trying to make Ismene feel guilty if she did not; stating it was Ismene's brother too. She says after Ismene tells her she is on a hopeless quest "If you say so, you will make me hate you and the hatred of the dead, by all rights, will haunt you day and night."(Act I: Scene I: Line 57) This threat brings Antigone farther apart from the only living family member that she has left. She has her mind set so much on burying her brother that she will stop at nothing, not even threatening her opposing sister to do it. Since Ismene has been through the same

In Antigone, Antigone’s actions are spurred by love and loyalty towards her brother, Polyneices. When her brother’s corpse is left to rot without a proper burial, Antigone takes it upon herself to bury her brother against the threat of death penalty administered by Creon who had assumed the throne of her land. Antigone is the paradigm of piety by showing unwavering loyalty to her brother even in the face of death. “I shall never be found his traitor” (Sophocles 22). The word “traitor” implies that Antigone sees inaction as a betrayal to her brother. She feels obligated to bury his corpse even though her brother and her parents are unable to pass judgement upon her.

*Throughout the play Antigone showed great loyalty to the gods, she followed what the gods believed was right and did her best to please them. During an argument between Antigone and Ismene about burying Polyneices Antigone replies to Ismene's refusal to help by saying, “You may do as you like, Since apparently, the laws of the gods mean nothing to you.” (192) Antigone is implying that the gods agree Polyneices should be buried and that it's their job to carry out the burial. She is taking the desire of the gods and trying to please them, ignoring what is in her mind the lesser power, the laws of the town. Teiresias, the local prophet, a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God who is never wrong comes to speak to Creon. He says, “Give in to the dead man, then: do not fight with a corpse.” “It is for your own good that I speak as I do. You should

Antigone defended her religion and personal beliefs by burying her brother. Since the king made a law against burying her brother because he is seen as a traitor, even though the throne was rightfully his and he was getting what he was entitled to, she decided to bury him to follow religion. Her religion states that someone needs to be buried to pass into the afterlife and if that person is not buried they cannot pass over and the family is faced with