Similarities Between Antigone And Martin Luther King Jr

Civil disobedience is defined as the refusal to obey the demands or certain laws of a government/ occupying power. Without resorting to violence or active events of conflict, it is typically used in the form of a peaceful protest. Civil disobedience has been seen in historical context as a main approach and philosophy of nationalist movements in Africa, India, and also in the American civil rights movement. It can also be a useful tactic in labor, anti-war, and other social movements occurring in numerous countries around the world. In both Sophocles’ Antigone and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, the author describes two very different displays of civil disobedience. Antigone disobeyed “man’s law” and buried her brother. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the other hand, fought to change the law for the rights of a large group of people. For this reason, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s efforts were more admirable than the efforts of Antigone.

The conditionality of burying the dead shows that gods’ law is less sacred for Antigone than she claims to be. Neither does she care about her living families. She humiliates Ismene publicly, causing Creon’s death indirectly and set her uncle Creon in a dilemma where he needs to punish his daughter-in-law. Her real incentive is individual reputation, for she excludes Ismene from standing by her and asks Ismene to spread the news about her defiant act. She seems to use religion and family as elegant reasons to achieve honor. On the contrary, Creon, as a king, weights the interest of the overall state more than his own family. After experiencing the civil war caused by Polyneices, he understands the great need of the polis for order and thus enacts harsh laws to punish people causing riots. Unanimous obedience to law would also encourage his people to fight bravely in the war by being “loyal and dauntless at his comrades’s side”. Creon has to retain the validity and effectiveness of the law, because if every citizen can pursue any personal interest without fear for grave consequences, the entire social operation mechanism would break down. Punishing Antigone is necessary to retain the order of the polis.

Antigone ignores the idea of civic responsibility and puts her family first. Her family is more important to her than the law because she finds religion more powerful than Creon. “The ancient Greeks were polytheistic, they believed in many different gods and goddesses. The Greeks believed that these gods and goddesses controlled everything, from the waves in the ocean to the winner of a race.” (Richmond)

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

Creon?s regard for the laws of the city causes him to abandon all other beliefs. He feels that all should obey the laws set forth by him, even if other beliefs, moral, or religions, state otherwise. Antigone, on the other hand, holds the beliefs of the gods in high reverence. She feels that the laws of the gods should be obeyed above all others, especially when in respect to family. Her beliefs in ?The sacred laws that Heaven holds in honor? are for more important than those set by the king (Antigone 78). The king cannot, and should not in the gods? eyes, override her belief in the

Sometimes the law is not on our side and we have to choose whether to abide by the government’s rules, our religious beliefs or our personal morals. In Antigone, Antigone decides to disregard the law and do what she, and the vast majority of the people in the city, believe to be right. From the onset of the play, we are shown that Antigone does not fear authority and is wholeheartedly willing to die for her brother. Antigone says, “At least he is my

This play is ultimately concerned with one person defying another person and paying the price. Antigone went against the law of the land, set by the newly crowned King Creon. Antigone was passionate about doing right by her brother and burying him according to her religious beliefs even though Creon deemed him a traitor and ordered him to be left for the animals to devour. Creon was passionate about being king and making his mark from his new throne. Although they differed in their views, the passion Creon and Antigone shared for those opinions was the same, they were equally passionate about their opposing views. Creon would have found it very difficult to see that he had anything in common with Antigone however as he appears to be

Antigone and Dr.King have similar views on what they believe to be right or wrong, and both use the same principles to guide what their morality. Both fight for what they, themselves, believe is right. Their own perception of what is right matters more to them in shaping their decisions than what everyone else might believe to be right. They fight for what they believe in by breaking the law in order to do what is morally right. It is more important for them to follow their own ethical guidelines rather than what society dictates. To them it is not important if what they believe to be right is illegal. Antigone breaks the law to protect her brothers honor even though it is illegal because he committed an act of betrayal against the city. King promotes acting in civil disobedience against laws of segregation. They both break laws when they deem necessary but they also understand that although arbitrary, these laws still have punishments attached to them if broken. They act in strong moral character and do not deny

Antigone’s situation exposes a problem that has plagued societies to this day. The problem being religion and state. Religion and state is a very controversial topic and is quite difficult to navigate through. This philosophical issue raises moral dilemmas that can cause great divides among parties due to where the values of said parties lie. For example, an individual who was raised with nationalistic ideology that stressed the importance of being devoted to one 's country, rather than personal religious views would side with Creon. On the other hand, an individual who is god-fearing and puts their personal values above their country would not think twice about obeying divine laws and putting the laws of man aside. This is the mindset that Antigone possesses. Therefore, she is justified in her actions due to divine law reigning supreme. “ Nor did I think your edict had such that you a mere mortal could override the gods the great unwritten unshakable traditions”(Antigone 82). Antigone was honoring and being obedient to the decrees of the gods.

For instance, Antigone had many chances to obey the law or her own familial bonds. Antigone chooses to obey family, and bury Polynices even though burying breaks Creon's law. Antigone pleads to Ismene to help, when she says no, Antigone responds, “But as for me/ I will bury the brother I love” (Prologue. 192). Antigone is willing to break Creon's authority as a family means much more to her, this presents her as selfless. Along with breaking the law, Antigone also risks execution for that crime. Once Antigone learns of her punishment after Creon discovers her, she decides if burying her brother was worth it. After Creon warns Antigone again she says, “This death of mine/ is of no importance; but if I had left my brother/ lying in death unburied, I should have suffered. / Now I do not” (Scene II. 208). Antigone shows the courage that even death won't scare her from her goals. Antigone chooses family, even in the face of the capital punishment. Sophocles show Antigone as a lion-hearted being by denouncing Creon’s will and burying her brother. Through Antigone’s actions, Sophocles show how he favors family over authority.

The first parallel between the two characters is that they both chose to follow their moral codes over the actual laws. Antigone decided to follow her religious beliefs instead of Creon’s law stating her brother Ploynices was not allowed to be buried because he was a traitor. Antigone’s religion believes that in order for someone to go to the afterlife they need to be buried. This was made clear when she said “Nor did I think that your edict had such force that you, a mere mortal could override the gods” (Sophocles, 1117). This shows that she disagrees with the law because absolutely ignores her religious beliefs. Nora did a similar thing the law she broke is she forged her father signature to get a loan out so she could take her husband to

During his lifetime, Martin Luther king dared to not only dream about a better future but also fight for it. He was not afraid from having confrontations in order to promise a change. We can see his decisiveness when his arguments for stopping discrimination against black were not enough to change the situation. He decided to make a direct action in order to make society confront the issue.

Letter From Birmingham Jail is a famous letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King while he was in Birmingham Jail for protesting without a permit. He addressed the letter to several Southern clergymen who had called his activities “unwise and untimely,” along with many other complaints. One complaint that is especially highlighted in their letter to King is their criticism of King’s breaking of laws, such as the ones that prohibit him from access a protest permit. In Antigone, Creon sentences Antigone to death because she had buried her brother Polyneices, despite Creon’s orders against that action. Polynices had been declared a traitor to the state for his actions to disrupt the order of it, and was thus denied from receiving his last rites. In both Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King and Antigone, the concept of breaking unjust laws is one upon which heavy emphasis is put. Both King and Antigone believe that breaking unjust laws is a moral obligation that must be carried out by each individual, and that the penalty for breaking a law (even if it is unjust) must be accepted by the lawbreaker.

Ismene disagrees with her decision saying that “to act against the citizens is beyond her means” (p.194, lines 78-79) however Antigone justifies herself by declaring that she owes a longer allegiance to the dead than to the living. She continues to argue with Ismene, accusing her of cowardice, “the dead will hate you in all justice. I shall nothing so great as to stop me dying with honor.” (p.195, lines 94,96-97). Furthermore, in contrast with Antigone’s defiant feelings of religious duty, Creon views the laws of the state as the highest laws, and his actions are done for the benefit of society instead of for the gods. He believes that “the man that state has put in place must have obedient hearing to least command when it is right, and even when it’s not” (p. 215-216 lines 666-668) and illustrates this belief through his tyrannical abuse of power. The battle between these two beliefs fuels Antigone’s plot al the way through to he end of the play when Creon receives his punishment. Creon 's failure to respect the divine law leads to his family deserting him for death and he suffers from the ultimate punishment of guilt. These premises that Sophocles proposes in Antigone enable us to question the extent in which we value the ‘state laws’ over our moral integrity and the degree to which our moral duties and obligations are interconnected with the relationship between ourselves and our surrounding

The laws in our society can be an extremely controversial matter. Some people may feel that they are doing things that go against what they believe, but they are following the laws so it must be the “right” thing to do. You should always follow what you believe and if a law is unfair or wrong you should rise up against it. As the people under Creon’s in Antigone rule show us when you don't follow what you believe and try to abide by the wrongful laws that have been provided for you by man you live in fear. Antigone goes against the laws and she is proud of it. She is so proud that when Creon asked her if she did indeed bury her brother she gladly said yes. Antigone believes that the thing she did was in the gods will and she was pleasing them. She is doing what would please the gods no matter the consequences. In these next couple of paragraphs I will disguise why you should follow you beliefs, stand by your morals, and do what is right in the eyes of the gods, not man, or you will regret it.