Similarities Between Martin Luther King And Antigone

Both were oppressed by laws that they had no control over, and both fought against those laws with the reasoning that morality is more important than the words of men. Rather than obeying Creon’s decree, Antigone chose to display the respect she had for her brother. King placed his political and social goals for equality in America over his personal safety. Consequently, both Antigone and King paid the ultimate price for their actions and beliefs—with their lives. While Antigone’s motive for breaking the law was more personal, and King’s was more politically inclined, the ideas they shared in regards to the morality of breaking such laws were similar: a morally unjust law is not truly a law at

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.

Sophocles’ “Antigone” and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” are two works of literature addressing the concept of nonviolent civil disobedience. “Antigone” is the story of a young woman, who the play is named after, who buries her brother against the law, as he was a traitor. She was then incarcerated and sentenced to death by the king of Thebes and her uncle, Creon. “Letter From a Birmingham Jail”, as the name implies, was written while King was arrested in Birmingham for leading a public demonstration. The letter is a response to another letter sent by a group of white clergymen criticizing his work, and to a broader extent, is addressed to the church and those who are complacent in the segregation occurring during

To understand King’s views on nonviolent protest, I will start by summarizing some of the main points in his “Letter from Birmingham jail”. In spite of the fact that the "Letter” is verifiably worried with justice all through, King likewise addresses the question specifically at a few focuses. In actuality, he places that justice maintains the poise of the human soul, while injustice conflicts with it. By talking about this idea by and large, he builds up criteria by which to obscurely assault both segregation and silence it. He at last suggests that the man who sees injustice and does nothing to stop it is acting unjustly also. Taking after this thought, he contends that laws must be permeated with an ethical sense so as to be just; as such, law and morality can not be viewed as independent interests or areas. The best way to really enact change and help humankind rise above its confinements is to act with as well as grasp “extremism”. According to Mott, “That this action had been termed “extreme” King admits “initially disappointed” him.” But King decides that if loyalty to good principles

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a key figure in the civil rights movements that took place in the 1950s and 1960s. The “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is an open letter written by King defending nonviolent resistance against racism. The letter argued that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust and unethical laws. The letter also stresses themes of unity among brothers in order to overcome racism. I will argue in support of King’s stance that citizens are morally justified in breaking unjust laws and that openly and responsibly opposing unjust laws is itself a duty of every citizen.

As a result of racist laws that forced blacks to be segregated and refused them their right to peacefully protest, Birmingham, Alabama in the 1960’s, was considered the most racist part of the United States and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked towards removing segregation laws from being enforced. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. publicly addressed the issue of racism on a religious, political, and social aspect by addressing his letter to the clergymen, disobeying the law through nonviolent civil disobedience, and expressing disappointment when he did not receive support from the white moderate, respectively. Advocating against the extreme racial injustice in Birmingham, Dr. King’s support of St. Augustine’s belief that “an unjust law is no law at all” caused a controversial debate across the country over who has the authority to decide which laws should be disobeyed (King 3). Although Dr. King addressed his letter to the white clergymen, his target audience was to the entire white moderate of the country whom he hoped would help him gain support in order to change unjust laws that promote segregation and refuse citizens of their First Amendment rights to a peaceful protest (King 4). Dr. King was looking for support from other members of society in order to create an effective change in society’s ethics. Moreover, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s large audience and public movement used nonviolent

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

Martin Luther King Jr and Antigone were two people who used a nonviolent resistance technique to stand up for a cause they believed in. The technique they used is called Civil disobedience which is the refusal to comply with certain laws in a peaceful, non-aggressive protest. Both Martin Luther King Jr and Antigone were seeking justice for a cause without having to become physically violent with the opposing party. It took strength to go against their oppressors but they were willing to make self-less sacrifices. Martin Luther King Jr and Antigone provides many examples of how they used a similar approach to have a nonviolent confrontation.

Antigone defies the law of King Creon to honor her brother with a proper burial. She willingly goes against the King to follow the law of the gods’ regardless of the consequences, doing what she believes is right. Similarly, Martin Luther King travels to Birmingham to march and protest the injustices towards Black people because he believed it is the right thing to do. Although Antigone was not afraid to die for what she believed in, Martin Luther King’s method of civil disobedience was more effective because Antigone failed to promote negotiations and just accepted her punishment freely. King believed that to properly have a nonviolent approach towards injustice you must be able to speak peacefully to gain understanding for negotiation. Urging people to create tension in the form of civil disobedience to promote awareness of the injustices.

The negative sanction, such as imprisonment in MLK case, as a result of civil disobedience, will spark an awakening in the community. King Jr. believes that if one single individual can voluntarily accept the punishment for an action against injustice, it will benefit the community in society altogether. In addition, King Jr relies on religion to determine unjust vs just laws. According to MLK, “A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God” (paragraph 21). MLK use religion as a method to appeal to the heavily religious south and persuade them to form part of the change in civil disobedience. King Jr, fights for the “Good Life” with the hope to unite society and advocate for white people and colored people who are not willing to perform civil disobedience due to fear or any other motive.

Society plays a crucial role in everyone’s lives as it directs the way one behaves, observes, and interacts. Antigone and “Borders” written by Sophocles and Thomas King respectively, demonstrate the roles and decisions executed by the protagonists according to societal expectations. To briefly describe, Antigone is a play set in the ancient Geek era where the protagonist, Antigone, breaks a law that holds the punishment of death, to give her traitorous brother a respectable funeral. On the other hand, “Borders” is a short story set in modern day times where the protagonist, the narrator’s mother, is attempting to cross the border to visit her daughter without surrendering her Blackfoot status to a Canadian or American citizenship. Both women

in “The Letter From Birmingham Jail” both had similar reasons of using civil disobedience for true justice and morals, the two have contrasting views of how to approach disobedience. Martin Luther King Jr. obviously uses civil disobedience in a more formal, professional and logical method whilst Antigone’s usage of disobedience is completely opposite. Antigone has her main emphasis on being less formal and drastically more aggressive in her actions. Another difference between the two protagonists of their own story is that they had different goals. Martin Luther Jr. was fighting to end segregation and find social equality for all races in the United States which was suppose to be relevant during his time period already. He kept pushing with civil disobedience to find freedom for him and the African American community in order to express his passion. Antigone stood her ground after burying her brother, which went against the king’s law in order to fulfill true justice written in the law of the God’s. Both of these two protagonists portray the true importance of social justice through using civil disobedience even though they approached it from a completely different perspective from each

Antigone does not necessarily believe in nonconforming to go against society, but rather believes one should not conform to stand up for what the person believes is important. She does not fear death and threatens Creon to “...kill me,” while going against the law by maintaining the sole idea that family is family and “... traitor or not… there are honors due all the dead.” The rest of the city, including her sister Ismene, fear death, and any punishments they may receive for going against Creon’s laws. Antigone, however, dares to break away from society and be the one individual to challenge the law of man. Nonconformity, to Martin Luther King Jr., although better than conforming to society, is “...not necessarily...good and may at times possess neither transforming nor redemptive power.”

Antigone and Martin Luther King, Jr. both fought against unjust laws, nevertheless, Antigone was sticking up for a proper burial for her brother, while Martin Luther King, Jr. was fighting for the minority group to be treated equally to everyone else. Though both were fighting for what was right, Antigone was only impacting her brother’s life and Martin Luther King, Jr. was impacting minorities all over that were being treated with unjust.

At least once in our lives we will face a situation where we have to pick the best from two worst circumstances. It might not be a life or death situation but it won’t be an easy decision to make either. But we do choose what we think is the best for us. We all must have heard about the famous play Antigone by Sophocles and the Apology by Plato. We find Antigone and Socrates in a similar dilemma as we read about them. They both face an ethical tragedy where they don’t know what the right thing to do is but they still chose what’s best for them. Justice involves a critical role in both of their lives. How might one define justice? Does it vary person to person or country to country? Antigone and Socrates both have their own view on justice.