Civil Disobedience In Antigone By Sophocles - 1195 Words

Civil disobedience has been a controversial issue that possess a conflict between ethical and moral values among both scholars and students alike. Martin Luther King Jr. used the civil disobedience approach to air his grievances and made it known to the majority of the population that a particular aspect of the law was interfering with their moral and ethical values even if it was unwritten. On the other hand, Sophocles, in the play â€Å"Antigone† reveals the grief, struggle, inner strife and distress of a young woman. Through her speech, Antigone can persuade her audience by employing rhetoric, passion and subtle alteration, and therefore, able to fight against injustice she faced from Creon. Thus, both Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr.†¦show more content†¦This act led her to be declared a heroine by the people. While Creon is the idea that a person’s country interest should take preeminence, Antigone values and beliefs were that family comes first and tha t blood is always thicker than water. This belief persuaded her to bury her brother even if the king had outlawed it, and she states that â€Å"the king has no right to keep me from my own† (Sophocles). Even though, she understood the consequences of her disobedience, she didn’t try to hide her treason act. She admits publicly before Creon that she would choose death but bury her brother than live knowing that her brother is rotting on the battlefield. In her disobedience speech, she eloquently tries to make her king understand how unjust the laws are rather than pleaded her case. There evident force and confidence in her words, which she punctuates well and offers examples together with accusations. Furthermore, her lines are emotional and full of sarcasm and contempt towards the king and his unjust laws, which gives her speech a bitter edge. In burying her brother, Antigone shows obedience to the gods rather than the king even if it was illegal to do so. To prove her allegiance, she states that, â€Å"Look at me, you noble sons of Thebes, -the last great line kings, I alone, see what I suffer now at the hands of breed of men- all reverence, my reverence for the gods (Sophocles). Through this quote, Antigone shows that she feared theShow MoreRelated Exploration of Civil Disobedience in Sophocles Antigone, Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail, and Platos From Crito580 Words   |  3 PagesExploration of Civil Disobedience in Sophocles Antigone, Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail, and Platos From Crito Civil disobedience spawns a major and widely debated issue by many who established by well-known intelligent scholars and many examples of civil disobedience become displayed. The acts of civil disobedience can be noted in major works such as Sophocles?s Antigone, King?s ?Letter from Birmingham Jail?, or even from Plato?s ?from Crito?. A specific claim exemplified throughout theseRead MoreAntigone Essay926 Words   |  4 PagesCivil disobedience is an act Antigone and multiple modern-day women commit to raise awareness of a lack of justice in their societies. Civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws as a peaceful form of political protest. This form of protest is shown throughout Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone. Antigone, the protagonist, exhibits civil disobedience when she gives her brother, Polyneices, a proper burial. Antigone is very much like Rosa Parks as described in the article â€Å"Rosa Parks leavesRead MoreAntigone By Sophocles : A Moral And Lega l Battle951 Words   |  4 PagesIn the play Antigone by Sophocles, the title character is engaged in a moral and legal battle with King Creon. The king has issued a legal verdict against the brother of Antigone. He is to be left to rot in the battlefield, rather than be buried. As such, his body will be eaten by vultures and not be given the honor of burial. This was considered the worst punishment that could be given at the time. Antigone believes that this is wrong. She decides to go against the legal orders of the kingRead MoreCivil Disobedience And Martin Luther King s Letter From Birmingham Jail1236 Words   |  5 Pagesupon lightly such as committing civil disobedience. In Sophocles s â€Å"Antigone† and Martin Luther King’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail†, both, King and Antigone, were supporters and activist of civil disobedience. However, both, Antigone and Martin Luther King had different methods of conducting civil disobedience and viewed civil disobedience differently. Furthermore, Antigone and Martin Luther King were both steadfast in what they believed in and used civil disobedience to fight for their cause. DespiteRead MoreCivil Disobedience In Antigone By David Thoreau958 Words   |  4 PagesWhen one thinks of civil disobedience, they think of a person that neither follows nor respects the law. However, one does not take into consideration why a certain person is not abiding by the law, and what is influencing their decisions. In the case of Antigone, in Antigone by Sophocles, the reason she does not follow the law is that not only does she view the law as unfair and not just, but the law hurts her more than anyone else. Antigone feels she has a burden to bury her brother Polynices,Read MoreCivil Disobedience in Antigone and Trifles Essay1096 Words   |  5 PagesCivil Disobedience of Antigone and Mrs. Hale Civil disobedience is the purposeful violation of a law to show that it is unconstitutional or morally defective. In the plays, Antigone and Trifles, the female main characters commit an act of civil disobedience. The plays are respectively written by Sophocles and Susan Glaspell. Antigone, the main character of Antigone, protects her dead brothers honor as she disobeys the laws of King Creon. Mrs. Hale, the main character of Trifles preventsRead MoreTheme Of Antigone 964 Words   |  4 PagesAmer Debis Professor: Kennedy ENC 1102 April 12, 2016 Theme In Antigone Sweeping dramas of rival families and of rival family members seeking control of a kingdom are very popular now. One obvious example is Game of Thrones, which continues to break viewership records and also engender controversy. Such sagas, however, are nothing new. Antigone, a play by Sophocles and the sequel to Aeschylus’ Seven Against Thebes, provides an ancient Greek perspective on the themes of power, duty, and lawRead MoreAnalysis Of Civil Disobedience In Antigone1078 Words   |  5 PagesMany people around the world and in books are getting in trouble for their acts of civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is refusing to follow certain laws as a form of political protest. In Antigone, written by Sophocles, Antigone rebels against the laws of Creon and buries her brother, Polynieces, when everyone was ordered not to. Modern day people around the world like Antigone are also defying laws. Women in Saudi Arabia who went driving when laws forbid them to and they got in to a lot of troubleRead MoreCivil Disobedience, And Martin Luther King Jr. s Letter From Birmingham Jail1018 Words   |  5 PagesToday, the word disobedience carries a negative connotation that acts as a deterrent for necessary disobedience. The common way in which people view disobedience is as a rejection of a rule, law, or a simple standard. Historically, rules were implemented in ways that were deemed immoral by society. Therefore, civil disobedience is justified to combat immoral standards implemented in society. However, civil disobedience is only justified under these circumstances, mainly for the betterment of societyRead MoreThe Truth Behind Political Thought944 Words   |  4 Pagesinconsistency ,that civil disobedience is not justified because of society s accentuation on law and order. The understanding of law and civil disobedience illustrates itself in both readings of Sophocles Antigone and Plato s Apology which suggests that they give both similar views with th e existing idea of different higher authority in mind. Because of the unresolved feud between the law and civil disobedience it is prevailed effectively in Sophocles tragic drama Antigone and Plato s Apology