Crito And Antigone: A Comparative Analysis

Imagine being in the shoes of Rosa Parks, sitting on a bus and told to go to the back of the bus just because of the color of your skin. However, you decide to remain seated, adhering to your belief in equality for all. You do this despite knowing the consequences that may follow, such as prison. In this case is one doing wrong in standing up for their beliefs? In Plato’s Crito and Sophocles’s Antigone, both characters, Socrates and Antigone, face a difficult decision: whether or not to follow their notions. Socrates has the opportunity to escape prison, but he prefers death because he thinks it's immoral of him to break the law. Similarly, Antigone chooses death in order to bury her brother, Polyneices, because he isn't getting a proper burial, …show more content…
When justifying her disobedience to the law to Kreon, Antigone 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.” (297, 69-72). In saying so, Antigone is aware that burying her brother is a crime, but believes it’s consistent with God’s will. In other words, she makes her religious beliefs priority and fears God more than Kreon. I agree with Antigone’s justification because her wrongdoing isn’t wrong at all. Since Kreon’s regulation was stopping Antigone from practicing her faith, it was immoral, therefore, Antigone had every right to go against it. I say that if a law is immoral and goes against one’s religion, then that person has a valid excuse to go against it. It really shows that Antigone is self-reliant and stands firm in her beliefs. Being self-reliant doesn’t mean that one’s opinion is right, it means that one shouldn’t go with the popular belief, which is what Antigone did because she didn’t listen to her sister when she told her not to bury Polyneices. A lot of the youth who are Antigone’s age are afraid and struggle to follow their religion and views because of the law or what people …show more content…
If Antigone didn't choose death she could have had a bright future and influenced her community with her beliefs. However, to Socrates and Antigone, their values were more important than their life. They would rather sacrifice their lives for what they believed was right. To them, the consequences they would have to face were worth it. In the end Antigone showed her uncle that he was wrong about punishing her for an act she thought was right because it resulted his family members, such as his son and wife, to die. Her uncle learned his lessons that going against someone’s values is wrong. If we learn to stand up to sovereignty when they are abusing their power by treating people inequitably, it can prevent racism and hatred in the country we live