t the center of any successful society are laws that are not only respected but followed by the population. There is no exception in Thebes, where Antigone takes place as well as in the United States where Dr. Martin Luther King led the civil rights movement. However, there is a problem when the government puts into place unjust and immoral laws that the population must follow or they face extreme consequences such as death. These individuals within their countries should not break every law simply for the reason that they feel like it, but disobey and ignore those that are immoral and that go against their personal conscience, this is not to say they should not expect consequences for their actions. In order to understand the idea of not following
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The tragedy revolves around Antigone’s family which had just gone through a war and Creon was the king. Antigone and Ismene were his nieces and he had two nephews who had perished in the war Polynices, who he called a traitor, as well as Eteocles. Being that Creon was a relatively new king, he knew that he had to comfort the people and let them know that all was going to be good while at the same time he made a proclamation that traitors would not be buried (Sophocles, Antigone, 7-9). Being that Polynices was a traitor he would not be buried properly but allowed to rot on the ground. Antigone was not having this as that was her brother and she had the duty to give him the proper burial and she did what she felt was right and was in accordance with what Zeus wanted. Antigone felt that a law that which did not follow god's law, in her case Zeus, was no law at all and did not have to be followed. Creon was committed to enforcing the law because if the law was not enforced and followed, he felt it was undermining not only society but his leadership and he was not having it, especially when it was a woman who was breaking the law (Sophocles, Antigone, 26). He felt that way until he found out it was his niece Antigone who broke the law and he was dumbfounded, he really didn't know what to do because he knew that family was important but so was the state. Antigone knew that the proclamation was unjust and she decided to break the law, knowing the consequences and it was somewhat poetic justice what happened to Creon. Now Antigone's reason for breaking the unjust law was that of religion what about Dr. Martin Luther King’s
The tragedy revolves around Antigone’s family which had just gone through a war and Creon was the king. Antigone and Ismene were his nieces and he had two nephews who had perished in the war Polynices, who he called a traitor, as well as Eteocles. Being that Creon was a relatively new king, he knew that he had to comfort the people and let them know that all was going to be good while at the same time he made a proclamation that traitors would not be buried (Sophocles, Antigone, 7-9). Being that Polynices was a traitor he would not be buried properly but allowed to rot on the ground. Antigone was not having this as that was her brother and she had the duty to give him the proper burial and she did what she felt was right and was in accordance with what Zeus wanted. Antigone felt that a law that which did not follow god's law, in her case Zeus, was no law at all and did not have to be followed. Creon was committed to enforcing the law because if the law was not enforced and followed, he felt it was undermining not only society but his leadership and he was not having it, especially when it was a woman who was breaking the law (Sophocles, Antigone, 26). He felt that way until he found out it was his niece Antigone who broke the law and he was dumbfounded, he really didn't know what to do because he knew that family was important but so was the state. Antigone knew that the proclamation was unjust and she decided to break the law, knowing the consequences and it was somewhat poetic justice what happened to Creon. Now Antigone's reason for breaking the unjust law was that of religion what about Dr. Martin Luther King’s