Sophocles Antigone And Cruelty

Throughout human history, we are consistently stormed with evil acts—either as a result of legal, unjust laws or from inferior ethics belonging to an individual or group of people. In the late 1700’s, the French Revolution was going under full force, executing upwards of ten-thousand citizens for supposedly acting against the government—an event known as The Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror was completely under the law—those who were in control were able to execute large masses of people because they had the legal power to do so. Other events, however, are based on unjust moral laws which are in no way legal and are done as a result of a group’s morals. Beginning in 1933, Nazi Germany began a genocide attempting to rid the world of the Jewish population—killing upwards of 6 million Jews alone—because of their strong dislike towards the religion and its followers. These atrocious acts broke several treaties, in addition to worldwide basic right’s acts—and was in no way supported by the majority of the world. In the play, Antigone, by Sophocles, acts of cruelty play a central role in the overall story and theme of the play. Antigone attempts to prove the importance of morals, through the legal injustices King Creon does to …show more content…
Through the acts of cruelty done to Antigone, Sophocles argues there are instances when laws are immoral, and the only way to combat the issue is through people who fight for what they believe brings justice to an individual or a group of people. We also gain additional understanding of the thought process behind each character through the cruelties done to them and their realization of the consequences of their actions. All of these instances where King Creon is inhumane to those around him help support Sophocles’ support for a society where people speak and act in a way which they think is morally