Theme Of Civil Disobedience In Antigone

Hook. In the play Antigone by Sophocles, the eponymous title character buries her brother Polyneices, even though the king had made a law stating that no one shall bury him, as he is a traitor to his state. In the real world, the Taliban tried to ban girls’ schooling in the Swat Valley in Pakistan, and resident Malala Yousafzai spoke up through a blog, fighting for every youth’s right to quality education. She was nearly killed when she was shot by the Taliban; however, she managed to recover. Malala continues to spread activism for human rights around the world today. Civil disobedience is necessary for change because it shows authorities that the unjust laws hurt people and raises awareness in the general public about the issue. Both Antigone and Malala stand up for what they believe in to show their respective authorities that what they are doing is wrong. Antigone buries Polyneices because she believes that “if [she] had left [her] brother Lying in death unburied, [she] should have suffered” (Sophocles 208). Creon’s law goes against the gods’ …show more content…
In Antigone, Creon’s son Haimon tells him that the citizens of Thebes “say no woman has ever, so unreasonably, Died so shameful a death for a generous act: ‘She covered her brother’s body. Is this indecent?...She should have all the honor that we can give her’”(Sophocles 218-219)! Word about Antigone’s deed of civil disobedience is spread throughout Thebes. The citizens don’t agree with Creon’s law either, and want to honor Antigone for what she did. In Malala’s case, “she went on to become an international spokeswoman for education and human dignity.” She spreads awareness of issues similar to the ban on girls’ education in the Swat Valley to other people around the world. Her purpose is to inspire others to stand up for what they believe in as well, in order to build a better