Differences Between Antigone And Letter From Birmingham Jail

The struggle for justice has been the motivating factor for various movements across time. From fictional characters like Antigone to famous figures like Martin Luther King, it is possible to see various differences between their approaches to the law and how to change it. In Antigone's dialogue with Creon and Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, the two characters share a variety of differences in their stances. Antigone’s dialogue with Creon focuses on religious law and how it is above mortal law while King’s letter focuses on changing mortal law without relying on religious law to dictate it.

To begin, Antigone’s dialogue with Creon heavily focuses on the power of religious law over mortal law. Antigone proclaims, “Nor did I think your edict had such force that

In contrast, Martin Luther King focuses on reaching “the promise of democracy.” King’s use of “the promise of democracy” likely refers to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States which promise equality for all men(and eventually women). In order to reach a proper democracy, the voices of all need to be heard which was impossible in King’s America which deprived African Americans(and other races) of their abilities to make their own voices heard. King’s entire premise is built on reaching a democracy that was promised by mortal law. Unlike Antigone’s stance, King’s stance is built on mortal laws like the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. To add, Antigone and King’s stances focus on different forms of injustice. Antigone believes that it was unjust to not give her brother a proper burial and goes against Creon’s edict in an attempt to give her brother a proper and honorable burial. King, however, focuses on an issue that is much bigger than Antigone’s. King states, “Now is the time to lift our national policy