Examples Of Civil Disobedience In Antigone

She believed that God’s laws were higher than man’s laws so she was ‘pleasing those [she] should please most’ (Blondell, 23). While arguing with her sister, Ismene, about breaking the law, Antigone demonstrated her determination to bury her brother because she knew that it was the moral thing to do, regardless of the deadly outcome. She was willing to perform the ‘crime of piety’ (Blondell, 23) – the crime that was ‘honored by the gods’ (Blondell, 23). To her, following God’s laws was the most justified even if it meant that she had to break man’s laws, because the God’s laws were ‘not for now or yesterday, but live forever’ (Blondell, 38).

For negotiation, king and his followers tried to talk to the city authorities of Birmingham about the law and they were refused. In the case of Antigone, Creon son (Haemon), blind prophet (Tiresias) and the chorus pleaded with Creon to change his laws and release Antigone, but he refused. For Self-purification, Antigone took action by burying her brother and got imprisoned. For king, He and his followers took action by protesting against the laws through Marches and parading.

INTRODUCTION: Open your argument to the audience and give them reason to listen on. I. Hook (Opening Statement): Get your audience’s attention! Consider a quote from the story. Are there any circumstances in which the law should be ignored?

Creon, the antagonist of the play, implements a decree to minimize betrayal from the people of Thebes. The order states that his nephew, Polyneices, may not have a proper burial due to his acts of treason; anyone who defies this rule will be punished. The eponymous character of the play, Creon’s niece, holds a different opinion and gives Polyneices the burial she believes he deserves. Sure enough, Creon catches Antigone and executes her by attempting to starve her to death. Overall, Creon’s demeanor does not work in his favor because the gods give him a fate worse than death.

Creon finally realizes that he was wrong and Antigone’s act made him realize this. Antigone was able to create change through her action, and thus making her act a civil disobedient

" It has come to our notice that the war between Polyneices and Eteocles has angered the people of Thebes and has led Antigone to go against her uncle Creon the King. The new law states that Polyneices is to not have a burial, that no man is to touch him or say the least prayer for him." As soon as the law was established Antigone was infuriated. Antigone decided to tell Ismene her plan, she was not going to be stopped even if she died in the process of honoring her brother. Ismene was starting to think that her sister was going mad and wished to not be a part of her actions.

Are there any circumstances in which you should ignore the law? In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone ignored the law to do what’s right. Yes when there’s a situation in which people feel as if it’s the right thing to do or if it’s what they believe in. They gotta ignore the law and do it.

Creon gave his speech to the chorus and stated that whoever buries Polyneices, will be sentenced to death. Then Antigone was captured by the sentry and came to Creon’s palace. Creon was insulted by Antigone's boasting of her doing, and stated that, “This girl is guilty of a double insolence; breaking the law and boasting of it. Who is the man here, she or I, if this crime goes unpunished?” (Sophocles 784).

n Sophocles’ play “Antigone”; written in 441 B.C., Antigone is a woman of impact, and her choices as a upstander affect the other characters. She was righteous in her pursuits to restore justice with her choices, that are taken because of Kreon unjust ruling. The first move was his, when she lawed the burial of Polyneices, whom is unhonored for being soldier of the enemy. Her choice to secretly bury him affected not only her life, but also Kreon and his family. She impacted her own life with her choice also to kill herself, and the lives of others.

Most Americans don’t realize the effort that was put into achieving civil rights for African Americans and how hard it was for them. Antigone’s circumstances are similar to those of the civil rights movement during the 1950’s. In the play, Antigone, by Sophocles, Antigone had to sacrifice her life for what is right, the same way Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks sacrificed to make a change. There are parallels of similarities between Antigone and the civil rights movement because of civil rights activists like Rosa Parks that risked their lives for the greater good just like Antigone did. The civil rights movement during the 50’s and 60’s was a movement to help African Americans obtain their rights.

The question of who Antigone is lies between the family and the public. However, Antigone is left with no choice but make a decision. This problem is balanced around making a decision on things that are not easy. Generally, the author

Antigone has a dilemma. She must decide who she will side with when her uncle, Creon, chooses to disgrace her brother by enacting a law forbidding his burial. The city of Thebes faced a time of crises when two brothers fought for the ownership of the kingdom. One brother greedily breached an agreement to share the crown and instead took the power for himself; the deceived other launched a rebellion. Both brothers died in this conflict and Creon was left with the task of reconstructing the city.

Antigone also shows that by taking action on a personal belief is stronger than something forbidden because she goes against the town’s laws to fill her belief. Creon, the ruler of Thebes, places a law on Antigone’s brother, Polyneices, that he shall never be buried, Antigone breaks the law to bury him. In the play Antigone and her sister, Ismene, are talking about the burial of Polyneices because Ismene does not agree with Antigone. Antigone says, “Ismene, I am going to bury him.

Citizens would rather risk their freedom and their personal trust to get their point across. Their truth and the way the government works make people take action. In the greek story Antigone, civil disobedience seen in the story in many different ways. Antigone believes in what she believes in and what is right, instead of the law.

Antigone’s actions are motivated by her allegiance to her family, moral conscience, and religion amid Creon’s political injustice and tyranny. Antigone’s actions motivate her to demand Ismene to prove whether she is “a true sister or a traitor to your family” (26-27). Antigone maintains loyalty to her brother despite his actions which threatened Thebes. Her inability to bear the thought of her brother’s corpse being picked apart by animals and not being honored with proper funeral rites forces her to act. Antigone’s fierce allegiance to her family is laid bare as she is willing to sacrifice her life to honor her brother and defy the law in an act that she believes is morally just.