Similarities Between Antigone And Martin Luther King Jr

The fight for the good life begins with a single event. A word out of turn, an act of protest and overall, a continuous support of ones’ morals. Throughout their life, one is ingrained with morals up until the final breath they take. Antigone violates Creon’s edict and fights for the rights of her brother Polyneices and goes against the word of the law. Martin Luther King Junior (MLK) fights against racial inequality and lobbies racial views with acts of civil disobediences. Both Antigone and MLK acted against laws they believed to be unjust. Their own life experiences and the morals they grew up with influenced where the fine line of right and wrong stands. In Sophocles Antigone and MLK’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, I am going to

In Sophocles’ Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letters From A Birmingham Jail, both Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. portray similarities of civil disobedience against the opposing authority in order to fulfill what they set out to achieve against all odds. Throughout the course of both of their lives, they continually and constantly strive and defend their actions to fight for the injustice acted upon them. Antigone is fighting against the unfair ruling of the corrupt king of Thebes, Creon, and Martin Luther King Jr. is fighting the racial intolerance against the racist, unjust white men and women across America. However, both Antigone and Dr. King suffer through several, negative consequences because of their disobedience and defiance,

Antigone was willing to go as far as death to follow the law of the Gods, and Martin Luther King went to jail for his unlawful actions. They both believed that the punishment was greater if they didn’t go through with their civil disobedience. They were both courageous and sacrificed themselves to better their societies.

Throughout history and much of literature, many prominent figures have stood up for their beliefs despite societal rules. Two such individuals are Martin Luther King Jr. and Antigone. In the play Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone goes against the king's decree and gives her brother a proper burial according to divine law. In his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," Martin Luther King Jr. justifies his decision to break the law to pursue his beliefs and goals. While they may seem like vastly different individuals, they have many similarities.

In today’s culture, there are many different movements sweeping the nation to fight for rights or against unjust laws. In Sophocles’ Antigone, Antigone goes against Creon’s law to bury her brother. Polynices and Eteocles, her brothers, were waged in a civil war when both were killed, but Creon classifies Polynices as a traitor, forbidding anyone to bury him. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an influential activist in the Civil Rights Movement to fight for African American rights. He wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to address the clergymen in Birmingham, Alabama that imprisoned him over his nonviolent protests. Both Antigone and King are similar in their willingness to sacrifice themselves for a greater cause, fight against unjust laws, and stand-up to political powers.

In Sophocles’ Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. fight against the injustices that they faced. Antigone fights against the edict given by the stubborn and arrogant Kreon, while Martin Luther King Jr. is fighting against racial intolerance from the American people. Antigone uses religion to justify her actions and Martin Luther King Jr. uses logic and rationale, causing Martin Luther King Jr.’s methods to be more effective.

Sophocles’ “Antigone” and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” are two works of literature addressing the concept of nonviolent civil disobedience. “Antigone” is the story of a young woman, who the play is named after, who buries her brother against the law, as he was a traitor. She was then incarcerated and sentenced to death by the king of Thebes and her uncle, Creon. “Letter From a Birmingham Jail”, as the name implies, was written while King was arrested in Birmingham for leading a public demonstration. The letter is a response to another letter sent by a group of white clergymen criticizing his work, and to a broader extent, is addressed to the church and those who are complacent in the segregation occurring during

Is it not ironic that Martin Luther King Jr. s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which testifies to his struggle for Civil Rights; not only contradicts the time Martin Luther King wrote it in, but also echoes the same sentiments of today’s moral causes and laws? . Dr. King (&*) then known as Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the Letter to Birmingham in response to his fellow clergymen’s criticisms of him being locked up for his actions in Birmingham’s Civil Rights protest. The letter’s emotional appeal of pathos and uprightness are apparent as Dr. King likens his reasons for writing the letter to that of the eighth century prophets, who wanted to carry forth the righteous word of the lord. Just as these prophets, chose to

Antigone and Dr. King had very different ways of engaging in their own civil disobedience for something they believed was right. They both went against the law to do the right thing, but Antigone wanted to blame Creon for the law instead of blaming the law itself. In the end, it was Dr. King who had the support of others and was ultimately more effective in his fight to end segregation. From the beginning of the book it was Antigone’s mission to give her brother, Polyneices, a proper burial, but this would mean she would have to disobey the kings, Creon’s, orders.

“Yes Zeus did not announce those laws to me .And Justice living with God's below sent no such laws for men. I did not think anything which you proclaimed was strong enough to let a mortal overrule the gods’( 510 ). This shows how Antigone has belief in the Gods and doesn't believe in what Creon decrees is morally, and physically right to not have her brother buried. Another such example of Antigone's beliefs In justice and the gods us how she honors the gods more than Creon's beliefs and declarations about what should happen to the body of Polyneices. “My honor for the dead must last much longer than for those up here”(94). This shows how Antigone doesn't care about people's beliefs but the gods which were much more important to the people of this time. As can be seen by Creon's differing views on the body, and burial of Polyneices it can be seen that his beliefs differ in that of Antigone's beliefs of the importance of burial, and honoring the

Civil disobedience is defined as the refusal to obey the demands or certain laws of a government/ occupying power. Without resorting to violence or active events of conflict, it is typically used in the form of a peaceful protest. Civil disobedience has been seen in historical context as a main approach and philosophy of nationalist movements in Africa, India, and also in the American civil rights movement. It can also be a useful tactic in labor, anti-war, and other social movements occurring in numerous countries around the world. In both Sophocles’ Antigone and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, the author describes two very different displays of civil disobedience. Antigone disobeyed “man’s law” and buried her brother. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the other hand, fought to change the law for the rights of a large group of people. For this reason, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s efforts were more admirable than the efforts of Antigone.

Like her father and uncle, her flaws are her stubbornness and pride. When Creon asks if she knew of the edict, Antigone states she was aware of it and argues she broke it because she didn’t believe a decree nor a human had the strength to “violate the lawful traditions the gods have not written merely, but made infallibly.” (Antigone, Lines 558-559). To Antigone, the burial of her brother is the most important thing to her, superseding compliance with any human law, including Creon’s. She stubbornly asserts that she is right to have broken the law of an unjust ruler, but it is this same stubbornness that prevents her from seeing more than just her side of the situation. Instead of possibly making a case with Creon to bury Polyneices, Antigone rashly takes matters into her own hands and does it herself, a clear error of judgement on her part. Later on, following a speech Creon gives her after her apprehension, Antigone states, “There is nothing you say that I would like to hear, and there never could be. And obviously there is nothing about me that could please you either. Still where was there a way for me to win greater glory than by taking my own brother to his grave?” (Antigone, Line 608-614). By stating that dying for burying her brother will bring her greater glory, Antigone displays immense pride in what she has

Antigone and King’s views on civil disobedience are executed very differently. They both had their own purpose to follow what they believed in, but both were achieved differently. Martin Luther King Jr. followed his own beliefs to risk his life while Antigone risked her life to follow the Gods for honor just to make sure her brother was properly buried. I will show how Martin Luther King Jr. fought for freedom while risking his life for blacks not only in Birmingham Alabama, but also around the world. Also, how Antigone knew the consequences she would face to give her brother a proper burial, but still fought for what was right

Martin Luther King Jr and Antigone were two people who used a nonviolent resistance technique to stand up for a cause they believed in. The technique they used is called Civil disobedience which is the refusal to comply with certain laws in a peaceful, non-aggressive protest. Both Martin Luther King Jr and Antigone were seeking justice for a cause without having to become physically violent with the opposing party. It took strength to go against their oppressors but they were willing to make self-less sacrifices. Martin Luther King Jr and Antigone provides many examples of how they used a similar approach to have a nonviolent confrontation.

Antigone however is more prideful than Creon and unlike Creon, Antigone’s pride directly cause her down fall. “Your edict, King, was strong, but all your strength is weakness itself against the immortal unrecorded laws of God. They are not merely now; they were, and shall be, operative forever, beyond man utterly.” (Page 823, scene 2, lines 60-64) This quote describes Antigone’s hubris. Antigone believes that she knows what the will of the gods is and that she’s following it. She thinks Creon as “just a man” who believes that he can and is surpassing the gods. Antigone however “knows” that Creon is under the gods. Antigone also believes that if her action (of burying Polyneices) “means death, it will not be the worst of deaths- death without honor.” (Page 817, Prologue, lines 80 and 81) Antigone is almost “obsessed” with getting an honorable death as she thinks that dying by trying to bury Polyneices is