The balance between the law of the state and natural, or divine law is a topic that has been scrutinized for thousands of years. Antigone by Sophocles and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. share similar standpoints on the controversial matter that has baffled philosophers. Sophocles uses Antigone to assert his opinion, as she disobeys Creon’s law and buries her brother, Polyneices. Similarly, King structures his plan of nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience to curtail racial injustice and segregation. While there are many similarities, each text has several technicalities regarding civil disobedience that differ. Although Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. both believe that individuals have the right to disobey unjust laws, their justification for disobedience differs, the conflicts vary, and their motives are not parallel.
Antigone by Sophocles and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. both adeptly describe the concept of civil disobedience regarding the law. As stated in “Background to Antigone”, Antigone was written by Sophocles in 442 B.C. and it is considered to be the third Theban play (1). The play is a Greek tragedy that discusses the concept of civil disobedience and the law. Sophocles skillfully uses Antigone as a medium to transmit his thoughts about the matter. According to the article, Sophocles presented the play at a festival to honor Dionysus (1). The political climate at the time included the rise of democracy and an empire in Athens. The Peloponnesian War as well as the plague preceded Sophocles’s writing as well. According to Paul Woodruff’s translation of Antigone, secular teachings arose during this time period, dragging Athenians away from traditional religious ideologies. Sophocles was also a general with Pericles and he was one of the ten advisors who helped recover from the Sicilian disaster (Woodruff 1). King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” was addressed to the eight white ministers who encouraged African Americans to cease their non-violent direct action efforts. According to “The American Dream Unfulfilled,” “The spring of 1963 witnessed the publication of one of the most significant documents in the history of the American civil rights movement: Martin Luther King, Jr. 's ‘Letter From Birmingham Jail’” (Colaiaco 1). The letter was written in a time of crisis as African Americans fought to end segregation and racial injustice in a nonviolent fashion. Martin Luther King Jr. perpetually advocates for non-violent direct action in his letter which he believes will create a positive tension. According to “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, King was arrested on April 12, 1963, in Birmingham by Bull Connor for parading without a permit (1). The text also states that a letter titled “A Call for Unity” was signed by eight white ministers and printed in the Birmingham News (1). The letter insisted that African Americans must stop protesting, and this directly caused King to write his renowned work of literature. An imperative concept discussed thoroughly throughout Antigone and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is civil disobedience. …show more content…
As stated in “What Civil Disobedience Is”, “Civil disobedience is an act of protest, deliberately unlawful, conscientiously and publicly performed” (Cohen 39). In most cases, civil disobedience is caused by an individual transgressing an unjust law in favor of a higher, unwritten law. Usually, civil disobedience occurs in a non-violent fashion as well. For instance, King proclaims that protest will be done “peacefully, openly, cheerfully, because our aim is to persuade” (qtd. in Cohen 40). A significant characteristic of civil disobedience is the fact that it is done peacefully, conscientiously, and publicly. There have been many examples of civil disobedience throughout world history. For example, “Honoring Martin Luther King Jr,” states that Gandhi defied British colonial laws, as the Salt March was aimed at the British salt tax and its control over colonial India (1). Gandhi’s act of civil disobedience in India was a major influence to King as well. Generally speaking, civil disobedience occurs in Antigone because she wants to bury her brother, Polyneices. She must follow the higher, divine laws of the gods, so her brother can live happily in the underworld. Antigone would much rather defy unjust civil law than the divine law of the gods. She wants
Antigone by Sophocles and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. both adeptly describe the concept of civil disobedience regarding the law. As stated in “Background to Antigone”, Antigone was written by Sophocles in 442 B.C. and it is considered to be the third Theban play (1). The play is a Greek tragedy that discusses the concept of civil disobedience and the law. Sophocles skillfully uses Antigone as a medium to transmit his thoughts about the matter. According to the article, Sophocles presented the play at a festival to honor Dionysus (1). The political climate at the time included the rise of democracy and an empire in Athens. The Peloponnesian War as well as the plague preceded Sophocles’s writing as well. According to Paul Woodruff’s translation of Antigone, secular teachings arose during this time period, dragging Athenians away from traditional religious ideologies. Sophocles was also a general with Pericles and he was one of the ten advisors who helped recover from the Sicilian disaster (Woodruff 1). King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” was addressed to the eight white ministers who encouraged African Americans to cease their non-violent direct action efforts. According to “The American Dream Unfulfilled,” “The spring of 1963 witnessed the publication of one of the most significant documents in the history of the American civil rights movement: Martin Luther King, Jr. 's ‘Letter From Birmingham Jail’” (Colaiaco 1). The letter was written in a time of crisis as African Americans fought to end segregation and racial injustice in a nonviolent fashion. Martin Luther King Jr. perpetually advocates for non-violent direct action in his letter which he believes will create a positive tension. According to “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, King was arrested on April 12, 1963, in Birmingham by Bull Connor for parading without a permit (1). The text also states that a letter titled “A Call for Unity” was signed by eight white ministers and printed in the Birmingham News (1). The letter insisted that African Americans must stop protesting, and this directly caused King to write his renowned work of literature. An imperative concept discussed thoroughly throughout Antigone and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is civil disobedience. …show more content…
As stated in “What Civil Disobedience Is”, “Civil disobedience is an act of protest, deliberately unlawful, conscientiously and publicly performed” (Cohen 39). In most cases, civil disobedience is caused by an individual transgressing an unjust law in favor of a higher, unwritten law. Usually, civil disobedience occurs in a non-violent fashion as well. For instance, King proclaims that protest will be done “peacefully, openly, cheerfully, because our aim is to persuade” (qtd. in Cohen 40). A significant characteristic of civil disobedience is the fact that it is done peacefully, conscientiously, and publicly. There have been many examples of civil disobedience throughout world history. For example, “Honoring Martin Luther King Jr,” states that Gandhi defied British colonial laws, as the Salt March was aimed at the British salt tax and its control over colonial India (1). Gandhi’s act of civil disobedience in India was a major influence to King as well. Generally speaking, civil disobedience occurs in Antigone because she wants to bury her brother, Polyneices. She must follow the higher, divine laws of the gods, so her brother can live happily in the underworld. Antigone would much rather defy unjust civil law than the divine law of the gods. She wants