Sophocles Antigone: Individual Vs. State

1417 Words6 Pages
Laura Vega 11/5/13 English 111 Antigone Paper Antigone: Individual vs. State The conflict between individual conscious and state law is something mankind has endured since the beginning of history. There have been many individuals that have stood by their beliefs and conscious against government law despite the repercussions. This conflict is one of the main struggles in Antigone, the Greek tragedy written by Sophocles. At the center of this tragedy is the battle between an individual’s moral duty and their duty to the state. The disharmony between the two is shown by Antigone’s duty to her family and moral law and Creon’s obligation or need to enforce the state law. Antigone and Creon’s contrary opinions express the theme of individual…show more content…
There have been many remarkable characters in history that have chosen to place more importance in individual conscious and moral duty than the duty owed to governmental law. One very important person in history that chose to honor his conscious instead of government law was Gandhi. Gandhi opposed British rule in India after the Amritsar Massacre, where British soldiers gunned down non-violent Indian protestors. After this incident, he realized that India was in need for self-rule. Gandhi then organized large-scale non-violent campaigns for easing poverty, broadening women’s rights, religious harmony, and most importantly, self-rule. He suffered a lot for what he believed in including: incarceration, fasts, and in the end, death. Antigone’s actions could be compared to Gandhi’s accomplishments because they both behaved in a selfless way for what they thought was right. Despite the consequences, which both ended in death, they decided to follow their individual conscious instead of the ruling…show more content…
Antigone chose to follow her conscious despite of the consequences. She could have buried her brother in secret but she felt that what she was doing was right and her actions were following the laws of the gods. Her decision to act publicly ended in her death, however she was still satisfied with her decision. Acts of conscience such as Antigone’s should be made public to be affective. If Antigone had decided to keep her actions a secret, Creon would have never lost his family and would have probably stayed a stubborn and unforgiving king. Antigone’s public act of conscience changed the way Creon behaved and probably made him a better king for Thebes. Like Antigone, Gandhi also chose to make his acts of conscience public. He became a public figure and brought hope to many people in India. People believed in him because they saw selflessness in his acts. He was not afraid to make his beliefs and feelings public and this led to India’s self-rule. However, just like Antigone, Gandhi also died because his actions were public. Nonetheless, neither of them chose their lives over what they thought was right and died with a clean
Open Document