Antigone Moral Law vs. Political Law - 814 Words

ANTIGONE 3 January 2013 Moral Law vs. Political Law The theme of Antigone is the struggle between political law and moral law; the difference of following the law because it is the law and following one’s own morals because you feel it is what is right. The characters in Antigone face this struggle when confronted with Creon’s refusal of a burial for Antigone’s brother Polynices. The ancient Greeks believed that without proper burial, entrance into the afterlife was forbidden. It is through her own moral standing that Antigone decides that burying her brother is the right thing to do no matter what the consequence. She asks her sister, Ismene, to help her bury Polynices. â€Å"You’ll soon show what you are, worth your breeding, Ismene?†¦show more content†¦As well, Abraham Lincoln shares similar views with Creon in his speech, â€Å"The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions.† In this piece, he shares that even though you may not agree with some laws; you must conform to them or else risk punishment. Lincoln’s view was, â€Å"We toiled not in the acquirement or establishment of them - [laws] they are a legacy bequeathed us, by a once hardy, brave, and patriotic, but now lamented and departed race of ancestors.† Antigone is an excellent example of one’s inner struggle to be â€Å"good.† These works of literature show the contradiction of what being â€Å"good† is; one person’s â€Å"good† may differ from another’s. Thoreau, Martin Luther King Jr. and Lincoln also battled with the difference between what they and others thought was just. Political law and moral law will always conflict with each other as we as a human race battle between what is right, and what isShow MoreRelatedMoral Law vs. Political Law in Sophocles’ Antigone Essay979 Words   |  4 PagesIn Sophocles’ Antigone, a written dramatic play, Sophocles portrays the theme that at times of one’s life, it is necessary to follow moral law and ignore political law. In the play, a determined and courageous woman named Antigone is loyal to her beloved brother by granting him a proper burial and having to suffer the consequences for revolting. Throughout Antigone, severa l incidents occurred where the political law was of no importance to the individual. Conflicts between Antigone and Ismene andRead MoreUnderstanding Of Cultural And Contextual Consideration Of Antigone By Sophocles968 Words   |  4 Pagesorals, my understanding of cultural and contextual consideration of Antigone by Sophocles has developed. 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