_________________________ ___________
NAME
WORLD LITERATURE & COMPOSITION
Ms. Kelleher
Period
Lesson Plan
6
Teacher-Supplemented SIOP
We have been examining the concept of “Justice” – that is, which laws are just and which laws are
unjust. We have studied both Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., and how they believe that certain laws
are unjust. They believe that a government’s unjust laws should n-o-t be followed by the people. Instead,
they believe that the people should carry out “civil disobedience” or “non-violent protest” if the laws are
unjust…including unjust laws like segregation in the USA or apartheid in South Africa.
Now we will go back in time…all the way back to the time of the Greeks over 2,000 years ago. At that
time, the contradictions in the law—what is moral vs. what is immoral—were thought of in terms of :
“The Law of the God” versus “The Law of Man.”
The Law of the Gods said that a person had to be true to his or her blood family, true to his/her heart
whereas
The Law of Man said that a person had to be true to his or her ruler or king.
These two sets of laws definitely created:
Emotional conflict within an individual (Should I follow what I know in my heart to be right?)
Conflict between an individual and the government/the law: (Should I follow the Ruler’s laws?)
BUT: What happens if what I know in my heart is true and that following the King’s/Ruler’s or “The law
of the land” goes against what I know in my heart to be true? This is the question that Gandhi, Martin
Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela posed … and for which they carried out non-violent civil
disobedience. In other words:
*Gandhi believed in his heart that the government of India’s law that said the caste system that
held that some people were superior and others were inferior was wrong and should not be obeyed by
the people (despite the fact that it was the law of the government of India). Gandhi said that nonviolent civil disobedience should be carried out (in order to change the immoral law). Gandhi was
arrested for following his heart.
*Martin Luther King, Jr., believed in his heart that the government of the USA’s law that said
segregation of whites and blacks was wrong and should not be obeyed by the people (despite the
fact that it was the law of the government of the US government). MLK said that non-violent civil
disobedience should be carried out (in order to change the immoral law) … because the Constitution of
the USA states that all men are created equal. MLK was imprisoned in the Birmingham Jail for following
his heart.
*Nelson Mandela believed in his heart that the government of South Africa’s apartheid system that
forced the legal segregation of whites and blacks was wrong and should not be obeyed (despite the
fact that it was the law of the South African government). Nelson Mandela said that non-violent
disobedience should be carried out (in order to get the immoral law changed). Nelson Mandela was
imprisoned for 27 years for following his heart.
The Greeks knew that when an important person (usually a king, queen, or daughter of a king or a
queen) chose to follow her heart --like Antigone chose to do--it would lead to tragedy because, by
following her heart, Antigone was disobeying the King’s law and the King had already stated that—if
anybody disobeyed his law—that person would be put to death. This is what led to a tragic situation.
The Greek playwright named Sophocles wrote a drama about Antigone…who followed her heart and
would not obey the law of King Creon. This drama—or play—is a tragedy. What is at the essence even
more tragic is that Antigone is a family relation to the King—she is King Creon’s niece -- they are part of
the same family, The Family of Cadmus.
1.Look at the different characteristics of “Tragedy” on pages 279 & 280 in your Springboard text. Discuss
these with your group. With your group, decide what you think are the three most important
characteristics of tragedy.
One of the most important characteristics of tragedy is _______________________________________.
A second most important characteristic of tragedy is _________________________________________.
A third most important characteristic of tragedy is ___________________________________________.
2.The Chorus plays a very important role in the Greek theater. Examine the various characteristics of the
Chorus that are noted on page 280 of your Springboard textbook. Answer the following questions.
The Chorus can be defined as ____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
The Chorus carried out many different roles during the play or tragedy. Note these roles below:
l)______________________________________ 2)________________________________________
3)_____________________________________ 4) ________________________________________
5)_____________________________________
3. The Greek tragedy that we will read and analyze is called Antigone. Antigone is a complete play, but it
is a part of a cycle of three plays, include Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus. Therefore, Sophocles
wrote three plays, and they were all about one royal family: The Family of Cadmus. Answer the
following questions about the tragedy Antigone. (See page 281 in your Springboard text.)
There was a curse put on The Family of Cadmus for a crime committed against the gods, because The
Law of God was broken. This curse involved three royal members of The Cadmus Family.
The Curse/The Prophecy states: King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes are told that their own son,
Oedipus, will kill his own father (King Laius) and marry his own mother (Queen Jocasta).
Explain how The Curse/The Prophecy comes about to actually happen:
____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
b) When Oedipus marries Jocasta (his own mother), Oedipus and Jocasta have four children who are:
1) ______________________________________ 2) _________________________________________
3)_______________________________________ 4) _________________________________________
Antigone’s own mother—Queen Jocasta—is also her own grandmother because Antigone’s father
(Oedipus) married _________________ who is what relation to Oedipus? His______________________
Do you think that “the bloodlines” in this family are “a bit” messed up? ___________________________
Do you think that The Curse/The Prophecy also gets passed down to the next generation?___________
Explain why you think this: _______________________________________________________________
After Oedipus discovers the truth about who he actually married and had 4 children with (hisown
mother, Queen Jocasta), what does he do? _________________________________________________
Who does Oedipus leave to look after his children (including Antigone)?__________________________
What relationship is Antigone to Creon? ______________and Creon to Antigone? _________________
Who does Oedipus order should be in charge of his kingship? ________________ and ______________
What do these two brothers of Antigone do to each other?_____________________________________
Creon, next, becomes king. What does Creon order should be done with Antigone’s brother Eteocles?
__________________________________________________________________________
Explain why Antigone breaks The Law of Man--King Creon’s law--and follows The Law of the Heart—her
own heart/her own love of her own brother?
_____________________________________________________________________________________