NAME:
PERIOD:
Antigone Research Article 2
Directions:
1. Mark your confusion – circle unknown words.
2. Complete the vocabulary chart below with unknown words and their definitions.
3. Show evidence of a close reading. Mark up the text with questions and/or
thoughtful comments.
VOCABULARY:
________________:
________________:
________________:
________________:
What do MLK Jr. and Antigone have in
common?
By Dr. Emily Speller
Last week I had the good fortune of discussing Antigone with my Great Works class just as
HBU was preparing to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s
“Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
Rereading these texts together brought to light certain shared ideas concerning civil
disobedience.
In Sophocles’ play, King Creon orders the citizens of Thebes to not bury the body of
Polyneices, a Theban prince. Antigone breaks Creon’s law and buries her broth- er openly
performing the sacred funeral rites when nobody dares speak up against the law which is
perceived to be unjust. Consequently, Antigone is condemned to die.
In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King defends his methods of confronting racism with
nonvio- lent action. The demonstrations he led and supported were considered illegal by
local political and religious authorities, but King rejected any civic law opposed to eternal
or natural law. He, like Antigone, suffered for his decision to oppose injustice.
Antigone’s heroic suffering is perhaps best represented in contrast to four excuses her
sister Ismene gives for inaction: their family has already suffered enough; they’re not
strong enough to face the opposition; they ought to obey the authorities; and “extravagant
action is not sensible.”
Antigone scorns excuses, her words and actions suggesting three motives: love for her
brother; deep concern for her city; and respect for the god who demand burial of the dead
and whose laws are primordial and eternal.
Some of the tragedy’s most moving passages occur when Anti- gone laments not her own
fate, but the fate of Thebes.
We can compare her motives for civil disobedience to those of King’s. As Ismene’s
complacency provides a foil to Antigone’s hero- ism, the courage in King’s actions is
highlighted by his opposition to the “Call for Unity.” This public statement by eight
Alabama clergymen advised inaction and obedience to civil laws, even unjust ones. The
clergymen rejected King’s methods as “unwise” and “untimely.” In response, King first
described his position as a virtuous mean between the extremes of complacency and
hatred. He praised the extremism of great historical figures from Jesus to Abraham Lincoln,
and then asks, “Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Injustice or justice?”
King expresses his disappointment in the contemporary church, which should be acting
more like the body of Christ and less like an arm of the law.
Adapting a paraphrase from 1 Corinthians 13, King recommends “the more excellent way
of love and nonviolent protest.” He warns his readers, “One who breaks an unjust law must
do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.”
But King also argues that doing this “to arouse the conscience of the community… is in
reality expressing the highest respect for law.” He concludes with a powerful affirmation of
those who, through opposing racism, stand for “what is best in the American dream and
for the most sacred values in our Judeo-Christian heritage.”
No analogy is exact, and key differences exist between Anti- gone and MLK Jr. I’ll leave you
to discover them and close with this thought: Both Antigone and the “Letter from
Birmingham Jail” suggest that nonviolent civil dis- obedience is sometimes the best way to
demonstrate reverence for God, respect for our fellow humans and love of our country.
Source: Speller, Emily, Dr. "What Do MLK Jr. and Antigone Have in Common?" The Collegian. Houston Baptist University,
06 Nov. 2013. Web. 20 Jan. 2015.