Civil Disobedience And Its Importance For Better Changes

Civil disobedience can be described as refusing certain laws peacefully in order to protest. Henry David Thoreau’s rhetorical question and allusions are used by Sophocles to illustrate why he believes civil disobedience should be practiced in his society. After reading several sources, the need for civil disobedience to effect change is apparent.

Antigone’s main character shows in the Sophocle first source how civil resistance was necessary to bring everyone into her tyrant kingdom to realize the importance and significance of the actions she took. In Episode 2, Antigone asks Creon “Who can tell the gods what they consider wicked?” It was because she wished to bury a brother. This was against law. Because she buried her son willfully at her risk, Antigone committed civil disobedience. By asking Creon, who is the “wicked”, she is forcing him to reflect on his unjust actions. Sophocles used R.Q.s as well as allusions about Ares, the war god, to show how the play began with Antigone burying his brother. This quote says, “A forbidding town stands (..)”. The reader can understand why Antigone’s actions were right by comparing Ares with the problems her brothers had. Creon came to realize that breaking the law peacefully was the best way.

MLK JR. writes letters to the Birmingham people from prison to explain the reason for civil disobedience and to help raise awareness. MLK JR. used allusions to achieve this. Source B’s message can be understood by using examples such as “Socrates”, Reinhold Niebuhr, Thomas Aquinas, and other worldly leaders. Civil disobedience is the result of “Socrates”. Reinhold Nibuhr was an american reformer theologian. He reminded his audience that “groups have more morality than individuals”. The black communities in America are being ravaged by the white clergymen. Finally, a Catholic priest from Italy, Thomas Aquinas, is teaching. It is wrong to pass laws that diminish human dignity. All segregation (…) inferiority. Segregation laws are destroying the lives and souls of many people in Birmingham, so civil disobedience is the best thing to do.

Henry David Thoreau’s writings, the final source, show that it takes civil disobedience to achieve change in a nation’s governmental system. He uses images to illustrate how the government is perceived by the public. He said, “It’s like a wooden weapon to the people”. The people are akin to a wooden weapon, and they must take action themselves in order to change the union. Thoreau uses paradoxes in an unusual comment on being jailed. “There is where the fugitive (…) from jail”. The sentence is meant to show that a person can feel more liberated in jail than if they were actually free. The system has failed and some people have decided to lock themselves up to voice their opinion. When reading these stories, it makes one realize that it’s more important to change the system than to sit and watch as things continue.

Many people dream about change. The process can be difficult and there will be many setbacks. People may have differing opinions and this could make it hard to reach the public. Civil disobedience, in many cases necessary for the sake of order and chaos, is viewed by some as being counterproductive. The 1960s American civil unrest in Birmingham was caused by “parading” and other actions such as boycotting, trespassing or picketing. “What was the cost?” must’ve been on everyone’s mind.

A person’s life can be affected by a decision to break the law of their country. If the fight is for something truly important, it can give anyone the feeling of being invincible. Thoreau’s, MLKJR.’s and Sophocles’ dedication to the cause allowed them to make it to where they are today. Civil disobedience is essential to the evolution of our world.