Thoreau Civil Disobedience Analysis - 963 Words

Overall, Antigone’s choices fit into Thoreau’s philosophy regarding civil disobedience. In Thoreaus work, â€Å"Civil Disobedience,† Thoreau makes points that clearly justify Antigone’s actions. One such case is when Antigone goes to give her brother a proper burial. Another one of these cases occurs when Antigone is put into jail for being honorable. Finally, an example of Thoreau’s idea of civil disobedience is epitomized when Antigone refuses allegiance to a government that she views as unjust. According to Thoreau, Antigone’s actions were just when she went to bury her brother despite Creon decreeing that no can do so. By burying her brother, she refuses to obey an unjust law. Antigone’s entrapment in the tomb fits into Thoreau’s†¦show more content†¦Antigone does just this by giving her brother a burial because she refuses to follow a law that violates her religion and moral code. As said in â€Å"Antigone: Rebel With a Conscience† by Taki Theodoracopulos, â€Å"Antigone was a rebel, someone willing to take a stand against laws they cannot accept.† This supports the fact that Antigone was standing up to a law, that her brother cannot be buried because it violated her moral code, and she was unable to accept breaking her moral code even if she was legally obliged to do so. Antigone’s actions were also supported by Thoreau when she was jailed and put to death for burying her brother. After learning of Antigone’s transgression and being asked by Choragos if he is willing to take Antigone from his son, Creon responds, â€Å"No; Death will do that for me† (Sophocles 214). In doing so, Creon sentences Antigone for imprisonment and eventual death for the crime of giving her brother a proper burial. In â€Å"Civil Disobedience,† Thoreau says, â€Å"Under a government which imprisons unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.† When Thore au says this, he means that because of unjust laws, all those people who are just belong in prison because their just actions are transgressions in the eyes of an unjust government. In â€Å"Antigone: Rebel With a Conscience,† Theodoracopulos claims, â€Å"[Antigone] defies the state and gives [Creon] a token burial† (Theodoracopulos 1). This claim supports that Antigone’sShow MoreRelatedThoreau Civil Disobedience Analysis812 Words   |  4 PagesHenry David Thoreau’s â€Å"Civil Disobedience† and Martin Luther King’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† both present similar ideas, as the latter was inspired by the first. This set of principles and ideas is still in being carried out in our nation today, however it is necessary for more people to adopt this way of thinking. Thoreau explains throughout how an individual must conduct civil disobedience to begin a change that is morally correct. He talks a lot about the government and heavily criticizesRead MoreThoreau On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience Rhetorical Analysis1250 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout the duration of the Mexican American war, beginning in 1846, many attempts were made to gather support for the conflict. One citizen, who resided in Connecticut, showed much more drastic distest to this war than many others. Henry David Thoreau took both passive and active efforts to voice his antagonism to the conflict by refusing to pay a tax that he believed supported the ideology behind the war that the United States was partaking in at the time. Later, he contrived an essay that outlinedRead MoreAnalysis Of Civil Disobedience By Henry David Thoreau1886 Words   |  8 PagesAfrican slave trade that culminated in the American Civil War, the loss of one of the greatest presidents in U.S. history, Ab raham Lincoln, and, more fittingly for this paper, the emergence of American transcendentalist writers. One writer in particular was Henry David Thoreau, who many historians consider to be the inventor of nonviolent protest as a means of reforming a government. This concept is explained in detail in his piece, Civil Disobedience, where he excellently argues that governments areRead MoreAnalysis Of Civil Disobedience, By Henry David Thoreau713 Words   |  3 PagesHenry David Thoreau, author of â€Å"Civil Disobedience† and Walden, has become one of the most influential authors of all time in the eyes of many. Though some might be led to believe his essays and writings, including â€Å"Where I Lived, and What I lived For†, make him a down to earth and even rugged author, as he spent some of his life in the forest. However, his life in the woods was not one of heavy duty work and he often was supported with objects and material possessions, contrary to what many of hisR ead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Civil Disobedience By Henry David Thoreau1219 Words   |  5 Pagesignorant to the problems others faced. In the essay â€Å"Civil Disobedience† by Henry David Thoreau, Thoreau spent a night in jail for refusing to pay his taxes. After his night in jail, the author has a perspective change about the people around him (his â€Å"neighbors†) and the state. Before he went to jail he thought of his neighbors as friends who were civil when it did not cost them anything and he believed they shared common beliefs. But after Thoreau was imprisoned he says â€Å"that they did not greatlyRead MoreHenry David Thoreau Resistance To Civil Disobedience Analysis1508 Words   |  7 PagesDuring the era of the civil disobedience, individuals took stand and fight for their rights. the government took actions that violated the rights of others or took restrictions that angered residence. Resistance to civil government by Henry David Thoreau is an essay w ritten about his opinion on opposing the government that was taking control of people’s rights, motivating his disagreement of slavery and the Mexican-American war. Mahatma Gandhi, a leader who fought for the Indians independent movementRead MoreLessons in Civil Disobedience828 Words   |  4 Pagesto its effectiveness, individualism, and past history of the world that has made immense progress. It is important to notice that if civil disobedience was not effective, then it would not be continually used to disobey the law. In The Role of Civil Disobedience in Democracy† by Kayla Starr, she explains why we have the right to participate in civil disobedience. â€Å"The U.S. Bill of Rights asserts that the authority of a government is derived from the consent of the governed, and whenever any formRead MoreHenry David Thoreau s Civil Disobedience1013 Words   |  5 PagesIn Henry David Thoreau’s â€Å"Civil Disobedience†, Thoreau makes the claim that the best form of government is a government that doesn’t govern at all. Thoreau’s paper pushes for the people to begin following the will of their conscience rather than blindly and foolishly follow the unjust idea of â€Å"majority rule†. Throughout the paper Thoreau makes a point of stating that â€Å"majority rule† is simply the will of the upper-class being forced into action o ver the rights and wills of the poorer minority. ThisRead MoreThe Effect Of Transcendentalism : Henry David Thoreau1654 Words   |  7 PagesThe Effect of Transcendentalism: Henry David Thoreau Transcendentalism is the American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century that was rooted in the pure Romanticism of the English and the German (Goodman). Ralph Waldo Emerson is considered the father of Transcendentalism because his literature is the first to praise the notable spirituality of nature. The basic belief of the movement is to live authentically; being true to oneself (Day). The movement itselfRead MoreCritical Analysis Of Henry David Thoreaus Civil Disobedience984 Words   |  4 PagesHenry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an introspective who desired only a simple life and wandered the woods of Concord, Massachusetts journaling. How, then, did he influence such political icons as Mohandas Gandhi, Leo Tolstoy, and Martin Luther King Jr.? The answer lies in â€Å"Civil Disobedience† (1849). â€Å"Civil Disobedience† is an analysis of the individual’s relationship to the state and focuses mainly on why men obey laws even when they violate their own conscience. It is not an essay of abstract