Antigone Connections

Reece WrightNatasha Espanola

Thesis Statement

In the play, Antigone, by Sophocles, one of the themes that connects to the real world is the tendency to always follow authority.

Antigone Example

An example of people always following authority is when Creon was arguing with Antigone, and she told him that nobody in the town agrees with his decision, but they are not going to disagree with him because he is in a position of authority.

Real World Example

In North Korea, Kim Jong Il has a lot of beliefs about how the people of his nation should not be exposed to Western ways, therefore causing him to censor the internet. Kim Jong Il also hates the United States, so he is influencing everyone in his nation to hate the United States as well, even though the United States has not done anything to them directly. They are just agreeing with his beliefs because he is in a position of autority.

Connection

Everyone listening to Creon connects to the situation in North Korea because even though the citizens might not have the same beliefs as the person in authority, they decide to just agree with them, to avoid consequences of disagreement, or possibly they wish to model their life after the person in authority.

Concessions and Refutations

Someone might argue that the people didn’t agree with Creon’s decision because he was protested by a couple of people. I would respond to this by saying the majority of the citizens didn’t agree with him, but bowed their head to authority and decided not to express their beliefs.