Comparison Essay Sample: The Letter from Birmingham Jail and Sophocle's Play

Question: Issues pertaining the distinct from the justification whether people can engage in civil disobedience. Most people, in this case, believe that civil disobedience is an act of defense.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The Incorporated Thematic Reading: Sophocles play "Martin Luther King Jr." and "Antigone's," "Letter from the Birmingham Jail."

Introduction

Hook: The Antigones were two brothers that fought because of the Kingship of Thebes. They both died when the play started but left Creon their elder brother who was made the new monarch to decree over the death of his two brothers. Creon was also very rigid with his commands and headed strong enough until they were implemented (Osborne 271). The Letter from Birmingham Jail' was the reading from the eight white clergymen in the local newspaper and shows how it criticized Martin Luther King, and how he wrote back to let them know what he was thinking. Dr. Martin Luther King who fought for social equality for African Americans got arrested for fighting for a cause he believes in. This arrest came after his protest in Birmingham Alabama. He came across a letter written to him in the newspaper addressing how they were displeased and dissatisfied with the rally and how events on that day took place (Sturm 310). They criticized persecuted him for the demonstration. Dr. King had minimal options she decided that he will reply to the letter and so he wrote one and addressed it to the editor of the newspaper.

Argumentative question: Which type of breach of law acts like civil disobedience? When should civil disobedience be morally justified, and what should be the response of the law to individuals who engage in Civil disobedience?

Background Information: The play between Martin Luther King and Antigone orders Thebes people not to bury Polynices body the prince of Ban. But then, Antigone breaks the rule and buries her brother by performing the sacred rites which do not allow any individual to speak against the law (Osborne 278). This ends up being perceived as unjust. As a result, Antigone is condemned to death. In the 'Letter from Birmingham Jail,' Martin defends the ways of confronting racism by using the nonviolent method. While the demonstrations supported and led by King were considered to be illegal by local religious and political authorities, King still rejected any civil law that denied the natural or eternal law. His decision at the end made him suffer because of opposing injustice.

Thesis: The sense of civil disobedience as conducted by Martin Luther King and Angione is also seen in Sophocles play

Claim 1: The concept of 'natural laws' is an independence declaration as elaborated by Marin Luther King and Creon.

Evidence 1a: As expected Dr, the king had a lot that he was holding in, and so he decided to speak his mind. He went ahead to state that he was not running away from his calling as a clergyman or congregation but knew what was going on and that he was not just fumbling around. He had a cogent thought of a plan that was going to be their roadmap, and this map was guided by philosophy (Sturm 312). Dr. King or MLK as he was referred to, took this opportunity and turned into a platform to educate the masses on how the events took place why it was essential and why they needed to know what was going on.

Evidence 1 b; He argued that the protest that took place in Birmingham Alabama was a protest against the horrifying systemic racism against African Americans and that the excessive force was not necessary. He went on to state that it was civil disobedience against racially biased laws and mandates. He went ahead to affirm that the protestors had Jesus, America, truth, and justice on their side and how he could not understand that the clergy in the southern part of North America and moderates were turning against him and blaming him for the unrest and supposed tension caused by the protest (Sturm 316).

Evidence 1c: The features among other things include a principled or conscientious outlook for both desire and condemnation for change in policy or law. Other features such as non-violence, fidelity to law and publicity are considered as prove but are less centralized because of the assumptions.

b. Claim 2; The suffering Antigone passed through has been represented in contrast to excuses because of the suffering the family has encountered (Osborne 282). Since they are not powerful enough to face the opposition, they end up obeying the authorities and extreme action.

III. Development of Argument

Whether the evidence is credible the concept of the nature of the evidence of civil obedience may have similar lines when it comes to the societies.

Secondary source 1; In the 'Letter from Birmingham Jail,' Martin defends the ways of confronting racism by using the nonviolent method. While the demonstrations supported and led by King were considered to be illegal by local religious and political authorities, King still rejected any civil law that denied the natural or eternal law (Sturm 319). His decision at the end made him suffer because of opposing injustice. As a result, he was accused of being an extremist and that he had broken the rule of law. People were out for patience and peace, he on his defense pointed out the ignorance of the people and showed them that they were ignoring the main issue that was the problem.

For tension to be brought to the surface, it must already exist, and the only way to bring it to the surface is through nonviolent protests and civil disobedience. Whether the evidence is credible, the concept of the nature of the change in the society is eligible. Dr. King is a religious leader and an inspirational speaker, his speeches were quite moving and inspired many people. He often used a lot of religious quotes from the bible. His words would be used to stage boycotts, demonstrations, and marches (Sturm 322). People were willing to go to jail for moral reasons and causes that meant something to them. They fought for what they believed and were not afraid to show it let alone go jail.

Second secondary source 2: Haemon who was Creon's only son also engaged his father asking him to reconsider the issue. However, because of what happened to Creon's two brothers, he could not change his mind but later said that Antigone should be buried in a cave alive to serve as a punishment of their disobedience

Conclusion

The summation of the thesis: King's argument shows that in reality, the best way an individual can escape civil disobedience is by respecting the law. Through his statement, he mentioned that those who oppose racism and stand for what the society wants the value the heritage of the law. For instance, as observed, from the 'Letter from Birmingham jail' that civil disobedience that is not violent is the best way to demonstrate how the law is obeyed. The same case is seen in the Sophocles play because as much as King wanted to pass a certain message so did Creon. The death of his two brothers due to fighting themselves was a big deal to the older brother, and that's why Creon's decision could not be changed.

Works Cited

Osborne, Robin. "Sophocles and Contemporary Politics." A Companion to Sophocles, 2013, pp. 270-286., doi:10.1002/9781118350508.ch19.

Sturm, Douglas. "Crisis in the American Republic: The Legal and Political Significance of Martin Luther Kings 'Letter from a Birmingham Jail.'" Journal of Law and Religion, vol. 2, no. 2, 2012, pp. 309-355., doi: 10.2307/1051093.