Civil Duty In Twelve Angry Men And Antigone

Something to Fight For “This gentleman chose to stand alone against us” (Rose 240). Juror Eight and Antigone chose the path of the unpopular opinion in the two works Twelve Angry Men and Antigone. These two morally based individuals feel they have a civil duty to uphold to the person whom they are defending. The jurors of Twelve Angry Men are faced with deciding the fate of a teenager who supposedly shot his father. Antigone, Haemon, and Creon are to choose with whom their loyalty resides--the State or the gods. Courage presents itself in people who fight for a cause greater than themselves. King Creon believes that fighting for his kingdom shows true power and courage. Creon’s main goal is to seek justice for his kingdom and in doing so he deemed Polynices, Antigone’s brother, a traitor. Power blinds him and he sentences Antigone to life on a deserted island for going against his wishes. Creon comes to his senses a little too late, losing his family in the process. On the other hand Antigone feels that if the state is going against the law of God by Creon not giving proper burial honors to Polynices, then a person has the right to take matters into their own hands. When Antigone is caught by the sentries it didn’t surprise her, she is expecting punishment for her actions but is willing to accept a form of it for her family. Antigone’s courageous stand against the State shows her personal morals are of the
Both antagonists in Twelve Angry Men and Antigone realize their mistakes by the end of the novel and the protagonists prevail. If the characters in these plays didn’t have the courage to stand up, then who else would? If no one stood up for anyone then the world would be devastating and everyone would be pushed around. People who fight for a cause greater than themselves have the courage to stand