Socrates and Antigone Tragic Deaths - Essay Example

Socrates and Antigone Tragic Deaths Introduction The death of Antigone is more tragic than the death of Socrates. This can be argued in a number of ways or for a number of reasons. Socrates wanted to die Unlike Antigone, Socrates was willing to die. In fact, one of his most renowned quotes was that to fear death is unwise because it is to consider one’s self wise while one is not (Plato, ND). According to Plato’s (ND), Apology, Socrates argued that since no one knew what lay ahead of death, it would be foolish to be afraid of it. His argument was that because no one knows what lies beyond death, assuming that death was the greatest evil is the height of ignorance. In this virtue, he did not fear to die and so willingly accepted his punishment of death. This is an indication that Socrates was not only not afraid of dying, but also eager to die. This attitude by Socrates may have been caused by the fact that he was tired of the ill morals of the society and thought it would have been better to die. It is even argued that Socrates could have easily escaped from custody and thus avoiding the death penalty. Because he had so many followers, rich and poor, he could have had some of them bribing the prison guards and thus leading to his freedom. But for a number of reasons, one of them being that he did not fear death, he did not escape but patiently waited to be executed. This is in contrast to Antigone whose death, despite it being her choice (through suicide), was a choice made out of desperation. After angering the king of the land by going against his laws, which she claimed were inferior to those of the gods (Sophocles, 497 BC-406 BC), she evoked his anger and was eventually captured by the guards of the king. She eventually committed suicide. In this case, suicide can be said to be much more of a desperate act as compared to Socrates’ death which was an execution, an execution he so willingly and almost curiously accepted. Socrates had lived most of his life As Plato (ND) says, Socrates was already old and had spent most of his days and was about to die of natural factors. Because of this, it cannot be said that he lost a lot of opportunities as a result of his death. On the other hand, Antigone was still very young and had a relatively social life. She still had a full life waiting ahead of her and could probably have married her fiancé Haimons. Antigone’s death was more tragic in that it cut short her life in a way that leads to more loss to her. Her youth and the fact that she still had not lived most of her dreams indicate the level of tragedy. It is clear that Antigone had not lived some of the wishes she had wished for. For instance, because she was not as beautiful as her sister, she had not been able to get most of the things she wanted as a young girl. In this regard, her death was more of a loss to her and was tragic, so tragic that her boyfriend decided to also commit suicide when he learnt of her death by suicide. Socrates had accomplished most of his mission as a teacher Socrates had achieved most of his goals in life. In fact, it is his success in teaching the young people as well as old people about morals and virtues that had made him to be in bad terms with the state and that eventually led to him being arrested and executed because the state had accused him of misleading the public through his eloquence (Plato, ND). By the time of his trial, Socrates even felt that his time here on earth was already done. As such, it articulates that Socrates lived his life to the brim, that was one of the reasons why he did not resist his death sentence. He had already taught people about his ways, about his wisdom, and his knowledge. This is in contrast to what Antigone had achieved, in fact, by the time of her death Antigone was still in confusion about life. She had spent most of her life being jealous of her more beautiful sister. Antigone and her sister Ismene did not agree in terms of political persuasions (Sophocles, 497 BC-406 BC). Her sister Ismene was beautiful more than her, and she wanted to be pursue a girls dream while Antigone wanted to be a political figure and dare go against the King (Sophocles, 497 BC-406 BC). This difference in opinion and persuasion led to a difference between her and her sister and may have driven her urge to be more rebellious against the King. Despite Antigone being in love just like any other young girl would have wanted, she had not gotten the love she had dreamed of. In fact, it can be argued that her rebellion against the state may have been in part as a result of her troubled life caused by the fact that she could not get what she wanted in life. This is definitely very tragic and it does not compare in any way to Socrates case. Antigone did not accept her early unnatural death because she felt that she had already accomplished her roles in this short mortal life, but because she was afraid of what the king could do to her. Due to this fear, she committed suicide, probably to avoid an even more painful death being administered to her by the king. This is not the same case with Socrates. Socrates willingly accepted his death because he felt that he had not only accomplished his mission in educating as many people as possible, but also because he felt that he had a duty to accept the punishment according to the laws of the state, for not doing so would make Socrates look like he did not live the doctrines he preached, the doctrines of honor, morals and integrity. Antigone’s case is much different. Unlike Socrates, she rushes to commit suicide to avoid the long hand of the law of the state. Her death therefore leaves little mark in the society she wished to correct. Impact on society As described, Antigone’s death had little impact on the society. To be able to understand this, it is necessary to argue that the deaths of Antigone and Socrates were similar in two major ways. Number one, they were both caused by the fact that they were opposing the state. Secondly, their opposition to the state was geared towards making the society better. Socrates for instance had spent a lot of his life teaching people, mostly young people, about the morals and the ways of good virtue (Plato, ND). According to Sophocles (497 BC-406 BC), Antigone had also tried to explain her action of defying the laws of the king, which ordered that her brother should not be given the proper burial, by quoting that the laws of the gods were much more superior to the laws of man and that defying the laws of man in order to accomplish the laws of the gods was an honorable thing. As a result, it can be argued that both their deaths and the circumstances that led to these deaths were similar. However, Socrates’ death may be said to have a more positive impact because his death made his followers to be even be more sympathetic with him and also realize that his teachings were true and valuable. The same cannot be said about Antigone. Not only did she not fail to have followers but she also did not have solid teachings which could be followed after she was dead. On the other hand, Socrates’ death may have added value to the very cause he died for. Based on the factors that have been discussed above, it can be said that Antigone’s death was more tragic. However, with regard to some other considerations, it might appear that Socrates’ death was more tragic. Socrates for instance was a very famous teacher and who had a lot of wisdom. His death was tragic not to him, but to the state which could have otherwise benefitted a lot from such a great teacher. Antigone on the other hand had no any known resource that can be said could have been useful to the nation. Although she was young, it cannot be determined with certainty if she could have turned out to be a great person such as Socrates. In this regard, in terms of what the society lost, Socrates death was much more tragic as compared to the death of Antigone. Conclusion It is clear that both the deaths of Socrates and Antigone were tragic in some sense. However, in some sense, the death of Antigone can be argued to be much more tragic. These two people had similarity in that they had opinions that were different from the state as to how the state should be governed. Moreover, they had the courage to go against the might of the state, even though they were aware that it was impossible to have favorable outcome for them. They both had potential to make the society a better place for everyone but this was cut short because they had to meet with an unnatural, and early in the case of Antigone, death. Antigone however, did not die with dignity and her death is seen to be out of fear while the death of Socrates was out of courage. Socrates death may have inspired a lot of people to be courageous and to know that not even death should scare a person who knows the truth. Socrates may as well be the one who sowed the first seed of freedom from an oppressive government. Although he was himself a critic of democracy as a form of public government, his action preached the principle of allowing people their freedoms to decide what is right. He died for this belief and this may have added more value to his teachings. This was not the same for Antigone. References Plato, P. (ND), The Apology. Sophocles, S. (497 BC-406 BC). Antigone. Read More