Alli Lewis

Mrs.Jay

Pd.6th

Harriet Tubman vs. Antigone

Harriet Tubman was not just any enslaved African woman in the 1850s. She went to the

extreme to help and free her fellow African Americans who were caught up working on

plantations as slaves. Upon arrival in America, most African Americans would find themselves

doing extremely hard work on large plantations. Some were compensated with either money or

livestock, but many were forced into harsh laboring conditions that barely earned them enough

resources to keep their families alive. They came to realize that their unalienable human rights

were violated during the time in which they were enslaved. Despite the fact that both she and her

fellow African American brothers and sisters were repeatedly mistreated and oppressed, Harriet

Tubman decided to take a stand for the humanity of both herself and others. She refused to be

overcome by the rigid, inhumane system of slavery. Her notable morality defined the entirety of

her being, just as Antigone's had done centuries before. Antigone and Harriet Tubman were two

different people who shared problems concerning violations of the law and violations of social

and economic norms of their times. Harriet Tubman went behind the law to give people freedom

in freeing slaves through the Underground Railroad, while Antigone went behind the king’s law

to give her brother a proper burial like he deserved. In their own distinct and ethically driven

actions, Antigone and Harriet Tubman alike made history. They were both brave enough to defy

conformity, showing their own individuality in the process.

Harriet Tubman was not only a slave, but she was a humanitarian, Civil rights activist

and a caring civil war nurse later on in her life. She was one of the few slaves who successfully

escaped to Philadelphia, but she has no intention of staying there alone. She risked her own

liberty, turned right back around and came to free the rest of her family. Once she had gotten her

family members out, one group at a time, she knew there was not stopping her from helping

others. Tubman freed over three hundred slaves through the Underground Railroad, a passage

comprised of various secret locations in farms, churches and homes along the path to the North.

The North became a symbol of not only freedom from slavery, but of camaraderie and sacrifice

on Harriet Tubman’s part as well. Once the Civil War begun, Tubman became a nurse in the

military. Once the war was over, Tubman continued to serve as an activist for both racial

equality and women’s suffrage. No matter what it took, she knew she could do anything she

believed in. This Aforementioned faith guided her through some of the most predominant

charitable acts in all of recorded history.

Antigone, on the other hand, believed that giving her brother the proper burial was the

right thing to do with a similar ferocity to that of Harriet Tubman, who believed that freeing and

helping people in need was the right thing to do. Both women executed their actions despite the

fact that they did not coincide with social norms or political laws. They were both characterized

by selflessness, putting the humanity of others before the needs of themselves. Tubman guided

countless slaves to freedom, knowing all the while that she was risking her own life and liberty

along the way. When Antigone’s sister was telling her reasons why she would not help her plan a

proper burial for their brother, Antigone replied saying “that must be your excuse, I suppose. But

as for me, I will bury the brother I love.”(2.27) Antigone was not only characterized by her

morality, but also by her passion to pursue the things that she believed was in the best interest of

others.

Both women went behind the law, taking morality and ethics into their own hands,

because they both so vehemently believed in their causes. Harriet Tubman devised clever

techniques that helped her make her journeys in extreme secrecy from the authorities and

plantation owners alike. When Antigone spoke with her sister, she explained, “Creon is not

strong enough to stand in my way.” She was referring to the power that he possessed as a king

and in doing so, she made the conscious realization that she may or may not be killed for what

she has did. That, however, did not stop her from thinking of tricky ways to get around his back

and help her brother from escaping eternal damnation to hell. Because of her laudable

determination in her own ethical beliefs, it became increasingly clear as the plot progressed that

she did not believe in the mainstream perspective of unjust circumstances. She was not fearful of

expressing her own beliefs.

Both Antigone and Harriet Tubman knew the danger they were getting into when

they decided to go through with their ideas. Harriet knew that if she was to get caught, that she

would most likely be killed and that did not stop her, not in the least bit. There was a reward out

for who could ever bring Harriet in and they would receive a lot of money for doing so. In

response to the price that was put on her head, Harriet could never be caught or she would have

to be put back to doing what she was risking her life for him the first place. Antigone knew that

if she were caught, then she would be killed in the street, most likely via the notorious and

painful process of stoning, but she went on and did what she felt was right anyway . Antigone

was eventually caught, yet she expressed no remorse for her actions. She expressed no remorse

because she viewed these actions as necessary and just. Harriet was never caught, and her

perspective was incredibly similar to Antigone’s in that she felt no remorse either. This was due

to her beliefs, and the justification of her actions in a sort of "ethical relativism". This philosophy

freed her from guilt and repercussions of her actions. Antigone was caught by a messenger and

that is what led her to Creon’s ruling of being sent away to live and eventually die in a cave.

Harriet lives the rest of her life helping others when the war was going on and knowing that

many people owe her their freedom. Harriet Tubman and Antigone defied the political laws and

socially acceptable actions of their times, together making two of the greatest marks ever left in

history and literature. Both women had the unfathomable strength to defy these laws, and they

had the morale to drive them to make their decisions that ended up freeing others of their

burdens. But when it all is said and done, these women are most alike in that they shared the

selflessness that drove them to commit charitable acts. Both Harriet Tubman and Antigone gave

others the greatest gift that one human being could ever give another: they gave the gift of

humanity, and within this humanity lies hope.