Siddhartha And Antigone Essay - 1227 Words

The individual and society have a mutually dependent relationship where they influence each other. An individual attains a sense of self and awareness of personal truth through direct experience. Their sense of meaning within a community stems from how an individual’s ideas are received by the public. The reception within a community that a person faces can lead to conflict when their core beliefs are incompatible with social norms. The balance between obligations to a sense of self and meaningful contributions to society is achieved through acceptance of conflicting values. Siddhartha and Antigone both showcase the complex role an individual plays in society. In Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, he is able to flourish within his community,†¦show more content†¦Antigone is loyal to the gods law, which causes her civil disobedience. It is her fight for the good life that leads to the development of personal truth. Like Siddhartha, the pursuit of betterment and reflection on the choices she makes leads to a heightened sense of self. Antigones willingness to lose herself to stand up for a clear goal - to bury her brother - helps bring awareness to personal truth. The sense of meaning and purpose an individual has within a community originates from how the general public reacts to his or her personal truths. Siddhartha is encouraged to follow his own path. â€Å"‘You will,’ he said, ‘go into the forest and become a samana’† (Hesse, 11). He is able to create his own set of governing morals because he has support from his community. This freedom is significant because it allows Siddhartha to find his true purpose in society, avoiding the constricting nature of a single set of beliefs. Antigone gains her sense of purpose in the opposite fashion. â€Å"Their laws are not for now or yesterday, but live forever† (Sophocles, 455 - 456). She is motivated by the laws of the gods and remains devoted to them. These views directly contrast what her community places emphasis on - order under Kreon. Her purpose within the community is to fight for the moral law. Both examples show the importance of how reception in th e community affects a person’s sense of purpose. An individual’s sense of self and purpose within the community may be in