Difficult decisions are inevitable on the path to achieving the good life. Antigone, in Antigone by Sophocles, and Siddhartha, in Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, demonstrate the true strength that is necessary for defying societal norms in order to endure the journey of attaining the good life. Their true strength is represented by the things that they choose to defy in their society. In order to achieve the Good Life, an individual has to go through setbacks on their journey to achieving personal freedom and happiness while staying true to their morals.
Both Antigone and Siddhartha exemplify the idea that part of the Good Life, includes making difficult decisions and defying societal norms. Throughout the play Antigone goes up against Creon, the ruler of Thebes, also her uncle. Creon forbids the burial of Polyneices, Antigone’s brother, because he sees that forbidding his burial will send the message that traitors will be punished and this shows that his main priority is that he can maintain order. Creon also states that he will execute anyone who buries Polyneices, even though it is Antigone who buries him. Antigone defies societal norms in order to endure the journey of attaining the good life. She chooses to stand for her brother and moral laws and buries Polyneices, even though Creon does not accept that. Antigone knows the consequences, but she does it anyway because her decision follow moral law fulfills her journey to the good life. Antigone knew that she would face the consequence of death and that it was inevitable, so she began to look at the good in ending her life. “Yet not unpraised, not without a kind of honor. You walk at last into the underworld; Untouched by sickness, broken by no sword. What woman has ever found your way to death?” (Scene 4, Lines 667-670). She died with pride and her morals were intact and this is what led her short life into fulfilling the good life. In this play there is the conflict if whether the good life of the individual is more important than the good of a society, as represented between Creon and Antigone. Antigone was a subject in a kingdom and her lifestyle and choices were to reflect the rules set by her King, Creon. Seeing Polyneices’s body being left outside the kingdom walls to rot caused Antigone’s intrinsic and individual morals to take over. For this reason, she separated herself from the kingdom. Antigone and Creon have their own versions of the good life. Antigone’s good life is honoring the gods and her family, whereas Creon’s is preserving order and rule in his kingdom. If he allowed Antigone to disobey his command, he feared the fall of his ruling and of the city itself. This reading brings into question whether or not the good life of the individual is more important than the good of a society. In order to live the good life, individuals have to realize even though one may be more superior because of their power, everyone has an important role in society. In Siddhartha, Siddhartha is faced with many choices on his path to enlightenment. Throughout his journey he became wise due to his sufferings and experiences which led him to the good life. Siddhartha was born into the top class in the caste system of India, the Berahmins. He decides to leave his father and the Brahmins because he feels that he has learned all he can learn from him. The reason he leaves them because he hopes to seek enlightenment in different ways and perspectives. Unlike Antigone, going against his leaders, he did it because he felt that he lacked spiritual fulfillment. “Siddhartha had strated to nurse discontent in himself he had started to feel that the love of his father and the love of his mother, and also the love of his friend, Govinda, would not bring him joy forever and ever, would not nurse him, feed him, satisfy him.” (4). The significance of Siddhartha leaving his identity represents the process of life, it is normal to take different paths from the ones we grew up in to find the good life. He was driven by his conscience to fill the void in his life, which meant he had to leave his current life behind to find his individual good life. During his journey he comes across Gotama, an enlightened religious leader who has attained Nirvana. He teaches his followers who want to attain enlightenment, the Eightfold Path, the four main points, and other aspects of Buddhism. Siddhartha rejects his teachings because he believes that even though Gotama has achieved enlightenment, his teachings are not the right answer for him to find enlightenment. Unlike, Siddhartha, Govinda who is Siddhartha’s best friend is a follower of Gotama and would always tell Siddhartha to seek teachers who can lead them to enlightenment. Siddhartha did not agree with Govinda and saw himself more as a leader and wanted to find enlightenment on his own unique path. Siddhartha throughout his journey made difficult decisions that defied society’s norms like Antigone. Both of these characters put themselves before and took a risk to find themselves. After their decisions as an individual they now do not sacrifice their own happiness in order to comply with society but instead they sacrifice familiarity in order to venture out and build their own destiny. Difficult decisions are part of the good life since each decision an individual makes contributes to their path of the good life.
Difficult decisions come along the way while on the path to achieving the good life. Antigone and Siddhartha demonstrate the true strength that is necessary for defying societal norms in order to endure the journey of attaining the good life. They both go through loses and setbacks. Through these obstacles, they learned how to be independent, challenge their beliefs, and personal happiness. The main lesson is to be true to yourself no matter what society believes because that is key in attaining the good life, as seen in these readings.