Finding Natural Law: Consistency in Justice as a Theme

            From Ancient Greece to the present day, the theme of justice has been a subject of interest which has remained and will continue to remain in storytelling far into the future. The reason for this reoccurring notion is simply because justice has always been desirable to the nature of man. By comparing the ancient play Antigone to the modern film V for Vendetta, man’s natural partiality toward the equity of law can be seen. The protagonists in each work are able to distribute justice to their corrupt leaders with the utilization of ethical knowledge and supernatural intervention.

            In Sophocles’ Antigone, the main character, Antigone, possesses the ethical knowledge to know right from wrong, despite a morally contradicting law. Following the death of her two brothers, King Creon has Eteocles buried with rites and a hero’s ritual, but refuses to allow the other brother a burial at all. By his rule, anyone who gave Polyneices, a traitor to his kingdom, a proper burial was to be punished by death. When Antigone is convicted of the crime she responds: “I dared. It was not God’s proclamation. That final Justice that rules the world below makes no such laws” (Sophocles, 208). In V for Vendetta, the vigilante known as V has the ethical knowledge to know the injustices committed by Chancellor and his advisers. The hero is so confident in his sense of morality, that he is willing to kill for the benefit of the people. He says, “Violence can be used for good.” Eve then asks, “Are you going to kill more people?” To which he responds simply: “Yes” (McTeigue).

            The role of divine or supernatural intervention also plays a large part in punishing the injustices committed by the autocratic rulers. King Creon is warned by the blind prophet Tiresias that if he does not repent for his wrongdoings, he will suffer the wrath of the gods. Upon her punishment, Antigone prays for the gods to punish Creon equally, “But if the guilt lies upon Creon who judged me, then, I pray, may his punishment equal my own” (Sophocles, 228). The role of the gods corresponds to the role of fate that controls the outcomes in V for Vendetta. During V’s first encounter with Eve, he states, “I believe in Fate” (McTeigue), admiring the compatibility of her name and his. Just before the riot on the 5^th of November, Detective Flint, the man in charge of capturing V, has a revelation in which he claims the outcome is destined to occur. He says, “I suddenly had this feeling that everything was connected. I felt like I could see everything that happened and everything that was going to happen. It was like a perfect path laid out in front of me, and then I realized that we’re all a part of it. And we’re all trapped by it” (McTeigue).

            The theme of equal justice is so essential to human nature that it has been included as a central element in works that date back as far as Ancient Greece and continue to reappear into modern day culture. This customary desire for justice, which can be seen in ancient works such as Antigone, and modern works such as V for Vendetta, shows that our feelings about the idea have remained consistent throughout.

Works Cited

Fitts, Dudley, and Fitzgerald Robert. Sophocles: The Oedipus Cycle. Harcourt, Brace & World, 1949. Print.

V for Vendetta. Dir. James McTeigue. Warner Home Video, 2006.