Good Life Essay Almost everyone in the society has social an obligation of being a citizen, a familial obligation of being a family member, or a personal obligation of being a property owner, and there are always conflicts between the obligations and one’s inner sense of truth, or wisdom. So how should we handle those conflicts? Lived in difference times and cultures, Siddhartha and Antigone took steps to do what they believed was right even though they failed some expectations by doing so; in other words, they followed their inner sense of truth instead of fulfilling the obligations. Their journeys to their ideal good lives share both similarities and differences. Both Siddhartha and Antigone sacrificed and advanced, but they experienced difference consequences. Both Siddhartha and Antigone achieved …show more content…
Some people suggest that if Siddhartha can think of his decisions carefully, he would have avoided the prolonged journey because a ferryman he became in the end is just a “very simple person” (Hesse, 123). Nevertheless, wisdom can only be taught thought experience. Without the experience of trying different methods, he would not reach enlightenment by just thinking plainly. Antigone’s way of living a good life is also convincible. No men’s laws are perfect, so there are often conflicts between men’s laws and the gods’ laws, in the book, the conflicts existed between Kreon’s Code and Antigone’s Code. Kreon believed that good lives could only be achieved by obey authority while Antigone believed that good lives could only be achieved by obeying god’s laws. So it is logical for Antigone to stand up for what she believed was right. In contrast, Antigone is clearer about the way to reach her goal than Siddhartha is. Antigone knows that she will bury his brother, and she might die for it; but Siddhartha has been trying to find out how to achieve