In Antigone, the main struggle is between Antigone and Creon, which can also be seen as a struggle between the supremacy of legal and political institutions and the will of the Gods. The discourse of the play embodies the debate between the will of Creon and his faith in the laws and and the will of Antigone and her belief in the Gods. In this paper, I will defend Antigone’s burial of her brother and explain why she was correct in the context of Ancient Greece using other sources from the time.
In the play, Antigone's brother, Polynices, is killed in battle after attempting to forcefully retake the Theban throne, as was his given right. His brother, Eteocles, is also killed while defending his position on the throne and is given a proper burial. Their uncle, Creon is left to be the ruler of Thebes after the death of both Polynices and Eteocles in battle. He ends up acting like a tyrant with his devoted son even going as far as saying: “it's no city at all, owned by one man alone”(Antigone, 825) to show the unreasonable amount of power he is exerting. Antigone describes Creon’s proclamation as leaving Polyneices “unwept, unburied, a
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This could be seen in the fate that Antigone was forced to suffer. Antigone describes her fate by shouting: “ I am agony! No tears for the destiny that's mine, no loved one mourns my death.” (Antigone, 965). It can also be seen in the fact that the Gods did nothing to stop or prevent her fate. Even Antigone herself says: “Very well: if this is the pleasure of the gods, once I suffer I will know that I was wrong.” (Antigone 1015). Her fate and even this quote show that Antigone might not have been completely right in her assertion that the Gods wanted her to bury her brother. If the Gods did not want her to bury her brother, then it can be seen that she was simply just going against the laws of the city, which would have warranted
The opening events of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, quickly establish the central conflict between Antigone and Creon. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices, who tried to burn down the temple of gods in Thebes, must not be given proper burial. Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and insists on the sacredness of family and a symbolic burial for her brother. Whereas Antigone sees no validity in a law that disregards the duty family members owe one another, Creon's point of view is exactly opposite. He has no use for anyone who places private ties above the common good, as he proclaims firmly to the Chorus and the audience as he revels in his victory over Polynices. He sees Polynices as an enemy to the state because he attacked his brother. Creon's first speech, which is dominated by words such as "authority” and "law”, shows the extent to which Creon fixates on government and law as the supreme authority. Between Antigone and Creon there can be no compromise—they both find absolute validity in the respective loyalties they uphold.
When Creon decided to forbid the burial of Polynices, as he believed Polynices was a traitor to Thebes, Antigone was outraged. This decision, viewed through the eyes of Creon, was just and fair; on the other hand, Antigone viewed his decision as cruel and selfish, which resulted into a major conflict between these two characters. When Antigone disobeyed his proclamation, Creon became infuriated towards this rebellious act. Those small events within the play expressed Creon as a ruler doing what he believes is right; on the other hand, Antigone’s rebellion expressed otherwise. Antigone was soon shown to cause an evil spark within Creon.
Jodi Picoult once said “Some lessons can’t be taught. They simply have to be learned.”; in life what defines a person is what they become after they go through a series of trials and tribulations. Oedipus The King tells the story of a king who tries to outrun his fate and in the end self-banishes himself out of guilt leaving the kingdom of Thebes to Creon. The play starts with King Laius, who appoints Creon to rule in his kingdom while he consults the oracle at Delphi. Enraged by the death of King Laius, the gods cast a plague upon Thebes, which is the Sphinx, who starts to destroy the city. Terrified by the destruction of the kingdom, Creon states that anyone who might solve this riddle,
Antigone, as a character, is extremely strong-willed and loyal to her faith. Creon is similarly loyal, but rather to his homeland, the city of Thebes, instead of the gods. Both characters are dedicated to a fault, a certain stubbornness that effectively blinds them from the repercussions of their actions. Preceding the story, Antigone has been left to deal with the burden of her parents’ and both her brothers’ deaths. Merely a young child, intense grief is to be expected; however, Antigone’s emotional state is portrayed as frivolous when it leads her to directly disobey Creon’s orders. She buries her brother Polynices because of her obedience to family and to the gods, claiming to follow “the gods’ unfailing, unwritten laws” (Sophocles 456-457). CONTINUE
Antigone’s strength allows her to defend her brother’s honor against Creon, who wants to make a statement about traitors. However, both Antigone and King Creon commit faults while trying to protect the things they love. Antigone should not have died for her beliefs as it puts her loved ones and community in danger, and Creon should not have forbidden the burial of Polyneices as it angers the Gods and causes him great suffering in the end.
The story of Antigone is one of the most enduring stories of the Ancient Greek civilization. The theme known as “Hubris”, (also known as excessive pride) is clearly evident throughout the entire text of this story and highlights the devastation one can create not only for themselves but also for their entire family and kingdom when they succumb to excessive pride. This essay paper highlights the Greek Drama known as Antigone, with references given to specific textual evidence from the story as well as highly credible internet resources with regards to the characters known as Antigone and Creon.
In the following paper, I plan to discuss the source of conflict between the title characters of Antigone and Creon in Sophocles’ “Antigone”. I also plan to discuss how each character justifies his or her actions and what arguments they give for their justifications. I will also write about the strengths and weaknesses of these arguments. The final points I try to make are about who Sophocles thinks is right and who I think is right.
Both Riot Antigone and Antigone focus heavily on the dwindling relationships Antigone has with members of her family. However, although the foundational aspects of Antigone’s relationships with her family, as portrayed in the original play, remain they were slightly warped in Riot Antigone in order to make the relationships more relevant under the circumstances of today’s society. Specifically, her relationship between her sister and uncle. In the original writing of Sophocles’ Antigone, similar to how it occurred in Riot Antigone, Antigone calls on her little sister, Ismene, to help her carry out her mission to bury her brother’s body that has been sentenced to never be buried. However, in the original Antigone, Antigone’s reaction to Ismene’s
The will of the gods in Antigone is interpreted through a belief in divine law. For the purpose of this paper I will define divine law in my own terms: divine law is the set of ideals or beliefs, either put forth in religious texts or passed down through oral tradition, about god-like beings. Throughout Antigone it becomes increasingly clear that Antigone feels as though she must follow the will of the gods, this will being that each individual must be given proper burial rites. When Antigone was finally caught for her crime she declares to Creon that “It wasn’t Zeus, not in the least, who made this proclamation—not to me.
When one is approached with the question, who is the most important character in Antigone one can argue that it is Creon, the kind of Thebes. In Antigone by Sophocles, one may question the title of the play, due to the fact that the play perceives Creon to be the main character, yet the title is named Antigone. Creon, although is a very powerful character in the play, he possesses a tragic flaw of overwhelming pride and arrogance, which ultimately leads Creon in the opposite direction of triumph but instead, blindly into his own demise. Antigone is very controversial character, but for many Antigone plays a “hero” role in the play. Thus in the Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone plays a more important character when compared to Creon because she is very admirable;
Heteronomous reasoning is apparent in both Creon and Antigone in the beginning of the tragedy. Though the set of laws they are following is different, both Creon and Antigone treat the law as an external force. They uphold their laws with little regard to the negative consequences to themselves and other individuals. For Antigone her absolute law emanates from the gods. For Creon it is the head of state. He believes that “the man the city places in authority, his orders must be obeyed, large and small, write and wrong” (Sophocles 48-50). Once his law has been set down it is an entity of its own. Its interpretation would be literal and its punishment absolute.
In the awe-inspiring play of Antigone, Sophocles introduces two remarkable characters, Antigone and Creon. A conflict between these two obstinate characters leads to fatal consequences for themselves and their kindred. The firm stances of Creon and Antigone stem from two great imperatives: his loyalty to the state and her dedication to her family, her religion but most of all her conscience. The identity of the tragic hero of this play is still heavily debated. This tragedy could have been prevented if it had not been for Creon's pitiful mistakes.
In addition, Antigone is a strong believer in the divine laws of the gods and that by following those laws the gods will give Antigone an honorable place in the afterlife. In a quote by Antigone to Ismene, “I will bury him myself. And even if I die in the act, that death will be a glory…I have longer to please the dead than please the living here” (Sophocles, 1468). It is this unyielding belief that pushe...
In Sophocles' Greek tragedy, Antigone, two characters undergo character changes. During the play the audience sees these two characters' attitudes change from close-minded to open-minded. It is their close-minded, stubborn attitudes, which lead to their decline in the play, and ultimately to a series of deaths. In the beginning Antigone is a close minded character who later becomes open minded. After the death of her brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, Creon becomes the ruler of Thebes. He decides that Eteocles will receive a funeral with military honors because he fought for his country. However, Polyneices, who broke his exile to " spill the blood of his father and sell his own people into slavery", will have no burial. Antigone disagrees with Creon's unjust actions and says, " Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way." She vows to bury her brother so that his soul may gain the peace of the underworld. Antigone is torn between the law placed against burying her brother and her own thoughts of doing what she feels should be done for her family. Her intent is simply to give her brother, Polyneices, a proper burial so that she will follow "the laws of the gods." Antigone knows that she is in danger of being killed for her actions and she says, "I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down with him in death, and I shall be as dear to him as he to me." Her own laws, or morals, drive her to break Creon's law placed against Polyneices burial. Even after she realizes that she will have to bury Polyneices without the help of her sister, Ismene, she says: Go away, Ismene: I shall be hating you soon, and the dead will too, For your words are hateful. Leave me my foolish plan: I am not afraid of the danger; if it means death, It will not be the worst of deaths-death without honor. Here Ismene is trying to reason with Antigone by saying that she cannot disobey the law because of the consequences. Antigone is close-minded when she immediately tells her to go away and refuses to listen to her. Later in the play, Antigone is sorrowful for her actions and the consequences yet she is not regretful for her crime. She says her crime is just, yet she does regret being forced to commit it.
Attitude is everything. In Antigone by Sophocles, one of the characters makes the remark, “Think all men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride” (line 34-36 scene 5). Pride is being shown in many ways throughout the play. Sophocles emphasizes different ironies to bring out Antigone’s arrogance. Creon’s intelligence, but also to show his irresponsibility and foolishness.