Antigone is a play by Sophocles, dealing with the dichotomy of man made laws and the laws of god. One of the Characters dealing with this dichotomy is Antigone’s sister, Ismene, Who deals with this dichotomy in a substantial manner as her inability to deal with this dichotomy, sets the Tragedy in motion.
One of Ismene’s most defining characteristics is her loyalty towards her family,
As she helps Oedipus in Oedipus at colonus and remains loyal to her sister, Antigone.
Her loyalty can only extend so far as her fear of death, Prompted by Creon’s order of forbidding anyone from burying Polyneices, strikes Ismene into not helping antigone.
This ties into the theme of the dichotomous relationship between man’s laws and god’s laws, As she tries to
Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus, who was a major figure of ancient Greek myth.
How would you feel if your one mistake caused you to lose everything that is important to you? This happens to multiple celebrities, but one professional athlete it affects severely is Tiger Woods. According to Golf.com, Tiger lost everything from his personal relationships, to a yield in his professional career, all because he made the mistake of cheating on his wife. He contains many of the characteristics that one can consider him to be a tragic hero. One Greek tragedy that portrays a similar situation is Antigone by Sophocles. Creon makes the mistake of not listening to others, which causes him to lose all his loved ones and his kingdom. He best fits the mold of a tragic hero because he has the tragic flaw of excessive pride and he experiences an increased awareness.
Antigone and her family have suffered many things. It all began with her father, Oedipus. Oedipus has a very confused life. He ends up killing his father, the king of Thebes, while he believes his father is someone else. He ends up as the king of Thebes and married to his mother, Jocasta.
Antigone herself is quite the character, her confidence is indubitable, and coupled with her righteousness, she stands as a key tool for Sophocles’ use in addressing gender roles. In an act of virtue, Antigone decides to bury her brother's body, and to perform all of the necessary rites associated with doing so, all while knowing that what she hopes to attempt is forbidden by royal decree. Confronting her sister, Ismene, with her idea, she is reminded that women have a certain place in society, being told, “[W]e were born / Women, and so not meant to fight with men” (Sophocles 63-4). Antigone takes this statement offensively, learning that her sister has a different understanding of what is important, and what is not. Ismene believes her own life has more
Creon wants to be respected and feared as a king because this will prove him to be the
Antigone shows the contrast between state law and divine law. Although the two have similarities, they are enforced in very different ways. The major conflict is this – according to divine law, Antigone’s brother must be buried, but, according to state law, Antigone’s brother is not to be buried due to his political standing. The divine law is a law that is the same for everyone and does not change, whereas the state...
When one examines the virtues and beliefs of the characters in Sophocles’ Oedipus Trilogy one thing immediately comes to mind - all of them are conflicted at some point in the play (and some at multiple points). Ismene is torn between wanting to help her sister and wanting to obey the decrees of Creon. Haemon is told by his father to avoid women - especially Antigone - but he is in love with her and ends up dying because of this conflict. Even the guard, who only has a minor part, does not know whether he should ever return to Creon and nearly does not. These conflicts drive the play throughout, and none of them ever more than the multiple
The beginning of Antigone quickly sets up the diverging reasoning of our sisters Antigone and Ismene. Ismene’s whole roll in Antigone is to show a view and personality that counters Antigone’s. They also make the reader ask the question, is either sister completely right or wrong? These views range from the law,
Antigone’s own excessive pride drives her to her defeat. Her arrogance and strive for self-importance blinds her to the consequences of her actions. Ismene, Antigone’s sister, rejects to take part in the crime leaving Antigone all on her own. Ismeme declares “why rush to extremes? Its madness, madness” (Sophocles 80). Ismene fails to comprehend the logic behind her siste...
Genesis, Job, and Antigone all discuss matters regarding the laws of god and law of man, punishments for disobedience, and the role of knowledge.
Antigone, the daughter of the Late Oedipus, discovers the news of her two brothers Eteocles and Polyneices death. But what made Antigone more furious
Trust is an important aspect of a relationship; imagine being trusted by 2 individuals, only to be face with a difficult decision to break the trust of one. I was in that situation approximately 2 years ago. It was a warm summer day when my father asked my big brother and me to clean the fish pond in the back yard before he returns from his business trip. We both agreed to have it done before he gets back. However, we spend our days playing video games, hanging out with friends, and watching television. The day before my father returned from his trip, my brother went to check on the pond to see the amount of work need it to be done. After his inspection, he assured me that the pond does not need to be clean for another
...th which she has to look upon Oedipus as well as the public. When Oedipus sees her hanging in her room, he lets out a low sob, which indicates that although he was angry with her when he came to know about his true past, yet he pitied her for the pain he has caused to her for all those years.
The German philosopher Hegel stated that the play Antigone written by Sophocles represents the tragic collision of right against right, with both sides equally justified. The play begins with tragedy and ends the same way. Polyneices and Eteocles were brothers whom killed each other in combat over the power of the throne. Creon, the brothers’ uncle, was the following family member to occupy the throne. But he did not desire the same pattern to repeat itself. Therefore he created a decree which punished all those who committed a crime before dying. These people would, in turn, be neglected of a burial ceremony. Eteocles was recognized as the defender of the city and with much dignity he was given all his death rights in his burial. On the contrary, his brother Polyneices was neglected of his death ceremony because he was accused of attacking the city of Thebes. It was Creon’s perspective that if he betrayed his own decree there would once again be anarchy and chaos in Thebes. Then there was Antigone, a wise young woman who was engaged to Creon’s son and was the sister of Polyneices and Eteocles. Antigone had a deeper understanding of the higher unchanging morality of behavior versus misbehavior. Antigone would rather be civilly disobedient than suffer over the unburied dead. Two completely different points of view seem to exist in the same environment. In the play Antigone, the clash of dialectal ideas of justice is seen in the different lens of Antigone and Creon.