Antigone Sacrifice

600 Words2 Pages

She deliberately sacrificed her status in society. She intentionally sacrificed her own life so an authority figure would not decide her fate for her. The rebellious actions Antigone, the main character in Antigone by Sophocles, takes to bury her dead brother, Polynices, results in serious consequences. Antigone's values are illuminated because she was willing to sacrifice her social status and her own life in order to bury her brother. Antigone values family loyalty and divine law. After her brother dies, her uncle and ruler of Thebes, Creon, proclaims and edict deeming it illegal to bury the body of Polynices and whoever buries the body will be put to death. Within the first two pages of the play, Antigone decides to break the law and bury her brother anyway. She believes that he should be buried for respect of the dead. Antigone also feels strongly about burying her brother because she cannot be given a new one. Both of her parents are dead, and she understands that she will not have another chance to be given a brother. Antigone states that if it was a son or a husband, she would not bury the body because she can easily marry a new husband and easily have another baby. Although this contradicts some of her beliefs, she still strongly values family. She understands …show more content…

Antigone believes that Creon’s edict is disrespectful to not only the dead, but to the gods as well. It is evident that she values divine law to human law. Antigone thinks that the hubris shown by Creon is wrong. By deeming it illegal to bury Polynices, Creon is essentially stating that Polynices cannot live on in the afterworld. Considering Creon is not a god, he does not have the ultimate decision in the destiny of the dead. Antigone knows that one day she will die too. She would want someone to bury her so she can live on in the afterlife, just like she is doing for her

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