Loyalty often stems from one’s own beliefs and the strength of his support or allegiance to a person or idea. Although people may demonstrate loyalty in different ways, people should know where their beliefs lie and remain true to them. Throughout the literary works analyzed in this unit, this theme surrounding loyalty presents itself often. Sophocles’ play, Antigone, exhibits loyalty in many of the leading characters: Antigone herself and the tyrannical leader, Creon. The protagonist in the movie, The Pursuit of Happyness written by Steve Conrad, shows his loyalty to his son above all else. Eveline, in the short story by James Joyce, ends up staying in Dublin rather than leaving with her fiance; she shows her loyalty to her family as she …show more content…
Family loyalty means a great deal to Antigone and she makes it clear that her own life does not matter in comparison, “But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy” (Sophocles 189). Antigone begins the prologue of the play attempting to convince her sister, Ismene, to join her loyalties and bury their brother together, as a family. She goes further to insult Ismene for her lack of devotion to her brother, “And now you can prove what you are: A true sister, or a traitor to your family,” and to the gods, “since apparently the laws of the gods mean nothing to you” (Sophocles 187, 188). Ismene lacks loyalty all together; she begins seemingly loyal to the government and Creon’s laws then, when she hears of Antigone’s punishment, attempts to take part of the credit for her sister’s actions. By the end of the play, Ismene disappears from the storyline. She does not have strong allegiances to anything or anyone, ultimately causing her to become irrelevant. Antigone, on the other hand, comes across as the heroine of the story; she rose above all else in order to follow her beliefs and stay true to her personal …show more content…
Chris Gardner’s life ultimately lacks instability. Despite natural paternal instincts, Chris’ loyalty to his son also stems from the fact that it stands as the only stable relationship in his life. Otherwise, Chris has no stable income, job or relationship with his wife, Linda. Even when Linda claims she’s leaving, Chris does his best to make sure that “Christopher [lives] with [him]” no matter what the situation between him and his wife (The Pursuit of Happyness). If his son and wife left him, Chris would have no motivation left. Family means a great deal to him, whether on good terms or not. We can see this when Chris explains he tries to get the stockbroker internship “for [Linda] and for Christopher” to support them better in the long run (The Pursuit of Happyness). Although Chris works hard in order to provide for his family, he also shows that he has loyalty for his job as well. His hard-working demeanor and positive attitude make for a great worker and it shows throughout his internship. If Chris lacked devotion to his son and job, he would not feel love from his son nor possess a job to support him. Ultimately, Chris’ loyalties keep him alive and motivated for his future and his son’s future as
She protects her dead brothers’ honor as she disobeys the laws of King Creon. She feels that the gods are the only ones who have a say on the burial of a person as stated, “I did not believe your proclamation had such power to enable one who will someday die to override God’s ordinances” (Sophocles 497-500). She is brave, passionate, and full of fury; she is strong and determined enough to do what she feels despite the laws of the land. Ismene, who is Antigone’s sister is more of the conservative, law-abiding, bow down to men type of woman, as shown by her comments to Antigone “you ought to realize we are only women, not meant in nature to fight against men” (Sophocles 70-71). Ancient Greece is a male dominated society, and Antigone knows all too well the punishment she will receive to breaking this law, when she states, “for whoever breaks the edict death is prescribed, and death by stoning publicly” (Sophocles 40-41). After being caught burying her brother, she showed her true bravery and dedication to this cause by saying to Creon “Yes, I confess; I will not deny my deed” (Sophocles 487). It infuriated Creon that a woman broke his law. Creon tells Haemon, his son and Antigones’ fiancé, “I caught her openly in disobedience alone out of all this city and I shall not make myself a liar in the city’s sight. No, I will kill her” (Sophocles 706-709). Creon wanted to put her to
Brad Moore, a famous athlete once said, “Pride would be a lot easier to swallow if it didn’t taste so bad.” In Sophocles’ well known Greek tragedy, Antigone, the main character undergoes immense character development. Antigone transforms from being stubborn and underestimated to courageous and open-minded. In reality, it is Antigone’s insular persistence that leads to her ultimate decline in the play as well as others around her. After the death of her two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, Creon becomes the new ruler of Thebes. With this, he grants Eteocles an honorable funeral service for his brave fighting. Claiming that Polynices was a traitor, he shows complete refusal to grant Polynices a respectable and worthy service. Clearly disagreeing with Creon’s inexcusable demands, Antigone declares she will bury Polynices herself so that his soul can be at peace. Entirely aware of the consequences and dangers of this action, which include death, she goes forward vowing her love for her family. Antigone shows strength and determination towards her brother. However, her growing sense of pride leads to her downfall as she sacrifices everything for her family. Antigone develops into an admirable character in which she portrays her defiance and courage, pride and open mindedness, and sense of moral righteousness to show vital character growth as the play progresses.
Antigone is a young woman whose moral background leads her to go against the wishes of the king to bury her brother, Polyneices. Sophocles uses Antigone as a character who undergoes an irreversible change in judgment and as a result, ends up dying. Antigone is hero, and she stands for honor, and divinity. Because Antigone's parents were Oedipus and Iacaste, she was born into a family of power; something that she could not change. At times, Sophocles leads the reader into thinking Antigone wishes she was not who she was. Ismene, Antigone's sister, refuses to help Antigone because (as she states) "I have no strength to break laws that wer...
Antigone is a powerful character, strong-willed, determined and at times self-righteous. She is contrasted by her sister Ismene, who is weak and powerless. Though Antigone is a powerful character, she has no real political power and is dominated by one man, Creon. Creon is both the ruler of the state as well as the patriarch of her family. Antigone was raised by Creon’s house after her own father went in to exile. Antigone is betrothed to Creon’s son, Haemon, further cementing Creon’s power over her. There is one aspect of life that Antigone does have legitimate power in and that is her family, especially her blood line. In ancient-Greek culture the women’s place was in the home, she was responsible for household things and often wasn’t even allowed to leave the house. It is because of this responsibility that Antigone needed to bury her brother Polynices even though it went against the decree of Creon. Antigone also had the gods on her side. It was an unwritten rule of ancient Greek society that the dead must be buried, otherwise bad things may happen. This rule, because it was unwritten and therefore innate, was protected by the gods, specifically Hades, the god of the underworld and family.
“Being sister and brother means being there for each other” (thefreshquotes.com). Siblings are one’s most important relative because they’re basically an irreplaceable friend that will love and care for one another forever. People’s relationship with their siblings is emotionally powerful and critically important for their everyday life. Antigone believes that her siblings are her most significant relatives because they can’t be replaced, unlike a husband or children, because her parents are deceased; she will do anything for them, even go against the rules and put her own life in danger. In the play Antigone by Sophocles, the character Antigone can be seen as immoral because of her defying Creon’s laws, however, she receives sympathy for the injustices that were done to her brother, Polyneices, of him not being provided with a proper burial.
Family is such a large part of both of these stories. The very first line of Antigone makes it clear that blood ties are very significant to Antigone: "Now, dear Ismene, my own blood sister," The fact that Ismene is her blood sister is important enough to verbalize it, even when addressing Ismene. Throughout the play, several other aspects of the story indicate that Antigone is slightly obsessive about her family. She is willing to give up her life to honor her dead brother, all the while discussing how she would be honored to "lay down with the man I love". This is horrifyingly close to implying incest. She feels she has a duty to bury him. "Yes. I’ll do my duty to my brother and yours as well, if you’re not prepared to. I won’t be caught betraying him."
At first she tries to convince her sister Ismene to join her in her plans, but Ismene refuses, she is not willing to give up her life at all, when Antigone is not only risking her life but also her marriage with Haemon. When Antigone meets Creon she proves her strength and spiritual power. Some say she is not a saint but a martyr. She combats Creon with insolence towards the civil authority, following always the laws of heaven.
Although both sisters have lost their brothers, Antigone is the only one who will go against her king to do what she knows is right. When Antigone asks her sister if she will help her bury their brother Polyneices, Ismene responds with, “We are only women; we cannot fight with men, Antigone! The law is strong; we must give into the law…” (Ismene 774). Naturally, Ismene should be afraid for herself, as well for the safety of her sister because what Antigone is asking of her will mostly likely cause them both to be killed. However, she should be braver like Antigone, and realize that she must do what is morally right for their family, and give her brother the proper burial that he deserves. Afterward, when Antigone has already been captured, Ismene then comes forth to try and share the punishment that has been given to Antigone, but Antigone tells King Creon that she has done nothing. In addition, when Creon asks Ismene if she had anything to do with the crime, and Antigone denies it, Ismene then replies, “But now I know what you meant; and I am here to join you, to take my share of punishment” (Ismene 785). Although now Ismene feels like she needs to stand up to the King and do what is right for her
In one of the opening scenes, the fluctuating emotions of the heated dialogue between Ismene and Antigone takes place. The two sisters take turns evoking passion and subjectiveness on their role as people in this world, but more specifically as civilians of Greece. Antigone has the mentality that she owes her duty of being an obedient family member (Johnson 370). Likewise, Ismene fears for her sister’s life and tries to persuade her that her allegiance may lay too strongly in the wrong place. Both women ultimately value family, however, they are split between whom they are most considerate to and immediately cause the audience to take sides.
Antigone is loyal to her family readers can see that when she says “ Their it is, and now you can prove what you are: A true sister , or a traitor to your family” ( PR. 26-27). This quote shows that Antigone is loyal to her family because she wants her sister to be a true sister like her because she is going the break the law for her brother. Antigone is also seen as loyal to the gods when she says “ That final justice, that rules the world below makes no such laws” ( 2. 57-58). Antigone is seen as loyal because she says the final justice of her being killed doesn’t matter because she did something good for the gods, so they will be loyal back to her. In the greek tragedy Antigone, Antigone has the tragic flaw of loyalty to her family and to the gods, which leads to her
In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, it is greatly apparent just within the first few exchanges between Ismene and Antigone that there are various social issues surrounding the women in ancient Greece. The play raises many gender and socially related issues especially when looking at the contextual background of the playwright and the representation of the women within the play. When the characters of the first scene begin their analog, it is important to note what they are actually saying about each other and what their knowledge of their own social status is. The audience is first introduced to Antigone who we later learn is the antagonist of the play as she rebels against the protagonist, Creon. Her sister, Ismene, is the second character the audience is introduced to, hears of Antigone's plan to bury their brother's body in the first scene. Ismene’s actions and words give the reader the hint that her sister’s behavior is not usual, "so fiery" and "so desperate" are the words used to describe Antigone's frame of mind. At this very early point in the play the reader discovers that Antigone is determined to carry out her mission to bury her beloved brother. However, she is in no position that gives her the rights as a woman, sister, or even future queen to make her own decisions and rebel. Instead, her decision to bury her brother demonstrates her loyalty to her family, the gods, and to all women. Her motivation for those decisions will end up driving her far more than that of what the laws set by Creon have implemented. She shows no fear over disobeying the king and later says about the punishment of death "I will lie with the one I love and loved by him"(Sophocles, 2). Throughout the play the reader can see the viewpoint of an obedient woman, a rebellious woman, and the social norms required for both of them.
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.
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
Although Antigone has a bad reputation with Creon, and possibly Ismene, for being insubordinate, she stays true to her values throughout the entire play by following the law of gods, not so that she could appease them, but because she admired its value of honor and respect to loved ones that have passed away. This devotion and determination to give her brother a proper burial shows the true essence of her being: that loyalty to family is in fact hold above all else.
The sexist stereotypes presented in this tragedy address many perspectives of men at this time. Creon the arrogant and tyrant leader is, the very character that exemplifies this viewpoint. Antigone's spirit is filled with bravery, passion and fury; which allow her to symbolize the very essence of women. She is strong enough to do what her conscious tells her despite the laws of the land. Many examples in the play prove that Antigone's character is very capable of making her own decisions in the name of justice. First, Antigone opposes Creon's law and buries her slain brother; because in her mind it was immoral not to. She does this because she is compassionate and loves her brother very much. Creon, however, believes that his laws must be upheld and would do anything to prevent any type rebelling. He is even more infuriated when he learns that a woman has broken his laws. He tries to show Antigone who's in charge by sentencing her to a life of imprisonment. Secondly, Antigone shows how determined she is by accepting her consequences with pride. She does not try to hide that she is responsible for breaking Creon's laws, moreover, she takes all the credit. All the while she maintains her strength because she truly believes in her actions. These sorts of actions ultimately prove that Antigone is courageous and willing to stand up to men, which was completely against the norm at this time. Her spirit refuses to submit to the role of a helpless woman like her sister Ismene's character does.