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A grievous saint is a man of respectability with brave or conceivably courageous qualities. This individual is destined by the Divine beings or by some powerful power to fate and demolition or if nothing else to awesome enduring. In any case, the deplorable legend battles, all things considered, against this destiny and this inestimable clash wins our deference. I would contend that Antigone is viewed as the saint(tragic hero) in this astonishing disaster composed by Sophocles. She has numerous deplorable blemishes which prompt her ruin. One of Antigone's terrible defects is her devotion to the divine beings. Her unfaithfulness to Ruler Creon is likewise one of her disastrous defects(tragic flaws). Antigone can be viewed as an awful courageous woman since …show more content…
In Antigone, the focal character trusts that her defect is her quality, however it is really her resolved faithfulness. Antigone's general blemish gives her quality to take after her feelings. She is faithful to her family and her ethical feelings. At the point when Creon proclaims that Polyneices, Antigone's sibling, is a deceiver to the city and that his body will stay unburied, Antigone feels compelled by a solemn obligation to cover him despite the fact that she realizes that this activity is deserving of death. Her reliability to her family is likewise limited in her dedication to her religious feelings. After Creon finds that Antigone has resisted his order, he doubts her. Antigone reacts: 'I didn't trust your decree had such energy to empower one who will some time or another kick the bucket to supersede God's laws unwritten and secure' (lines 496-499). Antigone trusts that support of the divine beings and the dead is more vital than complying with man's laws. 'The time in which I should satisfy those that are dead is longer than I should satisfy those of this world' (lines
Creon would qualify as the tragic hero if the only condition were not being excessively moral or immoral. Antigone's “immoral” side is shown by her (thought-to-be) incestuous behavior with her brother, Polyneicês. In contrast, Antigone’s positive side is shown by the way the she persistent on respecting her brother’s right to be buried in the religious tradition of the time in Greece, so that his soul can live on in the afterlife. “Listen, Ismenê: Creon buried our brother Eteoclês with military honors, gave him a soldier’s funeral, and it was right that he should; but Polyneicês, they fought as bravely and died as miserably, - they say that Creon has sworn no one shall bury him, no one mourn for him, but this body must lie in the fields, a sweet treasure for carrion birds to find as they search for food. That is what they say, and our good Creon is coming here to announce it publicly; and the penalty- stoning to death I the public squarel. There it is, and now you can prove what you are: a true sister, or a traitor to your family.” (Sophocles; Antigone, 3)
Like her parents, Antigone defies a powerful authority. Unlike her parents though, that authority is not of the gods, but rather of a person who thinks he is a god: Creon, Antigone's uncle, great-uncle, and king. He proclaims that the body of Polyneices, Antigone's brother who fought against Thebes in war, would be left to rot unburied on the field, “He must be left unwept, unsepulchered, a vulture's prize....” (ANTIGONE, Antigone, 192). Antigone, enraged by the injustice done to her family, defies Creon's direct order and buries her brother.
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, written by Sophocles is a tale of a tragic hero who suffers with the recognition and realization of his tragic flaw. Although this short story is titled after Antigone, Creon is the main character and he provides the moral significance in the play. First, Creon withholds the respect of his citizens but it is clear to them he is not perfect through his pride (tragic flaw). Secondly, his radical reversal of fortune is made clear after he struggles with the recognition of his fatal flaw. Thirdly and lastly, his pity and fear flowers into an understanding of his prideful and destructive nature leading to his redemption. Nevertheless he is left with the burden of the deaths of his family, becoming a shell of misfortune and loneliness. Although Creon's actions cannot be labeled as courageous, his character traits pertain greatly to that of a tragic hero.
Antigone holds her love of family, and respect to the dead, elevated beyond the laws of Creon, whom she believes, has no righteous justification to close his eyes to the honor of the deceased. In her determination to fulfill Polynices' rights, she runs directly into Creon's attempts to re-establish order. This leads to encounters of severe conflict between the dissimilarities of the two, creating a situation whereby both Creon and Antigone expose their stubbornness and self will.
Antigone is a strong willed character who is not afraid to defend her beliefs. After learning that Creon has denied Polyneices of a proper burial she uses her free will to decide that she must lay her brother to rest, as she strongly believes he should be honored like the other fallen soldiers. Unable to
In the greek tragedy Antigone , the author Sophocles conveys Antigone as the tragic hero because she arouses the most fear, she shows both good and bad which is a tragic hero characteristic and Antigone has the tragic flaw of loyalty to her family and to the gods.
For example, “Antigone identifies her devotion to a reverence for an eternal, unwritten law” (McNeil 415). This is important because it explains how she believes in her “unwritten law,” meaning after her death how she would be viewed by the god she worshiped. Also, in the article, written by David McNeill, Antigone Autonomy it states how she was “guided” by “the laws of gods that demanded burial for the beloved dead” (McNeill 413).This evidence shows how Antigone was influenced by the gods, and what they believed was right. If Antigone was put up to the test, one would naturally assume that she would also be “guided” by what she thinks is right. Therefore “Antigone has been held up as a hero of conscience, who holds fast to her own beliefs, to her own sense of what is right, of what must be done” (McNeill 414). This shows how Antigone “holds” up her own believes and “sense” of
Antigone remains a static character at stage five throughout the story. Faced with people who do not agree with her decision, Antigone stands tall with what is morally right to her. Kohlberg’s Theory is not only universal but also helps readers understand a character morally. Choosing whether or not to bury her brother, Polyneices, or to follow the law given by Creon, does not derail her moral
Thebian play of Antigone has excited many debates over the years. The most prevalent being who exactly could be characterized as the tragic hero in the story. The argument that Antigone is the hero is deffinatly a strong one. There are many critics who believe that Creon, however, is the true protagonist of the play. In order to determine whether or not Creon is the tragic hero one must first examine what a tragic hero is. Aristotle states that a hero is neither purely innocent nor purely malevolent. A hero is usually born into high rank of society, and this person must possess a tragic flaw. This flaw normally stems from either poor judgment or extreme arrogance. This flaw will inevitably contribute to the character's downfall.
The origin of the Sophocles’ Greek tragedy “Antigone” has created much controversy about the definition of a tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle. A literary character that makes a judgment error that leads to his/her own downfall. Both Creon and Antigone challenge each other’s conception of the divine and civic law while each has lawfulness in their argument. It is evidently noted that Antigone is the hero of the tragedy; she was a romantic idealist whose beliefs on family loyalty and religious values could not be condemned by civil laws.
Antigone shows throughout the play that she is always thinking that she must do what is best for other’s and not just herself. She is willing to do what is needed to follow the law of the gods, even if it is breaking the state law.... ... middle of paper ... ...
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.
In Sophocles’ Antigone, Antigone saw her action of burying her brother as a just one. It may not have been just in the eyes of Creon and the people of Thebes, but she was not concerned with the laws that mortals had made. Antigone saw the divine laws of the gods to be much more important than those of mortals. She felt that if she died while upholding the laws of the gods, that her afterlife would be better than if she had not. Our lives on this earth are so short, that to see a good afterlife over the horizon will make people go against the laws of humans.
Antigone’s firm belief that her brother Polyneices should have a proper burial is established by her conviction in that the law of the gods is above all else. This law proclaims that all men be mourned and honored by family and friends through means of a suitable burial. Antigone’s need to put honor upon Polyneices’ soul is so grand that she ignores the advice of everyone around her, including her sister Ismene, who tries to pull her away from performing this criminal act because it will disobey the law set by King Creon, and lead to her demise. However, Antigone does not care about the repercussions because even though “[s...