Heroes come in many forms. Some immense in size and strength as Hercules, some in the form of people that are shunned, such as Harriet Tubman, and some that are only valorous heroes to some, such as Kurt Cobain. These heroes have many characteristics that make people flock to their side and follow them without a moment of hesitation. In Sophocles' Antigone the hero is a women who believes in her heart far stronger than that of her leader's rule. Sophecles shows many of Antigone’s characteristics that are also seen in many heroes. She is up against an impossible enemy, she does not fit well into society's mold, and is destroyed by her own pride.
For these characteristics Antigone is given the title of an epic Heroine. Antigone is one of the lucky townsfolk to be born of a royal house. As Antigone defies Creon's law, she is cast into a pool of danger between what she believes is right and what the state's law decrees is right. As Antigone is charged with the burying of her brother, an action, which the King has declared unlawful, she holds like stone to her undying gratitude for her deceased brother. She believes that this will help lift the curse plagued on the household. The curse in which Antigone’s father tried to hold at bay and failed.
Her sister Ismene warned Antigone by exclaiming, "Sister please, please! Remember how our father dies: hated, in disgrace, wrapped in horror of himself, his own hand stabbing out his sight. And how his mother-wife in one, twisted off her earthly days with a cord. And thirdly how our two brothers in a single day each achieved for each a suicidal Nemesis.” This has already given Antigone the mindset that even the Gods are against her will. She is also up against a great foe in fighting that of Creon's edict. Ismene said this: "The rest, if we defy our sovereign's edict and his power. Remind ourselves that we are women, and such not made to fight with men. For might unfortunately is right and makes us bow to things like this and worse.” Antigone sees herself as not only one who can defy the power of the Gods but the power of the state. Thus she would be up against a force greater than her own.
Second, another characteristics of a tragic hero is that the person does not always fit into society's mold.
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...
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 great Greek tragedy by Sophocles. The story is about a young woman who has buried her brother by breaking king’s decree, and now she is punished for obeying God’s law. There are many arguments about who is the tragic hero in Sophocles’ Antigone. Some believe that it is Creon because he also has the characteristics of a tragic hero. Others believe that it is Antigone because the play bears her name. Antigone is the perfect hero, to exemplify the meaning of a tragic hero. In order to determine whether Antigone is the tragic hero, one will have to answer the question, what is a tragic hero? According to Aristotle, “The tragic hero is a character of noble stature and has greatness, he/she is not perfect, the hero's downfall and it is partially his/her own fault, and the hero's misfortunate is not wholly deserved.” (Aristotle) Antigone is a tragic hero because she has a high social standing in Thebes, she neither good nor bad, and her suffering appears to be unjust and unfair to the audience.
The first point is how the scene is set. It is set in the Birling's
After her mother committed suicide, her father died and her brothers fought until they killed each other, Antigone projects her strong character with interesting ways of showing it. As the main character with strong values and a stubborn way, she follows the laws of god, without minding the consequences. Antigone is a strong willed woman who wins the respect of the audience by the inner strength and resistance of manipulation she has, showing the potential of human kind. She becomes a heroine with noble qualities of mind, heart and soul because she is willing to sacrifice her life, doing what she believes it is right. With a sense of family ties, she is an ideal for humanity, the issue is that she must burry her brother Polynices with an appropriate ceremony since she believes it is the last right for every human being.
One has the capability to determine from right and wrong and having the determination to stand up for what one believes in, no matter what the price is. In Sophocles’ Antigone, a written dramatic play, Sophocles portrays the theme that at times of one’s life, it is necessary to follow moral law and ignore political law. In the play, a determined and courageous woman named Antigone is loyal to her beloved brother by granting him a proper burial and having to suffer the consequences for revolting. Throughout Antigone, several incidents occurred where the political law was of no importance to the individual. Conflicts between Antigone and Ismene and then with Creon and Antigone are examples of the theme. The theme also ties with the readers of the modern world.
Antigone was a selfless person with pride as a strong characteristic of her personality. She possibly had feelings of loneliness and anger from the way society has looked upon her family from their past. It took a strong willed person who has no fear of the repercussions to stand up to a king as she did. To make everything all the worst she stood up to a king who was her Uncle and she being a female back in those time, standing up and speaking out for herself was not heard of.
that his real aim was not to be in power but to lead the world to a
Antigone, a resolute and heroic female protagonist, pits her individual free will against the intractable forces of fate and against the irrational and unjust laws of tyrannical man like Creon.
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.
The characters in the play Antigone all suffer a downfall of some sort. The major characters suffer the most, though. In this short essay, I will document on how the two main characters, Creon and Antigone, both inevitably become tragic heroes.
In the play Antigone, the debate over who is the real tragic hero is and the controversy of Greek ideals in the Antigone continues on to this day. Who is the tragic hero in Antigone? Is it Antigone herself or is it Creon the ruler of Thebes? The belief that Antigone is, is a strong one. Still there are people who think Creon is the tragic hero. Antigone is widely thought as the tragic her. The play is named after her. In addition, she is the antagonist in it. Many people usually associate the antagonist, the good guy as a tragic hero. Look at much television shows, especially cartoons, the good person usually wins. Then there are those who might think Creon was the tragic hero because the gods were against him, and that he truly loved his country. There are five criteria or standards you must meet first in order to be a tragic hero. First, you must be a person of high character or status. The character must not be too overwhelmingly evil or good. Then they must be brought from happiness to misery. Then brought from happiness to misery. Second, the hero enacts a harmartia, "wrong act." This either may be a flaw in judgment or an error. Third, the hero experiences a perpateia, reversal of fortune. This is the tragic downfall or plot twist in the story. Fourth, the hero recognizes his or her responsibility. Fifth, the story ends with a catastrophe. The catastrophe either may be an emotional event, this even may be a death.
Also this quote tells us that she cannot wait for the day to be over.
In the opening chapter, we feel sorry for Pip as we find out that his
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.