In an excerpt from Antigone by Sophocles, the speaker, Teiresias is stating that a good man is one who makes a mistake, recognizes it, and corrects it. Also, the opposite of a good man is one who knows they have made a mistake yet fails to correct it because of their pride. The Mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu recently spoke about why the statue of a Confederate general is being taken down. Landrieu says “We still seem to find so many excuses for not doing the right thing. Again, remember President Bush’s words, “A great nation does not hide its history. It faces its flaws and corrects them” ”. In other words Landrieu is stating that there will always be various ways of avoiding what is right. To do the right thing means to correct
The Greek tragedy Antigone by Sophocles takes place in Thebes during the aftermath of the reign of Oedipus. Kreon is the ruler of Thebes and the uncle to Antigone yet the familial bond is disregarded mostly due to the shame of the incestuous nature of Kreon’s nieces and nephews. After a civil war of Antigone’s brothers, which results in both of their deaths, Polyneices is left unburied; this is the beginning of the tragedy. Both Kreon and Antigone made many questionable decisions that led to the death and suffering of many but I sympathize with Antigone because her decisions were based on her emotions, morals, and the perceived god’s law.
The play titled "Antigone" by Sophocles is about hardships that the main character Antigone has to go through with her two brothers killing each other because, after the king, their father Oedipus, dies, the sons now have to rule the City of Thebes. The brothers agreed that they would lead for a year, and since Eteocles was the oldest, he headed first, but when it was Polyneices's turn, Eteocles didn't want to give the throne up. So they ended up going to war and killing each other. Unlike Polyneices, Eteocles celebrates his death while Polyneices rot in the field. Antigone is trying to have a proper burial for her brother Polyneices, but her evil uncle Creon does not want Polyneices to have a proper burial because they both went against the
Pride can be one of man's strongest qualities. In Sophocles' play, Antigone, the Theme of pride becomes the cause for destruction for both Creon and Antigone in the play.. Creon's Pride blinds him to the injustice he commits against Antigone and the gods. Antigone's pride leaves her no choice but to be killed because of her beliefs. They Both automatically surrender to their own hubris and demonstrate how uncontrolled pride leads to personal downfalls and destruction in Antigone.
Aristotle founded the idea that all the best arguments have three key parts: ethos, pathos and logos. Translated from latin, this means ethical, emotional and logical. In the play Antigone by Sophocles, the characters frequently make use of these tools when attempting to persuade another character to conform to their beliefs and thoughts. Antigone tries to get her sister, Ismene, to help her in a crime that she believes is just. Haimon attempts to lessen Antigone’s sentence by lecturing his father about what it means to be a good leader, and the Chorus is just trying to help out anyone they can with wise words from a third party opinion.
In the play Antigone, Sophocles demonstrates the conflict between family and God through the characters of Antigone, Ismene and Creon. Antigone being ambitious and strong willed throughout the play, fights for his brothers honor and proper burial while Ismene on the other hand, is more timid fears the consequences that may occur if the laws are broken. For Creon he is the King and holds most power, until the Gods feel he is incapable. Antigone, Ismene and Creon all use logical and emotional appeals to achieve a compromise to either bury Polynices or not.
“Humble yourself or life will do it for you,” is a common quote used by many. This idea of being humble to avoid consequences applies well to the book Antigone by Sophocles. It shows how if one has too much pride, they will be humbled in one way or another. In Antigone, Creon had tunnel vision, not listening to anyone. His fatal flaw was hubris, ultimately leading to the downfall of him.
In the Greek Tragedy, Antigone, by Sophocles, Antigone defies the law Creon enforced that forbids his people to bury the body of Polyneices. She believed very strongly that Polyneices deserved a proper burial as much as anyone and for his soul to be at peace. Antigone is a story that shows how the main character overstepped the king's law when she attested to burying her brother. These details relate to the common saying or idiom that, “your actions have consequences in the future.”
The Crazy Iliad In life a very good skill to have is to be able to persuade people because it can help out someone in the future of their life situations. This skill is also important when going into war, and persuading people to fight or agree on something someone believes is true. In the Iliad, Homer’s characters’ use persuasion against each other multiple times in the story. The characters in the Iliad mostly use ethos, pathos, and logos when persuading each other to understand what they believe is true.
Correspondingly, Creon's bona fide adherence to the laws of man is evident in the defense for his resolute actions. In the conversation aforementioned between Haemon and Creon, the latter defends his decision by declaring it is to "respect his own authority". As in his opinion, a respected ruler who is in the early stages of establishing authority must be uncompromising and resolute in making decisions. Creon rejects using divine laws to rule his people for they are irrational, and trusts that solely following man made laws will he be able to guarantee a peaceful and prosperous existence for his city. Creon says that the laws enacted by the city’s leader "must be obeyed, large and small, / right and wrong."
In Sophocles` play, Antigone, he shows a story of a crazed man who lets pride takes over his actions causing the deaths of his loved ones. This essay will discuss Haimon, King Creon`s son, through statements that Sophocles himself wrote and inferences of his perspective. During the story Haimon does major actions such as; plea for his fiancée, commits suicide and even cast death upon King Creon. I believe that Haimon plead for Antigone`s life for more than one reason. He pleads for her because she was his fiancée and also because he heard the rumors the citizens passed around about King Creon.
In Sophocles’ play Antigone, Creon, the king of Thebes, best represents a tragic hero. Creon demonstrates goodness in his intentions for Thebes as well as his fragile state due to the fact that he recently lost several family members. Creon, newly named king, finds himself as highest ranking official around, showing superiority. Creon often acts stubborn and prideful, his tragic flaw. And lastly, he must come to terms with the fact that he caused the death of his wife, son, and niece.
In ancient Greece, a common saying that all citizens had in their very core, a traditional Greek principle, was this: love your friends, and hate your enemies. This rule seems pretty straightforward and would appear easy to apply in real life. However, in the timeless play Antigone, Sophocles shows his audience a situation where this maxim does not apply. Sophocles concentrates on a complex story where the values and principles of the ancient Greek culture come into conflict. Religious or moral versus secular, family versus community, and living versus dead: all of these conflicting aspects are explored in Antigone.
Jaanvi Shah Mr. Eyre English 9 March, 2015 Literary Analysis of Antigone John Foster says, “pride comes before fall.” As the action of the Sophocles 's Antigone unfolds, it is clear that the protagonist Creon has all the six characteristics of a tragic hero. Teiresias interactions with Creon help to demonstrate three of those typical traits: Creon’s noble stature, his tragic flaw of having pride and arrogance, and his free choice that makes his downfall his own fault. Creon, the King of Thebes, accords with Aristotle’s theory of a tragic hero beginning as powerful distinguished and important person.
What “tragic ideas” do we see expressed in Sophocles’ drama? Answer with reference to the play Antigone. ‘Tragedy is the representation of a serious and complete set of events, having a certain size, with embellished language used distinctly in the various parts of the play, the representation being accomplished by people performing and not by narration, and through pity and fear achieving the catharsis of such emotion’- Aristotle, Poetics, Chapter 6. The play “Antigone” by Sophocles displays many qualities that make it a great tragedy.
In Sophocles “Antigone”, translated by Richard Emil Braun, Haimon, the son of the Kreon, portrays elements of utilitarianism by trying to represent the best outcome for the community to his father. A sound argument towards Haimon showing utilitarianism is that Haimon only thinks about himself. Haimon states “You direct a course for me with good intentions, and I follow it” (Braun 46). This could show that Haimon is thinking for his own good intentions. However, Haimon follows his father’s commands but politely argues with Kreon about the greater good for the community instead of himself.