Would you follow a law if it serves no purpose to you or others? or if you felt that it was wrong to a certain group or ethnicity? Many people know the story Antigone by Sophocles, a kingdom set in ruins as two brothers end up killing each other over a land given to them by their father. As said in lines 165-175 Creon states “Polyneices, I say, is to have no burial: no man is to touch him or the least prayer for him; he shall lie on the plain, unburied.” Being as how both brothers fought fighting for their beliefs they should both get a proper military honored burial as believed by their sister Antigone. Antigone being the one to fight for her beliefs and obeying the god's laws attempts the burial of Polyneices and goes against Creon’s law to prove to him that he’s in over his head that he has too much pride in himself, in lines 15-35 Antigone claims that she is going to go
Greek tragedies are known for their predictable endings and characters, whose character traits almost always stereotypically reflect those of the archetype they have been assigned. Sophocles’ play, Antigone, is no exception to this. Despite having been written around 441 B.C., his play does present newer controversial topics such as feminism in his play, along with more common themes such as integrity and loyalty. By establishing and associating Antigone’s character with heroic archetypes as the martyr and the tragic heroine, Sophocles could utilize her actions and characteristics as such roles to better demonstrate and convey his messages throughout his work.
In the classic play by Sophocles, Antigone is a tragic story of the bold Antigone who defied her uncle, King Creonʻs, edict by burying her brother, Polyneices, who died attacking the city of Thebes, trying to take the power away from their brother, Eteocles, who refused to share the throne with Polyneices. Even though Antigone knew that going against Creon and burying her brother would not end well for her, she still choose to risk her life to do what is right. After being caught breaking the law, Antigone is appointed to be locked away, isolated in a cave until she dies, but she hangs herself at the end. At the same time, things for Creon are not looking good, as everyone around him seems to be against him in his decision for punishing Antigone. Everyone Creon cares about kills themselves from a curse that is put on Creon for not following the Godsʻ laws.
In addition, Antigone has her own struggle, faceing her uncle King Creon, by herself. Moreover, Antigone was declared the death penalty, on behalf of giving her brother funeral honors. This is a very unruly move, because her brother is considered a traitor to the king and people, which ultimately means he shall not be buried. However, it shows King Creon that Antigone would do anything to modify the law, as well as taking her own life, just so her brother has a proper funeral. To emphasize, Antigone responds to King Creon, “ If I die young, I say I’d gain something” (Sophocles 20).
In addition, Antigone has her own struggle, faceing her uncle King Creon, by herself. Moreover, Antigone was declared the death penalty, on behalf of giving her brother funeral honors. This is a very unruly move, because her brother is considered a traitor to the king and people, which ultimately means he shall not be buried. However, it shows King Creon that Antigone would do anything to modify the law, as well as risking herself, just so her brother has a proper funeral. To emphasize, Antigone responds to King Creon, “ If I die young, I say I’d gain something” (Sophocles 20).
An Annotated Bibliography on Antigone Reed, Valerie. " Bringing Antigone Home. " Comparative Literature Studies (2008): 316-340.
Antigone’s actions are motivated by her allegiance to her family, moral conscience, and religion amid Creon’s political injustice and tyranny. Antigone’s actions motivate her to demand Ismene to prove whether she is “a true sister or a traitor to your family” (26-27). Antigone maintains loyalty to her brother despite his actions which threatened Thebes. Her inability to bear the thought of her brother’s corpse being picked apart by animals and not being honored with proper funeral rites forces her to act. Antigone’s fierce allegiance to her family is laid bare as she is willing to sacrifice her life to honor her brother and defy the law in an act that she believes is morally just.
Antigone’s motivations are that she believes both of her brothers deserve to buried and that the gods would agree with her and get to decide where his soul goes. Such as when she says “ That may be, but Hades still desires equal rights for both.” Trying to prove that the gods are on her side to Creon. Antigone finds Creon’s decree unfair and causes her to take matters into her own hands, against the
Introduction The purpose of this essay is to investigate the women’s role in Classical Greece society and literature (5th/4th century b.C.). Therefore, I decided to discuss and analyse one of the most controversial comedies of that time, “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes. This text shows how women, sick of their submissive and powerless position in the political scenario of Athens and Sparta, come on the scene and, through a smart stratagem, achieve their expected result.
She needed to prove a point by herself and didn’t want anyone else involved. Antigone is a selfish character who only wants what is best for herself and doesn’t think about the repercussions of her actions and the effects that they will have on those around her. When Antigone decides to go ahead with her decision to burry her brother, she alone is engaging in an act of civil disobedience toward the king directly, but quite frankly she doesn’t care. Her character has little regard for powerful people especially when they have different views than her own. Antigone, as well as everyone in her kingdom, knows what the wishes of Creon are in regards to her brother, but going along with her characteristic of disrespect toward authority, she breaks the rules anyways knowing that there will be consequences for her actions.
She has a heroic and courageous personality. Throughout her quest to bury Polyneices, Antigone encounters many hindrances along the way. The death of her father Oedipus led to her greatest disputant being given power, her Uncle Creon. He would show her no mercy for breaking his laws, until it is too late. Even when her sister Ismene states “Our own death would be if we should go against Creon And do what he has forbidden!
DP1: Within this Narrative, Antigone frequently uses the emotional values of others to convince them of what she believes to be right. The first illustration of this phenomenon is when Antigone compares her willingness to face death as the result of giving her brother an honorable burial, to her sister Ismene 's unwillingness in doing the same. The main character feels as though it is her personal and moral obligation to retrieve the afterlife that’s been taken from her brother. Therefore, she does not agree in abiding by Creon 's man-made legislation and makes it her mission to concede to the laws of the gods.
In Lysistrata, men and women were entangled in an unhealthy relationship; it was based on the objectification of human beings. They didn’t care about anything but sexual pleasure. Women didn’t give much thought about how men are using them as a sex object and men didn’t concern themselves about their wives, families or even household responsibilities. One of the most compelling examples in the play, that supports
The women felt that the war was causing disruption and ruining the unity between the people. Particularly, the main protagonist Lysistrata herself, gathers the power of females in hopes for peace and the reunion of Greece. Although the women initially were dubious about ending the war with a sex strike, it was Lysistrata who brought leadership to the group, encouraging all to contribute their powers for good, as she says, “Our country’s fortunes are in our hands; and whether the Spartans shall perish and the Boeotians shall be completely annihilated” (Aristophane 34-35). During this process, the women were faced with corrupted men, who believed that females should have no participation in the topic of war. Rather than succumbing to the demands of the men, Lysistrata insisted and argued for women to take charge and restore Athens.
Antigone breaks king Creon’s rules and buries her brother. In doing so she is breaking away from the rule of Creon. She is deciding her own destiny. She ends up getting caught and faces consequences, she put herself in that situation deciding her own fate.