Antigone has a special role in the family and she has particularly family right. Antigone commits subside because her Uncle Creon didn’t want to give him a proper grave. Antigone stands up for what she believes in. Antigone is stubborn so she always gets her way. It’s it will also get her in trouble a lot.
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). This clearly displays how Antigone believes she isn’t losing anything, but actually gaining something. Antigone is gaining, the knowledge that she proved a proper burial for her brother even though it meant she couldn’t have one for herself. She also proved how greatly she believes in adjusting the law, even if it meant taking her own
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." Which is to say, Creon contends state law as the basis for justice, hence there can be no such thing as unjust laws. Undoubtedly, Creon's symbolic values within the play is displayed by his fierce dedication to state law and order, contrary to the symbolism Antigone embodies.
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. Creonʻs punishment for Antigone did not only affect her, but also everyone who was involved in the situation, including Creon. Creonʻs punishment for Antigone was not justified for three reasons: Antigoneʻs love for her family being put first, Creon is trying to prove himself, and Antigoneʻs beliefs.
Although both Antigone, from “Antigone” by Sophocles, and Martin Luther King Jr. from “Letter From A Birmingham Jail” engage in acts of civil disobedience and fight for what they believe to be right, the way they go about these acts is quite different. Each of their reasons, actions, and consequences can be seen as opposites. Antigone refuses the help or involvement of others, which can be seen as a selfish act directly against the king while Martin Luther King Jr. involves the entire community to help the greater good.
people act and what you are like. In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Antigone, the protagonist, Antigone, is influenced a lot by her core values. The play Antigone was the story of the daughter Antigone of Oedipus and Iocaste, which took place after they tragically died. Antigone is influenced by the core values of her belief of family coming first, her following of God, and dying with pride and honor is important. Antigone’s core values and morals are more important than anything and these influence her choices throughout the play.
In most cases, Greek plays fall under one of two categories: tragedy or comedy. A tragedy is an event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe whereas, a comedy is a professional entertainment consisting of jokes and satirical sketches, intended to make an audience laugh. The acclaimed play, Antigone, written by Sophocles, can be portrayed as a tragedy. In this play, the main character, Antigone, rebels against Creon, king of Thebes, by burying her brother, Polyneices, after Creon announces to everyone that he is not to be buried. Creon later discovers what she has done, and sentences her to death. His actions cause numerous to become enraged, including Antigone, which ultimately
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
Antigone wants her brother to receive proper burial rites in the play “Antigone”, written by Sophocles. In the lead up to the play, two brothers fight till death in order to receive the beloved power over Thebes. In the dual between the two brothers, Polyneices met fatality while bringing mischief upon the city of Thebes. Consequently, the King, Creon, declared that Polyneices’s proper burial rites should be revoked. Antigone was driven by tradition and her family values to bury her deceased brother; thus forthe, she was readily willing to suffer her punishment. Antigone’s selfless sacrifice in which she surrendered her life for her brother’s burial portrays to the audience her allegiance to tradition; therefore, giving meaning to the work as a whole.
In the Oedipus myth sophocles conveys a common theme that transcends into antigone as well. The oedipus myth does start the theme of fate and god’s law ruling over all;whilst fate is a big deal in the story, the main theme is that god's law rules over all. In “Antigone” Sophocles conveys that God’s Law is more important than Man’s Law by Antigone directly disobeying Man’s law so she could obey God’s law,by teiresias saying that creon should change his decision because the god’s don’t approve, and by Creon losing everything because he disobeyed God’s law.
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 beliefs proclaim that “Hades longs to see these laws fulfilled” to honor the burial of Polyneices corpse (Sophocles 519). She emphasizes her conviction that “it was not Zeus who made this proclamation” (Sophocles 450). Antigone has profound respect for the gods and the traditions of her people. Her actions are accomplished to pay homage to the Greek gods. She maintains that her actions are
The ritual of burying a family member was important to ancient greek culture. The gods from the greek religion are the ones who said that the burial must happen or else the deceased would be stuck halfway to the underworld. Antigone’s family history had not been the best up until the point of her brothers’ deaths. In the book it was stated that Antigone felt very strongly about burying her brother no matter what Creon said. In the text after the play it is written by senior editor Paul Moliken that “When Creon Forbids the burial of Polyneices, he is denying Antigone the opportunity to perform one of the most significant duties that Greek society allowed for women. Thus, he is attacking her identity, and that is a part of the reason she opposes his orders” (Sophocles 67). This is significant because it shows why Creon was
Creon is the protagonist in Antigone, because his motivation throughout Antigone is the stability and wellbeing of Thebes. Moreover, Antigone is the antagonist in Antigone, because her motivation is selfish and deceiving. In Antigone the setting is Thebes post the death of both airs to the throne. Eteocles dies defending his country from his brother Polynieces which died attempting to reclaim his right to the throne. The conflict throughout Antigone is Antigone’s responsibility to bury her brother Polynices and the law created by Creon, the new king of Thebes, which states that “No one shall bury him, no one mourn for him.” (Antigone 59) Antigone proceeds to disobey the law and dies in her own hands to ensure her own martyr status. Antigone is not the protagonist because of her selfish motivation and need to
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” (Martin Luther King Jr.) Antigone takes the decision to resist Kreon, and insists on burying Polyneices. The act is something that brings her into a sharp conflict between familial duty based on divine law, and the commands of the king (Kreon). Leaving Polyneices unburied means that he becomes part of nature, as vultures and wild dogs will feed on him. “But his brother, Polyneices, the exile, who descended with fire to destroy his fatherland and family gods, to drink our blood and drive us off slaves, will have no ritual, no mourners, will be left unburied so men may see him ripped for food by dogs and vultures.” (Pg. 28). There is an exclusion from human community and for Antigone, a horror at the thought of her brother’s body decaying in the wild. “I will bury him myself. If I die for doing that, good: I will stay with him, my brother;” (pg. 23). Antigone thought it was unjust to let her brother go without a proper burial. She took the power of freedom and her free will and made the situation “just” in her eyes.
Aristophanes and Sophocles both wrote similar arts that have been studied over the years. Antigone by Sophocles and Lysistrata by Aristophanes are two works of art that have many differences but they both assess an important point at the end. Out of all the differences between both of these plays, the one I consider most important is how each play ends according to the type of style it is. Even though the main characters of both of these plays were women, in Lysistrata, both the women and (eventually at the end) the men praise her for her beliefs, while in Antigone, almost everyone goes against what she feels is right which results in her death. The reason why this difference between Antigone (tragedy) and Lysistrata (comedy) is most important