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. The excessive pride of Creon and Antigone lead to their downfalls in Antigone.
I used this quote from Antigone because it properly states Antigone’s viewpoint on Creon’s decree. As told in the story, Creon's decree was that no one could grieve for or bury Polyneices. Creon made this proclamation because when Eteocles and Polyneices fought over Thebes, Eteocles was pronounced king and exiled Polyneices from Thebes. Polyneices, in turn, formed an army to take on the city, ending up with Eteocles and Polyneices killing each other, thus putting Creon in the position of power. Creon then proceeds to label Polyneices a traitor and finally, makes his decree. I feel that this quote accurately depicts the plot of Antigone because it explains what this whole story is about. The main struggle of this story is about Antigone trying
In the article, “You Are a Conformist (That Is, You Are Human)” written by Noam Shpancer, he claims that “Individually, we are designed to pick up social cues, coordinate and align our behavior with those around us… Conformity soothes.” Conformity is a major part in people's life whether it is to decide plans or to agree or disagree on a particular subject. In the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, many of the characters have the option to conform or not to their king, Creon. Antigone, however, tried to bury Polyneices, and Creon was trying to punish Antigone for violating his law. Antigone was being stubborn throughout the played causing the conflicted between the protagonist, Antigone, and the antagonist, Creon. The people who changed from
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.
Martin Luther King once stated in "The Letter from Birmingham Jail", "Any individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment to arouse the conscience of the community over it injustice is in reality, expressing the highest respect for the law" (King 411). King meant that, if anyone feels a law is unjust and needed to expose its injustice, should willingly accept any penalty that comes in their way to help arouse people 's conscience in changing that law. In “The Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King explains the four powerful steps of the nonviolent campaign he used to protest against racial injustice for African-Americans
In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, the two sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polyneices die fighting for the position of King. Their uncle, Creon, then turns to take the throne. Creon rules that Eteocles has a proper burial and since Polynices was fighting on the opposing side, he considered him
Aristotle’s ideal image of a tragic hero is someone pure hearted, an inspiration, and royalty with a tragic flaw. A tragic flaw consists of weaknesses like hubris, ruthless ambition, or jealousy. The story all began when Oedipus fulfilled his legacy and then had four children, Antigone, Ismene, Polyneices, and Eteocles. Polyneices and Eteocles got into an argument which results in both of them killing each other and Creon is left as the new King of Thebes; however, Creon only buries Eteocles body and leaves Polyneices body to rot outdoors. This starts conflict within the family. The minor characters each create a different environment which reveals the hubris in Creon leading to him not being a tragic hero.
Characters: • Antigone- daughter of Oedipus and Iocasta • Creon- Antigone’s uncle, brother of Iocasta and present king of Thebes • Ismene- daughter of Oedipus and Iocasta and sister of Antigone • Teiresias- messenger/guard • Chorus- composed of Theban elders and stalwarts of the throne Summary In the late 400 B.C., lived Antigone and her sister Ismene, the remaining children of
Gender roles play a significant part through ought the play Antigone due to the fact that men are treated on a higher scale than women. Sophocles portrays women as people with no rights nor freedom. Antigone is on a destiny for burial rights of her brother Polyneicis. Gender roles are expressed throughout the play Antigone by disrespecting women and men having power and freedom.
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
Have you ever wanted to make a situation right for someone else, so much that you would do anything to fix it for them? When a person cares a lot for someone they love, a family member for example, they often times would sacrifice anything for them to be happy again. In Antigone by Sophocles, the main character Antigone gets sentenced to death by the King Creon after disobeying him for giving her brother Polyneices, a proper burial that she believed he deserved. Creon thought he should be left out in the sun for his body to rot, to make up for his act of treason. Antigone made a sacrifice for her brother that she also tried to convince her sister Ismene to join in on. Haimon and Teiresias defend Antigone and demanded for her freedom. Antigone, Haimon, and Teiresias all use logical and emotional appeals to be persuasive towards a goal.
In Antigone, there was two brothers who shared being the King and one of the brothers, Polynices, wanted to start a war with the kingdom because he wanted to be the main ruler. Polynices and his brother Eteocles fight and they both end up killing each other. Their Uncle Creon, who takes position as King when they are both killed, decides that only Eteocles will have a proper burial and Polynices will be left to rot. Antigone, Polynices and Eteocles sister, thinks that Creon’s decision is unfair and takes upon herself to give Polynices a proper burial. When their other sister Ismene finds out, she is stuck between helping her sister bury their brother and following Creon’s demands. Ismene is very different from her sister Antigone. Antigone
In the play Antigone by Sophocles the Greek gods play a very important role. Discussion of the gods is present throughout the entirety of the play. Essentially the gods drive the plot of Antigone. The play is about a girl, Antigone, who lives in Thebes Greece. She is the niece of the king Creon. Antigone had two brothers who were killed. One of her brothers, Polynices, was ordered by Creon to not be buried and anyone who attempted to bury him would be sentenced to death. Knowing this, Antigone still risks her life and buries her brother. In ancient greek times the burial of someone was considered very sacred, so as one may guess this caused a great problem.
The story itself, places Antigone determined to carry out the burying of her brother Polyneices with the purpose of honouring him and giving him the importance she thinks he deserves. Considering this an act of love, Antigone is willing to overcome the laws of the state and Creon’s orders by sacrificing her own life in order to distinguish the reputation of her family. This rebellious role that differences her from the other woman during those times, provides her the ability of
Sophocles’ Antigone, is a classic Athenian Greek play that discusses questions about the importance of following the law when one does not agree with it, and whether divine laws or man-made laws have more importance in society. While these themes are worth exploring, another interesting aspect of the play is the cruel treatment and punishment of the title character, Antigone, by her uncle and future father-in-law Creon, the king of Thebes. Creon’s harsh punishment, a parallel to the treatment of women in Greek society, can be seen in many of the dialogues of the play.