Antigone Is A Courageous Person

What makes someone a hero? Most people would say someone who saves the day or has super powers or even characters in books are heroes. Antigone is a young woman in the play Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone is considered a hero by many for giving up her life for her brother and going against the law in 44 B.C. While Terry Malloy is considered a hero in the movie On the Waterfront for also going against rules. Malloy would be considered a rough kid who got into a bad situation with a group of mugs while working on the dock, not only does he save the day for himself but for others that are working on the docks as well. Antigone and Terry both go against rules for what they believe is right and become heroes.

Wanda Sykes once quoted, “If you feel like there’s something out there that you’re supposed to be doing, if you have a passion for it, then stop wishing and do it.” This exhibits the idea of not letting others hold you back from pursuing a personal desire, or having a passion. Countless amounts of people follow what everyone else believes, but do not seem to recognize the truth behind what they’re following. Similarly, within The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and “Antigone,” both characters have a devotion for a specific situation. Additionally, these two literary characters have a strong passion, but ultimately face different opponents.

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.

Tragic heroes characterize tragedies because they tell the tragic story of those heroes and their tragic flaws. In the book Antigone written by Sophocles, we are met with many characters of the book, and the tragic hero is depicted into two characters, Antigone and Creon. We see the tragic death of Antigone as she took her life in the end of the book, and Creon the king of Thebes, who also faces his tragedy in the book. To begin with, Antigone tells the story that depicts the tragedy of Antigone, who also seems to be the tragic hero.

When people defend what they believe in or who they love that is sacrifice. In order to be certain that her two brothers she loved had a proper burial and that their souls could rest, Antigone sacrificed her life. Regardless of the potential outcome; even if that means that she was going to have to challenge her uncle (King Creon), she plans on pursuing her quest. Polynices and Eteocles killed each other in battle for control over Thebes, leaving the city to the new King, Creon Jocasta’s brother and Antigone’s uncle. Because of the actions that Polynices took during the war, Creon labels him a traitor and halts any burial process, leaving his body for the animals (222-234).

A tragic hero is defined to be a hero who, despite being virtuous and great, also possesses qualities that lead to their downfall. This downfall is often predestined and is a common theme in Greek literature. Antigone is the tragic hero in Antigone because of her bravery, but also because of the dangerous loyalty and stubbornness that lead to her downfall. Antigone is a tragic hero because of her headstrong loyalty to her brother and the morals of the gods, which leads to Creon’s retaliation and her downfall.

Being a good citizen often includes doing something out of the ordinary in order to help others and sometimes that may involve going against the will of others. In Sophocles’ Antigone becomes a hero with noble qualities of mind, heart and soul because she is willing to sacrifice her own life, doing what she believes is the right thing. Antigone believes in the authority of religious law and tradition. Although King Creon has ordered that the traitor Polynices should not be buried, Antigone insists on following the religious law requiring that females bury the deceased of their family. Antigone says herself that she has experienced “no private shame, no public disgrace, nothing” that cannot be experienced (Antigone, pg.

What makes a tragic character? “According to Aristotle, hamartia, a tragic flaw; hubris, excessive pride; peripeteia, the reversal of luck; anagnorisis, the realization; nemesis, bad luck that the hero cannot avoid; and catharsis, the relinquishment of vigorous emotions from the readers, are attributes of a tragic character. ”(Johnston). In Sophocles ' play, Antigone, there are opposing views about who the real tragic character was. While Antigone is considered the tragic character in this play by some people, Creon should be awarded the denomination of the tragic character; he has more qualities of a tragic hero than Antigone.

The play Antigone, by Sophocles, presents the power of love, which the sword cannot defeat. Nevertheless, the play itself provides the idea in which it might be argued whether love is one of the superior forces in society that drives people to pursue their ideals. 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.

In Sophocles’ Antigone play which was written 2500 years ago the role of women is a really striking feature. It is one of the first impressive play which illustrates the different roles of women play in society. As it is noticed there are some characters in Antigone’s play portray that women should be strong and sensible in society. While others’ views of women are very much grounded in the society. They put the woman down and undermine her ability as well as they reveal that women have a narrow role in life.

People have been using ethos, pathos, and logos quotes for a very long time in order to get something that they think is necessary. In Sophocles play as translated by Seamon Heaney, Antigone says these types of quotes in order to justify the burial of her brother Polyneices. In Antigone, there are many wonderful examples of Antigone using ethos, pathos and logos in order to get what she thinks is right. Antigone believes that it is the right thing to bury her dead brother's body even if he was a traitor. “For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate”, a quote about argument by Margaret Heffernan, a famous author.

Tradition is a theme found in both the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and the play Antigone by Sophocles. In both stories tradition is used as a tool to force people to conform to the “norm” of society. In “The Lottery”, the people of the town revolve around their annual lottery. Everyone is quick to help each other get ready for the event and also show no remorse for the end of the ritual. Nobody objects to the continuation of the lottery, although Mr. Adams brings up the rumor that a nearby village were talking about giving up the lottery but he was quickly shut down by Old Man Warner.