How would you feel if you were locked away to rot by one of your own family members because you did something they didn’t approve of? In Sophocles play, Antigone, this is just the case for the niece of Creon, King of Thebes. After getting word that her “own two brothers [...] slaughtered one another and brought about their common doom” (Sophocles 318), Antigone is distraught. What makes her infuriated is when she learns that her uncle, Creon, has decided that one of her brothers, Eteocles, will receive a proper burial and be honored while the other brother, Polyneices, will receive no burial and be remembered as a traitor. Soon after, Antigone takes action and performs a secret burial and ritual on her dead brothers corpse, but she is also
You don't choose your family; they are God's gift to you, as you are to them. My family is my strength and weakness, my wealth and privilege and the love of them and their admiration is much more important than everything. Without loyalty, the world wouldn’t be the same, people would backstab one another and people wouldn’t trust each other, as a result of the lack of loyalty between the people.
Antigone dearly beloved brothers Eteocles and Polyneices has joined their ancestors in the afterlife. Eteocles has been buried with honor There seems to be a problem with Polyneices who has not been buried. Antigone uncle Creon, don 't want to bury his own nephew. Antigone will always stand up for her family so she will go against her own uncle. Antigone is correct for bold rebellion to bury her brother because she loyal to her family and to the gods.
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. People in the town blindly follow their old world ideals without thinking of the repercussions. They all essentially have the same mindset. In the end, the townspeople go through with the ritual and Tessie is stoned to death. In Antigone, the concept of obedience through tradition is very evident. After the deaths of Eteocles and Polyneices, Creon uses his power to control the people
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.
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
“Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” – Stitch, Lilo and Stitch. In Sophocles’ Antigone and in Anouilh’s version of the play, family loyalty is a theme that plays an important role in the actions and the decisions of the characters. The theme of family loyalty is largely represented through the two main characters of the play, Antigone and Creon. The two are bound to two opposing sides of the law with family stances being most prominent reason for their divide. Through the characters of Antigone and Creon, Sophocles and Anouilh prove that duty is bound to family loyalty, regardless of how polarizing the reactions may be. This is shown through Antigone and Creon’s actions and decisions, determination and persistence,
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
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
In the play Antigone, Sophocles tells the story of the titular character as she buries her traitorous brother in defiance of a tyrannical despot. Through this action, the play asks the question of whether the laws created by one man “could override the gods, the great unwritten, unshakable traditions,” (504-5). Some may argue that Creon's decree is merely one of necessity, an unavoidable evil to allow the city of Thebes to heal and unite. He is a patriot holding his city together in times of strife. While Creon may believe this, saying "our country is our safety" (211), it is actually his lack of love that causes him to deny Polynices his burial. Love is the ultimate natural law, thus proving Antigone's right to disobey the unjust decree.
As demonstrated throughout the Greek tragedy Antigone, Creon’s tragic flaw is hubris which causes his downfall . The downfall begins when Creon refuses to give Polyneices, the son of Oedipus and the brother of Antigone, a burial. Creon believes that Polyneices did not die an honorable death as he broke exile and raised the sword against his home city, Thebes, so in return he will not receive a burial. Creon’s pride takes over and so he believes he is a man not only superior to women , but a king superior to the gods. He claims,
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. The drama Antigone places the culture of Greece on display by showcasing the many values that this culture held in reverence, including remaining loyal to family, honoring the dead, and honoring the gods.
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.
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.
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