Compare And Contrast Sisters In Antigone

Sisters are mainly either very similar, or complete opposites. In the case of the play Antigone, by Sophocles, Antigone and Ismene are sisters, however, they are mostly very different, rather than similar. For example, they differ in their personality, priorities, decision making skills, etc. There are very few examples in which they share the same traits. However, they show traits that prove they are both very headstrong and stubborn. Antigone and Ismene, her sister, are both headstrong, but differ in their personalities. Antigone decided to complete a very difficult task: burying her brother, which the law forbids. Many obstacles stand in her way, such as the law, Creon the King, her sister, and more. However, she sticks to her word and continues on her journey to give her brother the proper burial she believes he deserves. When she

Antigone is very ambitious. She shows this trait when she seeks to give her deceased brother the proper burial, which was against against the law and defied the King of Thebes, Creon. She confronts her sister for help, “Ismene, I am going to bury him... Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way” (Sophocles). This shows she is ambitious because she knows that burying her brother is against the law and that there would be major consequences. She continues with the plan because she believes that her love for her family overrules the law. Ismene is more timid and obedient than Antigone. When Antigone was attempting to convince Ismene to help her bury their brother, she refused by saying it is too dangerous and that she doesn’t want to suffer the consequences. Ismene speaks her feelings to her sister, “They mean a great deal to me, but I have no strength to break the laws that were made for the public good” (Sophocles). This informs the reader that she doesn’t like to take risks and do ambitious things. Even though Antigone and Ismene are sisters, they are still very different in these