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.
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 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.
Plays such as “Antigone” show us how they used to live and how we can improve our lives based off theirs. In “Antigone” pride and power are major themes throughout the play and although the play is old it still relates to modern audiences.
In Antigone by Sophocles, the sentry was faced with a difficult decision when his loyalty was forced to be established between two things he was deeply devoted to. The sentry had to choose between his individual conscience or his loyalty to his king and state. Viewing the sentry's struggle allows the reader to perceive the tragedy because even though he was able to choose an ideal situation where he acquired both self-preservation and loyalty to others, the outcome of his decision was still tragic.
In the tragic play, Antigone by Sophocles, the character Creon, who acts as the antagonist, goes though reversal and recognition. Creon is not only the antagonist, but also the ruthless king of Thebes, and Antigone's uncle. Creon inherited the throne after the deaths of Antigone's two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices. Throughout the play, Creon makes it clear that he objects the laws of the gods in favor of the laws of man. Because of this, he sates that since Polyneices was a traitor to Thebes, he must not be mourned or buried by any of the citizens. Eteocles, on the other hand, was buried will full military honors, and is considered a hero by Creon and the townspeople.
Following this is an influence on why she goes against Creon’s law. "It was not God's proclamation. That final Justice that rules the world makes no such laws. Your edict, King, was strong, but all your strength is weakness itself against the immortal laws of God." and it shows that she believes Creon's laws are discriminatory. This influences her core value in believing in God because she said “It was not God’s proclamation.” The quote influences her choice because she is saying Creon’s laws don’t follow God’s rules so she won’t follow Creon. The second quote that supports this is " I say that this crime is holy." which is saying that she doesn't agree with Creon. This quote has an influence on her decision because she doesn’t care about what Creon will do and she knows that God won’t do anything to her because she is following God’s proclamation. This also backs up her core value because she is saying “ (the)crime is holy.” in which she is following God. Antigone’s choice to go up against Creon’s law is influenced by her core value of believing in
Antigone uses logical and emotional appeals to persuade Ismene to go against Creon’s words and help bury Polyneices with her. Creon has officially made the decision that he is not going to bury Polyneices which angers Antigone. Antigone needs help to reach her goal and she says to Ismene, “You may do as you like, since apparently the laws of the Gods mean nothing to you (Sophocles, et al. 192).” Ismene is hesitant to agree with Antigone and join her in this task because she does not want to break the law and go against Creon’s words. Antigone is making Ismene feel
In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone, a woman’s individual conscience trumps state law when Antigone displays time and again that she values her divine motives higher than those of the state throughout the tragedy. Her continued defiance of the state’s authority marks the importance of her individuality through various scenes in Antigone. Knowing full well her role as a woman in a patriarchal society, Antigone goes beyond the powers of the common man to carry on morals of herself and family exceeding beyond immortality and death. Engulfed in the menacing misogyny King Creon set forth in the state, Antigone is determined to thrive and keep the sacred deeds of herself and family in tact despite the fate it bears. The character of Antigone exhibits
ition. Kreon sides with Eteocles, and furious, Polynices wages war. After Eteocles and Polynices stab each other, Kreon obtains the title of “king” and has to be in charge of the brothers’ burials. He wants to only bury Eteocles because he considers Polynices a traitor. The fact that Antigone was willing to bury her brother was brave, and her bravery is one of the many reasons why Sophocles was correct in naming the third part in his trilogy, Antigone.
Have you ever read or watched a play that left your heart in pieces? Then, you have definitely come across what is called a tragedy. A tragedy is a form of drama in which the ending is a deep, serious, and sad one that leaves the audience in sorrow; this devastating ending is caused by the hero’s downfall, which is due to their “tragic flaw.” Every tragedy has a fallen hero known as “the tragic hero.” In the drama, “Antigone,” by Sophocles, there are two main tragic heroes, Antigone and Creon. Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who dies at the beginning of the play leaving his two sons Eteocles and Polyneices, fighting over his throne. Both of his sons die in the battle leaving the throne to their uncle, Creon, who clashes with Antigone; this clash leads to a tragedy where the two tragic heroes have their own
In Sophocles’ Antigone, the protagonist, Antigone, possesses the characteristic flaw of blind passion. Antigone tells the tragedy of a recalcitrant woman’s agony due to a new edict declared by the ruling power of the state, King Creon. The young woman, Antigone, wants to bury her brother, Polynices, but Creon’s edict announces that anyone who does so will be punished in death. Antigone rebels against the law of the state because she is assertive in her decision to bury her brother in order to honour the gods and maintain family loyalty. She courageously decides to act upon her free will and is prepared to face the consequence of death that proceeds. Amongst her courage, Antigone carries herself in pride, which in addition to her passion, intensifies
The actions of the play Antigone by Sophocles occurred in front of a palace in a disaster-prone city called Thebes. The play starts off with Antigone telling her sister Ismene that their brothers killed each other in the war and that King Kreon will only give Eteokles the proper burial and Polyneikes will remain unburied. And if someone tries to give the other brother the proper burial they would be stoned to death. Antigone then implies that she wants to give her brother the proper burial and asks her sister if she would help her. Although, Ismene would want to help she does want to break the law, and does not want her sister to do the same. Antigone, much like Elektra, wants to stand up for what she believes in as well as abide by the gods. Antigone and Ismene’s dynamic is similar to Elektra and Chrysothemis’ in Euripides’
Antigone is put at a disposition at the beginning of the work as she is a woman trying to voice her opinion in a time where men were only heard. Some may attribute her lack of voicing to her arrogant attitude, possibly rightly so, developed from the sequence of events in the work. Antigone felt entitled to bury her brother; she felt entitled that her voice be heard. She went against Creon’s command and tried to bury her brother. Antigone scorns Creon at the beginning of the play during questioning by back-talking and arrogantly answering Creon. She often challenges his intelligence with tricky, wordy responses. Antigone also pleads her case by proclaiming to Creon that she was entitled to bury Polyneices ( Sophocles 980-984, 1-115 ). The justification of Antigone’s entitlement can be left to one's discretion ,but Antigone still felt a sense of entitlement. Antigone may seem distent because of the time the work is set in, but she mirrors the personalities of Americans throughout time almost
In every person’s life there are laws that they follow, whether they be set by the authority in the country or their belief in a higher deity. The laws one follows while leading their life can sometimes be in conflict, in Antigone divine and state law are incompatible forcing the characters to make difficult decisions. Antigone’s personal obligation to following religious rites and traditions puts her at odds with Creon’s insistence on enforcing his will as the king. Sophocles examines the conflict between rules and order to illustrate how adherence to the law of the state can be mislead. Through the conflicts between characters in the play, Sophocles exemplifies that in his best world divine or religious law is obeyed over the law of men or