She believed that God’s laws were higher than man’s laws so she was ‘pleasing those [she] should please most’ (Blondell, 23). While arguing with her sister, Ismene, about breaking the law, Antigone demonstrated her determination to bury her brother because she knew that it was the moral thing to do, regardless of the deadly outcome. She was willing to perform the ‘crime of piety’ (Blondell, 23) – the crime that was ‘honored by the gods’ (Blondell, 23). To her, following God’s laws was the most justified even if it meant that she had to break man’s laws, because the God’s laws were ‘not for now or yesterday, but live forever’ (Blondell, 38).
Creon tells the people of Thebes, if they give a proper burial to Polyneices, then they shall be killed. When Antigone, Polyneices sister, finds this out she buries her brother despite Creon’s demand. The sentry, and other men, find that Polyneices had been given a burial, and one of them has to tell the king, so they won’t be killed for a “crime” they did not commit. Because
She is doing things in the favor of what is right and what is wrong and not what the king thinks is right or wrong. “Help me lift, the body up-.” said Antigone (Antigone, p. 2). This is where one of John Locke’s ideas play a role in the story. Antigone thinks that it is part of her natural rights to take and bury her brother, Polyneices, and if she was not to do so, she would be showing dishonor and respect to her own.
In Sophocles Antigone it states “; but his brother Polyneices, who broke his exile to come back with fire and sword against his native city”. This shows that Creon decided that his actions were for the best for his people. This shows that Creon was trying to be justified by doing what's right for his people and not letting personal ties disrupt what's right. Antigone is justified in her own way because she is trying to bury her brother because she feels since he is dead he deserves to be out in peace. Antigone stated that her brother deserves a burial just like anybody else because he also fought.
To continue, Antigone is faced with a lot of pressure and disapproval from other people after she went against the law to bury her brother. When Creon questioned Antigone asking, “So you chose flagrantly to disobey my law?” Antigone responded explaining how she knew about the law but felt it was wrong to not bury her brother. She then stated, “For this, I have no twinges of regret,” (Sophocles 210). Through Antigone’s confident thought through response to the king, readers can infer that unlike Creon, Antigone is proud of what she did.
He also understands that the gods, including, “Zeus, who defends all bonds of kindred blood”(94), command certain laws that Antigone must follow. As Thebans, Greek traditions and religion are the basis of our culture. Family devotion and the laws of the gods are certain moral values that we abide by in our daily lives, and burial rites are no exception. Antigone must follow the laws declared by the Gods by paying respect to her brother or “face the retribution of the gods”(82). The two blatant facts that Creon’s nephew, Polynices, had recently died and his niece must bury him must have crossed the king’s mind.
Even though Antigone’s brother committed a crime, he should still be buried like any other family member that committed a crime. The first thing Creon’s does in Antigone is declare a hash but understandable law. Anyone who attempts to honor Polyneices will be sentenced
Antigone felt that Creon’s laws were prejudiced against her belief in God's proclamation and her personal morals or core values. She put her family first the whole time,
As Antigone said when Creon asked her if she has heard of his edict, “It was public. Could I help hearing it?” (708). This tells us that Antigone knew that what she was doing was illegal and yet she still chose to bury Polyneices no matter the consequences for her. On the other hand, you could say that even though Antigone knew what she was doing was wrong, she did it because she knew that it was the right thing to do.
His free choice is represented by a quote from the guard surveying Polyneices body, “We saw this girl giving that dead man's corpse full burial rites—an act you’d made illegal” (337). Although Creon's own niece turns out to be the one that went against his word, he still chooses to follow through with the punishment even though the deed Antigone did was morally right. The punishment that he lays upon Antigone is excessive and unjust considering the crime. While in an argument with her, he calls to his guards proclaiming, “Take her and shut her up, as I have ordered, in her tomb’s embrace [...]
In the scene in which Creon will not allow her brother to be buried. This goes against her personal beliefs she confronts Creon when she says “if I had allowed my own mothers son to rot, an unburied corpse that would have been an agony.” Creon wouldn’t allow Antigone brother to be buried even tho Antigone felt it was the right thing to do. Antigone is talking to Ismene about burying her brother but Ismene tells her to keep the idea a secret but Antigone disagrees and says “But I know I’ll please the ones I’m duty bound to please.
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.
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.
Antigone is the daughter of the late king Oedipus, and Creon is the king of Corinth. The conflict that these two face is the burial of Polyneices, who was Antigone’s deceased brother. Creon was not allowing Polynices to be buried, because he had fought against Athens. To Creon, this was correct: “And yet you dared to overstep these laws?” (Sophocles Line 458)
Antigone wants her brother to receive proper burial rites in the play “Antigone”, written by Sophocles. In the lead up to the play, two brothers fight till death in order to receive the beloved power over Thebes. In the dual between the two brothers, Polyneices met fatality while bringing mischief upon the city of Thebes. Consequently, the King, Creon, declared that Polyneices’s proper burial rites should be revoked. Antigone was driven by tradition and her family values to bury her deceased brother; thus forthe, she was readily willing to suffer her punishment.