Similarities Between Oedipus And Antigone

Antigone and her father Oedipus are very alike and different in a few ways. The things that occur to them both lead up to their deaths. For instance, Antigone defies the leader Creon which results in her death. Also, Oedipus and his wife Jocasta ignore the gods which causes Oedipus’s long life of suffering.

The literal meaning of the word antithesis is ‘the exact opposite’. It is a type of rhetorical device used to put two opposite ideas together. Human law versus the divine law, madness versus logic, and love versus hate are some prevalent themes used in the play Antigone. The play opens when Polynices and Eteocles have already killed each other. This puts Creon back to the throne. Creon being an impartial king punishes Polynices by not giving him a burial and leaving his body to be fed by the animals. Creon does this because he is an impartial king who thinks that the blood cannot be put above the state. According to him, anything is the truth if it is written or is part of the law. This brings the theme of human law into action. When he punishes Polynices and denies him a burial his hate for the people who defy the state even when the person is the kings own nephew. When Creon punishes Antigone severely and does not listens to the blind prophet Tiresias, Creon’s excessive pride (hamartia) is visible to the audience. According to Aristotle, an error in the character itself causes

In the play Antigone, written by sophocles in 441 BC, two main characters, Antigone and Creon, must decide who is right and who is not. There are many arguments as to why Antigone is right and why Creon is right but there are a bit more logical reasons to why Antigone is right. Out of most the arguments there are three very important and persuasive ones. These are only some of the reasons why Antigone is right and Creon is a fool.

A tragic hero is a character who has the potential to have heroic qualities, but their fate is a tragic downfall. Aristotle defined a tragic hero as “a person who must evoke a sense of pity and fear in the audience. He is considered a man of misfortune that comes to him through error of judgment”. Some tragic heroes in literature are John Proctor in The Crucible and Macbeth in the play Macbeth. It is possible for two characters to be labeled a tragic hero, but the audience can feel differently about them. A tragic hero is usually an average man with a fault who needs to use his strength to do what is right. The situation that arises is usually due to one of the character’s weaknesses. Both tragic hero's downfalls revolve around society in their time and the pressure from those around them.

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 thrown. 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 Greek Theatre one of the main components of a tragedy is the tragic hero. A tragic hero is a man, or a woman, of high standing who is capable of great suffering. They must posses many great qualities but in the end will display a single fatal flaw in character that will lead to his or her demise. They audience must accept this downfall because of this flaw in character. This is called catharsis, the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. There a few characters in the trilogy of Oedipus that could be considered tragic heroes: Oedipus himself, Antigone, and maybe a few others. One that cannot be considered a tragic hero is Creon.

In literature, conflicts are needed. Conflicts move the plot forward, and without conflicts, stories are completely dull. Antigone, a very famous play written by Sophocles, is a Greek tragedy. Antigone is about a young brave woman named Antigone standing up against the king of ancient Thebes, Creon, defying his laws, and dying with honor. The conflicts of Individual Vs. Authority, Male Vs. Female, and Youth Vs. Age move the plot forward and show us character development while forming the setting and tone of the play.

Civil disobedience is the act of refusal to obey laws set by an authoritative figure such as a king or government. This action occurs when one breaks the law because it is morally justifiable to them. People consciously disobey a law if they find it unjust or to peacefully protest. To break these laws people are willing to take great risks and sacrifice to do what is morally right like the characters do in the pieces of literature Antigone by Sophocles and “If We Must Die” by Claude Mckay. Both of these pieces of literature are about civil disobedience and reveals that civil disobedience requires great sacrifice.

How can one person make such a big impact on life? Big or small, we’re all faced with decisions and choices that aren't at all easy, all those choices have consequences and some even have rewards. Some big choices that could affect our life like what education we want, rather or not we go to college and as a country, we make a decision on who runs the country. we can see this in Shakespeare's Julius caesar, and the story of Antigone.

The epic hero and tragic hero are two of the most recognizable characters in literature, as well as other forms of media. Both go through their own journeys and hardships, and both heroes have their own, very distinct endings. Two of the most recognizable of these characters are the epic hero Odysseus from Homer’s The Odyssey and the tragic hero Oedipus from Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. They both go through difficult journeys, Odysseus trying to find his way home and Oedipus trying to find his birth parents and save Thebes. While Odysseus’ journey forced him to face some hardship, it still ended in triumph and glory, but no matter what struggles Oedipus faced and overcame, his journey still ended in misery and him losing all glory

The quote by Lord Acton said “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Even though a leader with power can be uplifting and provide perspective, power does have negative effect on others because powerful leaders become overbearing and corrupt.

The tragic hero must have a flaw or error of judgment which can come in the from of justice or vengeance. As seen in Creon and Oedipus' story that the justice they serve is immortal and wicked. The hero must also experience a setback of fortune brought forth because of the hero's inaccuracy in discernment. The realization or recognition that the setback was brought by the hero's own actions. Excessive Pride is the most common of tragic hero's flaws which bring forward the remaining of the part the predicaments. The character's fate must be more terrible than what they deserved to get from their previous actions . Aristotle's idea of a true tragic hero revolves around three fundamental effects: First, the audience creates an emotional attachment to the tragic hero; second, the audience dreads a disastrous end for the hero; and finally (after misfortune strikes) the audience pities

Choices between what is right or wrong is different to everyone. Antigone believes that if your actions are morally justified then there is no wrong. She has never wavered from this belief. I believe that it is an honorable way of perceiving right and wrong. Although, what may seem right to one does not necessarily mean it is right for others or even just one and this could lead to many consequences.

In Sophocles’ two tragedies, Oedipus Rex and Antigone, suicide is eminent in both tragedies, when a main character committed suicide it caused other characters to do the same. From Jocasta to Haemon‘s mother Eurydice, they all killed themselves. In the very beginning of Oedipus Rex, Jocasta hung herself when Oedipus found out that he married his own mother and murdered his father which caused him to stab his eyes out. In Antigone, the deaths of Eteocles and Polyneices unintentionally caused Ismene to refuse to help Antigone bury Polneices, Antigone committed suicide after forced in an engagement with the son of King Creon, Haemon, causing him and his mother‘s suicide as well. In these tragedies, suicide is a sign of both an internal conflict and external expectation. In the trilogy, there is also a connection between honor and suicide in Sophocles’ plays.

For thousands of years, society has created laws to help protect the people and keep them safe and in order. There have been many historical figures such as Harriet Tubman, Cesar Chavez and Malala Yousafzai who have all broken the laws for the common people. Other historical figures like Nelson Mandela, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King J.R, have also broken laws for what they believed was right and worked hard to improve the conditions for others. Therefore, breaking the law is justified when someone feels a particular law is unjust and they will do everything in their power to ensure the law is fair for all citizens. Nevertheless, breaking the law can be justified when a person is trying to challenge the injustice of that law and make it essential for a functioning place to continue.