Sister Ismene Loyalty In Antigone

Everyone faces difficult choices throughout their life, and many of these choices are due to the pressures of society. Society is cruel and everyone, at some point in their lives, has been at the receiving end of that cruelty and felt the sorrow it brings. In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone finds herself faced with the choice of doing what her heart says is right, and burying her dead sibling or following what society has decreed as the right thing to do and leave him “to be devoured by dogs and fowls of the air.” (Sophocles, page 12) Antigone’s sister, Ismene, faces the same choice though she is less willing to defy society in favor of family obligations. The sisters are not the only ones that must face such choices, Creon’s son, Haemon, is in a dangerous position by fighting for Antigone and betraying his father's wishes.

She has a heroic and courageous personality. Throughout her quest to bury Polyneices, Antigone encounters many hindrances along the way. The death of her father Oedipus led to her greatest disputant being given power, her Uncle Creon. He would show her no mercy for breaking his laws, until it is too late. Even when her sister Ismene states “Our own death would be if we should go against Creon And do what he has forbidden! We are only women, We cannot fight with men Antigone!” (Prologue Lines 45-47). While Ismene would gladly obey the laws set forth by her Uncle, Antigone would rather die than let her brother’s body be desecrated. She refused to give up no matter the obstacle in her way. At the end of her crusade, Antigone is condemned to be buried alive in a tomb by Creon. Death was the only outcome of her transgressions. As one might expect from a character like her, Antigone accepted her death and appeared ready for

Polynices and Eteocles killed each other in battle for control over Thebes, leaving the city to the new King, Creon Jocasta’s brother and Antigone’s uncle. Because of the actions that Polynices took during the war, Creon labels him a traitor and halts any burial process, leaving his body for the animals (222-234). This law, by King Creon unhinged Antigone’s wrath and sorrow about the situation. Antigone’s tries to get her sister to consider helping her in the inception of the first episode, but Ismene tells her sister that it’s better off if they don’t end up the same as their brothers and father (Lines 60-81). That means if Antigone still wanted to proceed, it was going to be alone. Due to the fact that in Greek mythology, their belief was that the dead

Antigone’s actions are motivated by her allegiance to her family, moral conscience, and religion amid Creon’s political injustice and tyranny. Antigone’s actions motivate her to demand Ismene to prove whether she is “a true sister or a traitor to your family” (26-27). Antigone maintains loyalty to her brother despite his actions which threatened Thebes. Her inability to bear the thought of her brother’s corpse being picked apart by animals and not being honored with proper funeral rites forces her to act. Antigone’s fierce allegiance to her family is laid bare as she is willing to sacrifice her life to honor her brother and defy the law in an act that she believes is morally just. Antigone’s beliefs proclaim that “Hades longs to see these laws fulfilled” to honor the burial of Polyneices corpse (Sophocles 519). She emphasizes her conviction that “it was not Zeus who made this proclamation” (Sophocles 450). Antigone has profound respect for the gods and the traditions of her people. Her actions are accomplished to pay homage to the Greek gods. She maintains that her actions are

After Polyneices rebelled against Thebes and killed his brother Eteocles in battle, King Creon decreed that a traitor to the state cannot be buried. Worse, the body of a traitor is left to rot above ground as food for scavengers. Creon’s law conflicts with Antigone’s loyalty to the gods. She believes the laws of the gods respect the dead and require a proper burial. She does not hesitate to ignore the law of the state and fulfill the laws of the gods. When she turns to her sister, Ismene, to bury their brother, Polyneices, Ismene’s fear consumes her. “Think how much more terrible our own

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.

Pride can be one of man's strongest qualities. In Sophocles' play, Antigone, the Theme of pride becomes the cause for destruction for both Creon and Antigone in the play.. Creon's Pride blinds him to the injustice he commits against Antigone and the gods. Antigone's pride leaves her no choice but to be killed because of her beliefs. They Both automatically surrender to their own hubris and demonstrate how uncontrolled pride leads to personal downfalls and destruction in Antigone. The excessive pride of Creon and Antigone lead to their downfalls in Antigone.

Antigone is determined to provide proper burial for dead brother, Polynices, against the orders of the king, and goes to her sister Ismene for help. However, Ismene is distraught at the idea of defying the king (104). Ismene tells her sister that they are only women and not fit to challenge men (105). Ismene says this to convince her sister not to bury their brother as it not only against the law, but wrong for a woman to challenge the orders of any man, let alone the king. She warns Antigone that acting above one’s place would not be a wise decision (105). Ismene knows that if Antigone is caught burying their brother, her gender will surely affect the harshness of her

I think she leans towards humanism, from what I saw in the beginning of the play. She ignores the King’s wrath, and feels the need to bury her brother despite risking her own life. She tells Ismene that it must be done. She proceeded to Creone that she did not abide by his laws, but rather God’s laws. She believed that it was better to treat her brother, as she wanted to provide for one another, under her faith in God. She believed that the senators would side with her, because she believed in humanistic honor. She believed that all people deserved to be treated properly. Towards the end of the play, she talks about how she had been treated inhumanely toward her presumable death.

She was outraged when she found out that her brother Polyneices was going to be left to rot and be eaten by animals, because he was a traitor to the city. Antigone believed that her brother deserved a proper burial even though he tried going against the city unlike her other brother Eteocles. She asks Ismene (her sister) to join her in this act of rebellion but Ismene does not want to get in trouble for going against her kings orders so Antigone does it on her own. Creon feels disrespected and punishes Antigone for not following his rules. He seals Antigone while she is alive, inside a tomb. She does not understand why she is being treated so unjustly for trying to do the right thing. The chorus in the play tries convincing Antigone that justice is behaving in accordance to Creon’s laws but Antigone is stubborn and sustains to her convictions. Even though Antigone ends up dying she dies achieving her goal of wanting to bury her brother properly. Mostly everyone in this play goes against what the main character feels is justly because they want to follow the kings laws and they believe she is acting immorally. Antigone is not acting immorally, she is doing the right thing to follow the law of the gods. Therefore, since Antigone ends up hanging herself and causes her fiancé and the fiancé’s mother to commit suicide as well, it gives the

Maturity is subjective. Maturity has no definition, since everyone views maturity in different ways. Some view maturity as putting other's dire needs before one’s minor needs. Some say maturity is a coming of age, where one finds one’s morals, or what one believe to be right and wrong. One of the most common definitions for maturity is the ability to adapt to the environment one is given. Sometimes, immaturity can be evident in adults. So, what is the thread which ties all of these ideas together?

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

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. Ismene is very different from her sister Antigone. Antigone

people act and what you are like. In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Antigone, the protagonist, Antigone, is influenced a lot by her core values. The play Antigone was the story of the daughter Antigone of Oedipus and Iocaste, which took place after they tragically died. Antigone is influenced by the core values of her belief of family coming first, her following of God, and dying with pride and honor is important. Antigone’s core values and morals are more important than anything and these influence her choices throughout the play.