...family or divinity, it may not be what is righteous in regards to your own moral values. This theme of obligations vs. moral justice can be expressed in Sophocles’ Antigone, which can be seen through the main characters Antigone and Kreon, who have opposing views, but actions depict that if the law contradicts one’s moral duties, then one is justified to act in a manner of disobedience. The tragic Greek playwright Antigone is set in a more traditional era of time, where the city of Thebes is organized completely around religion and there are strict gender roles and expectations the citizens must abide by. Men are socially obliged to take care of the city, whilst women are to be taking care of the household, and more importantly are not to be seen wandering out in public. This distinction is important, as in all Greek plays, nothing is coincidence and the polarities between the gender roles plays a huge role in how the characters justify their actions. The play begins with Antigone and her sister Ismene sitting outside the palace the morning after the attack of the city of Thebes. The day prior, their brother Polyneices attacked their other brother Etyokles, and both committed acts of fratricide in pursuit of the title of King in the city of Thebes. Antigone is in distress as she has just heard news from the new King Kreon that he has made a proclamation that no one in the city of Thebes will mourn over the death of her brother Polyneices, and even more so, there won’t be...
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...Antigone Antigone is a play written by Sophocles. In this book, Antigone wants her brother, Polyneices, to have a proper burial. Kreon catches Antigone trying to bury him which is against the law and wants her dead. Kreon wants to kill Antigone for his own pride. He also kills Antigone since he did not want to viewed as a weak person. Kreon wants Antigone dead due to the fact that she is a woman. If he were to lose to a woman, he would lose all his pride since men were suppose to be stronger than woman. He says, “Nations belong to the men with power. That’s common knowledge” (Sophocles, 888-889). The diction of the words “men with power” shows how he believes that people without power should not have a say in anything. Kreon tells Haimon,...
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...becoming irritated because you are unwilling to listen their perspectives. Sophocles, two thousand five hundred years earlier, explores this idea through Antigone and Kreon in his play Antigone. Antigone, a girl who is wholeheartedly devoted to her family, decides that her love for her family is more important than abiding by the law. Kreon, a King who is profoundly invested to his state, decides that his duties...
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...those conflicts? Lived in difference times and cultures, Siddhartha and Antigone took steps to do what they believed was right even though they failed some expectations by doing so; in other words, they followed their inner sense of truth instead of fulfilling the obligations. Their journeys to their ideal good lives share both similarities and differences. Both Siddhartha and Antigone sacrificed and advanced, but they experienced difference consequences. Both Siddhartha and Antigone achieved...
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...Mike Webster’s sports injury provide two key warnings of what the good life is not to help others define their own idea of the good life and avoid making the same mistakes. In Sophocles’ Antigone King Kreon serves as a prime example of how not to achieve the good life. King Kreon’s absolute rule and disregard...
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...Antigone, a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles and translated by Ruby Blondell, is a story in which the “hero” (Antigone) is easily praised and the “enemy” (Kreon) is easily hated. It is human nature to root for the underdog, or the one who is being wronged, and not give the other side a chance. The very opening scene of the play immediately shows us the thoughts and feelings of Antigone, and her hatred towards Kreon. This almost forces the audience to side with Antigone because we are given no insight to Kreon’s point of view until later on when it is almost too late. However, after a careful examination of the play, I developed more respect and sympathy for Kreon than I did Antigone, just by further studying their motives behind their actions....
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...Western Perspectives I The play Antigone by Sophocles is unquestionably a tragedy, however the question remains: whose tragedy is it? In essence, is it a tragedy for one or two characters in the play or is it rather a tragedy for the entire populace of the city of Thebes? It is a tragedy in varying degrees, from somewhat tragic to extremely tragic. Analyzing the play it is easy to see tragedy from beginning to end. It’s also simple to see all main characters and even those in the background, the citizens of Thebes, experience some form of tragedy. Thebes as a whole, and the citizens of the city, are at the lesser end of the scale of tragedy. Before the play even begins, the city has already experienced a degree of tragedy from being under the rule of a King who unknowingly not only has married his mother but also created four children with her. As the play starts the future heirs of the city, the brothers, lay dead on the field of battle from the others’ hands. This alone is a tragedy for Thebes, yet it goes beyond this when the next male figure of the royal family steps into rule: the Uncle. Now Thebes is forced under the leadership of a ruler that should have never been, Kreon. As we progress up the ladder of tragedy I would say that next on the rung would be Ismene, sister to Antigone. Like the city of Thebes, when the play starts Ismene has already endured numerous tragedies such as the death of her mother, the shame of her father, and the death of her brothers...
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...Hamartia in Oedipus the King According to the Aristotelian characteristics of good tragedy, the tragic character should not fall due to either excessive virtue or excessive wickedness, but due to what Aristotle called hamartia. Hamartia may be interpreted as either a flaw in character or an error in judgement. Oedipus, the tragic character in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, certainly makes several such mistakes; however, the pervasive pattern of his judgemental errors seems to indicate a basic character flaw that precipitates them. Oedipus’ character flaw is ego. This is made evident in the opening lines of the prologue when he states "Here I am myself--you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus." (ll. 7-9) His conceit is the root cause of a number of related problems. Among these are recklessness, disrespect, and stubbornness. Oedipus displays an attitude of recklessness and disrespect throughout the play. When he makes his proclamation and no one confesses to the murder of Laius, Oedipus loses patience immediately and rushes into his curse. Later, he displays a short temper to Tiresias: "You, you scum of the earth . . . out with it, once and for all!," (ll. 381, 383) and "Enough! Such filth from him? Insufferable--what, still alive? Get out--faster, back where you came from--vanish!" (ll. 490-492) If an unwillingness to listen may be considered stubbornness, certainly Oedipus would take advice from no one who would tell him to drop the matter of his...
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