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Force In Sophocles Antigone, Plato's Republic

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The use of force by those who are permitted to command power can be handled in ways that can either help or harm society as a whole. The ways in which force is dictated directly correlates to the problem of violence within society among the works of Sophocles’ Antigone, Plato’s Republic and Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War. Creon from Sophocles’ Antigone, Thrasymachus from Plato’s Republic and the Melian Dialogue from Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War all illustrate how force can be used for personal gain. The characters involved in these three works evidently reveal that those who are awarded with the utmost power may not always be the people who deserve the right to make decisions.
Creon, from Sophocles’ Antigone, is a prime …show more content…
Dramatic irony is used by Sophocles in Creon’s first speech as king when he says, “Of course you cannot know a man completely, his character, his principles, sense of judgment, not till he’s shown his colors, ruling the people, making laws. Experience there’s the test” (Sophocles pg. 67). This is crucial when understanding the use of force throughout the play. Creon claims that he will make decisions in the best interest of Thebes, when in reality his use of force and the decisions he makes divides the city. When the play begins, Antigone is faced with the dilemma of coping with Creon’s decision to bury only one of her deceased brothers. As his first ruling as King of Thebes, Creon declares that Eteocles will have the proper burial, whereas Polynices will not due to the fact that he started the war between them. Antigone believes that Polynices should have the proper burial and confronts her sister Ismene about the situation. Ismene represents the obedience of the citizens of Thebes who obey Creon’s law. Ismene tells Antigone that she should not disobey Creon’s decision and that she would not help her with the burial.

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