...Colton James Spurlock Mrs. Young Composition 2 10/1/2013 Concepts of Free Will: A Look at the Principles of Stance Applied to Antigone Isaac Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action there is an equal opposite reaction. When decisions are made solely based off of free will and neglect external pressures the reactions and repercussions are of extreme magnitude. Stace’s external forces of free will are thrust upon Antigone most severely during her quarrel with Creon and during her death from her own hand; Ismene also has similar external forces thrust upon her, when she is questioned by Creon regarding her involvement with her sister’s affairs, yet responds in a different manner than Antigone. Antigone’s free will choice, made against the external force of human law when she defies Creon. The decision to bury Pholynices was made with complete disregard to the laws of the land. When Creon, questions Antigone, he first asks if “she was aware of the public notice?” The legal authority which put in place the regulations that inhibited Antigone’s actions first want to make sure that understood the law. Creon wanted to verify that Antigone’s actions were that of utter defiance. Antigone answers that her actions were in fact done in complete defiance, “…how could I not it’s public knowledge.”[Antigone] Antigone’s answer to Creon’s chance for penance, show’s that her decision was hers, and hers alone; made in complete disregard to Stace’s principal of the external...
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...Who is the tragic hero of Antigone? Aristotle defines a tragic hero as one with a fatal flaw that leads to a reversal of fortune, or peripeteia. This fatal flaw is often Hubris, which is excessive pride. Creon fits all these roles, therefore he should be labelled as the tragic hero of Antigone. Creon also faces anagnorisis, in which the tragic hero realizes the situation they're in and is often followed by regret. Not only that, but Creon's fatal flaw, excessive pride, impacts the story more than Antigone did. As previously stated, Creon's flaw is his excessive pride and arrogance. In the story of Antigone, Creon gives Antigone's brother, Eteocles, a proper burial, but refuses to bury Polynices for betraying their city and leaves him out to rot. Antigone was appalled by this and for the sake of family and love went against Creon's wishes and buried Polynices. Antigone is eventually caught doing so and is sent to Creon. Creon, being arrogant as always, insists on Antigone being killed for her actions....
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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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...Surname 3 Student's Name Professor's Name Course Date Antigone vs. Macbeth In attempting to discern the legitimate and analytical issues in the two plays, Antigone and Macbeth, it is important to take into account the two key characters that all actions revolve around (Antigone and Lady Macbeth). In both plays, the characters appear to have comparative destiny and fate intertwined deeply within their societies. (Powell et al. 12). Antigone stands harshly rebuked by the state whose rule she contradicts. Antigone's fierce deviance is fully displayed when she declares that she'll bury Polyneices in total disregard of Creon's law. It is this rebellious act and Antigone's innate loyalty to the memory of her brother that forms the spine of the play. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth stands denounced by the laws of God and man having so eagerly disregarded them for the purpose of affection and enthusiasm towards her husband. The inclination that destiny appears to have in setting up these sorts of plays is portrayed undeniably by Sophocles in his piece of work, as well as Shakespeare in his Macbeth. The authorial intent ( a tragedy in contemporary society) as developed by both plays is similar in context. This is mainly detectable while considering the way both playwrights depict the condition that has befallen a nation. Aristotle, an outstanding scholar, and craftsman described tragedy as a mimic of a movement that is morally right. He further came up with guidelines towards...
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... Antigone Antigone returns to her home city-state of Thebes to discover both of her brothers, Polynices and Eteocles, have murdered each other. Creon, her uncle who is now king, has decreed that no man shall bury Polynices because he has been declared a traitor. Whoever dares to defy the law will be put to death in unimaginably harsh manners. Antigone is caught and is sentenced to death. However, by the time Creon has figured out he was wrong, Antigone has already hung herself. Her fiancé Haimon, who is Creon’s son, has also committed suicide. Haimon’s mother, who is Queen Eurydice has followed suit and has committed suicide as well. Antigone’s devotion to her values and beliefs are what make her such a powerful female lead. Throughout the play, she shows the difference between having loyalty in what you believe is true and what the state declares as true. After analyzing this theme, it is clear that having loyalty to yourself and your family is much more important than loyalty to the laws created by the government. The first scene of Antigone portrays the protagonist Antigone and her sister Ismene disagreeing about burying Polynices and defying Creon. Antigone’s loyalty remains with her dead brothers and her own values and beliefs. Antigone divulges to Ismene her incredible plan to sneak away to bury her traitorous brother. Ismene however, wants no part in the project Antigone has decided to take on, because Ismene believes...
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...Makai Montague Ms. Novak English 10CP Per. 2 15 January 2016 Antigone “It is no weakness for the wisest man to learn when he is wrong, know when to yield” (Sc. 3.608-609). King Creon certainly did not yield to anyone’s opinion except his own. In the Greek play Antigone, Sophocles uses King Creon as an example of a leader who is prideful and sexist, resulting in failure and tragedy. King Creon allows his pride and stubbornness to stand in the way of listening to others. When he learns that Antigone buried the body of Polyneices, he is angered that someone dared disobey his decree. He disregards Antigone when she tells him that some believes her action of burying Polyneices is honorable. Similarly, he obstinately disregarded his son Haemon when he suggested the same: “But I hear whispers spoken in the dark; on every side I hear voices of pity for this poor girl, doomed to the cruelest death, and most unjust, that ever women suffered for an honorable action-burying a brother who was killed in battle” (Sc. 3.590-596). King Creon’s prideful response was that as a king, he was only responsible for himself: “Indeed! Am I to take lessons at my time of life from a fellow of his age?”(Sc. 3.624-625). A good statesman takes into consideration what the people around them have to say, not push advice away because they feel too proud to take it from someone younger. Furthermore, King Creon later gets a visit from Teiresias, a blind prophet who foretells the future. The prophecy says that...
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...defeat.” Though Creon at points can fill the role of a tragic hero in Antigone, Antigone is the only character to truly play the part of one. Sophocles writes tragedies, which are named after the tragic hero in each specific play. As in Oedipus Rex, the piece of theatre is named after the tragic hero, Oedipus. Thus only clarifying why Sophocles named one of his plays Antigone, the title being based off of the main tragic hero role. Antigone is a more appropriate title for the play Antigone because of Antigone’s immense bravery and individuality in behalf of her late brother, creating the plot in the play due...
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...Characters in Antigone has to choose between society or their conscience. Sometimes society is right, and sometimes their conscience is right. Either way, there still is going to be an effect on the character’s life. Antigone characters have difficult choices, and are in a tough situation. Most of the characters choose their conscience, which leads to a lot of deaths. Creon has a difficult choice to make, burying Polyneices, or not burying him. Creon doesn't bury Polyneices. He picks his conscience over society. The law is that you have to bury the dead, but Creon chooses not to bury Polyneices. You have to bury the dead, so that the person can go to heaven. Creon knows that he is supposed to bury the dead, but he goes with his conscience. He’s not going to bury Polyneices because, he fought against his own country, Thebes. Because Creon didn’t bury Polyneices, the effect is that Antigone buried him. That made him mad because Antigone went against what he had said. Because Creon didn’t bury Polyneices, and picked his conscience, the Gods punished him by corrupting his life. His son died and his wife died. Creon picked his conscience over society, and over the Gods, and he got punished. Antigone...
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...the story, Antigone, all character’s emotion influence their way of acting. Antigone’s loyalty got in her way and broke the law. She went against Creon’s law and buried Polyneices. Creon’s anger made him blind against reason. He wouldn’t listen to anybody. Haimon’s love for Antigone made him go against his father. He ended up killing himself at the end. Antigone’s loyalty and pride led her to her downfall. She went against Creon’s Law on not burying Polyneices.She still did these because of her loyalty to her family and the god’s laws. She only wanted to be remembered for burying Polyneices.She didn’t let Ismene help her or take any guilt for it. After doing all these, she ended up locked in a vault for the rest of her life. She ended...
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...State control A well established theme in Antigone is the right of the individual to reject society's infringement on her freedom to perform a personal obligation,[14] obvious in Antigone's refusal to let Creon dictate what she is allowed to do with her family members. She says to Ismene about Creon's edict, "He has no right to keep me from my own."[15] Related to this theme is the question whether Antigone's will to bury her brother is based on rational thought or instinct, a debate whose contributors include greats like Goethe.[14] [edit] Natural law and contemporary legal institutions In Antigone, Sophocles asks the question, which law is greater: the gods' or man's. Sophocles votes for the law of the gods. He does this in order to save Athens from the moral destruction which seems imminent. Sophocles wants to warn his countrymen about hubris, or arrogance, because he knows this will be their downfall. In Antigone, the hubris of Creon is revealed. [edit] Civil disobedience The contrasting views of Creon and Antigone with regard to laws higher than those of state inform their different conclusions about civil disobedience. Creon demands obedience to the law above all else, right or wrong. He says that "there is nothing worse than disobedience to authority" (An. 671). Antigone responds with the idea that state law is not absolute, and that it can be broken in civil disobedience in extreme cases, such as honoring the gods, whose rule and authority outweigh Creon's. [edit]...
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...contingent on the societal and individual views. In Antigone and “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. fight against the alleged justice and order of the society in order to pursue the real justice. Although Antigone has the stake of perturbing her dead brother' dignity and peace while Dr. King has the stake of losing the opportunity for African Americans to be free and treated equally, both of them are so determined to achieve their goals that they choose to act against the injustice despite their stakes. In Antigone and “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, both Antigone and Dr. King disobey unjust laws and pursue justices that are in accordance with their moral codes. In the play Antigone, Sophocles writes about how the antagonist Antigone disobeys unjust rules that...
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...In the beginning of the play, Creon has returned from the Oracle at Delphi. He comes back telling Oedipus that the plague that has come upon Thebes will be lifted once the man that killed the former king is banished. The prophecies of the Oracle are an overwhelming theme of Oedipus Tyrannus. This is the question of fate versus free will. Or in the case of the Greeks, it corresponded to how much the gods may have meddled in their lives. At one point, Oedipus and Jocasta talk about whether prophecies from the Oracle at Delphi should be believed or not. During this conversation, Oedipus tells Jocasta about the prophecy he found out when he was young that he would kill his father and sleep with his own mother. Jocasta tells her of a similar prophecy that Laius was told about their son killing him. What is surprising is that Oedipus and Jocasta do not realize the remarkable coincidence about what they just told one another about those prophecies. Either they realize the possibility or they are blinded by the fact that they don’t believe either of those prophecies will come true. Sophocles could be inserting his own beliefs while writing this play. He could be trying to stress to everyone that the prophecies of the Oracle at Delphi are to be taken seriously. What is somewhat paradoxical in the play is that although it feels like Oedipus and his family had their fates pre-determined by the gods, the choices made by Laius, Jocasta and Oedipus themselves led directly to what happened...
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...One of the conflicts in Antigone, is the struggle between men and women. Ismene tells Antigone that since birth, women “were not born to contend with men,” (75) displaying women’s obedience and passivity. In the same passage, Ismene says: “we’re underlings, ruled by stronger hands,” (76) a representation of men’s aggressive and “stronger hands” that dominate women and treats them as second-class citizens. The only woman in Thebes who desires to break free from these chains is Antigone, who stands up against Ismene’s passivity urging her to “submit to this,” (77) and defy Creon by burying Polynices. By breaking Creon’s edict, Antigone challenges the traditional gender roles women and men play. In what ways does the theme of gender in Antigone, demonstrate the passion and choices behind Antigone and Ismene’s decisions? Ismene believes that women are “underlings” (76) and not “contend[ing] with men” (76) because she knows that men will always control society. This viewpoint of men’s domination of women depicts Ismene to be submissive to males while being fearful of men’s authority. Ismene is unable to have control over her destiny and decisions because she is fearful of men’s power over women, which leads to her refusing to bury Polynices. Later in the play, Ismene questions Creon’s judgment by saying “you’d kill your own son’s bride?” (641) which indicates that she is now aware that woman should have a voice and power in society. Her new understanding of Antigone’s message gives...
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...there was a free flow in terms of philosophical discussions. However, the strong reputation of Socrates led him to chafe at the body politic of the Athenian city state. After some time, Socrates was perceived as a growing danger by the local politicians. Athens eventually gave Socrates a final ultimatum. He was to either die soon, in Athens, or to...
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...opposite for men because they are expected to be authoritative, muscular, and tough. If men do not have any of these qualities, they are considered weak and woman-like. Sophocles' play Antigone and the 1990 film Mr. and Mrs. Bridge both display how Antigone and India Bridge try to do good, but are victims of the male hierarchy around them. Sophocles' Antigone is a Greek drama about the daughter of Oedipus. The play begins with Antigone and her sister Ismene having a conversation outside the palace. They talk about how their brothers Polyneices and Etecleos killed each other fighting for the throne. Antigone explains that the new ruler, Creon, has given a proper burial to Eteocleos; however, Polyneices will not receive a proper burial because he was a traitor. Creon decrees that anyone who buries or mourns Polyneices will be punished to death by public stoning. Antigone ignores Ismene's warning, giving Polyneices a proper burial by sprinkling dust over his body and performing ritual rites. A guard sees that someone has buried Polyneices body and reports the news to Creon. An enraged Creon threatens the guard's life if the culprit is not found and orders that Polyneices body to be dug up. When Antigone buries Polyneices body a second time, she is caught by the guard and taken to Creon. While Antigone and Creon are arguing about the burial...
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