...Quran Norris English 102 AC106 Mrs. Stephenson 0Antigone Paper Being a part of a family forces one to have responsibilities and duties that are needed to be fulfilled. In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone, Antigone has the responsibility of being loyal to her brother, Polynices. Her intuition and strong will discourages her from listening to the power of the state, thus disobeying part of her family, to respect her immediate family. Her devotion leads to the destruction of Creon and herself. Proving that Antigone’s role as a part of a family, does not stand in her determination to do what she believes to be right. It is for this reason that she is willing to destroy herself and Creon to fulfill her duty to both her immediate family and the Gods above. In order to understand Antigone’s actions and motivation, it is important to understand the importance of what a proper burial is to the people of ancient Greece. Unlike most religions, the Greek did not believe in the reward and punishment concept after death. They did not believe that good people went to heaven, while the evil suffered in hell. They believed that life after death was a sad and miserable affair, and the dead deserved to rest in peace. They believed in the importance of a proper burial, as proposed and supported by the gods. The gods mandated the way people lived their everyday life, and how they lived their life after death. The general belief of the people, was that those who did not get a proper burial...
Words: 2075 - Pages: 9
...Creon The Dynamic Ever wonder what makes a book so great to read? Is it the good plot scheme that leaves people hanging on every word, or is it the nail bighting suspense that drives people mad. To many, people like the characters that are very powerful and dynamic. One character who comes to mind is Creon from the book “Antigone.” In this book Creon portrays himself as a noble king ruling over his kingdom, but suddenly becomes a ruthless leader. He also finds himself impervious to the laws of god and decides to substitute them with the laws of men. Finally, he puts himself against everyone he loves and cares for to keep his spot as ruler of the throne. In the book “Antigone” Creon in thrust into the spotlight of the king after Oedipus dies...
Words: 622 - Pages: 3
...In France, women had long been fighting for equality to men by the time Anouilh’s “Antigone” was first performed. In 1971, the “Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen” was written by Olympe de Gouges as a retaliation against the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen”, which excluded women (Halsall). When the Anouilh’s Antigone was first performed in 1944, women had formed a multitude of organizations such as XXX. Shortly after the play was had its first performance in France, women received the right to vote and stand for election (Reynolds 2). During a time of political revolution, the play Antigone emulated the discrimination women in France faced at the time; Antigone’s portrayal as an obstinate, strong-willed character shows her resistance against prejudice, such as many women were doing when the play was first performed. The play itself cannot directly achieve considerable change in societal viewpoints; it merely parallels the challenges women encountered. During a performance of Antigone at the Oxford Playhouse in 2010, both Antigone and Creon’s character illustrate the stereotypes of sexes at the time. As shown in a photo of the performance, Antigone sits in a chair, with a...
Words: 902 - Pages: 4
...Antigone And The Position Of Women The play “Antigone” is a Greek tragedy written by the author Sophocles. In the play there are many important themes displayed throughout the plot. One important theme is that of the position of woman in 442 BC. During the time that “Antigone” was written women were looked at as the weaker sex. Antigone however believed that she was as strong as the men that ruled in her society which led to her downfall. Ultimately women in this period were treated as unimportant and weaker than the men that lived in that time. Men had ruled the towns and cities that occupied the land and the women had performed the duties that men had assigned to them. In 442 BC women believed that they were the inferior sex when compared to the men that lived during that time because men had power and influence over the people and cities. Ismene says “You ought to realize we are only women, not meant in nature to fight against men, and that we are ruled, by those who are stronger” (lines 70-73). These words said my Ismene prove that women looked at themselves as a weaker sex than the men. Ismene believes that as women, both her and her sister Antigone should not and cannot disobey Creon’s orders by burying their own brother. In this time period women feared the men that ruled over them although Antigone had the strength mentally to rebel. The ruling class of the men thought of themselves in much higher standing and importance than that of women. Creon, the king of the...
Words: 680 - Pages: 3
...How do people determine what is right and what is wrong? Do people do what they believe is right or do people do things wrong intentionally? Many people have ways of determining what’s right or wrong. Determining what’s right or wrong in a situation can be handled different ways by different people. Some people use their beliefs to determine what is right or wrong in a situation. Others follow rules created by their government or social rules that are acceptable within their circle of friends or society. And maybe, some people feel that they have power in this world, and, therefore, have the ability to create their own rules or think that rules don’t apply to them. A great example of determining right vs. wrong would be in the play, “Antigone,”...
Words: 2227 - Pages: 9
...You can see in Antigone that the role of a human is very important, in this case it means so much that she is willing to risk her life to honor what the Gods would want of her in fulfilling her role in the burial of her brother. Some major themes that are evident throughout the play is the law of the Gods and man-made law, the abuse of power, and furthermore even though the play is titled Antigone, who’s story is it really? The problem arises when both of Antigone’s brothers Eteocles and Polynices kill each other battling for the throne of Thebes. Creon who is Antigones uncle inherits power and the throne of Thebes, and declares proper burial for Eteocles, but demands that Polynices remains unburied who he thought was a traitor for fighting against Thebes. Since back in ancient Greece it was the womens’ role to give a proper burial so that there is a respect paid to the dead, Creon is pretty much making it impossible for Antigone to fulfil her role. Antigone neglects to listen to the rules of Creon and buries her brother, and is eventually captured by Creon’s guards. Antigone demonstrates no remorse when facing Creon over her crime “Because it wasn’t Zeus who pronounced these things to me, nor did Justice, companion of the gods below, establish saw laws for humanity” (Sophocles 29) although she knows that she’s most likely facing death for being caught disobeying the rules of the leader she feels that she has made the right decision by honoring the Gods because she will...
Words: 930 - Pages: 4
...Min Hyuk Lee 10/27/2014 Throughout the course of the Greek tragedy, Antigone, one can not only observe the conflict and struggle between the characters, but can clearly discern the clash between two widely differing concepts. Antigone, the cursed daughter of Oedipus and the mourning sister of Polyneices and Ismene, continues to collide with the King Creon for what she believes to be the right thing to do. Antigone is desperate to give her brother the rightful burial that she believes he deserves, while Creon is determined to uphold his laws and traditions to keep order with the values that he holds so dearly. Throughout the course of the play, the reader is stricken with the decision and dissolution of what is ultimately the “right” thing to...
Words: 1990 - Pages: 8
...Creon says to his son Haemon that it would be bad enough to yield to a man, but he would never yield to women. What does the play say about a woman's place in society? Throughout history women have been considers inferior than men. In the classical play “Antigone” written by ancient Greek author Sophocles, it discusses and questions the role and importance of women during ancient Greek times. As the play follows the actions taken by the protagonist, Antigone, who transgression in order to bury her brother’s corpse. Sophocles portrays women’s role in society through being subservient, the status quote and as courageous. In the play the sister of Antigone, known as Ismene, is the essential figure in the portrayal of women as subservient to men. This is due to the fact that Ismene feels that she should not question nor disobey the edict imposed by Creon to deny the burial of Polynices. For instance, Ismene argues with Antigone and says “Rather, consider that we were born women, proving we should not fight with men, and that we are ruled by more powerful people and must obey them even in painful things.”(Lines 63, 15) This demonstrates that women knew that they needed to be subservient, and because they knew that they could not speak against men they subsequently advocated the thought that women did not play an important role, due to being weak. As a result women in ancient Greece were at the bottom of the social pyramid and not considered important Furthermore, Sophocles demonstrated...
Words: 569 - Pages: 3
...Throughout time, women have always been thought to be insignificant and less important when compared to men. The role of men in history had always been that they were to handle the dirty work and provide for their family while the women were seen as only an outlet to reproduce more children. In The Oedipus Cycle, the role of women have been portrayed as helpless and owned possessions of men. The statement that Sophocles tries to show in the plays is that women are for more capable to reach the same goals as men and prove the equality of the two sexes. Throughout the two plays, women are seen as unimportant objects. However, women convey a greater deal to society in both stories. Sophocles’ play, Oedipus Rex, portrays the importance of...
Words: 549 - Pages: 3
...the ancient greek philosopher, believed that reason should hold a larger importance over passion in choices, despite following emotions being the norm, and today the same belief still holds. In Antigone, Sophocles cleverly weaves his view of logic holding greater importance over passion. The two main characters, Antigone and Creon, destroy their own lives because of their decisions affected by emotion and their...
Words: 888 - Pages: 4
...“Antigone” is a great Greek tragedy by Sophocles. The story is about a young brave woman who has buried her brother by breaking king’s decree, and now she is punished for obeying God’s law. However, this conflict is far more complex than that. Antigone, the protagonist, and King Creon, the antagonist, have opposing personalities and they represent faithfulness vs. false-heartedness. There are many arguments about who is the tragic hero in Sophocles Antigone, Creon or Antigone? The short answer is Antigone. Antigone is the tragic hero in this story because her suffering is undeserved and unfair to the audience ,although she has a high social status in Thebes. The central conflict starts with when Oedipus, the king of Thebes, has exiled himself....
Words: 1232 - Pages: 5
...protagonists, Antigone and Creon, demonstrate qualities of tragic heroes, the play is correctly named Antigone due to her heroin characteristics to overcome the law in order to obey the gods. Antigone buries her brother regardless of the consequences. She does this action alone and will not let anyone in her way. Creon is the tragic hero, but due to his rottenness, Antigone is seen more likable for putting her family before law. In this story, Creon is the tragic hero. The whole play revolves around him and his doings. Many events happened because of his hunger for domination. He has gotten brothers, Polynieces and Eteocles, to go against each other and start a war in which they both killed each other. When Creon became king, he set a law against burying Polynieces’s body since he viewed him as a traitor. Out of love, Antigone buried her beloved brother and was caught in the act defending herself saying, “I do. I deny nothing” (Sophocles 698). When she was presented to Creon for her wrongdoing, she did not deny her actions nor showed any regret. Creon could not believe his own blood relative would disobey him. Due to disbelief, he punishes Antigone by immediately imprisoning her in the cave. Antigone’s character is more controversial and admirable than Creon’s. Both of their actions were out of emotion. However, Antigone acts based upon love and tradition that every person has the right to be buried correctly and respectfully. Regardless of this tradition, Creon based his edict...
Words: 517 - Pages: 3
...Princess May-ann Margaret Uy Enemy of the People is about a small town on the southern coast of Norway and how it perceives and accepts truth. The town is governed by Peter Stockmann and doctored by his younger brother, Thomas. The main conflict flares up between these two siblings and then spreads throughout the town as they both try to do best by the community. Dr. Thomas Stockmann is a public-minded doctor in a small town famous for its public baths. He discovers that the water supply for the baths is contaminated and has probably been the cause of some illness among the tourists who are the town's economic lifeblood. In his effort to clean up the water supply, Dr. Stockmann runs into political cowards, sold-out journalists, shortsighted armchair economists, and a benighted Citizenry. His own principled idealism exacerbates the conflict. The well-meaning doctor is publicly labeled an enemy of the people, and he and his family are all but driven out of the town he was trying to save. This is an early dramatization of something we know better a century later: the difficulty of translating medical scientific knowledge into political action. Ibsen's well-intentioned blustery doctor heroically fails. This is partly because the local democratic processes are quite cynical (powerful people prevent him from getting his information to the citizens). Dr. Stockmann also suffers from a professional blindness that keeps him from understanding how anyone could possibly disagree that...
Words: 1812 - Pages: 8
...“blood is thicker than water;” but in “Antigone,” is it really so? The play “Antigone” is a Greek Tragedy that was written by Sophocles in 1961. The play is generically about the catastrophic fate of a young girl named Antigone, due to her disobedience in following the rulings made by the king named Creon. In the story, Antigone made the bold decision to bury her brother Polyneices, which was completely spoken against in the king’s decree. Polyneices had fought during the war on the side opposing that of the king and because of this, King Creon has made it illegal to bury Polynices who in his mind, committed treason; the actions of someone actually doing so, was punishable by death. King Creon though, gets a lot of negative...
Words: 996 - Pages: 4
...usually staying peaceful in nature. Martin Luther King Jr. and Antigone implement civil disobedience to defy unjust law; however, both approaches used to go against the wrong laws are different. Martin Luther King Jr. became the leader for the civil rights movement to put an end to segregation through civil disobedience by stressing the importance of peacefully protesting; while Antigone purposely went against the law, knowing the consequences, to follow God’s law instead of man-made law in a holy effort to bury her late brother Polyneices. Martin Luther King Jr. goes against unjust laws through civil disobedience by initiating peaceful protests. He believed that using nonviolent tactics are better at showing the immorality the unjust laws’ and calls for black people to fight the long battle against segregation. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, he reveals the unjust treatment going on in Birmingham and why it is important for him to be there helping, “Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already...
Words: 1102 - Pages: 5
