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Antigone Book Report

Decent Essays

The story of Antigone tells the myth of the royal family of Thebes and their family conflicts. It begins with Antigone’s two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, killing each other in battle. After this battle Eteocles received a proper burial while Polynices was left in the desert to rot in sun and be eaten by animals. Antigone believed that in order for the soul to rest the body must be buried properly. Creon decreed that Polynices must never be buried as he was a betrayer of his country, Thebes. Antigone was defiant against Creon’s declaration and was thrown in a dungeon to starve to death as punishment. Antigone’s husband Haimon, who was also Creon’s son, went to check on her in the dungeon and when the guards went to check on Antigone they found both of them lying having committed suicide. Once the news reached Creon’s wife that her son was dead, she committed suicide herself. Creon suffered three losses in his family as the result of ways of reigning. In Sophocles’ play Antigone, Creon is …show more content…

He made a declaration to not allow the burial of one his nephews, who had betrayed the kingdom during the Battle of Thebes against his brother. His niece, Antigone, was against not giving Polynices an appropriate burial. When Antigone went against Creon’s rule and tried to bury her brother he through her in jail and left her to starve to death. Later, Creon realized he should bury Polynices and went to cremate him. After this Antigone’s husband, Haimon, who is also Creon’s son went to her side, where they both committed suicide, this was followed by the suicide of Creon’s wife, Haimon’s mother. After he experienced these tragedies his realized that his actions were foolish, and it wasn’t worth the sacrifice of his family. In Sophocles’ play Antigone, Creon is the tragic hero because he/she is a member of the royal family, he has a tragic flaw, and he finally recognizes his own errors and accepts the

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