Antigone: Free Will and Destiny

The play Antigone by Sophocles is a play like no other. There are three major themes or ideas which have a very important role in the play. The first major theme is fate, on how the play comes about and the turn of events that come about throughout it. Another main theme or idea is the pride the characters have and their unwillingness they have to change their minds once they are set on something. The last major theme is loyalty and the practical problem of conduct involving which is a higher law between the divine laws and those of the humans. It is an issue of which law is the "right" law, and if Creon and Antigone's acts are justifiable or not. The issues that Antigone and Creon have between them

For instance, Antigone had many chances to obey the law or her own familial bonds. Antigone chooses to obey family, and bury Polynices even though burying breaks Creon's law. Antigone pleads to Ismene to help, when she says no, Antigone responds, “But as for me/ I will bury the brother I love” (Prologue. 192). Antigone is willing to break Creon's authority as a family means much more to her, this presents her as selfless. Along with breaking the law, Antigone also risks execution for that crime. Once Antigone learns of her punishment after Creon discovers her, she decides if burying her brother was worth it. After Creon warns Antigone again she says, “This death of mine/ is of no importance; but if I had left my brother/ lying in death unburied, I should have suffered. / Now I do not” (Scene II. 208). Antigone shows the courage that even death won't scare her from her goals. Antigone chooses family, even in the face of the capital punishment. Sophocles show Antigone as a lion-hearted being by denouncing Creon’s will and burying her brother. Through Antigone’s actions, Sophocles show how he favors family over authority.

In the story of Antigone several characters made major and, definitive decisions based on their subjective morals and emotions. In almost every scenario a specific character was given the ultimatum of life or death. To the reader’s surprise, the characters chose death in order to remain consistent to their personal beliefs. I concluded that Sophocles intended for this element to convey that, people who are dogmatic in their beliefs often act solely on their emotions and are prone to make unintelligent decisions. This analysis will explore the morals of certain characters in Antigone, in an effort to determine whether remaining steadfast in those morals was worth their respective repercussions.

In the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, writes a story about how one person's action has the abilities to affect everyone around them. The main character Antigone openly admits that she dislikes how Thebes is being run. Even though she is alone on her beliefs, she strongly disagrees with Creon decisions, and wants the world to know her deeds. Antigone's deeds end in her inevitable death, but in her passing achieves her objectives. The writer uses her to show how much a single person can affect society, but also shows one must endure the sacrifice to achieve progress. Throughout the story we find the characters must stand by what they believe in and face the consequences to ensure change.

Fate is an old debated concept. Do one's actions truly play a role in determining one's life? Is fate freedom to some or is it binding to others, in that no individual can make completely individual decisions, and therefore, no one is truly free. Nowadays, fate is a subject often rejected in society, as it is seen as too big, too idealistic, and too hard to wrap a persons head around. However, at the time of Antigone, the concept was a terrifying reality for most people. Fate is the will of the gods, and as is apparent in Antigone, the gods' will is not to be questioned. Much of Sophocles' work focuses on the struggle between human law and what is believed to be the god’s law. Fate was an unstoppable force and it was assumed that any

Sophocles symbolizes family over authority by using Antigone and Creon to conflict each other's core beliefs, showing that Antigone is willing to die to honor the love for her family, while Creon is willing to kill to honor and enforce his own authority at any cost. As we see in the story, when Antigone's brothers die, she chooses to bury Polyneices even though she knows this will cost her her life. In the play when Antigone tells her sister what she’s going to do, ismene says, ”But think of the danger! Think what Creon will do! ANTIGONE: Creon is not enough to stand in my way” This shows Antigone represents family for the great lengths she will go to to honor her brother. By contrast, Sophocles paints Creon to symbolize authority through murder of his own bloodline. In the play he plans to kill Antigone for choosing her love for her brother over his rule, and so he plans out her execution although she is family to Creon. The Choragos asks Creon “Do you really intend to steal this girl from your son?,” which then he responds by saying “No; Death will do that for me.” Which shows the reader that Creon is unsympathetic to who Antigone is in relation to him. He disregards the importance of family to uphold his authoritative values. By the end of the play the author has shown us Creon has come to realize his ways have cost him his family, and he regrets his decisions.

Unlike most Greek tragedies, Antigone is not essentially about the opposing powers of good and evil. Instead, the play demonstrates the conflict between one’s duty towards their family and their country and social expectations. “Antigone presents a conflict between family loyalty and loyalty to the state, between demands of the state and the will of the individual” (MacKay, 166). The king

Even though Antigone exhibits a blamable pride and a hunger for glory, her disobedience is less serious than those of Creon. It is evident that Antigone’s actions are driven by a love for her brother, and a desire to please the gods. While Creon’s actions are

She does not believe those beliefs are right and stubbornly ignores them. By acting this way she is demonstrating pride because a prideful person does not take into consideration anything going against them and their beliefs. Also when she says that "the laws of the gods mean nothing" to Ismene she is showing her pride. Firstly it again establishes the importance she puts to the gods laws. In this time period it was important to respect the gods. By suggesting Ismene does not respect the gods Antigone is entirely discarding Ismene.

Out of imprudence, Antigone does not realize the negative effects of antagonizing Creon. After being captured by the guard and brought to Creon, she reveals her intentions to Creon and even belittles him by indicating that his orders is not so strong that he, “a mortal man”,

This story is marked by tragedy after tragedy; Antigone and Ismene are presented with a father, that dare to killed his father to married his own mother. Two brother that followed the similar example, and consequently killed each other to for throne to have power. We don’t know what age they were when her parents died, but by inference we can argue that they were young. Although, Antigone and Ismene experience some life-hard moments together, their view on certain situation are shaped differently throughout the play. Antigone, see the situation with her brother Polynieces as outrageous offense to her and her family values, especially after being an active member of leadership in the city of Thebes. Antigone, experiences had made her a stronger than other women, she doesn’t fear man, and is

Like Creon, Antigone also never falters in standing up for what she believes in. Although Creon fights for stubborn pride, Antigone is trying to promote what is right and shows her higher reverence for God’s law rather than for Creon’s laws. In the eyes of the townspeople, Chorus, Choragos, and Haimon, Antigone is sacrificing herself to give her brother Polyneices the rightful honors due to the dead. Many side with this brave, honorable girl because she would rather suffer persecution and even death rather than give into Creon’s illogical demands. In the play, the chorus says about her, “You have made your choice, Your death is the doing of your conscious hand”. Antigone knew of the consequences before she acted and in doing so she chose her fate. At the time, she pleaded her sister Ismene to help her bury Polyneices but was rejected. Despite being alone in trying to rebel and perhaps she may have been afraid, Antigone goes out of her way and puts her life on the line to bring her brother respect.

Foreshadowing is a significant device in the play where it helps the reader understand the theme of fate in the play. An example of foreshadowing is when Oedipus speaks to his children and says, “I weep for you, though sight is mine no more, Picturing in mind the sad and dreary life which waits you in the world in years to come”. This informs the reader that Antigone will have a similar fate to her father’s, however she deals with it differently. Antigone is fully aware of her fate and therefore she accepts it. She decides to obey the laws of the gods instead of Creon’s laws by giving her brother a proper burial. Even when she faces death, she still holds on to her beliefs knowing that her fate is inevitable and this is shown when she says, “my fate prompts no tears.”. Therefore both Oedipus and Antigone discovered their fates, but one of them decided to fight against it while the other decided to obey the gods by accepting it. Even when they had similar destinies, Oedipus was seen as a leader who brought shame to Thebes, while Antigone was recognized for her heroicness and courage because she respected the gods enough to follow her

Antigone, a young, ambitious, powerful-beyond-her-knowledge girl sets the reader up with her awareness of the power of fate, in which she attributes all the tragedy in her family to the almighty Zeus. Fate being the upcoming of events beyond a person’s control, something that is destined to happen. We see fate throughout the story occur over again, it is a common action bestowed upon both Creon and Antigone.

Family is very important and is shown through the many ways in society. That family will often be more important than the authority or law. The tragic Greek play, Antigone written by Sophocles. Within Antigone, Sophocles presents many situations where characters are forced to face their feelings of law or family. Throughout Antigone, Sophocles proves his strong devotion to family, even more. Sophocles presents these through the actions of Antigone, Creon, and Haemon with the choices that they make throughout the play. For instance, Antigone had many chances to obey the law or her own familial bonds. Antigone chooses to obey family, and bury Polynices even though burying breaks Creon's law. Antigone pleads with her sister to help, but when she says no, Antigone responds, “But as for me/ I will bury the brother I love” (Prologue. 192). Antigone was willing to break Creon's authority as a family means much more to her, this presents her as selfless. Along with breaking the law, Antigone also risks execution for that crime. When Antigone learns of her punishment, after Creon discovers, Antigone decides if entombing her brother was worth it. Following Creon's warning, she says, “This death of mine/ is of no importance; but if I had left my brother/ lying in death unburied, I should have suffered. / Now I do not” (Scene II. 208). Antigone shows the courage that even death won't scare her from her goals. Antigone chooses family, when in the face of the capital punishment.