Antigone's Moral Responsibility

The first specification for the tragic hero is one of the few that both Antigone and Creon exhibit; both characters are between the extremes of perfect morality and pure villainy. Antigone’s moral neutrality is illustrated through her noble intentions and the unorthodox way she acts upon them. When she is confronted by Creon and demanded to give an explanation for her disobedience, Antigone says, “For me it was not Zeus who made that order. Nor did that Justice who lives with the gods below mark out such laws to hold among mankind” (Sophocles 207 ll. 450-2). Along with love and loyalty to her brother, Antigone is largely motivated by her desire for justice and appeasement of the gods. While her intentions are noble, Antigone’s actions in the

Antigone’s motivation is love for her family- she puts it above all else. In fact, she is willing to sacrifice her life to defend that love. Antigone goes to great lengths to bury her deceased brother, who according to an edict issued by King Creon, died in dishonor, consequently making it illegal for anyone to bury his body. Through her actions to comply with her motivations, it is revealed that Antigone’s actions are also fueled by her strong beliefs that, first, the gods’ laws

Her intent was not to cause chaos. Her intent was not to disrespect Creon. She knew the only way her brother could receive respectful passage to an afterlife was if he received proper burial. Her religious beliefs and strong love did not allow her to remain passive and not act to help her brother. Antigone’s moral standards obligated her to betray her country in order to help her brother. For these reasons, Antigone was justified in breaking the law and betraying her country.

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.

Would you break the law knowing you could get punished for following your beliefs for someone you love, or follow the law knowing you won’t get punished. Well Antigone would follow her beliefs to do to what she think is right. And her sister Ismene would follow the law because she does not want to face the fact that she could be facing death if she gets caught. Antigone says that “But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy.” This shows that Antigone is willing to do anything for her friends and family. She also shows that she is willing to do what is right even if she knows that she will get into a lot of trouble, even if it means death.

It takes a lot of courage to stand up and defend an action or idea that is forbidden by society. This is what Antigone does in Sophocles' story Antigone. She clearly disobeys King Creon's order that no person should bury Antigone's brother, Polynices, which is punishable by penalty of death. In this case, is Antigone's decision the correct one? Her actions affect many of her other countrymen negatively because they cause problems within the royal family, disagreement among the people and directly relate to the death of three people including her own.

Antigone says, “I am not afraid of the danger; if it means death, / It will not be the worst of deaths-death without honor” (80-81). Antigone challenges herself that going against Creon's laws is worth burying her brother.

Antigone shows clear heroism when she buries her brother despite the looming consequences. She knows that her crime is one of holy justice and she is “not afraid of the danger; if it means death, it will not be the worst of deaths - death without honor” (193). By

Any person in their right state of mind would be terrified to die , but Antigone seems very accepting of her death. Another way Antigone changes is that she is more frantic. “What more do you want? Isn’t killing me enough?” (604-605).

Antigone recently lost two brothers, meaning that all that is left of Antigone’s family is her and her sister. Ismene reminds Antigone this when they are discussing Antigone’s plan: “Now look at the two of us, left so alone… think what a death we’ll die…” Antigone is suffering from grief, and she is no thinking clearly. Adding on to that, Antigone expresses suicidal thoughts multiple times. When she is confessing to the crime in front of Creon, Antigone states: “I gave myself to death, long ago, so I might serve the dead.” Antigone’s suicidal tendencies could be a reason why she committed the crime. She didn’t fear the punishment; she craved it desperately. One could refute Antigone was devoted to the gods and to her family, so her emotions didn’t play a large part in her decision-making. In contrast to this view, when Antigone was taken away to her tomb, she mentioned how she didn’t really care about the laws of the Gods too much: “…if my husband died, exposed and rotting - I’d never taken this ordeal upon myself, never defied our people’s wills.” Antigone is clearly second guessing her own actions moments before her death. Antigone made a series of rash decisions while confused by her own turbulent emotions, and deserves to pay the

Antigone, a magnificent dramatic character, is a woman of courage whose actions and behavior are completely understandable in the light of modern ideology. Although, she is more ordinary rather than exceptional. Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and sister to Eteocles and Polynices, she had been leading a double life when her brothers Polynices and Eteocles harmed each other treacherously in a dispute over the throne. It follows that, the person who refuses to follow orders will be sentenced to death. It’s says in Greek literature that women were only allowed to show conventional signs of sorrows that indicate the death of a person, and to obey Creons orders. For this reason, those people are obligated to obey Creon’s law because they fear the consequences if they do not intend to do so. From this point, Antigone recognizes that the law is unfair and decided to make uncompromising decisions that will cost her life entirely by going against the king. Admittedly, Antigone’s manipulations will lead to complicated decisions and away from social obligations where she has to sacrifice her life for an unjust law to correct it.

Antigone tells her sister that she is going to bury her brother even if it means she has to die, and if Ismene won’t help her, then she is going to do it by herself. “But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down with him in

As in any circumstance fighting against what is valued as right can become a conflicting power. Antigone’s decision to go through this treacherous act alone enabled her to find peace within the divine laws of nature during her time. The act of surrendering to a fate that was unjust prepared her for the desire she clung to despite its unbalanced position. Antigone’s fatal removal from the

In the play, Antigone the chorgas directly addresses the situation Antigone with saying that she is inflexible and aware of the punishment and questions if her decision was really worth her death.”Like father, like daughter: both headstrong, deaf to reason! She has never learned to yield. She has much to learn. The inflexible heart breaks first, the toughest iron Cracks first, and the wildest horses bend their necks At the pull of the smallest curb The maid shows herself”(2.375).This just shows how unaware Antigone is of herself and how she thinks her way is correct.Antigone also herself says that she knew she was breaking Creon's public decree she says she does "I do. I deny nothing."(2.351). And she admits knowing it violated the king's order: "I knew it: could I help it? It was public."(2.355). So she stubbornly stands by her action.

In this play, Antigone expresses respect for the gods, tradition, and family. She does so by understanding that moral laws stand higher than human laws, therefore if she was punished by death for her actions, she would die honoring her brother, and would