Convictions Of The Main Characters In SophoclesAntigone

If Antigone did nothing, living with the guilt of not helping her brother would be worse. She breaks these rules for divine law, a law that is believed to come directly from god. Antigones actions for Polyneices that he must be buried is a requirement from the gods. If not buried properly the souls of the deceased were let to walk to river Styx, the entrance to the under world, for eternity and their souls would never be at rest. Not burying a body was a great insult to the dead and Antigone could not live with that on her conscience. Creon on the other hand ignores the laws of the gods and believes his duty to the city comes first. Creon believes his decision was in the best interest of Thebes to show that he is a strong ruler and the city of Thebes will be safe in his hands.

One has the capability to determine from right and wrong and having the determination to stand up for what one believes in, no matter what the price is. In Sophocles’ Antigone, a written dramatic play, Sophocles portrays the theme that at times of one’s life, it is necessary to follow moral law and ignore political law. In the play, a determined and courageous woman named Antigone is loyal to her beloved brother by granting him a proper burial and having to suffer the consequences for revolting. Throughout Antigone, several incidents occurred where the political law was of no importance to the individual. Conflicts between Antigone and Ismene and then with Creon and Antigone are examples of the theme. The theme also ties with the

Antigone’s words, actions, and ideas contrast with Creon’s character by his downfall because of Antigone braying her brother, Polyneices. Antigone said, “Let that be your excuse. I’m going now to make a burial mound for my dear brother.”(Line’s 99-100) Antigone is the type of person who thinks if one can get buried than the other deserves to be buried right along

Antigone believed that the actions she took were done for the right reason, because they adhere to the law of the Gods. In opposition to that, Creon believes that the actions he had taken were in fact the right ones, because he believed that Polyneices was a traitor to the land, and that anyone who should give him a proper burial would suffer the penalty of death. So, the actions that were taken by both of them individually were the right ones, in their own minds at least.<br><br>Antigone, in her plan to give her brother Polyneices a proper burial, kept in mind the consequences that she would suffer for having followed through with the plan. This doesn't necessarily mean that Antigone does not obey the human law that is set up by King Creon, it just means that this particular rule conflicted with the law of the Gods, something that Antigone believes highly in obeying, especially when it deals with her family. Antigone disregards the Olympian Justice that governs the land and also presides over the set laws that make civilized life attainable (Segal "Antigone" 172).<br><br>Antigone goes up against human law, by burying her brother Polyneices, knowing well that she will have to sacrifice her own life. She does this only because it is morally and ethically right, and this is why she stakes her life based upon her strong beliefs (Segal

“The gods no longer will accept our sacrifice, our prayers, our thigh bones burned in fire.” (Lines 1133-35) Teiresias explained to the king that a mortal human being was no match, and should not try to match, against the glorious gods. Creon admitted that he stood firmly on the final decision of not burying Polyneices, Antigone’s brother, and that no god had the power to make him to do so. “Even if Zeus’ eagles should choose to seize his festering body and take it up, right to the throne of Zeus, not even then would I, in trembling fear of some defilement, permit that corpse a burial.” (Lines 1160-65) Teiresias, on the other hand, was continuously persuading for Creon to compromise with everyone else, to fix his egotistic actions, with his statement: “Men who put their stubbornness on show invite accusations of stupidity.” (Line 1144-45) To which Creon responds with an insult rather than

This Sophocles tragedy seemed to touch many readers. This tragedy has made many people in present and antiquity rethink their purpose in life. This story also intended to raise many questions. One question that I will discus is what means more to you, social acceptance or staying true to your beliefs? This classic tragedy that I am referring to is called Antigone. This fascinating story touches many subject of social and religious matter. I will discuss the tragic turmoil of Antigone, her surrounding family, and the social and religious dilemma that Antigone faces that will ultimately decide her fate.

It is important to discuss Antigone’s point of view on the situation when considering the rhetorical strength of her argument. She stands by the belief that her decision to bury her brother was the right one. Her morals and past experiences have shaped this point of view. Antigone has a strong foundation of family loyalty. This is evident in almost all of her actions, the most obvious being the illegal burial of her brother. Antigone also has lingering discontent towards Creon due to the fact that he took the thrown after her father’s death. These past experience may have shaped attitudes towards Creon beyond the simple unjustness of his law.

King Creon’s tragic flaw is hubris. He does not listen to advice given to him by the blind prophet Teiresias. When Teiresias tells Creon, “Give in to the dead man, then: do not fight with a corpse- what glory is it to kill a man who is dead? Think, I beg you: It is for your own good that I speak as I do. You should be able to yield for your own good” (Antigone 36-40). King Creon does not like the fact that the prophet believes he is wrong and should do what everyone else has so far advised him to do. He accuses Teiresias as giving him such a prophecy because of bribery from others and a hunger for gold. Hubris is also revealed from King Creon in Scene III. Creon’s son, Haemon, tells Creon that the people of Thebes believe they have never seen a girl die such a shameful death and that the people live in fear of Creon. Haemon tells Creon he also believes Antigone should have been allowed to bury Polyneices and should be set free. King Creon responds with, “You consider it right for a man of my years and experience to go to school to a boy?” (Antigone 95-96). This shows that Creon does not believe a man of such age, “wisdom”, and “experience” should listen to anyone or change because of anyone else’s

Antigone retaliates by saying that his law is not that of the Gods so it does not stand. He wants to have Antigone killed, but his son his her fiancé. He tries to explain to the king that the gods would have wanted Polyneices to be buried and that Antigone did the right thing that she should not be punished for it. Creon’s hubris however comes out yet again. He will not even listen to a word his son has to say; however now he does not want to kill her, but to send her away into a tomb, where the Gods can determine her fate.

Unfortunately, Creon does not always make the correct decision because of personality traits that he possesses. When Creon sentences Antigone to death, he is wrong. This decision is based on Creon’s downfalls. He has hamartia and he judges wrong, and he also suffers from hubris. He is excessively prideful and believes that his choice is the only correct one. Creon also has an inaccurate view of his place in relation to the Gods. He believes he is in a position to know what They want and know what They feel is best. No mortal truly knows what the Gods want, but Creon believes he does because he cannot imagine that what he believes is wrong, even to the Gods. Antigone’s death is a bad decision that Creon makes based on his beliefs that the Gods view Polyneices as a traitor and would not want him honored in death.

In the end, Creon found out that the law of the gods was the only true absolute, and he had to give in at the end. Although Antigone’s arguments had some flaws, such as abandoning her sister for the sake of a dead brother while proclaiming family loyalty is important, her obedience to the gods showed the only true path for a moral in ancient Greek.

In the story of Antigone,Creon starts all the drama by proclaiming that he is not going to let his nephew Polyneices be buried.While his niece, Antigone, went against it because she believed it went against the basic rights given by the gods.Creon’s view on this was clearly stated when he said Polyneices, I say, is to have no burial:no man is to touch him or say the least prayer for him.” This quote shows that Creon strongly believed that no one should touch Polyneices and that he should not receive an honorable burial because of his betrayal.Antigone tried all that she could from reasoning with him to get her brother buried by using family ties. Even though Antigone gave him valid reasons Creon was too stubborn to even open up his heart and give it some thought, so he still declared that he shall not be buried.

In the play Creon rejects the burial of Polyneices but still seems to value family heavily. When Creon speaks with Haemon he expresses that he should listen to his father’s choice over anything else “Stand by your father’s ideas in all things.” (Page 37), showing that Creon values family honor. Sophocles shows moments of family love throughout the play, Creon knows letting Antigone go after burying her brother is the right thing to do so he makes the decision to let her go free for the action she performed “I myself, since my judgement has turned and seen better ways, I bound her up and I will go and release her.” (Page 54), this shows that Creon truly loves Antigone and chose family over authority by freeing her. As Haemon finds out Antigone has hanged herself, in

Often unaware to the reader, a story is routinely viewed through a particular lens. Our society has shaded minds to read tales through a black and white spectrum, but frequently the big picture of a story can be missed because it lies hidden within the gray area. Fairytales have influenced their apprentices to always look for a hero and a villain; however, similar to the real world, theses lines between “right” and “wrong” become indistinguishably skewed. Sophocles’ Antigone is not to be viewed through the eyes of morality because together hero and villain lie within the motives of both the play’s main characters. Simon Goldhill asserts that “it is difficult, in other words to read Antigone without making not only moral judgments, but the sort of one-sided moral judgments that the play itself seems to want to mark as leading to tragedy”, but this frame of mind must be actively fought against. The “gray area” type of mindset through which this play must be filtered is established in the assertion that conformity brings peace, but conflict brings progress. The complexity of Sophocles’ writing pleads with its readers to carefully analyze the text a second, third, or even fourth time in order to grasp the ideologies of the author in their fullest extent. This paper serves to promote such an analysis through the careful examination of the actions of Creon and Antigone, as well as the means by which Sophocles develops his “gray area”

In the beginning of the play, Antigone was angry at Creon for not giving her brother Polyneices a proper burial like her other brother, Eteocles had. Creon’s reason to not wanting to give Polyneices a proper burial was because Polyneices had attacked and brought enemies to the city of Thebes. Creon believed that it was his duty to protect his people and city. He believed he must be loyal to his people. When Polyneices decided to attack Thebes, Creon felt betrayed. He didn’t like that Polyneices went against him which is why he didn’t think Polyneices should have been buried. However, Antigone decided to bury Polyneices herself knowing the risks and consequences that could happen after. She was very stubborn and knew that her punishment would be death. She accepted the fact that what she was doing was wrong. Creon later found out that Polyneices was buried by Antigone and he was furious that she went against his