Examples Of Cultural Collision In Antigone

Antigone takes place just after a war between Antigone’s two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices. Eteocles fought on the side of Thebes whereas Polynices resembled an invader. Afterwards, Eteocles is buried and seen as honorable. However, Polynices is denied a proper burial because he is considered a traitor to Thebes. In this play, Sophocles uses Antigone and Creon as foils by characterizing Antigone as a martyr and Creon as a tyrant to urge the reader to realize that one’s own morals are more significant than the decrees of any government.

In Antigone, Antigone and her sister Ismene return to Thebes in an attempt to reconcile their brothers—Eteocles, who was defending the city and his crown, and Polyneices, who was attacking Thebes. However, both brothers were killed, and their uncle Creon became the king. He forbade burial is the corpse of Polyneices, declaring him a traitor. Antigone, moved by love for her brother and convinced that the command went against the law of the gods, she buried Polyneices secretly. Antigone lines 72-74 “And if I have to die for this pure crime,/ I am content, for I shall rest beside him;/ His love will answer mine”. It was Antigone’s fate to die after burying her brother. It also was her fate to be Oedipus’ daughter/sister.

In Antigone, King Creon’s pride prevents him from considering his citizens’ opinions, causing him to lose respect. Creon announces that Polyneices is a traitor, therefore he shall not be buried. Burial allows access to the after life. It is not in Creon’s power to make this decision, but he does anyway, forbidding Polyneices’s arrival to Hades. When the guards of Thebes, called Sentries, find Polyneices buried, Creon declares that whoever went against his law shall face a harsh execution. To Creon’s surprise, the culprit was Polyneices’s sister, Antigone, who happens to be Creon’s son, Haimon’s fiancé Even though Haimon loves Antigone and she was only trying to do the right thing by staying loyal to her family and the gods, Creon is too

Antigone is the sister of Eteocles and Polyneices. Both Eteocles and Polyneices agree to jointly rule Thebes as mutual kings. After one year, Polynices distrusts his brother, resulting in Polyneices fleeing from Thebes, only to later return with an army. In the battle, both sides are massacred. Eteocles and Polyneices kill one another, consequently giving their power up as king to in Creon, Antigone’s uncle. As acting king, Creon orders that, “Eteocles who died as a man should die, fighting for his country, is to be buried with full military honors, with all the ceremony that is usual when the greatest heros die” (Sophocles, line 160). As for Polyneices, Creon passes a law for Polyneices to be left unburied, to rot for every citizen to witness. Antigone viewed this law as immoral and unjust, for one brother to be buried with military honor and not the other. Antigone, expressing her love for Polynices, rises against Creon's higher authority command

She was committed to honoring her family and that is why she felt Polyneices deserved proper burial rites along with Eteocles. She took the idea to bury him to Ismene. Since it was against the law, she did not agree. Antigone responds to her by saying “That must be your excuse, I suppose. But as for me, I will bury the brother I love” (65). She argues that Creon is not enough to stand in her way (35) and Polyneices has the right to be buried being that he fought as bravely as Eteocles. So, Antigone took it upon herself to bury Polyneices. A sentry brings the news to Creon and soon Antigone follows. When taken to Creon, she fights that he is disobeying the laws of heaven. She argues, “Your edict, King, was strong, but all your strength is weakness itself against the immortal unrecorded laws of God" (360-363). She stressed to Creon that even though he holds a powerful position of authority, divine law will always come before civil law. Along with her upholding of the laws of heaven, Antigone expresses how her love for a brother is stronger than any other. She gives one last plea: she would not have defied Creon if the unburied body were her husband’s or her child’s. Both of those could be replaced, but a sibling whose parents are dead is suitable to accept such punishment. She would rather die with honor than live with the guilt of her brother’s soul left to wander the earth. With Polyneices left unburied, she feels she would have

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.

Throughout Antigone, Antigone is a presented as a strong woman who is both dedicated to her family and her community. That said, there is much conflict between these two dedications. In this paper, I will give examples of Antigone’s different individual responsibilities and her philosophies and explain how those conflict with the commitment that she is to have to her community and indirectly, her king. Ultimately, I will argue that Sophocles demonstrated his values of family, the way of the gods, and doing what is right through Antigone’s response to the conflicts between her values and the commitment she is meant to have towards her community.

Antigone is a play based on a Greek tragedy, that takes place in the city of Thebes. Antigone is one of four siblings, her two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, and her sister, Ismene, and soon to be married to Haimon. Her two brothers Eteocles and Polyneices do not live to the end of this drama, but die fighting one another for the throne of the kingdom. Creon, a ruthless leader, takes the heir of the throne. He demands Polyneices not have a burial for he was a traitor, and anyone who attempts to disobey his ruling would be punished. Antigone violated the ruling and attempted to bury Polyneices. Creon showed no pity for the fact that she was his only son’s fiancee and instead gave Antigone a death punishment. Antigone states multiple times that she believes she did nothing wrong, as well as others in the city think that. Haimon uses rhetorical devices throughout the drama in attempts to keep his father from killing Antigone and to show his father how he is affecting the city.

Throughout the novel Antigone, Antigone is portrayed as a rebellious anarchist who is not afraid to defy king Creon's strict orders. After the death of her brother Polyneices, who Creon believed was a traitor to Thebes, Creon gave specific orders that there should be no proper burial for such a renegade. Knowing the consequences, Antigone willingly disobey Creon’s commands and performed a proper burial for her deceased brother. When Creon heard of this, he became furious and sentences Antigone to death. Antigone denied nothing and accepted the punishment.

In Antigone, two brothers shared the king status which was left by their father. One of the brothers, Polynices, wanted to start a war with the kingdom because he wanted the king status for himself and himself only. The main ruler, at the time, Eteocles and Polynices fought and they both ended up killing each other. Their Uncle Creon, who took position as King after the deaths of the brother decides that only Eteocles will have a proper burial and Polyneices should lay and rot with no burial. Antigone, Polynices and Eteocles sister, thinks that Creon’s decision is unfair and takes upon herself to give Polyneices a proper burial. When their other sister Ismene finds out, she is stuck between helping her sister bury their brother and following Creon’s demands. Ismene and Antigone are very different people; Antigone is brave while Ismene is tip-top. Two conflicting forces are Ismene's loyalty to her sister and abiding by the laws set out by Creon.

Antigone’s stubbornness is not what makes her successful in life but what drove her to her own destruction. In Antigone Creon becomes king of Thebes because Oedipus got exiled for killing Laius which is his own father. While Creon is king Eteocles and Polyneices get into a fight which results in both of them dying. As a result, Creon grants proper burial to Eteocles but not Polyneices which makes Antigone upset because they are her brothers and she believes that both of them should of been gaven a proper burial. Since Creon has granted those right Antigone goes and buries Polyneices against Creon's order. While she is burying him one of the guards see her and turns her into Creon. Creon arrests her and sends her to a cave that is far away from civilization. While she is in the cave she hangs herself. Antigone is the hero of the

As the play begins Antigone is just meeting up with her sister and is telling her about the decree of King Creon. Antigone and her sister, Ismene, had two brothers who had killed each other on the battlefield. One of their brothers, Eteocles, was buried with the military honors of a soldier’s funeral, and yet the other, Polyneices, was to be left out to be food for the carrion birds since he died fighting against the city of Thebes. King Creon forbade publicly for anyone to bury the body of Polyneices under the penalty of death. Antigone is now determined to bury her brother and wants Ismene to help her. Ismene does not want to go against what the king has ordered and is fearful of what may become of her if she

Antigone is a play that was written in ancient Greece by the playwright Sophocles. It is the third play in a trilogy of tragedies about the city-state of Thebes, revolving around Oedipus Rex. Antigone starts the day after a civil war fought between the two sons of Oedipus Rex after his death. The civil war ended in death for both brothers, so their uncle, Creon, assumed the role of King of Thebes. The main conflict of the play begins when Creon gives one brother, Eteocles, a burial with honors, but passes a law forbidding a burial for the other brother, Polyneices with the penalty of death. One of the sisters of Eteocles and Polyneices, Antigone disagrees with this law, and decides to bury Polyneices, resulting in Creon sentencing Antigone to death. A conflict emerges between Antigone and Creon, who appear to be opposites. However, despite Antigone and Creon’s different stances on law, they are ultimately more similar than different because of their shared value of loyalty and their shared characteristic, hubris.

The topic I chose to write this essay on is about the examination of the central conflicts that are taking place in the story “Antigone”. Throughout the story and what seems to be the start of many conflicts to come is, Antigone the main character having hard time fathering the fact that she’s not allowed to bury her other brother Polynices. Due to orders given by her uncle Creon. Essentially in the story Antigone struggles with fighting against the social customs of the time, disputes with her sister Ismene, and Creon who represents the state or government and the ultimate enemy.

Antigone is a tragedy with the opposition of state laws and religious laws. The main protagonist is King Creon ruler of Thebes, who has recently stepped up to the throne, after his nephews Eteocles and Polyneices had killed each other in a war over the throne. Creon declares, that his nephew, Eteocles shall receive a proper burial for defending Thebes, while Polyneices's body will be left to rot for attacking Thebes. This idea is greatly opposed by Creon's niece Antigone, as it goes against what she believes is morally right, and that Polyneices was a person and deserves to get a proper burial like everyone else. Despite being the antagonist Antigone is the hero of the play. This is because she is doing what she believes is the right thing to do, she claims, "Say that I am mad, and madly let me risk the worst that I can