Parents are there to protect and raise their children. It is their choice on how to do it. Many can be very nice and almost not strict enough, but others can seem stubborn and mean. Unlike strict parents, people who are truly stubborn can be much, much worse. Their inability to be wrong or not get what they want can destroy relationships and lives. This happened in Sophocles' Antigone, she was doing what she felt to be right and her uncle, Creon the king of Thebes, had her killed because he did not agree with her point of view. Stubbornness can lead to bad judgments and horrible repercussions. Stubbornness is like a parasite that takes over a persons mind and body, and makes them sad, depressed, and angry. In the play almost every …show more content…
Antigone's sister reminds her she has no power in the law and if she is to be caught burying Polynieces she will be put to death. Being bull headed she does anyway. She was so stubborn that not even her only sister could stop her. After their argument Antigone even asks her sister if she wants to come with because Antigone thinks burying Polynieces is a respectable thing to do, she can not take a hint. And when she goes to defend herself in front of Creon she is so stubborn that she wants everyone to know that she has committed this crime for the gods and does not even defend herself but says she is guilty. This makes Creon even more mad because she knew exactly what she was doing. Not only were Creon and Antigone stubborn, other characters were also stubborn. For example Ismene, who wants to die with Antigone. She does not give up, but keeps saying, "I did it… I am her partner. I share the blame" (29). Creon does not let her die with Antigone because he believes she is innocent and does not want to kill an innocent woman, ironically his stubborn choices kill many people close to him. Haimon also tries to sway Creon’s decision multiple times in the play and he does not give up until Antigone has already died. Over all almost every character in the play, Antigone, was stubborn, and all this led to disaster. In the end because of all of this foolishness Antigone, Haimon, and Euridice, Creons wife, die. This leaves Creon with no one
Antigone has the strong belief that loyalty to the dead and to the gods has precedence over all other opinions, specifically those of Creon. Antigone does not at all care that the one with all governing power has the most disagreement with her decision to remain devoted to her family below. “Since I must please those below a longer time than the people here, for I shall lie there forever” (Sophocles 16). She knows and understands that time in the mortal world has a limit, however time in the underworld is eternal. Pleasing Creon and his belief to only stay true to civil laws are of no concern to Antigone, for all she wants is to please her family below and the gods above. An example of this is the burial of Polynices, because while it is right in Antigone’s eyes, Creon believes it is foolish and a sin
Being that Antigone is the protagonist, her character is important in the play. She made the decision to bury her brother knowing that it was against Creon’s law. Ismene refused to help Antigone, which left her angry, yet still determined to bury her brother. She knew that burying her brother could lead to her own death, but she continued to show courage, strength, and determination throughout her role. In the beginning, Antigone says, “Dear god, shout it from the rooftops. I’ll hate you all the more for silence/ tell the world!”(17,100-101). This was said to Ismene, when they were discussing burial plans and Ismene was telling Antigone that she was against the plan. Antigone’s dialogue shows that she is not worried about being punished or worried about who knows what she has done. It is clear that Antigone is sincere about honoring the gods, her actions show that she feels that she is pleasing the gods and that is all that matters to her. “These laws/ I was not about to break them, not out of fear of some man’s wounded pride, and face the retribution of the gods.”(30, 509-511). This demonstrates how she feels about man’s law vs. divine law. In the plot, there was not one time where Antigone denied
When a messenger comes to Creon, bringing the news that Antigone has buried her brother, he begins his arguments why Antigone has broken the law. He begins by stating that a man shows what he is made of by his "skill in rule and law." In other words, the law is everything and as a ruler, he must do everything for his country. He considers Polyneices an enemy of the city and a threat to the security of the city as well. Thus Polyneices will be called a traitor in life and in death and dishonored. The scene when Antigone and Creon face each other is the opportunity for both to defend themselves. Creon questions Antigone. She bases her responses on that the city laws proclaiming her as illegal are not the laws of Zeus or laws proclaimed by gods, but rather, laws made by a man that one day will also die. She will honor her brother's death because this is what the gods have proclaimed for all mankind. (lines 460-463)
Finally, Creon is a dynamic character. He undergoes changes in emotion throughout the work. He realizes his mistakes when Tiresias forecasts the future. Thus, Creon attempts to correct himself by releasing Antigone. But he is too late. He is forced to live, knowing that three people are dead as a result of his actions. This punishment is worse than death. Although Creon’s self-righteousness and inflexibility did not change until the end of the play, his motivations traveled from patriotic ones to personal ones. This created a major portion of the
While Antigone followed her belief of burying Polyneices for religious reasons, she went against the law of Kreon. Antigone new that the punishment for burying Polyneices was a stoning by the city’s people (Sophocles 36), but she chose to bury her brother anyway, claiming, “He has no business keeping me from what is mine” (Sophocles 49). Antigone’s lack of negotiation is why her civil disobedience is a failure. Her choice to bury Polyneice’s body without any attempt of finding common ground with Kreon is foolish. Although Antigone met with Kreon after being discovered burying Polyneices body, she never actually attempts to negotiate with Kreon, instead choosing to accept her punishment as something already set in stone. When Kreon first meets Antigone, he asks if Antigone admits to the deed (Sophocles 442). Antigone’s only response was, “I don’t deny it; I admit the deed was mine” (Sophocles 443). This shows that Antigone made her choice of civil disobedience and accepted her fate before exhausting all options. Rather than pleading with Kreon and
In this play, Sphocles demonstrates the idea that stubbornness leads to ruin by making an example of Creon and Antigone. Creon ends up losing everything important to him because of his stubbornness. For example, both his son and his wife kill themselves and it is his fault. If he would have just changed his edict or forgiven Antigone, then his family wouldn't be dead. Antigone also loses everything that's important to her because of her stubbornness. In fact, she loses her life over her stubbornness. If Antigone wouldn't have been stubborn she wouldn't have given her brother a proper burial. Therefore she would have no reason to die.
Her blatant disrespect and sarcasm toward Creon shows how she really feels toward him. Antigone does not respect Creon as the king of Thebes. This gets further proved when Antigone says, “It wasn’t Zeus, not in the least, who made this proclamation–not to me” (Sophocles Antigone, 499-500). This is a very telling moment for the reader, Antigone is saying she did not listen to Creon’s decree not only because she does not respect him, but also she will only listen to the gods rules. This moment tells Creon that Antigone will never respect him as a ruler. Antigone is very stubborn, and when she is very passionate she will speak her mind, “And if my present actions strike you as foolish, let's just say I’ve been accused of folly by a fool” (Sophocles Antigone, 523-5). In these few lines she is talking to Creon about how she does not regret burying her brother. She tells Creon, the person who holds her fate in his hands, that he is a fool. Antigone’s hubris finally comes back to ruin her, “We took his orders, went and searched, and there in the deepest, dark recesses of the tomb we found her… hanged by the neck in a fine linen noose” (Sophocles Antigone, 1344-7). The ‘her’ the messenger is speaking of is Antigone. Antigone is so prideful and spiteful her last act on Earth was a smug reminder to Creon that if she was going to die it would be on her own terms, by her own hand. Antigone is one character that perfectly showcases how hubris can lead to ultimate demise.
Antigone’s words, actions and ideas contrast with Creon’s characters to the point of these two characters having conflicting motivations. These Conflicting motivations cause the characteristics of abomination, discourteous, and egocentric to be highlighted within Creon’s character. Ultimately, these conflicting motivations develop Creon a tragic hero by his downfalls, how he’s been aggressive, and also when Haemon and Antigone killed their selves.
Neither character accepted their faults or offered to find common ground, so both fell to a tragic fate: Antigone was killed and Creon was left with nothing and no one.
Antigone’s determination did not allow her be afraid to face Creon, instead she was courageous when he asked her “I am here to say no to you and die.” (A. 50). Also, Antigone’s determination is what is allowing her to believe that she has done the correct action even if others do not think so or think of her as a foolish woman as she states “think me a fool if you like; but it may well be that a fool convicts me of folly.” (A.49). Although Antigone did not obey Creon’s decree, she was very positive that she would not be called guilty as a traitor since she firmly stated that “no one will ever convict me for a traitor.” (A. 47). Throughout all of this, she remained courageous and determined so in the end she successfully reaches her goal in burying her brother’s body.
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.
By the end of the play, Antigone was already dead and Creon was doomed to a life of hatred and sorrow. It was to late for Antigone when she was in the cell for her to try
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.
Antigone chose to give her brother Polyneices a proper burial even though it was against the king’s law. She tried talking her sister Ismene to join her on her quest because Polyneices was both of their brothers, but Ismene did not want to disobey Kreon’s order (Blondell 19-24). This left Antigone to handle this on her own, which takes a lot of courage and dedication to what she believes in. Antigone went on with her plan to bury Polyneices and his body was eventually found by a guard (Blondell 30). When the guard brought the news to Kreon he was furious and the Chorus had suggested it was a Gods doing, which led me to believe that they did not think anyone one else was willing to risk it all by not listening to their kings orders (Blondell 32). A good lesson to learn from Antigone is that even if you break the law you have to admit your doing especially when you know what you did was morally right and what you stand for as an individual. When Antigone was accused of breaking the law and burying Polyneices she did not even hesitate saying, “I don’t deny it; I admit the deed was mine.” (Blondell 38). She even goes on to tell King Kreon that his choice to not allow the burial of Polyneices is morally wrong and how he is disobeying the God Zeus who is offended by improper treatment of a corpse (Blondell 38). Though Antigone knows the consequence for disobeying the king, she continues to fight for her brother’s honor and makes sure to point out the king’s foolish decision. Even in her last words she questions what kind of men can make suffer and then gives her respects to the town, gods, and rulers.
Antigone has a possible flaw in that she is too stubborn and persistent to obey Creon’s order; “I know my duty, where true duty lies” (Antigone, 128). Her punishment then encourages feelings of pity from the audience because her deed was honorable and respectful towards her brother Polynices. The chorus supports this view by bidding her a respectful farewell when she is taken away, “But glory and praise go with you lady” (Antigone, 148). Antigone is also very proud, and this may have contributed to her death. Even when she is caught she remains strong and defends herself by claiming that the chorus thinks that her act was honorable, “All these would say that what I did was honorable” (Antigone, 139). This causes Creon to remain angry with Antigone, “you are wrong, none of my subjects think as you do” (Antigone, 140). If she had been more patient and less defensive, Creon may not have been as harsh in the punishment he set for her.