Individual Right To Suicide In Sophocles Antigone

Humanity is often faced with ambivalence towards law; at once, we find it a necessity in attempting to deal with a world which is constantly in some type of chaotic turmoil, and also as a glaring flaw in our society, which can at times result in more chaos than was originally had. This conflict is no more obvious than in Sophocles’ Antigone. Antigone, the character, represents half of the struggle between what the law says is just and what we inherently deem to be morally upstanding – Creon represents the opposing side which views law and power as the ultimate dictator of life’s unraveling. Though Antigone is ultimately thwarted, she is on the side of justice rather than blindly following the law. Antigone’s empathy while breaking the law

Sympathy for the Main Character in Sophocles' Antigone Sophocles' play is named after its main character, Antigone, and for

Sophocles’ play “Antigone” illustrates the conflict between obeying human and divine law. The play opens after Oedipus’ two sons Eteocles and Polyneices have killed each other in a civil war for the throne of Thebes. Oedipus’ brother in law Creon then assumes the throne. He dictates that Eteocles shall receive a state funeral and honors, while Polyneices shall be left in the streets to rot away. Creon believes that Polyneices’ body shall be condemned to this because of his civil disobedience and treachery against the city. Polyneices’ sister, Antigone, upon hearing this exclaims that an improper burial for Polyneices would be an insult to the Gods. She vows that Polyneices’ body will be buried, and Creon declares that anyone who

Law, principles, and regulations are established in a community in order to create peace and order for the people. But is every law placed- morally correct? Is there anytime when breaking an unjust law is acceptable? Through Sophocles novel, Antigone, he illustrates to his audience regarding to breaking an unjust law and that no matter how high a ruler might see himself as, the Gods will always be stronger and higher than the mortals. He designs one of the first examples of a conscientious objector, Antigone, one who breaks a law that is, to her, unjust. Defying Creon’s law with her beliefs that god's law overrules man's law, she goes against him by burying the body of her deceased brother, Polynices. In spite of the fact that Antigone knew the consequences that had the power to threaten her life, she still decided to honor her brother’s memory and satisfy the gods. When being captured by the guards she had not deny the fact that she was indeed burying Polynices, in fact she stated that she did and took the consequence, even though her life was at risk. To her burying her brothers body meant more than her own life, restoring moral balance and satisfying the gods led her to disregard a law created by man. Many should consider that breaking an unjust law is not wrong, a law that is morally unjust. The law was created to protect the people and their beliefs, yet as we see through the three Theban plays we learn that one's beliefs and morals go against the law, but it's not the

In the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, King Creon created a law that denied proper burial rites to anyone who invaded or betrayed the city of Thebes. Antigone defied this law by burying her brother, Polynices, after he was harshly accused of being a traitor. Both Creon and Antigone showed a tenacious passion toward their perception of justice, unwilling to accept that honoring the law and honoring the individual conscience were both justified in different ways. The stubbornness that they shared led them both to meet their downfalls, which conveyed the idea that being too proud to accept guidance from others ultimately leads to dire consequences.

She knew that in her mind, knowing her fathers fate that this was definitely the right choice. She did not care about other people’s options and the consequences were not affecting her at the time they were decided. Antigone feels, as though that this is a good way to die, it’s a way that she is going to be remembered for what she has done. “ Sister, forbear, or I shall hate thee soon, and the dead man will hate thee too, with cause. Say I am mad and give my madness rein to wreck itself; the worst that can befall is but to die an honorable death.”(92-96). Because Antigone approaches her consequences (death) without regret, her demise takes a tone other than the tragic feel of the suicides of Haemon and Eurydice.

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.

Antigone was a princess of Thebes, the niece of Creon, who sought out to go against the king’s edict in order to bury her deceased brother. A significant imperfection to her personality was her everlasting stubbornness. In one part of the play, Choragus has even proclaimed that Antigone was “headstrong” and “ deaf to reason”, who has “never learned to yield”. It is this imperfection that influenced her to provoke Creon by saying “I beg you: kill me”, as well as calling him a “ fool that convicts me of folly”. Antigone did not entirely deserve to be buried alive in an enclosed cave for her actions, yet is was herself that brought about her miserable outcome, by committing suicide. She may be a tragic character in the play, but she also had characteristics that contradict with the definition of a tragic hero. She was always aware of the effect her actions would have on her wellbeing, yet did not gain this understanding after her death sentence. Also, Antigone’s misfortune was not completely unfortunate, for in the end, Haemon joined her in the underworld and “ she is at last his bride in the house of the

Suicide is the demonstration of deliberately consummation one's own particular life. The way societies view suicide differs generally as indicated by culture and religion. For instance, numerous Western societies, and in addition standard Judaism, Islam, and Christianity tend to view killing oneself as entirely negative (Edwards-Dryden, 2016). One myth about suicide that might be the consequence of this perspective is thinking about suicide (self-destructive ideation) to dependably be the aftereffect of a dysfunctional behavior. A few societies additionally regard a suicide endeavor as though it were a crime. Be that as it may, suicides are once in a while seen as justifiable or even good in specific circumstances, such as, in protest in persecution (for example, a hunger strike), as part of battle or resistance (for

Haemon dies in the act of trying to assassinate Creon, leading to the death of Creon's wife. Now that Creon has lost everything he cared for he says, “I have killed my son and wife. I look for comfort; my comfort lies here dead. Whatever my hands have touched has come to nothing. Fate has brought all my pride to a thought of dust” (exodos.135-138). Creon finally realises that he brought all of this to himself by being stubborn. Even though death is what it takes to finally see that his family were what made him happy, and they were just trying to help him not make mistake he might later

He then states he (Creon) alone can’t be right and “other men who can reason, too; and their opinions might be helpful. You are not in a position to know everything” (Sophocles 218). By jogging Creon’s memory that he can’t have an overview of everything, Haemon is endeavoring to help Creon reason and to be open mind. In haemon’s next assertion he describes how, “she kept him from dogs and vultures. Is this a crime? Death- she should have all the honor that we can give her!” this tells the readers that if she would have died it would be unjust to die in shame for what was an act of glory, justice and that she should deserve a crown of gold and glory(218). At the end Haemon uses a plan to make threats against his father, after his father says Antigone must die, Haemon responded with an ultimatum answer “then she must die, but her death will cause another” (222). As Haemon dashing off in anger, Creon knows that if Antigone were to be executed, so will his son. Having no choose but Creon didn’t want Haemon to save Antigone so he carried Antigone into a living tomb (the cave) all locked up and supplied her with food just enough food to clear of its guilt of

The strange thing about society is that it is unacceptable for a person to kill another, yet it is considered acceptable to retaliate to this action, and others crimes, with the consequence of execution. In Antigone, many people had realized this flaw and felt it that it was wrong to kill Antigone for defying Creon’s orders. The play Antigone, written by Sophocles, is based off a decree created by King Creon that anyone who attempts to bury the body of Polyneices, the brother of Antigone, will be put to death. Antigone disobeys this decree out of loyalty to her family and is sentenced to die. The death penalty should not a form of criminal punishment because it is ineffective.

Haemon, much like his father, has his own tragic flaws of his loyalty and undying love for his would be wife Antigone. Who at the end of the story ends up making a tragic exit and Haemon after failing to convince his father, Creon, to release her chooses instead to hastily follow suit and meet his own tragic demise next to his lover. He makes a emotional and heartbroken choice out of pure desperation for his lost love, without considering how it would affect the people he left behind. Unlike Creon, he didn’t have to face the fact that he caused his mother to kill herself out of despair for her lost son and left his father surrounded by the dead bodies of his loved ones. Haemon had to bear the weight of Creon’s and Antigone’s impetuous decisions after he could not stop and ended up losing to his tragic flaw of love and killing himself.

If you bring up the subject of suicide in a room of people, it is likely that the individuals will become quite, begin to become uncomfortable. Why is this? Is it because of the aspect of death? Is it the ways it is done? Society may say it is a wrong and selfish act, or that a person is not considering others and therefore it is erroneous. We live in a society where mental health problems are rampant, societal issues take over our daily lives and out everyday stresses impact our health, yet our understanding of the subject that is to be avoided and carries a stigma with it that affects the way people see those who have attempted or completed suicide. When deciding if suicide is an ethical or morally accepted action, we must take many factors into consideration. Some of these factors may include the culture and society in which we live and our knowledge of psychological and biological causes. With these factors in mind, we can then adopt our own personal philosophies on whether suicide is an ethical or moral act. While not all individuals are going to agree on a consensus, it is important to consider others opinions and be aware of them while discussing the subject, even if it is uncomfortable.

Sophocles lived in Athens, the most progressive city-state at the time. Athenian society was ruled by a king who enforced laws interlaced with divine ideals. The king acted as a bridge that conveyed divine ideals and monitored society’s compliance. If a law was broken, a harsh punishment-- often exile -- was to follow. Sophocles wrote the play Antigone in the midst of a revolution in Ancient Greece. Around 500 B.C., radical thinkers sparked a movement that challenged the way government was run (Hammer 109). A change was required after the monarchy became corrupted by tyranny as the king claimed more control and gave less control to the common people and the gods. In order to create a balanced society, the first democracy was created in Athens around 450 B.C. The new system of government did not run smoothly from the start, however. Persons of high status including the king and his nobles wished to continue ruling with absolute power while the radicals fought to end corruption. Many years of tumult would follow as the conflict between divine and human law persisted. Sophocles demonstrates the conflict of divine versus human law in the play Antigone as the characters defy laws that bring upon them serious consequences.