Justice In Antigone

If we assume that Antigone’s action is absolutely just, her strategy to execute justice still lacks insight. She isolates herself by rejecting Ismene’s companionship. Nor does she mention her fiancé Haemon in the play. Her

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 ignores the idea of civic responsibility and puts her family first. Her family is more important to her than the law because she finds religion more powerful than Creon. “The ancient Greeks were polytheistic, they believed in many different gods and goddesses. The Greeks believed that these gods and goddesses controlled everything, from the waves in the ocean to the winner of a race.” (Richmond)

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

Sophocles’ Antigone, has raised many speculations amongst the crowd. On one side, we feel that Antigone is an innocent victim. But when re-examined, we are lead to believe that she invites everything on herself. A martyr is someone who is cursed due to their beliefs and a masochist is the one who relishes pain. A popular belief is that Antigone is both. It is her nature and characteristics which make her fate inevitable. She carves her own destiny by being determined and heroically brave - a trait which develops respect amongst the audience. In the play, Antigone is following the divine law by sprinkling dirt over her brother. She even takes a stance and isn’t letting anybody to take the blame for it, not even his sister Ismene. This proves that Antigone adores punishments and enjoys the pain derived from it making her both, a martyr and a masochist. However when re-examined, we realise that Antigone cannot be looked upon as an innocent victim of tyranny. Tyranny is severe and oppressive rule of the government. But at a realistic stance, the punishment given by

Antigone in Antigone by Sophocles desires justice for her brother but her quest for honor of her brother`s body is obstructed by the king of Thebes Creon. There are multiple problems with the way her mission is handled and how a current audience may react to it. Today the concept of divinity, democracy and rights are drastically varied to those of ancient Greece.

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.

The opening events of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, quickly establish the central conflict between Antigone and Creon. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices, who tried to burn down the temple of gods in Thebes, must not be given proper burial. Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and insists on the sacredness of family and a symbolic burial for her brother. Whereas Antigone sees no validity in a law that disregards the duty family members owe one another, Creon's point of view is exactly opposite. He has no use for anyone who places private ties above the common good, as he proclaims firmly to the Chorus and the audience as he revels in his victory over Polynices. He sees Polynices as an enemy to

   In the Antigone, unlike the Oedipus Tyrannus, paradoxically, the hero who is left in agony at the end of the play is not the title role. Instead King Creon, the newly appointed and tyrannical ruler, is left all alone in his empty palace with his wife's corpse in his hands, having just seen the suicide of his son. However, despite this pitiable fate for the character, his actions and behavior earlier in the play leave the final scene evoking more satisfaction than pity at his torment. The way the martyr Antigone went against the King and the city of Thebes was not entirely honorable or without ulterior motives of fulfilling pious concerns but it is difficult to lose sight of the fact

In the play Antigone, there is a conflict between Creon and Antigone over which principle of

Caley 1William CaleyBarnes Dramatic Literature12 January 2018Antigone vs. CreonIn the play “Antigone”, Antigone and Creon can be thought of as a tragic hero. Antigone can be thought of as a tragic hero because she always thought of others before herself. She allowed herself to die because she buried her brother. They both did things they wanted to do and they didn't let anyone stop them. The first thing Creon did in Antigone was declare a harsh law. He declared that Polyneices body will not be buried and left out to rot and anyone who buries it will be stoned to death. First, Creon is the tragic hero in the play “Antigone” because he is a leader and has good reason for his laws and punishments. By the end of

Antigone is a strong-headed person, who believes that it is her duty to please her family's morals by doing whatever it takes. She says things to her sister to get her point across such as, "Now you can prove what you are, a true sister, or a traitor to your family." (Prologue, 26-27). She also will break the laws and go against her family for her brother. Ismene on the other hand is more fearful than Anitonge.

Although Antigone recognizes that the law is unfair and acted on her own to break the law and bury her brother. Even though she recognized the law as unjust, it is still perceive as a just law because Creon (the head ruler) demands it as a just law. Antigone’s version of justice is embodied through this notion of a higher authority (Ancient Political Theory reader 22). Antigone believes that the gods have commanded people to give the dead a proper burial, so she decides to act on this act giving faith into the higher authority. Also, it is arguable that her human virtue to bury her own kin is a sense of her own justice because it brings up both a moral and legal obligation of hers to her brother.

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.

“It is important to remember the natural instinct of all modern readers is to sympathize fully with Antigone (Knox 39).” Although I don’t completely sympathize with Antigone, I don’t believe that she deserved to die in vain for what she did.