Humans are born with the potential to achieve greatness and to create a difference in the world. Though individuals possess the capacity to prove the immorality within them, they also possess an inner hero that is capable of performing tremendous good for the benefit of others. However, seldom do humans actually embrace the courage to stand up for their ethical principles and to challenge the existing social standards that are organized under strict leadership. Famous figures—from Susan B. Anthony to Rosa Parks—drew their moral heroism from the heroic action of characters in Greek literature such as Sophocles’s Antigone. The protagonist, Antigone, creates a conflict between her allegiances to political law and morals when the Theban king Creon decrees that the body of his nephew, Polyneices, remains unburied. To Creon, it sets a substandard example for the future of Thebes because Polyneices attacked his native city in a battle against the invading army of Argos. Since the morals of Antigone have a close connection with true justice and human well-being, she defies Creon’s laws and vows to give the proper burial rites to Polyneices as they were presented to her brother Eteocles. Antigone’s sacrifice to bury her brother results from a need to embrace family pride, a feeling to satisfy the gods’ desires, and a responsibility to represent the Theban citizens.
The honor that Antigone wants to maintain for her family, coupled with the irreplaceable nature of family, outweigh 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
Not only that, but she is also able to recognize that her brother must also be buried properly in order to have an acceptable afterlife, so she usurps what has been arbitrarily set in place by man and decides, based on her own morality and empathetic nature, to bury Polynieces. It is in this moment of selflessness that Antigone represents courage in the face of hardship, which only strengthens the notion of humanism as the ultimate ruler of just human behavior.(4)
Moreover, Antigone’s ability to follow her own beliefs results into the heroicness and tragic death of Antigone. Antigone is from a royal family and has the power to do what she believes in. She believes in following traditions and exercises that power when she says, “I will bury him, and if I must die, I say that the crime is holy: I shall lie down With him in death, and I shall be as dear To him as he to me” (694). Antigone follows her beliefs in following tradition and by doing what she feels is best. Antigone does this because she knows she is doing the right thing and knows that she will be repaid in some way. Furthermore, Antigone justifies her actions by telling the reasons that motivated her to do it to King Creon. She refuses to give in to the beliefs of King Creon and continues to think her own separate way. Antigone takes a stand to Creon when she says, “ Think Death less than a friend? This death of mine Is of no importance, but if I had left my brother Lying in death unburied, I should have suffered. Now I do not. You smile at me. Ah Creon , Think me a fool, if you like, but it may well be That a fool convicts me of folly” (709). Antigone believes what she is doing is correct and proves that to Creon , but he is still not convinced. It is important for Antigone to do what she believes is so that she will be pleased and satisfied with the outcome. Antigone’s ability to pursue her goals and to what she wants
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
Brad Moore, a famous athlete once said, “Pride would be a lot easier to swallow if it didn’t taste so bad.” In Sophocles’ well known Greek tragedy, Antigone, the main character undergoes immense character development. Antigone transforms from being stubborn and underestimated to courageous and open-minded. In reality, it is Antigone’s insular persistence that leads to her ultimate decline in the play as well as others around her. After the death of her two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, Creon becomes the new ruler of Thebes. With this, he grants Eteocles an honorable funeral service for his brave fighting. Claiming that Polynices was a traitor, he shows complete refusal to grant Polynices a respectable and worthy service. Clearly
In the Greek play Antigone writer Sophocles illustrates the clash between the story’s main character Antigone and her powerful uncle, Creon. King Creon of Thebes is an ignorant and oppressive ruler. In the text, there is a prevailing theme of rules and order in which Antigone’s standards of divine justice conflict with Creon’s will as the king. Antigone was not wrong in disobeying Creon, because he was evil and tyrannical. The authors of “Antigone: Kinship, Justice, and the Polis,” and “Assumptions and the Creation of Meaning: Reading Sophocles’ Antigone.” agree with the notion that Antigone performs the role of woman and warrior at once. She does not only what a kinswoman would, but also what a warrior would do.
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.
In the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, writes a story about how one person's action has the abilities to affect everyone around them. The main character Antigone openly admits that she dislikes how Thebes is being run. Even though she is alone on her beliefs, she strongly disagrees with Creon decisions, and wants the world to know her deeds. Antigone's deeds end in her inevitable death, but in her passing achieves her objectives. The writer uses her to show how much a single person can affect society, but also shows one must endure the sacrifice to achieve progress. Throughout the story we find the characters must stand by what they believe in and face the consequences to ensure change.
In Sophocles’ play “Antigone” she has heard the news that both of her brothers are dead. She has also learned that her brother Polyneices has not had a proper burial. The new King of Thebes, Creon has decreed Polyneices an enemy of the state a traitor. Polyneices and his brother Eteocles fought over the kingdom of Thebes and died at each other’s hand. King Creon wants Polyneices body to go unburied, to rot in the sun for the animals to have their way. Antigone’s asserting the supremacy of divine law buries her brother Polyneices. She is willing to speak out against injustice, not adhering to conventional restrictions and inflicting laws. Antigone’s civil disobedience resembles twenty-century Martin Luther King, Jr., who also stood up for injustice. Antigone’s like King took the law in their hands and because of what they believed went against authority.
In a human's lifetime someone has to stand up for what they believe in, in order to make a difference. The Greek play Antigone, by Sophocles takes place in the city of Thebes and is about two sisters, Ismene and Antigone, reacting to the deaths of their two brothers. Ismene and Antigone’s two brothers were at war on opposites sides of a civil war. They ended up killing each other in combat. Since the brothers, who were supposed to be the next kings of Thebes, were dead, the throne was passed to their uncle Creon. Creon, considering Polyneices a traitor, decides that he will only honor the brother Eteocles. This infuriates Antigone, who decides she will honor Polyneices by burying him, despite the law made against it. In the first scene Antigone takes her sister Ismene outside to the private gates to talk about her brother Polyneices not being able to be buried. They go back and forth over Antigone’s choice to bury their brother. Ismene doesn’t want Antigone to do it--
Family is very important and is shown through the many ways in society. That family will often be more important than the authority or law. The tragic Greek play, Antigone written by Sophocles. Within Antigone, Sophocles presents many situations where characters are forced to face their feelings of law or family. Throughout Antigone, Sophocles proves his strong devotion to family, even more. Sophocles presents these through the actions of Antigone, Creon, and Haemon with the choices that they make throughout the play. For instance, Antigone had many chances to obey the law or her own familial bonds. Antigone chooses to obey family, and bury Polynices even though burying breaks Creon's law. Antigone pleads with her sister to help, but when she says no, Antigone responds, “But as for me/ I will bury the brother I love” (Prologue. 192). Antigone was willing to break Creon's authority as a family means much more to her, this presents her as selfless. Along with breaking the law, Antigone also risks execution for that crime. When Antigone learns of her punishment, after Creon discovers, Antigone decides if entombing her brother was worth it. Following Creon's warning, she says, “This death of mine/ is of no importance; but if I had left my brother/ lying in death unburied, I should have suffered. / Now I do not” (Scene II. 208). Antigone shows the courage that even death won't scare her from her goals. Antigone chooses family, when in the face of the capital punishment.
Her core value of commitment of her loyalty to family is an important value for her to have. She believes that family comes first. “But I will bury him, and if I must die, I say that crime is holy.” “But as for me I will bury the brother I love.” “But I will bury him, and if I must die, I say that crime is holy.” This proves that Antigone is loyal to her family because, no matter the consequence she is determined to bury her brother. This is because to her, her brother deserves to be honored. Antigone puts her family before the law. “But as for me I will bury the brother I love.” This proves that Antigone has a
In “Why Antigone Today” Butler analyses her family and the Fanny Söderbäch regarding her analysis writes “Her incestuous lineage makes regarding her as a simpler representative of the sacred family difficult” (Söderbäch). I believe that Antigone’s family could possibly represent the “modern” family. The idea of a “traditional” family is being bent with the ability for single parents to have children and same-sex parents to have children as well. Just like Antigone’s family the modern family differs from the “traditional” norms. However, one thing that does not change between “traditional” and “modern” families is the complications and pain that is associated with family. Antigone certainly feels this pain. “Alas for the horrors of my mother’s bed! My doomed mother lying with her own son, my father! From what parents was I then born for misery! To them I go, accursed and unmarried, to share their home. Alas, my brother, who made such an ill-fated marriage! In your death you have destroyed me even as I live” (Sophocles 824-836) I believe that it is the feelings that her brother has destroyed her life and her fearlessness of the consequences of her actions that Antigone is able to go through with her actions. I believe that she felt that it did not matter if she lived of if she died because either way she is a form of
Society has always idolized the rebel, the outcast, the person with the moral compass directed away from the norm, who, despite direct opposition from those in power, is ultimately proven to be right. Heroes aren’t strictly aligned with authority, they veer off in a direction more suited to what they believe is right. Not all in that position, however, have shown utter selflessness and true leadership, as demonstrated by the title character and ‘heroine’ of one of Sophocles’ most famous plays: the daughter of Oedipus, Antigone. Though her life had been a pathetic one due to her convoluted family history, her attempt at realizing her own beliefs resulted not in reform, but the deaths of two innocents, along with the loss of her own life.
Majority of man’s belief creates laws to govern and protect the people, but an individual’s own belief can do just as much while staying true to justice. In the play Antigone by Sophocles, shows the conflation of both an individual and majority’s moral conscience through the rightness of justice. The citizens of Thebes seek justice for their past king, but others respect the law and deny his burial. As time forwards there are changes, the law is at a standstill and can only change if the majority chooses to do so. An individual’s moral conscience changes and develops the moment that an individual is born, so the justice they strive for is more modern and thoughtful. The characters from Antigone try to achieve justice by their own belief or by the law and in result true justice becomes far from reach. As a king, Creon guides and conducts his people by the law in order to protect, he would throw human morals away for the greater good. As a single individual, Antigone thinks by her own belief and creates her own form of justice. The more they progress towards their justice, the conflict between each other starts to form because of how their justice diverges from basic justice. For Creon and Antigone, their justice cannot coincide with each other due to human morals and relationships will not change this fact. The characters must either fight for the justice they believe in or give up on trying to do so. Sophocles illustrate that man must go against governmental law in order