As Antigone goes through the tragedy of losing her brothers, she also experiences severe consequences for opposing the rule of men in favor of the rule of the gods. Despite the norm of her society, she steps out of her role as a woman and makes a stand for what she believes is correct. Despite the consequences she knows she will face, Antigone stands as a symbol for hope for all those in the Greek society who believe they are being oppressed by corrupt leaders. Looking at Antigone, people to this day view the way she sacrificed her own life to demonstrate who she felt the real leader was a heroic success, fictional or not. “Think how very horribly we will die if we go against the king’s decree and strength outside the law” (Line 59). Continually
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
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.
Antigone is an honorable character in this story of love and rebellion. The only thing that she does is disobey an order that is unjust and bury the remains of her
A good leader is someone who can recognize their own faults and someone who can make hard decisions whose outcome don’t always benefit them.In the play Antigone was imprisoned for going against the law of King Creon by burying her brother.Antigone would make a good leader because she possesses those qualities as well as many others.
Throughout the many novels and plays written throughout time, each story demonstrates an importance found in the world. From classic plays to merely masterpieces in literature, we learn lessons about life and detect similarities between characters and figures of today’s society. Woven into Sophocles’ Antigone are the many underlying themes, motifs, and concepts that teach us still today. We use these instances of learning to compare them to our lives and to the lives of modern-day figures. For instance, the main character Antigone shows a wide range of passion through her actions.
Antigone is loyal to the god's' law, which causes her civil disobedience. It is her fight for the "good life" that leads to the development of personal truth. Like Siddhartha, the pursuit of betterment and reflection on the choices she makes leads to a heightened sense of self. Antigone's willingness to lose herself to stand up for a clear goal - to bury her brother - helps bring awareness to personal truth.
This continues to set up the tension between Creon and Antigone because it shows that some of his statements are based off of sexism, not off of rationality--rationality would have been his response if Antigone was a man, but because she is a woman, she is treated differently. This reveals about Antigone’s character that is she not afraid to voice the truth and stand up for her beliefs, regard of the punishments that will follow, which could lead to a tragic ending because of her acceptance of punishment for her supposed crime (honoring her brother with burial
Although Antigone shows equality for women and rights, each character in the play has different views and believes. As a tragic hero of the play, Antigone has a tragic flaw and is very brave, as she defies Creon’s law and buries her brother, despite the fact she knows she will have to face consequences. Ismene and Creon on the other hand, do not appreciate
Society is a dynamic force in modern life and civilization. Through collective decisions, society shapes the livelihoods of those who live within it, by those who live within it. This self-sustaining and dynamic exchange is the main focus of the drama Antigone, written c. 440 BC by Sophocles. The play focuses on a what is left of a very dysfunctional royal family who rules over the city-state of Thebes, which is basically the sequel to the story of Oedipus, the famous hero who was cursed to kill his father and marry his mother. In the interactions between these family members, Creon, the now assumed king, Antigone, Haemon, and Ismene and the prophet Teiresias, divisions become clear how each believes society should be run, whether by the institution of the state, the gods themselves, or by reason and democracy. All three arguments give insight into the mechanics of society and eventually convey the thematic convictions of the playwright Sophocles.
The death of Antigone is truly a tragic episode in the Theban Plays, where she hung herself with a woven linen of her dress. By convention, her death would be characterized with feminine quality. However, Antigone, one of the few female characters in the book, possessed distinguishable female characteristics that are as remarkable as a male hero. Antigone was determined when she made up her mind to bury her brother. She was an agent of her words and took up the risks that accompanied to her deeds. Antigone was very passionate from the beginning to her death and she displayed tremendous courage when facing the death penalty. Moreover, Antigone, as a female individual, confronted bravely with the state and the authority of Creon. Throughout
“ The nation will find it very hard to look up to the leaders who are keeping their ears to the ground.” This is a quote from Sir Winston. The Greek Drama Antigone is about a girl who lost her parents and most recently her twin brothers. Creon the King of Thebes, and also her uncle, is new in possessing the throne and he established a law in which a burial for Polynices, Antigone’s brother, was forbidden. In the play, Sophocles’ purpose for writing about leadership was to convey that as a valuable leader they must know what their true values are, as well as, when to prioritize them, because they need to do what they think is best for the city, they need to listen to the opinion of others, and should still remain powerful.
Since Antigone is a woman it puts all the more pressure on Kreon to stick to his orders because of the limitations of freedom set on Greek woman in the ancient world. Her rebellious actions are out of line with her place in society as being a woman, which disrupts the gender roles and Kings position over the people in the community. By not abiding by the rules set by King Kreon she rises up against tyranny not only to expose her unique qualities of individualism, but also to reach out to the other people in her community who haven’t stood up against the King and fought for what they believed to be
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.
She is noble yet imperfect because she is born into a family of royalty, but ending up going against the king and the law. She is flawed because of her stubbornness and pride by thinking she is great enough to defy the king’s proclamation. Her reversal of fate is when she becomes sentenced to death and she understands her misfortune is a result of her action, because she decides she wants to die in a way honorable to her. Finally, she receives punishment far greater than she deserves when she dies by hanging herself after being exiled away. In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, Antigone is the tragic hero because of all the ways she presents, in her plans, desires, thoughts, and actions, the themes of one, loyalty should be given to loved ones no matter what, and two even when someone is not deserving of a punishment. because they have done nothing wrong to be able to fight through the challenges. Through her presentation as a tragic hero, Antigone is like the wise man because she lives her life displaying “the strength of a family, like an army, is in its loyalty to each
Moreover, Sophocles’ “Antigone” shows how freedom, life, and a normal everyday life was the cost of fighting for social justice and the common good. In attempt to give her brother Polyneices the appropriate burial, chaos erupts in the kingdom of Thebes. Antigone wanted to honor her brother and the gods by burying her brother even though it was against the wishes of King Creon. Antigone knew her punishment would be death, but she did not care. Antigone was willing to risk her life in order to do what she felt was right. In regards to freedom, Antigone’s arrest and exile were both costs of her fight for social justice and the common good. Antigone’s fight for the common good affected her life as well as the lives of those around her. Her fiancé Haimon tried to fight for a good life for himself and Antigone by going against his father’s word. In the end, Haimon took his life as a result of Antigone’s death and his mother Eurydike committed suicide as a result of Haimon’s death.