The Real Leader In Antigone

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.

To begin, Antigone demonstrates her head-strong and determined behaviour throughout the play; through her actions and many dialogues, Antigone proves to be inflexible and unshakable at times. In addition, A World Enclosed outlines that the hero in the tragedy is not admirable or heroic at all, but rather, they have a destructive flaw to their character that sparks tragedy to unfold. By the same token, Antigone's determination and stubbornness, and arguably many more flaws, ignite tragedy in this story as well. This is demonstrated when Antigone is

“ 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.

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.

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

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.

Like Creon, Antigone also never falters in standing up for what she believes in. Although Creon fights for stubborn pride, Antigone is trying to promote what is right and shows her higher reverence for God’s law rather than for Creon’s laws. In the eyes of the townspeople, Chorus, Choragos, and Haimon, Antigone is sacrificing herself to give her brother Polyneices the rightful honors due to the dead. Many side with this brave, honorable girl because she would rather suffer persecution and even death rather than give into Creon’s illogical demands. In the play, the chorus says about her, “You have made your choice, Your death is the doing of your conscious hand”. Antigone knew of the consequences before she acted and in doing so she chose her fate. At the time, she pleaded her sister Ismene to help her bury Polyneices but was rejected. Despite being alone in trying to rebel and perhaps she may have been afraid, Antigone goes out of her way and puts her life on the line to bring her brother respect.

Antigone has been given strong characteristics in her story and because of this she does

Antigone developed the role of the women in society, and represent a new type of character- the one who sets her individual conscience and belief in divine principle above and against the power and authority of the state. In addition, she represents individualism and the opposition towards the patriarchal society. By disobeying to Creon's orders, she overturned one of the fundamental rules of her state. She refused to reconsider her opinion even when she was confronted by the king and sentenced to death. Antigone said, "And if I have to die for this pure crime,/ I am content, for I shall rest beside him;/ His love will answer mine" (Antigone, line 72-74). Antigone strongly believed that she will be justified by the gods because

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

While Antigone’s act of civil disobedience against King Creon is admirable, it was not enough. Her actions were carried out carelessly and hastily, ultimately leading to her demise. The reasoning behind her stance was selfish in the way that she was not defending those that fear locked up their tongue or the “do-nothingers” concerning injustice. She stood up to the king for personal matters concerning her family drama. The combination of her actions,

Antigone is one of the two central characters of the play, along with Creon. Like Creon, she too has a claim to being the tragic hero of Antigone. Her first qualifying aspect is being introduced as a good, upstanding person. She is kind-hearted and caring, especially for her family as she was willing to defy her uncle’s royal edict forbidding the burial of her fallen brother Polyneices. She is also a person of high-esteem and stature. As the daughter of the late King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta, as well as the current King Creon’s niece, Antigone is well known throughout Thebes. She is also slated to marry Haemon, Creon’s son. Thus, she is essentially seen as a princess and is adored by the Theban people. The next qualifying aspect is her relatability

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

Antigone is a tragic story of love, death, betrayal, and heartbreak. The tragic hero of the story is Creon, the king of Thebes. Creon was 5th in line for the throne and thought that he´d never make it there. His brother, King Laius, was killed by his son, Oedipus, and Oedipus married his mother and became king. When he found out who he was married to he gouged out his eyeballs and went to live with his daughter, leaving his two sons to take the throne. They shared it for a few years but soon grew greedy for the power. This lead them to kill each other in battle and Creon to take throne. He is a tragic hero because of his errors in judgement, bad actions, and excessive pride.

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.