The Search For One 's True Self

In Sophocles’ piece, King Kreon prohibited the burial of Polynices, Antigone’s brother, because he was seen as a traitor to his country. Antigone blatantly disobeyed King Kreon’s proclamation because she thought that Polynices ought to be buried not only because he was blood- family, but because the gods law states that burial is a necessary ceremony. Her sister, Ismene, tried to warn her of the trouble she could find herself in, if King Kreon finds out that it was Antigone who had buried her brother, the traitor. (Blondell, 21). In addition, Antigone does not hesitate to admit to this illegal deed when the guards catch her in the act (Blondell, 37,38). While she acted out of respect for her brother and the gods, it was selfish in the fact that she was only thinking of herself. She did not hesitate to disregard King Kreon’s law and did not take any factor into consideration. Antigone accepted that her life was the price to pay for her civil disobedience, but her actions also, unintentionally, led to the death of two other people. Although, in the end, King Kreon sees that Antigone was right, the reason for which she had fought, and ultimately lost her life for, had no significant positive effect on anyone else.

Antigone lost both of her brothers, but only one, Eteocles, was allowed by Creon to receive a proper burial. No matter what shame someone may have caused, they are deserving of a respectful and proper burial. This is especially important, for the afterlife and respect for the dead are of great importance and significance Ancient Greek culture. Antigone should have been able to bury both brothers with equal consideration and honor. Creon degrees that the burial of Polynices is prohibited. Regarding Creon’s decree, Antigone says that there is “a city-wide proclamation, rumor has it, forbids anyone to bury him, even mourn him,” (Sophocles, lines 33-34). Creon declares that Polynices

Love and bravery for her family is a key factor for her determination to give her brother a proper burial. She shows immense loyalty and will power as she fights for her family name. Her endurance is extraordinary as she declares "Naturally! Since Zeus never promulgated such a law, nor will you find that Justice, Mistress of the world below, publishes such laws on humankind. I never thought your mortal edicts had such force they nullified the laws of heaven..." (Sophocles 38). Antigone responds to Creon’s speech and disagrees with his proclamation denying Polynices a funeral. Polynices, hated by the entire country, is being deprived of an appropriate burial service and Antigone is determined to honor her brother correctly (Rose 219). The courage she displays is crucial factor in her character development. The devotion towards helping her brother is

Antigone sneaked and finally gave Polyneices her brother the proper burial he deserved. “Naturally! Since Zeus never promulgated such a law, nor will you find that justice, Mistress of the world below, publishes such laws on humankind. I never thought your mortal edicts had such force they nullified the laws of heaven…” said Antigone to Creon. Antigone does not think Creon should make rules against the laws of God. Antigone had very much of bravery standing up to Creon and still going and giving her brother the proper burial, knowing it would result in her own death. Not only is Antigone brave, she has beliefs she will stand by.

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 buries her brother Polynices’s corpse, against the decree of Creon, the ruler. She has several excuses she uses to justify her actions. First, she argues that Creon is unjust and she should not obey him. Second, she says that the gods are not defied by her actions, since she believes Creon is not accurately interpreting their wishes. Third, she believes that regardless of his political standing, her brother deserves a proper burial. Lastly, she says that she must try to bury Polynices, because it is in her nature to act according to love and not to bear grudges.

Antigone, in The Burial of Thebes, saw it as her moral responsibility to disobey the orders of the king in order to respect the Gods and ‘save’ her brother, Polynices. After the death of her two brothers and the end of the war, Creon had assumed the throne. In his first decree as king, Creon forbids anyone from burying Polynices body because he was perceived to be a traitor to the city. All the while Eteocles would be given a proper burial with full honors. In historical times, it was believed if you were not buried, you could not be sent to the after-life, and your soul would be damned for all time. Knowing the consequences of her actions, Antigone proceeds to openly defy the wishes of King Creon by burying her brother. When presented with this choice, Antigone was justified in burying Polyneices because she was respecting a higher authority and fulfilling her religious beliefs.

Antigone wanted to bury Polyneices but Uncle King Creon wouldn't let her because that's not what he wanted, but she wanted to do that so it would follow the god's law which believes that you should be buried so the souls of the body wouldn't linger. So Antigone puts a little dirt on the body and Creon finds out and he’s not very happy with her. Antigone doesn't care what King Creon thinks. She wants to do what's right,and she wants to do it out respect. So later Antigone goes and looks for someone to help her bury him.

Like her father and uncle, her flaws are her stubbornness and pride. When Creon asks if she knew of the edict, Antigone states she was aware of it and argues she broke it because she didn’t believe a decree nor a human had the strength to “violate the lawful traditions the gods have not written merely, but made infallibly.” (Antigone, Lines 558-559). To Antigone, the burial of her brother is the most important thing to her, superseding compliance with any human law, including Creon’s. She stubbornly asserts that she is right to have broken the law of an unjust ruler, but it is this same stubbornness that prevents her from seeing more than just her side of the situation. Instead of possibly making a case with Creon to bury Polyneices, Antigone rashly takes matters into her own hands and does it herself, a clear error of judgement on her part. Later on, following a speech Creon gives her after her apprehension, Antigone states, “There is nothing you say that I would like to hear, and there never could be. And obviously there is nothing about me that could please you either. Still where was there a way for me to win greater glory than by taking my own brother to his grave?” (Antigone, Line 608-614). By stating that dying for burying her brother will bring her greater glory, Antigone displays immense pride in what she has

Antigone proceeds to bury her brother because she claims that Zeus did not make the proclamation, and that a mortal cannot override the gods ordinances (1563). Her vindication for burying her brother in that is she will not break the laws of the gods. These unwritten rules, unwavering traditions and she doesn’t want to receive vengeance of the gods. She already knows she will die one day but choose to die now than to let her brother be unburied (1563). “For her allowing this would be greater pain than death to her (1563). Alike when Creon hears that Antigone is the person who violated his decree, he held his word by punishing her to death. Supposing that he let her go then he would not be a man but that rather she is. That be inaudible. Creon states from now they will act like women (1566). After Antigone and Ismene

To Antigone leaving her brother Polynices unburied would result as the bigger crime. So she decides to bury him with honor and if it means death at least she knows she’ll die with honor as

Antigone’s brother Polyneices had just fought against his own state and Creon did not want anyone to care for him, only leave him to die. Antigone does not show any deference to Creon because she will not listen or obey his rules. She goes to tell her sister about what Creon had said and how she feels about it. Antigone tells her sister, Ismene, “Go to what you please. I go to bury him. How beautiful to die in such pursuit” (Roche 194). Antigone is stating what she believes, that she is okay with dying for her brother. It will please Antigone to bury her brother, so she will give him what he deserves. She does not plan on leaving Polyneices alone, she will do what she must, with, or without the help of her sister. Antigone also tells Ismene, “But Polyneices, killed as piteously an interdict forbids that anyone should bury him or even mourn” (Roche 192). She is explaining to Ismene that both brothers were killed horribly, so they both deserve to get at least a proper burial. Therefore, Antigone has a resolute attitude towards getting Polyneices a proper burial, and she will not stop at anyone’s

Antigone chose to give her brother Polyneices a proper burial even though it was against the king’s law. She tried talking her sister Ismene to join her on her quest because Polyneices was both of their brothers, but Ismene did not want to disobey Kreon’s order (Blondell 19-24). This left Antigone to handle this on her own, which takes a lot of courage and dedication to what she believes in. Antigone went on with her plan to bury Polyneices and his body was eventually found by a guard (Blondell 30). When the guard brought the news to Kreon he was furious and the Chorus had suggested it was a Gods doing, which led me to believe that they did not think anyone one else was willing to risk it all by not listening to their kings orders (Blondell 32). A good lesson to learn from Antigone is that even if you break the law you have to admit your doing especially when you know what you did was morally right and what you stand for as an individual. When Antigone was accused of breaking the law and burying Polyneices she did not even hesitate saying, “I don’t deny it; I admit the deed was mine.” (Blondell 38). She even goes on to tell King Kreon that his choice to not allow the burial of Polyneices is morally wrong and how he is disobeying the God Zeus who is offended by improper treatment of a corpse (Blondell 38). Though Antigone knows the consequence for disobeying the king, she continues to fight for her brother’s honor and makes sure to point out the king’s foolish decision. Even in her last words she questions what kind of men can make suffer and then gives her respects to the town, gods, and rulers.

In the text, Antigone wants to bury her brother, Polynices, after hearing about what occurred with their brother, Eteocles. Polynices and Eteocles had an argument over who should be the king and they ended up slaughtering each other to death in a battle for the throne. Polynices is looked at as a traitor. Antigone did not care and still wanted to bury him. The obstacle in the way her uncle Creon. Creon was the king and he proclaimed that the body of Polynices shall not be buried. Both Antigone and Creon followed separate rules and laws. That causes the difference in viewpoints between the two. With Antigone, she believes that it would be right to bury him, so she did. Once Creon found out, he was very angry. With the body of Polynices being banned due to the proclamation

Now when the guards discovered that someone buried the body of Polyneices, the head sentry went to tell the king, whereupon Creon became enthralled with anger. He told the sentry that he judged him to be a bribed soldier and that he could not return unless he found the person who had buried the body or told of whom it was that had bribed him. After this the horrified sentry and his men brushed off the sacred burial dust from the body and kept watch from a distance to see if the rebel would return to bury the body. Sure enough, during a sandstorm Antigone was seen burying the body that she had cared for so well before. The guards grabbed her and she showed no fear. She did not try to evade her pursuers and she was brought before the king. The king first asked her if she had heard his proclamation concerning the burial of her brother. She blatantly told him that could not have helped hearing it. If she had denied hearing it, she may have escaped death, but she did not want to escape it, and she felt that she had done nothing wrong. She believed that her death would be of no importance, but that the death of her brother would