Essay on The Suffering of the Proud

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.

Pride is a quality that all people possess in one way or another. Some people take pride in their appearance, worldly possessions, or position in society. The story of Antigone written by Sophocles has two characters who have a tragic flaw of pride. I will show how Creon’s pride of power leads to his destruction, and how Antigone’s pride makes her an honorable character who should be treated as a hero.

John Lennon said, “Part of me suspects that I’m a loser, and the other part of me thinks I’m God Almighty.” Hubris, or excessive pride, was one of the biggest themes in Ancient Greek culture. It has what killed heroes, and destroyed villains in mythology and even real life. In the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, I share the battle that Creon has regarding a conflict of personal character, which leads to the deaths of others caused by his tremendously large ego.

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

While Antigone followed her belief of burying Polyneices for religious reasons, she went against the law of Kreon. Antigone new that the punishment for burying Polyneices was a stoning by the city’s people (Sophocles 36), but she chose to bury her brother anyway, claiming, “He has no business keeping me from what is mine” (Sophocles 49). Antigone’s lack of negotiation is why her civil disobedience is a failure. Her choice to bury Polyneice’s body without any attempt of finding common ground with Kreon is foolish. Although Antigone met with Kreon after being discovered burying Polyneices body, she never actually attempts to negotiate with Kreon, instead choosing to accept her punishment as something already set in stone. When Kreon first meets Antigone, he asks if Antigone admits to the deed (Sophocles 442). Antigone’s only response was, “I don’t deny it; I admit the deed was mine” (Sophocles 443). This shows that Antigone made her choice of civil disobedience and accepted her fate before exhausting all options. Rather than pleading with Kreon and

Her intent was not to cause chaos. Her intent was not to disrespect Creon. She knew the only way her brother could receive respectful passage to an afterlife was if he received proper burial. Her religious beliefs and strong love did not allow her to remain passive and not act to help her brother. Antigone’s moral standards obligated her to betray her country in order to help her brother. For these reasons, Antigone was justified in breaking the law and betraying her country.

Sometimes the law is not on our side and we have to choose whether to abide by the government’s rules, our religious beliefs or our personal morals. In Antigone, Antigone decides to disregard the law and do what she, and the vast majority of the people in the city, believe to be right. From the onset of the play, we are shown that Antigone does not fear authority and is wholeheartedly willing to die for her brother. Antigone says, “At least he is my

Pride is the cause of the main conflict in Sophocles’ play, Antigone. Everyone should have pride, but Creon had too much of it and that blinded him. His pride in his power and abuse of authority was his tragic flaw that ultimately led to his downfall. On the other hand, Antigone takes pride in her beliefs and has the courage to speak out for what she thinks is right. For this, Antigone is seen as an honorable character and the hero of the play. It is shown that there are often two sides to things; pride can be both a source of strength and self-destruction.

Antigone’s civil disobedience was in honor of her brother. She could not allow her brother, Polyneices, to be left to the dogs and the birds. In those times, the responsibility of taking care of the dead belonged to the families. She didn’t fear the consequences of defying the law of King Creon. She believed in obeying the law of the gods’ more than the law of man, especially in this situation because it dealt with her family. “Nor did I think your proclamations had such strength that, mortal as you are, you could outrun the laws that are the gods’, unwritten and unshakable” (Antigone, Sophocles 38). She felt like she was doing the

It takes a lot of courage to stand up and defend an action or idea that is forbidden by society. This is what Antigone does in Sophocles' story Antigone. She clearly disobeys King Creon's order that no person should bury Antigone's brother, Polynices, which is punishable by penalty of death. In this case, is Antigone's decision the correct one? Her actions affect many of her other countrymen negatively because they cause problems within the royal family, disagreement among the people and directly relate to the death of three people including her own.

In Antigone, the conventional value that rules should be obeyed because they were made for a reason is challenged numerous times over the course of the entire book. The first example of this value being challenged is after her brother is killed, she wants to bury him so that he can have a proper burial. Meanwhile, her uncle Creon saw Polyneices as a traitor and didn’t want to give him a proper burial, as he would rather leave his body out to be eaten by the dogs and crows. The next example of rules being broken is when Creon orders his son to let Antigone die and not fight for her life. Creon very plainly says “I will kill her” (Sophocles 24). Earlier on, Creon orders his son to obey him and let his bride die because he will not allow any traitors.

Both Nora and Antigone attempt to, at times inadvertently, break out of the repressive lid that their societies have formed over women, but they go about their quest in fundamentally different ways. Antigone is a strong and motivated individual, as can be observed from her heated conversation with Ismene on the subject of burying her brother in defiance of Creon's commands. "Perhaps, but I am doing what I must." "Yes, more than must. And you are doomed to fail." "Why then, I'll fail, but not give up before." (195) As a consequence of her resilient and rebellious personality, Antigone utilizes open defiance as a tool against Creon and male dominated society. "You chose flagrantly to disobey my law?" "Naturally! Since Zeus never promulgated such a law." (210) Antigone justifies her insubordination towards Creon and male society by declaring that the laws of the Gods are above the laws of mankind. Not once does Antigone deny

Antigone says, “And if these men weren’t so afraid to sound unpatriotic, they would say the same. But you are the king, and because you’re king you won’t be contradicted” (Heaney, 32). She is implying that the king’s people are favoring the laws of man as oppose to the higher law of the gods. We begin to see Antigone as a noble character for pursuing her own moral nature.

The conflict in Antigone is far more complex than for purely what Kreon and Antigone each stand. Neither Kreon nor Antigone seem to be internally conflicted about their stance before confrontation; rather, they are confident in the principles they have chosen. Yet Antigone and Kreon’s respective moral systems diverge so extremely that deeds within each cannot be compared. They judge actions by different rules, have opposing goals, and expect different punishments. These variations inherently lead to a stalemate arising from their unwavering faith in their respective principles that can be described most simply as

In Sophocles’ Antigone, Antigone is portrayed to be a very strong and loyal character. Sophocles depicted her to have a great amount of charisma for a woman in that era. Antigone’s loyalty to her family ultimately brought the demise to Thebes as a result of both her and Kreon’s actions. Along with Antigone being headstrong in her beliefs, Kreon persists this trait as well. Antigone’s persistence in burying Polyneices led her to clash in conflict with Kreon, who continues to maintain his stance on not allowing burial Polyneices. In Antigone’s character, the devotion towards family displays the character’s values and morals. On the other hand, Kreon demonstrates his valued virtues towards government and politics. The two characters despite their different values and morals do mirror each other in terms of their persevering and determined characteristics. Kreon’s and Antigone’s inability to step down from their belief