In the play Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone is courageous due to the fact that she altruistically lays her brother to rest regardless of the consequences she knew would follow. Creon is a tyrannical king who has issued a decree forbidding anyone from burying Polyneices who has betrayed his kingdom and family. In this despotic world Antigone endures many hardships revolving around her cursed family. Elie Wiesel is a Holocaust survivor and author of Night and his quote indicates that we as people must take a stand to right the wrongs of this world. In “Kansas City woman plans to defy Church, become a priest” Georgia Walker is a woman who plans on becoming a priest. In doing so she will be excommunicated under the ruling that female priests aren’t …show more content…
She then asks her sister to join her, conflict then arises between both sisters. Antigone pesters Ismene about burying Polyneices. Eventually Antigone leaves Ismene with one question, as stated in the play she asks, “Ismene, I am going to bury him, will you come?” Antigone has the strength to take a side, but Ismene can’t make up her mind. This may be due to the fact that she has been taken by surprise. Wiesel’s quote states, “ We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” This means that not choosing a side only helps the tormentor. When you are faced with a serious choice you must take a side for the well being of others. In this case the oppressor is Creon and Antigone has made up her mind to oppose him and take a …show more content…
No, this is bigger than her. She is doing this to stand up for the laws of the Gods, even though severe punishment is what waits for her. In the play Antigone says, “But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say this crime is holy…” Antigone has the integrity to take up the task of defending the laws of the Gods. This requires a tremendous amount of courage especially since she is a mere mortal. By doing as she is doing she is defending the basic rights a deceased deserves in spite of the circumstances. Georgia Walker’s article states, “Walker said the diocese explicitly warned her she would be excommunicated if she continued with her plan, she plans to do so anyways,” Walker displays courage as well because she has been told what will happen, yet she continues. Walker is standing up, not just for herself but for other women around the world. She is willing to go through the trouble to bring about change in the church. These quotes relate to each other in view of the fact that both of these women are being selfless and carrying a large burden for the well being of
In the play Antigone by Sophocles, Ismene and the Chorus can be seen as the well meaning but silent people who don't take action in the story. Ismene is initially afraid of the punishment she could face if she is caught and she claims that she cannot disobey King Creon because “Women? Defying Creon? It’s not a womans place. We are weak where they are strong (10).” In this conversation Ismene states that women don’t have the right or power to defy the law or men, and women “must do what we [they] are told (10)” which is why she refuses to help Antigone. Ismene does not stand against authority to do what is morally right, which leads Antigone to bury her brother alone and doesn’t allow Ismene to take part in the punishment since Ismene wasn’t brave enough and doesn’t deserve the same fate as Antigone. Like Ismene, the Chorus is fearful of King Creon’s punishment and they do not speak against him because they respect him. The Chorus also sees Antigone as rash and disrespectful towards the king which is why they mostly side with the king. However, it can be seen that the Chorus sides with Antigone in part of the play because they see King Creon’s punish...
“The strength of a family, like the strength of an army is in its loyalty to each other.” This quote is by Mario puzo, the family. I think the meaning of this quote is “that you can never break up a family. The family is so strong like an army so it will be hard to break them up. This quote can be supported by “Antigone” because Antigone knew both of her brothers died and only one was able to be buried and honored just because he was in the military. Antigone wanted her other brother to be buried to so she did it herself. She did not want her family to be broken up like that. So she was fixing it.
At the beginning of the play, Antigone brought Ismene outside the city gates at night for a top secret meeting. Antigone wanted to bury her brother Polyneices' body because even though he died in dishonor he was her brother. Ismene refused to disobey the king which is also their Uncle Creon, and she failed to talk Antigone out of doing the act herself. "Consider, sister, how our father died,/hated and infamous; how he brought to light/his own offenses..Then, mother...did shame/violently on her life, with twisted cords. Third, our two brothers, on a single day...Each killed the other, hand against brother's hand." (Antigone, Lines 59-65) In this quote, Antigone justified her reasons for going against the law describing how her parents went through so much, how their father was banished and due to this their mother had committed suicide because her reputation went down to the drain, even after all that their two brothers went into battle against one another and died in the process. Ismene was sympathetic, but still she was noble and afraid of Creon so she did not offer her help to Antigone.
The play Antigone by Sophocles is about reason and opinion and reveals how people use their voice to be heard. Antigone uses reasoning and opinions to express their moral beliefs and state laws in the play. People manipulate each other by using these terms to get their way by speaking out and standing up for themselves.
At first she tries to convince her sister Ismene to join her in her plans, but Ismene refuses, she is not willing to give up her life at all, when Antigone is not only risking her life but also her marriage with Haemon. When Antigone meets Creon she proves her strength and spiritual power. Some say she is not a saint but a martyr. She combats Creon with insolence towards the civil authority, following always the laws of heaven.
Within these lines, Antigone reveals that she holds herself sanctimonious over her king by admitting his punishment is “nothing” compared to the “agony” she will face if she leaves her brother unburied. She also conveys a nonchalant attitude towards the repercussions of her action when she mocks Creon accusing him of being a “fool.” Although Antigone is aware that others such as her sister, Ismene and her fiancée, Haemon—the son of Creon, may suffer because of her act of civil disobedience, she is unwilling to abandon her protest to negotiate in a peaceful manner. This conduct implies that she does not completely comprehend the seriousness of her action or understand the weight of her crime rendering her approach inconsistent with King’s theory.
The texts Antigone and Wicked challenge conventional ideas about gender. Both Elphaba and Antigone demonstrate strong will and are figures of rebellion as they challenge the status quo in their patriarchal societies. The main characters in these books reject feminine constructs of leadership, challenge democracy, and deconstruct ideologies of maternity and male dependency through embracing the label as “the other” courageously.
She reminds Antigone that they are the only family members left and pleads with her not to commit such a crime, but Antigone refuses to accept the logic in her sister’s argument and will not be swayed, even though the idea of her death clearly upsets her sister. Ismene later has a change of heart and wishes to die alongside her sister in order to honor the dead as well, she even confesses to Creon, but Antigone rejects her idea of being a martyr, saying that her own death “will suffice” (Sophocles 136). Ismene then imagines life without her sister. The idea of losing the only kin she has left on Earth terrifies Ismene. She pleads to Antigone, “what life is dear to me bereft of you?” (Sophocles 136). Ismene would rather die than live without Antigone. In deciding to give her life for her brother, Antigone neglects her sister, and acts selfishly. She therefore should not have signed herself over to death as it has severely negative effects on her only living
When the case is taken to trial Antigone takes an excessive amount of criticism and beating from her friends and colleagues as well as the media. She is said to be inhuman and her prerogative to why she has chosen to defend this demand woman, Medea is questioned. In addition, her place in society as a prominent "female" attorney is disregarded because her moral and ethical values are questioned. Yet, despite these terrible things, Antigone holds her head up high and walks into the courtroom determined to defend her client as best she could. In this courtroom it is inexplicable to anyone how somebody could murder her own children to teach her husband a lesson, every individual has forgotten their oath and placed their own personal opinion into their work, including Judge Good.
In the greek tragedy Antigone , the author Sophocles conveys Antigone as the tragic hero because she arouses the most fear, she shows both good and bad which is a tragic hero characteristic and Antigone has the tragic flaw of loyalty to her family and to the gods.
The book also has conflict between Antigone and her sister, Ismene. In the opening chapter, Ismene becomes central to this moralistic tale as she stands for all that was expected of women in Greece in 5BC. She alone, in her dialogue shows us, right from the beginning why Antigone is so brave in her decision to bury Polyneices when she says; “Two women on our own faced with a death decree – women, defying Creon? It’s not a woman’s place. We’re weak where they are strong. Whether it’s this or worse, we must do as we’re told.”
Courage can have its limitations. Limitations, which are present within Sophocles ' play "Antigone". A tale focused on the protagonist Antigone, who goes behind her uncle and king, Creon’s, back to bury her brother Polynices. Within the story, Antigone tried to enlist her sister, Ismene’s help. To which Ismene had refused on the basis that they were women and were in no place to stand up against the king or the law (1567). However, in the third part of the play when Creon accuses Ismene of being an accomplice to Antigone’s schemes; contrarily to Ismene’s previous words, Ismene chooses to stand by her sister’s side. Although Ismene’s actions within the play Antigone can be considered as complete cowardice; through another perspective it may be noted that Ismene is not entirely without courage
Although both sisters have lost their brothers, Antigone is the only one who will go against her king to do what she knows is right. When Antigone asks her sister if she will help her bury their brother Polyneices, Ismene responds with, “We are only women; we cannot fight with men, Antigone! The law is strong; we must give into the law…” (Ismene 774). Naturally, Ismene should be afraid for herself, as well for the safety of her sister because what Antigone is asking of her will mostly likely cause them both to be killed. However, she should be braver like Antigone, and realize that she must do what is morally right for their family, and give her brother the proper burial that he deserves. Afterward, when Antigone has already been captured, Ismene then comes forth to try and share the punishment that has been given to Antigone, but Antigone tells King Creon that she has done nothing. In addition, when Creon asks Ismene if she had anything to do with the crime, and Antigone denies it, Ismene then replies, “But now I know what you meant; and I am here to join you, to take my share of punishment” (Ismene 785). Although now Ismene feels like she needs to stand up to the King and do what is right for her
You shall leave him without burial...” (222). Opposing the king, she neglects the decree and is now to die at the orders of the law for being disobedient; yet Antigone proudly states her crime. There is no sign of remorse shown by Creon as he states: “No; though she were my sister’s child or closer in blood than all that my hearth god acknowledges as mine, neither she nor her sister should escape the utmost sentence-death” (530-33). Bobrick, explains that Creon values the love for his land more than he values family and this becomes a struggle for Antigone as it becomes a fight between obeying the laws of man and the laws of the god’s. The second struggle Antigone faces comes when she realizes she is alone. Antigone confides in her sister Ismene with her plans to disobey Creon; but Ismene, a clear example of how a lady was obliged to be in this time, urges Antigone not to commit the act. Antigone rejects her advice and declares that Ismene is an enemy to her now (41): “If you talk like this I will loathe you, and you will be adjudged an enemy…” (109-10). Antigone must fight on her own. Thirdly, per Bobrick, Antigone
Although ancient Greece was a male-dominate society, Sophocles' work Antigone, portrays women as being strong and capable of making wise decisions. In this famous tragedy, Sophocles uses the characters Ismene and Antigone to show the different characteristics and roles that woman are typical of interpreting. Traditionally women are characterized as weak and subordinate and Ismene is portrayed in this way. Through the character of Antigone, women finally get to present realistic viewpoints about their character.