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Relationship between power and authority
Politics at the time of Sophocles
Nature of authority in power
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Whether the setting is the twenty-first century or the years prior to the common era, rulers in any society are known to be holders of power who perform justified actions that are beneficial to the state and its citizens. While trying to do what is right, even the fairest leaders are at risk of abusing their supremacy and causing harm. Sophocles explains that power does not affect the man who holds it; instead, the man who holds power and authority has the chance to affect the lives of others. He does not clarify whether this supremacy has a positive or negative effect on others, mostly because this part is up for interpretation. Some leaders bring their nations to success and victory, while others take a turn for the worst, gain hubris, and lead their country to its downfall.
In every story there is a main lesson to learn a kind of "Big idea" your supposed to get called the theme. A stories theme can be anything from a will to survive to a quest for power.In Sophocles' "Antigone" he revealed through conflict, characters, and setting that the central theme is that divine authority is more powerful than human authority.
The character must decide whether or not to allow the employee’s cousin to work in their restaurant. The cousin must provide for his family through the cold winter or they will become homeless. The character also knows that the law requires him to check the citizenship of all employees and forbids him to hire anyone who is in the country illegally.
Additionally, Creon was certain that nobody would disobey him, as we see on page 10, and was shocked to hear that somebody buried Polynices, as he says; “What say you? What man dared to do it?” Creon truly believed that everyone would comply, which explains why the punishment is so harsh. However, when Antigone performed the unseen, how could he go back on his word and be looked at as dishonest and biased towards family members?
Would you rather not have conflicts in your life? Antigone is a play, based upon conflicts between the characters. Antigone is the sister of Polynices, who is dead. Polynices is considered a traitor to Creon and he doesn’t bury those who are against him. As conflicts occur, Antigone, Creon, and the Chorus argue on whether to have Polynices buried or not. Conflicts are a necessary part of life because of the changes that we run in to. It is appropriate to rebel and create conflict when we believe in doing the right thing to do, but someone is taking the necessary tool away from us so we can’t accomplish those goals. Also, it is appropriate to conform when violence gets out of hand. The changes that happen make us, the readers better individuals and once we have the conflicts solved, we won’t repeat the same mistakes and then conformity is possible.
Glorified overeating. Two words that together create the ultimate oxymoron, in a society obsessed with body image. Adam Richman, the host of the popular television program Man v. Food, is showing his viewers the sport in eating. Each episode this attractive and far from obese man eats a humanly impossible quantity of food. The feat quickly escalates into a spectacle, with chanting fans and opponents salted and deep-fried. The spectacle of overeating has been transformed into a sport and one celebrated by the media.
sense of loyalty leads to her simultaneous violation and observance to the duty of women
Power is a very strong word and can cause consequences through abuse. In the play, Antigone, Ismene, Antigone’s sister, let fear get the best of her and allowed her sister to continue to break the law. The shooter in San Antonio abused power to walk in a church and kill innocent people. Through power, people can negatively abuse lives by causing suffering and fear.
Both Antigone and Oedipus, written by Sophocles, use character’s opinions and approach to leadership to show Sophocles’ ideal leadership style for a king.
Throughout history rulers have used force in the pursuit of the acquiring more power and wealth, regardless of the consequences. The use of force may lead to the fulfillment of ones current interests or goals, but continued abuse of this power in pursuit of ones own interests has historically lead to the downfall of those in power. In the text The Prince Machiavelli says, “It is much safer to be feared than loved, if you cannot have both”. This quote suggests that when given the choice it is better for a ruler to use his power, through force if necessary, and be feared than to do what is right for the people and lose everything. In Sophocles’ Antigone, Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War, and Sophocles’ Republic the analogy of the double-edged
basically serves as a building block to her being admirable. Certain examples through out the play
Political power results from the fear of force. The individual acts out of a fear of consequences of disobedience and in accordance with the desdire for self-preservation. Political Authority results from a belief in the moral correctness of the organization in question. The individual acts of a sense of obligation and acknowledges the right of the ruler, morally, to rule and the moral correctness of the laws are accepted. The laws are obeyed for their own sake.
...s are a paradigm case of those in control. The essence of ruling is, therefore, to be unjust and that is why a tyrant is a perfect ruler. He always knows what is to his advantage and how to acquire it. Thrasymachus’ view of justice is appealing but therein lies a moral danger and this is refuted by Socrates.
Unlike poetic forms of literature, which do not require a conflict or a resolution in order to work, drama requires both elements in order to be successful. In Sophocles’ famous play, Antigone, it was conflict that drove the story along and it was the resounding resolution that left audiences with a gratifying feeling that hasn’t faltered for centuries. While the roles of both elements are indisputably important to the success of any play, however, there is still much disagreement among literary critics concerning the central conflict of Antigone. Some critics, such as Robin Fox, speculate that the main conflict is the struggle between family loyalty and “kinship rights of burial” (Allbaugh para. 5). Still others believe that the central conflict is the will of the individual verses the will of the State (DeWitt 1). While there is considerable merit to what these critics say, however, the ultimate conflict in Antigone is arguably the struggle between the will of the mortals, the will of the State, and the will of the gods.
Nelson Mandela stood up for the civil rights of South Africans and because of his civil disobedience he was imprisoned for 27 years by the government. He accepted his punishment and sat in jail for 27 years. Similarly Creon punished Antigone to die in a cave of starvation because of her civil disobedience and instead of starving she chose to hang herself. Although it appears Antigone shirked her punishment for disobeying Creon’s law to bury her brother actually she still showed civil disobedience because she was sent to die in the cave as punishment and that is what she did.
The grey area of justice is the most significant human made anomaly ever. It is the great vast area between two extremes that the right action lies in. To find the right action and/or consequence in the grey area, a perceptive and open mind is required. Think of it as a needle in a haystack but with the right person looking for it, and given the proper tools, one can find that needle in no time at all. In accordance with Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey, a hero must make an abundant amount of decisions, but how does the hero decide on the correct course of action that will grant them the justice they so rightfully deserve? Being the hero of the story, most of the time the hero will make the right decision, and everything works out in