David Hume once said, “Where men are the most sure and arrogant, they are commonly the most mistaken, and have there given reins to passion, without the proper deliberation and suspense, which can alone secure them from the grossest absurdities.” Hume expresses greatly how arrogant people act; they do not pay attention to other ideas because they want to be the only ones who are right, which can lead to ignorance and terrible actions. Supercilious people do not always know what is best and they do not think rationally of what their actions can lead to, which can lead to horrible behavior and outcome. In the play, “Antigone” by Sophocles, Creon creates a law of not having a burial for Polyneices, Antigone’s brother, and whoever disobeys, will be put to their death. Antigone does not allow this, so she goes against his verdict and gets sentenced to death, which leads to the tragic ending of the play. However, Antigone and Creon share the blame for this tragedy because they are intolerant to other beliefs, make impetuous decisions, and act haughty towards their own beliefs.
Even though one is right and one is wrong, they both share the blame of the tragedy because they are intolerant to other ideas or beliefs. After Ismene refuses Antigone’s idea of burying Polyneices, Antigone argues, “I will bury him; and if I must die,/ I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down/ With him in death,” (I.Prologue.55-7). Antigone does not listen to Ismene’s thoughts about what could happen if they bury Polyneices. Ismene does not want to bury Polyneices because she does not want to receive the punishment of death for both Antigone and herself since everyone in their family is death except for the two of them. However, Antigone does not listen...
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Antigone and Creon cause the deaths of Haemon and Eurydice because they are intolerant to other beliefs, make impetuous decisions, and act haughty towards their own beliefs. They did not think carefully of what their actions can lead to because all Antigone focuses on is giving justice to Polyneices while Creon only thinks about how he is the king and how he is always correct. In An Unforgivable Secret, J.E.B. wrote, “Choices made, whether bad or good, follow you forever and affect everyone in their path one way or another.” Every decision in one’s life affects them and others. Even the smallest actions can have a huge impact on someone, which is why one should think thoroughly of what their actions can lead to because they can affect other people like how Creon’s law affects the deaths of Antigone, Haemon, and Eurydice.
In the play, Antigone, two brothers are killed in battle. One of them, Polyneices, is considered to be a rebel by the new ruler of Thebes, Creon. The corrupt and prideful king, Creon, created an edict that states that nobody could bury Polynices’s body because he was a traitor to Thebes and his family and denies the sanctification and burial of Polyneices's body because of his rebellion and intends to leave him to become the meal of wild animals. Polyneices's sister, Antigone, defies Creon by giving her brother a proper burial, no matter the consequences. Both King and Antigone sought to do what they thought was the right thing to do, even if it was against the law. Though King and Antigone are two completely different people from two completely different times, they were actually quite similar in that they both were minorities at a disadvantage, and lacking power and credibility among those in control. King and Antigone both fought for injustice and what they believed in, however, not necessarily in the same
Creon believes that he has the upper hand when it comes on making major decisions. When Creon commands some of the guards to take Ismene and Antigone away, “You, there, take them away and guard them well:For they are but women, and even brave men run When they seen Death coming”(1039,L164,S2.) This is the beginning of Creon’s error in judgement. He believes that Antigone is the enemy of Thebes because she is going against his authority, but in reality he is the enemy by making false judgement. The next example of Creon being doomed to make a serious error in judgement is when Creon discusses the plans for Antigone’s fate with Choragus after Haemon leaves, “I will carry her far away, Out there in the wilderness , and lock her Living in a vault of stone. She shall have food, As the custom is, to absolve the state of her death(1045,S3L142.) This is another starting point on the error of Creon’s judgment by adding Haemon into this conflict. Haemon tries his best to protect Antigone from Creon, but still fails because her imprisonment leads to her and Haemon’s death. This event not only kills Antigone and Haemon, but also Eurydice his wife. Creon’s decision in the story causes him to make a serious error in
At the start of Antigone, the new king Creon has declared the law that while Antigone’s brother Eteocles will be buried with honor for his defense of Thebes, however the other brother, Polynices will be left to rot in the field of battle for helping lead the siege of the city. Antigone discusses with her sister Ismene that she shall go and pay respects to her now dead brother, and give him the burial that she feels that he deserves. Her sister tries to persuade her otherwise, but Antigone claims she is going to follow her determined fate, not the law of ...
Due to the actions she took based on her emotions, Antigone suffered a far worse fate than Ismene. During her conversation with Ismene, Antigone says: “Ismene, I am going to bury him” (Sophocles, 3). To this Ismene replies with: “Bury him! You have just said the new law forbids it” (Sophocles, 3). This is the first time we experience the difference in the sisters’ behavior. Antigone has decided to bury Polyneices, although Creon’s new law forbids it. She believed that the God’s proclamation means more than Creon’s, and tells Ismene: “I will bury the brother I love” (Sophocles, 4). Ismene, on the other hand, knows that this action is forbidden by Creon’s law and isn’t willing to break it. She says: “But think of the danger! Think what Creon will do! [...] Think how much more terrible than these our own death would be if we should go against Creon and do what he has forbidden![...]The law is strong, we must give into the law in this thing, and in worse. I beg the Dead to forgive me, but I am helpless: I must yield to those in authority. And I think it is dangerous business to be always meddling” (Sophocles, 3-4). Ismene clearly respects the law and knows the repercussions of breaking it, something that Antigone chooses to ignore.
Antigone’s views of divine justice conflict with Creon’s will as head of the state. Two brothers fighting against one another in Thebes’ civil war died while fighting one another for the throne. Creon, who had become the new ruler of Thebes, decided that one brother Eteocles would be honored, while Polyneices would be put through public shame. The body of Polyneices was to not be sanctified by holy rites, but was planned to be left unburied on the battlefield for animals to prey on it. Antigone, the sister of the two brothers wants to properly bury Polyneices’ body, but in doing so she would by defying king Creon’s edict. When Creon’s orders the Sentry to find out who had buried the body of Polyneices, Antigone is found to have buried the body of her dead brother. Since she disobeyed authority, her and her sister are temporarily imprisoned. He then wishes to spare Antigone’s sister Ismene and bury Antigone alive in a cave. To some up the foregoing, in honoring her brother she is performing the role of woman and warrior...
In the struggle between Creon and Antigone, Sophocles' audience would have recognized a genuine conflict of duties and values. From the Greek point of view, both Creon's and Antigone's positions are flawed, because both oversimplify ethical life by recognizing only one kind of good or duty. By oversimplifying, each ignores the fact that a conflict exists at all, or that deliberation is necessary. Moreover, both Creon and Antigone display the dangerous flaw of pride in the way they justify and carry out their decisions. Antigone admits right from the beginning that she wants to carry out the burial because the action is glorious. Antigone has a savage spirit; she has spent most of her life burying her family members.
Antigone was dejected with Creon’s ruling and decided to bury Polynices herself. She tried to enlist Ismene to help her, but Ismene was to afraid. Antigone furiously continued with the plan on her own. A sentry discovered Antigone and brought her to Creon. Ismene was also brought to Creon and confessed that she had helped Antigone with the burial rites of Polynices. Antigone stopped Ismene and told her not to admit to an act that she had not committed. Antigone took sole responsibility for the burial and claimed that Creon had no right to forbid the burial of Polynices. Ismene pleaded with Creon to spare Antigone’s life for the sake of Haemon, Creon’s son.
This play is ultimately concerned with one person defying another person and paying the price. Antigone went against the law of the land, set by the newly crowned King Creon. Antigone was passionate about doing right by her brother and burying him according to her religious beliefs even though Creon deemed him a traitor and ordered him to be left for the animals to devour. Creon was passionate about being king and making his mark from his new throne. Although they differed in their views, the passion Creon and Antigone shared for those opinions was the same, they were equally passionate about their opposing views. Creon would have found it very difficult to see that he had anything in common with Antigone however as he appears to be in conflict with everyone, in his mind he has to stand alone in his views in order to set himself apart as king. Before he took to the throne Creon took advice from the prophet Tiresias who had so often had been his spiritual and moral compass, and yet in this matter concerning Antigone he will take advice from no one, not from the elders of Thebes, or even his own son Haemon.
Antigone thought at first that her actions were justified and righteous when it came to the question of morals and ethics. Creon was not at all different, believing that his way was the "right" way, or the way the "Gods" would have chosen. Both realized the mistake they made, and regretted it later, when it was too late.
In Sophocles' Greek tragedy, Antigone, two characters undergo character changes. During the play the audience sees these two characters' attitudes change from close-minded to open-minded. It is their close-minded, stubborn attitudes, which lead to their decline in the play, and ultimately to a series of deaths. In the beginning Antigone is a close minded character who later becomes open minded. After the death of her brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, Creon becomes the ruler of Thebes. He decides that Eteocles will receive a funeral with military honors because he fought for his country. However, Polyneices, who broke his exile to " spill the blood of his father and sell his own people into slavery", will have no burial. Antigone disagrees with Creon's unjust actions and says, " Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way." She vows to bury her brother so that his soul may gain the peace of the underworld. Antigone is torn between the law placed against burying her brother and her own thoughts of doing what she feels should be done for her family. Her intent is simply to give her brother, Polyneices, a proper burial so that she will follow "the laws of the gods." Antigone knows that she is in danger of being killed for her actions and she says, "I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down with him in death, and I shall be as dear to him as he to me." Her own laws, or morals, drive her to break Creon's law placed against Polyneices burial. Even after she realizes that she will have to bury Polyneices without the help of her sister, Ismene, she says: Go away, Ismene: I shall be hating you soon, and the dead will too, For your words are hateful. Leave me my foolish plan: I am not afraid of the danger; if it means death, It will not be the worst of deaths-death without honor. Here Ismene is trying to reason with Antigone by saying that she cannot disobey the law because of the consequences. Antigone is close-minded when she immediately tells her to go away and refuses to listen to her. Later in the play, Antigone is sorrowful for her actions and the consequences yet she is not regretful for her crime. She says her crime is just, yet she does regret being forced to commit it.
Antigone’s firm belief that her brother Polyneices should have a proper burial is established by her conviction in that the law of the gods is above all else. This law proclaims that all men be mourned and honored by family and friends through means of a suitable burial. Antigone’s need to put honor upon Polyneices’ soul is so grand that she ignores the advice of everyone around her, including her sister Ismene, who tries to pull her away from performing this criminal act because it will disobey the law set by King Creon, and lead to her demise. However, Antigone does not care about the repercussions because even though “[s...
Antigone’s strength allows her to defend her brother’s honor against Creon, who wants to make a statement about traitors. However, both Antigone and King Creon commit faults while trying to protect the things they love. Antigone should not have died for her beliefs as it puts her loved ones and community in danger, and Creon should not have forbidden the burial of Polyneices as it angers the Gods and causes him great suffering in the end.
In the play Creon goes against the Gods by making it illegal to bury Polyneices, Antigone’s brother because he is deemed a traitor. The burying of a dead body is seen as a necessity by all of Greece as it is an unspoken law of the Gods. Antigone goes to bury her brother so his afterlife will be better. She does it in spite of the law that Creon has made. “It is the dead, not the living, who make the longest demands” (192) She tries to explain to her sister, Ismene, that they must bury Polyneices, but even that close relationship has trouble because of the law. Ismene is unwilling to suffer the consequences of the law, to save her brother’s soul “Forgive me but I am helpless: I must yield to those in authority” (192) Even the two sisters who have just lost both of their brothers have different views on the matter. One will not stray from the law and what is deemed right by their king, while the other will accept any punishment, even death just to do what she believes is right.
At the beginning of the play, Antigone is upset about a decree Creon, the king, made (190). The decree states that her brother, Polyneices, was not allowed to be buried, because Creon believes that Polyneices was a “traitor who made war on his country” (211). Antigone has a very strong love for her brother and the gods, therefore she believes Polyneices deserves a proper burial according to the laws of the gods (192). Antigone says to Ismene that she [Antigone] will go against Creon’s decree-which states that if anyone buries Polyneices they will be killed (190). Antigone is extremely angry with Creon for creating the decree, to the point where she decides to make a big deal about the burial, instead of lying low and doing it in secret (192). Antigone even tells Ismene to “Tell everyone!” that she [Antigone] buried Polyneices when everyone finds out, and not keep it a secret-although Ismene doesn’t listen (193). Antigone’s decision not to do the bur...
In Sophocles’ Antigone, Creon and Antigone, through their free-willed actions establish their own unavoidable fate. By striving to rule in fairness of judgment, Creon defies the laws guiding the burial of the dead when he declares death to anyone who dared to bury Polynices (Lines 25-43). On the other hand, Antigone, with respect to the laws of the gods, and family honor, defies Creon’s orders and buries her brother Polynices (lines 451-492). In this context, we see that both characters are aware of the consequences of their actions: Creon, with knowledge of how the gods doomed Oedipus’ due to defiance, and Antigone Knowing the price that came with laying her brother to rest. Regardless of knowing these consequences, both characters exercised their desires of free-will, and for that, they paid the price of a tragic hero with Antigone’s death, and the death of Creon’s son. Again, just as in Oedipus Rex, we witness fate being the results of free will, but this time around we also see fate as an outcome generally accepted by the characters when they choose free will in opposition to abiding to the