In Like Water for Chocolate and A Doll’s House, many of the central characters to the story are bound together by family ties. Creon is the father to Haemon, while Mama Elena is the mother of Tita. These connections between characters aid in developing many of the core themes of the story, and convey the author’s ideas on common controversial topics of the time, namely feminism and the power struggle. The various interconnected family relationships in both books are the focal point of the plot in many occasions, and creates tension in the storyline. However, the family relationships in Like Water for Chocolate and Antigone are also different in many ways. The difference in family relationships and its effect on plot and central themes will be discussed. Sophocles describes the father-son relationship in Antigone as extremely prejudiced, demonstrated by the difference in observed power of the Creon and Haemon, respectively the king and his son. During the argument between the pair on the punishment of Antigone, Haemon states “I am your son, sir; by your wise decisions/My life is ruled”. Initially, he believes that he is completely inferior to his father, and he states that “there is nothing I can prize above your happiness and wellbeing”. His disposition throughout their conversation is always underlying, and initially he is unable to stand up to his father’s demands. Creon is absolutely non-tolerant to his son, initially praising Haemon as “the man/You can depend on”. However, as Haemon begins to voice his individual opinion, Creon begins to feel insulted and tells his own son that he is a “despicable coward”. At the conclusion of the argument, the hidden rebellious nature of Haemon has surfaced, and he threatens his father, tell... ... middle of paper ... ...leads her to Doctor John Brown, who almost acts as if he were the mother Tita never had – taking care of her and showing compassion to her troubles with her own family. It is also through John Brown that Tita gains independence, and the will to oppose her afterwards. In conclusion, the father-son and mother-daughter relationship in the Antigone and Like Water for Chocolate aid the plot by developing tension and strife between the main characters. It connection between characters demonstrate the social conventions of the time, and the pressure that is exerted upon the son and daughter by their respective parents. In both texts, the power struggle between the characters is switched from the father and mother to the son and daughter, signalling a growth in independent thought and the courage to stand up to tradition. Works Cited Like Water for Chocolate, Antigone
In Antigone by Sophocles, Creon is portrayed as a character with excessive pride. From the beginning, Creon demonstrates his authority and continues to make use of it throughout the play. At the end of Antigone, it may seem that Creon changed after realizing the consequences of his actions. However, his dialogue indicates that he still possesses a sense of pride. Creon remains a static character through the play. Creon’s arrogance is displayed in his language and behavior; interaction with others; and his reactions to his environment.
Medea is often very demanding in getting what it is that she wants; Antigone, will do what she need to do in order to get what she wants. With Antigone she is defies the law of a king to uphold the law of her spiritual belief. In the middle of the night she lives the house and sneaks into a field to bury her dead brother. Medea killed many people, including her own sons and a princess, in order to only spite her unlawful and cheating husband. The two women are like alligators, waiting motionless for the right time to strike. In the case of Medea, swift, violent strikes. And with Antigone, a cool collected precise one. These women are always determined to get what they want.
There are many similarities and differences between Antigone by Sophocles and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The adults in both of the books have the difficult job of controlling the actions of the younger characters. Their decisions have a crucial effect on the outcome of the books, for the younger characters that they guide are the main figures in their stories. Antigone’s King Creon and Romeo and Juliet’s Prince Escalus and Lord Capulet share but also have unique strengths, weaknesses, leadership qualities, and crisis-managing techniques.
The distinctions between young and old, naïve and wise are very clear. There is a fiery passion for life often embedded in the young, and a sense of bittersweet reflection set in the aged. The age gap between the two is often a cause for conflict. The young want to hurry up and live only to eventually die; the old want to slow down their rate of living and postpone death. With such divergent circumstances, conflicts are almost impossible to avoid. The question of how one can grow old while keeping youthful idealism and integrity seems to be the source of most conflicts. Jean Anouilh, in his version of the Greek classic play Antigone, firmly captures and reflects the disparity between old and young through the use of the characters of Antigone and Creon.
As the tale continues, Antigone does indeed bury her brother, but is caught by Creon. In doing so however, she wins the support of the people of Thebes with her selfless actions for the sake of her family. Creon, despite the counsel of several people, including his own son, feels that regardless of the people 's opinion, Antigone must be executed for her "traitorous actions". This is self evident in an exchange between Creon and his son Haemon, who was in love with Antigone and slated to marry her: (Creon): "So this creature is no criminal, eh?" (Haemon): "The whole of Thebes says "no." (Creon): "And I must let the mob dictate my policy?" (Haemon): "See now who is speaking like a boy!" (Creon): "Do I rule this state, or someone else?" (Haemon): "A one man state is no state at all." Thus the plot thickens, and the tragedy begins to develop as Antigone 's actions have achieved her the respect of the common man, but is unquestionably soon to bring her
Parent and children relationships in Shakespeare are shown in a very creative and enthusiastic manner. The drama of Shakespeare characterizes how children get along with their parents. Some of the family relationships shown in Shakespeare drama is strict with many rules that everyone in the family needs to follow. Some examples of works written by Shakespeare are: “The Merchant of Venice,” Romeo and Juliet,” and “King Lear.” There are many pieces by Shakespeare’s which include children not obeying their parent’s wishes; whereas there are other plays written by Shakespeare which includes children obeying to their parents wills. Each and every text of Shakespeare’s gives the audience a different objective as well as a different point of view. There are also symbols used throughout the plays which often indicate a significant meaning. Irony, foreshadowing as well as figurative language is used to show a sense of understanding within the characters. In the two plays that will be discussed in this essay, the audience will find out about these significant elements that were used throughout...
Creon is the tragic character of Antigone because his pride blocks the path of him being wise. He sentences his niece, Antigone, to death because she has buried her brother, Polynices, whom Creon considers a traitor. This leads to an argument to his son, Haimon, who is also Antigone’s fiancé. Haimon disagrees with his father and believes that Antigone should not die because she was only following the divine laws by burying her brother. However, Creon still remains stubborn and disagrees with his son since he believes Antigone should be punished for disobeying the ruler’s law. In return, Haimon says “The city would deny it to a man” (2. 3. 102). He explains that the people of Thebes disagrees with his father regarding Antigone’s punishment and considers her honorable. Unfortunately, the citizens fear Creon and they’re helpless in this situation. This leads Creon to get enraged at his son and his mind is still set on executing Antigone. Haimon responds by saying “Not here, no: She will not die here, King...
The Tragic Play Antigone by Sophocles has a Conflict between religious morals and loyalty to the state and its laws. This struggle is displayed through the characters Antigone and Creon. Antigone’s life meets a tragic end in the play, but her death makes her a martyr leading to the citizens to follow her view of religion.
The plays Antigone and Lysistrata contain aspects that can represent similarities and differences. In these plays, the protagonists are women, Lysistrata, and Antigone, who are both resilient and courageous women who challenge the gender roles of their time. However, one aspect that makes these plays different from each other is the communicated thought of who is exactly is the proper woman. In the time period of when these two plays were written, women basically had no basic rights they were to follow proper concepts expected of a woman of that age. Nevertheless, in these plays when these roles were challenged, one ended tragically while the other ended with expected results and it’s of course, because each of the protagonists took different
In the awe-inspiring play of Antigone, Sophocles introduces two remarkable characters, Antigone and Creon. A conflict between these two obstinate characters leads to fatal consequences for themselves and their kindred. The firm stances of Creon and Antigone stem from two great imperatives: his loyalty to the state and her dedication to her family, her religion but most of all her conscience. The identity of the tragic hero of this play is still heavily debated. This tragedy could have been prevented if it had not been for Creon's pitiful mistakes.
In Antigone, unmoderated love is prevalent throughout the play, and it is best demonstrated in three main characters: Antigone, Creon, and Ismene. Antigone has a very strong love for her brother and the gods, Creon has an extreme love for power, and Ismene has a deep love for her sister, Antigone. Each of these characters suffers greatly because of this love, and as a result, they all suffer dire consequences.
In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, it is greatly apparent just within the first few exchanges between Ismene and Antigone that there are various social issues surrounding the women in ancient Greece. The play raises many gender and socially related issues especially when looking at the contextual background of the playwright and the representation of the women within the play. When the characters of the first scene begin their analog, it is important to note what they are actually saying about each other and what their knowledge of their own social status is. The audience is first introduced to Antigone who we later learn is the antagonist of the play as she rebels against the protagonist, Creon. Her sister, Ismene, is the second character the audience is introduced to, hears of Antigone's plan to bury their brother's body in the first scene. Ismene’s actions and words give the reader the hint that her sister’s behavior is not usual, "so fiery" and "so desperate" are the words used to describe Antigone's frame of mind. At this very early point in the play the reader discovers that Antigone is determined to carry out her mission to bury her beloved brother. However, she is in no position that gives her the rights as a woman, sister, or even future queen to make her own decisions and rebel. Instead, her decision to bury her brother demonstrates her loyalty to her family, the gods, and to all women. Her motivation for those decisions will end up driving her far more than that of what the laws set by Creon have implemented. She shows no fear over disobeying the king and later says about the punishment of death "I will lie with the one I love and loved by him"(Sophocles, 2). Throughout the play the reader can see the viewpoint of an obedient woman, a rebellious woman, and the social norms required for both of them.
The play “Antigone” is a tragedy by Sophocles. One main theme of the play is Religion vs. the state. This theme is seen throughout the play. Antigone is the supporter of religion and following the laws of the gods and the king of Thebes, Creon, is the state. In the play Creon has made it against the law to bury Antigone’s brother, something that goes against the laws of the gods, this is the cause of most conflict in the story. This struggle helps to develop the tragic form by giving the reader parts of the form through different characters.
There exist more similarities between Frankenstein and Antigone than just fate and free will. Antigone and the Monster both value the importance of family and how people influence an individual’s actions and character formation. Antigone’s sole motive revolves around honoring her brother, no matter the consequences. Antigone believes that she must fulfill the duty to honor her brother, and cannot understand why Creon follows a law against honoring his own family. Creon and Antigone become adversaries to one another as they have different ideas on how to handle the death of Polyneices. In Sophocles and the Language of Tragedy, author Simon Goldhill states, “The central question which joins and separates Creon and Antigone is whether the shared blood of the family outweighs the hostile intent of a brother towards the political community” (31). Antigone reacts to how Cre...
Through the duration of this course there have been many themes influenced through the works of literature that have been read and analyzed. One major theme that has been discussed is that of love. Whether the love being romantic, fantasized, or familial as a class we have seen it all. The focus of this essay will be on the familial type of love. Familial love, an overwhelming theme in some of these stories, strikes a serious type of thought in the mind of any reader. The three main stories that will be focused on are “Fences,” Oedipus the King, and “My Papa”s Waltz.” These three stories are unique and each explains a completely different type of familial love. Familial love that will make the heart warm, the head strong, and the stomach churn.