Antigone Essay
In the play “Antigone”, Sophocles depicts the story of a young girl, Antigone, defying the ways of an all powerful ruler, Creon, in order to send her brother’s soul into the afterlife. Kohlberg’s theory of Moral Development is a series of stages that describe the way a person would react to a given moral problem. Antigone faces several difficult decisions; however, she remains a morally static character.
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development demonstrates the theory of what people do and why people do it. Lawrence Kohlberg wrote six theories of moral development, which consist of three levels and two stages in each level. The levels are Pre-Conventional, Conventional, and Postconventional. In the Pre-Conventional level, two stages are
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Obedience and Punishment, and Individualism, Instrumentalism, and Exchange. Obedience and Punishment is the stage that describes why a person would follow guidelines if there is a punishment if not done. This means that someone would not rob a bank if they knew they would go to jail. The other part of level one is Individualism, Instrumentalism, and Exchange. In the article about Kohlberg’s Theory, is states “Stage two (self-interest driven) expresses the "what's in it for me" position, in which right behavior is defined by whatever the individual believes to be in their best interest, but understood in a narrow way which does not consider one's reputation or relationships to groups of people” (Wikipedia, “Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development”). This means that a person will do something only if they get something in return. The Conventional level consists of Good Boy/Girl and Law and Order. Good Boy/Girl is the stage where a person will do the right thing. Law and Order is knowing what the right thing is for society. The last level is Postconventional and consists of Social Contract and Principled Conscience. The Social Contract is the stage where moral values are represented. They are also the moral principles that people live by. Principled Conscience is how you deal with a given problem. Overall, Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development describes how a person develops overtime morally. In the beginning of the play, Antigone is seen discussing with her sister Ismene about how terrible their lives have been. Then, Antigone tells her sister that the now all powerful ruler, Creon, has forbidden anyone to bury their brother Polyneices. Antigone has her mind dead set on burying him and tries to convince her sister to do the same when she says: ANTIGONE. They say that Creon has sworn No one shall bury him, no one mourn for him, But his body must lie in the fields, a sweet treasure For carrion birds to find as they search for food. That is why they say, and our good Creon is coming here To announce it publicly; and the penalty-- Stoning to death in the public square!
And now you can prove what you are:
A true sister, or a traitor to your family. (P.20-28)
Antigone shows that she is willing to defy her ruler because she thinks he is corrupt. She shows that she is in stage six of Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development. She is in the stage called Principled Conscience. This stage is where a person goes against a rule that they think is not right. Antigone is in this stage because she believes that Creon’s rule, about burying her brother, is unjust and should be disobeyed. Antigone is not going against Creon’s rule just to get in trouble, she is doing it because she thinks it is the right thing to do. When deciding what to do, Antigone didn’t think about the consequences, she was only doing right by her family and by herself.. Overall, in the beginning of the play, Antigone is at stage six of Kohlberg’s Theories, and she wants to do what’s right in her mind.
At the end of the play, Antigone does not go through a major change. In other words, Antigone remains a static character. Throughout the play, Antigone does not change her views on disobeying Creon’s rule, even when she is questioned about
them: CREON. And yet you dared defy the law. ANTIGONE. I dared. It was not God’s proclamation. That final Justice That rules the world below makes no such laws. (2.64-67) This shows that Antigone is faced with her actions and still stands behind them. Also, this show that Antigone is still in the same level of Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development. She still thinks Creon’s rule about burying Polyneices was cruel and not right under the powers of the Gods. Antigone believes that the Gods wanted Polyneices to be taken into the afterlife. Antigone also thinks that she would be a traitor in the eyes of her family if she did not give her brother a proper burial. Overall, Antigone has stayed a morally static character and sticks with her beliefs. Antigone rose above the rule of Creon to defend her brother’s honor. She remained a morally static character at stage six of Kohlberg’s Theories of Moral Development. Kohlberg’s Theories can be used in more than just this play, they can be used in a person’s everyday life. Antigone stuck to what she thought was true justice and did not regret doing so.
Antigone had good reasons for her actions. She did obey the rules of her gods, which were that any dead body must be given a proper burial, with libatations. This would prevent the soul from being lost between worlds forever, along with wine as an offering to the gods (page 518- side note). Nor could Antigone let Creon's edicts go against her morals (lines 392-394). She chooses to share her love, not her hate (line 443). She couldn't bare to see one family member be chosen over the other because of what a king had decided was right, which she contravened. Why condemn somebody who stood up for what they believed in and is now dead for it anyway? Bringing homage to the family was very important to Antigone (line 422-423).
“True. I admit it” Creon then thinks if she received the news of the new law he passed and the consequences for breaking the law and to his surprise she said “I did know. How could I not? Didn’t everybody? I disobeyed because the law was not the law Zeus nor the law ordained by justice, justice dwelling deep among the gods of the dead” For Antigone her actions were right and where based upon the obligation for justice and the gods. She then states “Was I going to honour you, or honour gods? Sooner or later I’ll die anyhow and sooner may be better in my case” in my believe her response was opposite of what he wanted to hear. He wanted to hear that she respected him and obeyed his law but Antigone didn’t believe in his law she felt she needed to go with what she believe in and that was to honor the gods. “I never did a nobler thing than burry my brother Polyneices. And if these men weren’t so afraid to sound unpatriotic they’d say the same. But you are the kind and because you’re king you won’t be contradicted.” Antigone faces Creon regardless if she was a women or not. She also speaks as if she was speaking to everybody else. It seems as if in her head everybody else opposed Creon’s decision but they were too afraid to peak upon it. She was there with no fear and told him that not only because he was the king that she was going to let him do whatever he wanted to her brother. Everyone in the Thebes would have agree with Antigone but since everyone was too afraid to even face him no one spoke up to defend what they truly believe. It was unlafull and disrespectful. “There’s no shame in burying a brother… Religion dictates the burial of the dead.” In other words she is saying that she would accept her punishment because she is not ashamed of what she did and as
Although Antigone has a bad reputation with Creon, and possibly Ismene, for being insubordinate, she stays true to her values throughout the entire play by following the law of gods, not so that she could appease them, but because she admired its value of honor and respect to loved ones that have passed away. This devotion and determination to give her brother a proper burial shows the true essence of her being: that loyalty to family is in fact hold above all else.
It is Antigone's morals, which drive her to betray the laws of man, in order to honor the laws of God. Knowing and comprehending the consequences of defying Creon's ruling do not restrain the intensity of Antigone's self will, yet it feeds her hunger to achieve her principles. Losing sight of her future, Antigone allows her stubbornness to consume her life, taking with it, the prospect of marriage, motherhood and friendship. As the story continues, we find that Antigone focuses more on the need to establish her human ethics in spite of Creon, rather than proving the incorrectness of man defying god's laws.
Antigone says to Ismene “We have only a little time to please the living But all eternity to love the dead. There I shall lie forever. Live, if you will; Live, and defy the holiest laws of heaven.” Antigone is not concerned about her own life, and is more worried about pleasing the holiest laws of heaven. Creon’s law dictates that Antigone will be punished if she chooses to bury her brother. Antigone disobeys Creon’s law because she is following the law of the gods, and by not following the law of the government due to moral objections to it Antigone is in the process of committing civil disobedience. The only thing left for Antigone to do is for her to accept her punishment for disobeying the law of the government and Antigone will have committed civil
In the play "Antigone" by Sophocles, Creon and Antigone have distinct and conflicting values. Creon's regard for the laws of the city causes him to abandon all other beliefs. He feels that all should obey the laws set forth by him, even if other beliefs, moral or religious, state otherwise. Antigone, on the other hand, holds the beliefs of the gods in high reverence. She feels that the laws of the gods should be obeyed above all others, especially when in respect to family.
Antigone probably also felt that her right to freedom as a citizen of the city state was being compromised by Creon. Antigone voices this opinion to her sister, "It is against you and me he has made this order, yes against me." . With both the will of god and the rights of her citizenship as her defense, she goes to die by the order of Creon. Even as Antigone is taken away, she remains certain her decision is the right one. Her last words are, "Go I, his prisoner, because I honoured those things in which honour truly belongs.
This concept of defiance is best illustrated in Antigone when Antigone views Creon’s edict with odium. Although Creon exercises omnipotent authority as the king of Thebes, Antigone defies him with hubris by disobeying Creon’s mandate to ban Polynices’s burial. Antigone disagrees with Creon’s law, and she alternatively decides to bury Polynices herself. This act of defiance causes Creon to think that Antigone is “guilty of double insolence...Breaking the given laws and boasting it...Who is the man here, she or I, if this crime goes unpunished” (Sophocles 16). This quotation exemplifies Antigone’s pride because she believes she exceeds Creon’s power, and thus she is superior enough to disobey Creon’s orders. Antigone unapologetically boasts about her insubordination to Creon, as she openly admits that she committed this infraction. Even though this event is not seen to be a significant event in this play, Antigone’s pride resulting from Polyneices’s burial marks the beginning of a domino effect: an increasing conflict between Antigone and Creon which causes the gods to be angered, Creon’s family to fall apart, and the mass corruption of the city of Thebes. Collectively, these effects characterize Creon’s and Antigone’s downfall. Despite Antigone knowing the severity of her defiant actions, she states that “Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way”
Antigone is very proud, liker her father Oedipus, who also happens to be a tragic hero; I guess it runs in the family. Pride ends up being their downfall. Antigone promises her brother, before he is killed, that she will give him a proper Theban burial, but Creon the King decreed that anyone who buries him will be stoned to death. Now in ancient Greece leaving a body unburied is a big no no; it will anger the gods. When Antigone goes to bury her brother it shows many traits about her and her personality at the beginning of the play. For one she is self-sacrificing because she could be killed if she was caught. Two, it shows she is a believer of the gods, or...
Antigone is portrayed as if she has power in choosing her own fate, knowing that “whoever disobeys [Creon] in the least will die, his doom is sealed: stoning to death inside the city walls” (42-43). Nonetheless, she remains headstrong and chooses to “please those below a longer time than people here” by persisting her brother’s proper burial in opposition to Creon and his punishments (74-75). Although Antigone does not have an oracle consult her directly about her fate, her choice of opposing Creon is driven in a direction by the divine, as funerary rituals are “unwritten, ever-lasting prescriptions of the gods” that not even rulers like Creon should override (465). This indicates the wrong-doing of Creon trying to exercise his power to break societal laws under his own, and the gods use Antigone as a piece to punish him but they also sets a fate of tragedy upon her. Antigone knows the consequences of conspiring against Creon but continues to live her fate of death in order to honor her brother and the dead, because she believes to be guided by what the gods would want, not a human
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 disagreeing with Creon’s inexcusable demands, Antigone declares she will bury Polynices herself so that his soul can be at peace. Entirely aware of the consequences and dangers of this action, which include death, she goes forward vowing her love for her family. Antigone shows strength and determination towards her brother. However, her growing sense of pride leads to her downfall as she sacrifices everything for her family. Antigone develops into an admirable character in which she portrays her defiance and courage, pride and open mindedness, and sense of moral righteousness to show vital character growth as the play progresses.
Although Creon views Antigone as a criminal for most of the play, Antigone’s heroic actions towards her family made Creon change his mind which ultimately makes Antigone a martyr and Creon a tragic hero. Antigone wants justice for her brother who was killed in the war and left without a proper burial. Antigone will do anything in her power; even die, to make sure her brother is buried according to the god’s law. Family is very important to Antigone but not even family can stop her from making her decision to defy Creon’s law.
Antigone is a tragedy written by Sophocles with a general theme of fate versus free will. Within the play, there is a character named Creon who is the king of Thebes. Creon is Antigone’s uncle, and makes the decision to not allow the burial of Antigone’s brother, Polyneicês. This outrages Antigone, the female protagonist, and causes her to decide to bury Polyneicês herself. Antigone is then left to face her future that may be controlled by fate or free will. The concept of fate versus free will is contrasted throughout the play and is demonstrated through the characters of Antigone and Creon. Fate is essentially the will of the gods, and Antigone understands this concept. Although Antigone and Creon may believe they have acted on their own
Kohlberg’s theory of the stages of moral development has gained some popularity despite being controversial. The claim that the levels form a “ladder,” the bottom being the immature child with a pre-conventional level and the top being a post conventional ethical individual. The sequence is unvarying and the subject must begin at the bottom with aspirations to reach the top, possibly doing so. (7) Research confirms that individuals from different cultures actually progress according to Kohlbergs theory, at least to the conventional level. Kohlberg’s stages of moral development continue to provide a foundation for psychology studies of moral reasoning. (6)
In the play Antigone is upset because the king of Creon decreed that Polynices is not to be buried because he is considered a traitor. Antigone is willing to break the king 's law because of her concern for her brother who is more important to her than the king. Antigone is willing to put her life on the line for her brother, showing that her family is first priority and most important even over obeying the law of the king. This shows the importance of family and sometimes to need to put them first in your life and be willing to lose your own