In Sophocles’ play, Antigone, Creon issued a decree that prohibited Antigone from burying Polyneices, which violated Antigone’s familial duty and divine law. Consequently, Antigone was terrified that Creon’s decree would enrage the gods, which would threaten the entire city of Thebes. So she decided to break the law. While this tragedy was written several millennia ago, this concept of a woman rebelling against an unjust law is prevalent in modern society. Nadia Murad is a Yazd human rights activist who received a Nobel peace prize for her contributions towards human rights in Iraq. Nadia Murad wrote her harrowing accounts of the genocide against the Yazidi ethno-religious minority in Iraq within several of her novels. Nadia Murad is clearly …show more content…
This is evident as according to USAID, Murad “focused on meeting with global leaders to raise awareness of the genocide against the Yazidi people and the systemic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war”. This showcases the Taliban’s unjust policies as they restrict women’s rights, especially pertaining to education and work. Therefore, Murad’s defiance is clearly justified as she was simply attempting to maintain peoples’ rights. This creates a clear parallel with Antigone, as she defied Creon’s decree due to the fact that it violated her own rights, which justified her actions. Consequently, Nadia and Antigone share the commonality of defying a corrupt government which proves that Nadia is a modern day Antigone. Subsequently, Nadia Murad was severely punished for rebelling against the Taliban. This is evident as according to Britannica, Nadia Murad “was kidnapped by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL; also called ISIS) in August 2014 and sold into sex slavery”. This is significant as it showcases the brutal penalization that Nadia endured in order to protect peoples’ …show more content…
This is significant as it showcases Nadia’s stubborn nature for her ideals, as despite all the horrors she endured, she is still fully committed to persevering humans’ rights. This creates an unambiguous parallel with Antigone as she remained loyal to her ideology on her rights despite being faced with imminent death. Ultimately, both Nadia and Antigone share an unwavering devotion towards their belief over peoples’ rights, which proves that Nadia is a modern day Antigone. Consequently, Nadia’s unrelenting defiance against an unjust government in order to maintain humans’ rights despite continuous punishments demonstrates not only her similarities to Antigone, but highlights the need for people to communicate. Nadia and Antigone both went against the government who had imposed an unjust policy that violates peoples’ rights. However, Nadia managed to survive and utilized her knowledge to inform the ignorant who are unaware of the horrors that are occurring all over the
Captivatingly, both women act daringly, regardless of the culturally constructed labels as women, products of incest and wickedness. They use their “otherness” as a power mechanism, rather than an excuse to passivity. In conclusion, Elphaba and Antigone challenge conventional roles of gender, as they are strong, courageous figures of rebellion and exemplify a lack of traditional gender normativity.
America’s society today seems to believe that oppression and injustice aren’t as prevalent as they once were. America also believes that the state of the rest of the world is completely arbitrary. Some Middle Eastern societies still have unjust and corrupt governments. However, one girl spoke up. This girl was deprived of her right to an education by an extremist group called the Taliban. The Taliban would shoot and kill any women who went to school. Someone had to speak up, and that someone was Malala Yousafzai. Often compared to Antigone, Malala spoke out against this oppression, but unfortunately paid the consequences. Antigone is a story that relates to Malala’s situation including Antigone being victim to an unjust government. These two
Reading about Antigone, we perceive that liberty can only exist in the delicate galaxy where the willpower of an individual and the civilization they inhabit are in synchronization. In the centre of the inconsistencies that tangled Antigone, no such galaxy existed for her. Instead, the liberty of the good inhabitant becomes an non feasibility, and her disaster thus an unavoidable inescapability.
Antigone and Erin Brockovich were both women who took a stand against the different stereotypes that people have placed on them. They showed how they did not care about the consequences, instead they continued to fight harder to gain respect. Antigone and Erin Brockovich faced adversity but still demonstrated their levels of strength, even though the outcome may not be what they expected. Antigone gives a perfect example of not caring for the consequences that she would receive for standing up to authority. She did not care that Creon was the ruler of Thebes, she simply disregarded it.
Antigone, a resolute and heroic female protagonist, pits her individual free will against the intractable forces of fate and against the irrational and unjust laws of tyrannical man like Creon.
Summing up, Antigone decides to express her discontent with what she considers to be the unethical new regime of King Creon by burying her brother's body. By taking this bold step, Antigone shows the strength that an individual’s actions hold in a democracy. Creon, with his stubborn attitude, shows how a democracy where peoples’ voices are not heard can be dysfunctional, and that laws should be made by taking other people into confidence and not on an individual basis. In the end, Antigone resolves to sacrifice her own life in the service of a greater justice. It is this kind of formidable resolve that changes the course of history, and that is something that we can respect equally in the 5th century B.C. and the 21st century A.D.
Antigone believes that a woman should be intrepid and strong, even at the risk of challenging men’s authority. When she proposes to bury Polynices, Ismene answers, “we’re not born to contend with men”. (75) Antigone’s response, “that death will be a glory” (86), does not directly address gender issues, but it expresses her fury at Ismene’s passivity. After the burial of Polynices, Antigone defiantly states, “I did it. I don’t deny a thing,” while being interrogated by Creon (492) and later comments that she was “not ashamed for a moment, not to honor my brother”. (572-3) Antigone’s gallant speech and defiance toward traditional gender identities audaciously shows her revolutionary desire for gender equality.
Antigone, the protagonist of the play, has what is seemingly the most powerful female role. From the very beginning of the plot she foreshadows her demise but expresses it through her stubbornness and inability to realize the great power of man. It is possible that she was aware of Creon’s capabilities as a leader, but nonetheless, she fights back by going t...
Antigone is the stubborn, free-willed sister who wants to do what’s right and not think about the consequences that will come to play in the future. “This female character takes on a rebellious role quite different from that of the other more docile woman of the time,” (Ashley Bouque). The quote talks about Antigone being different, while Ismene is more docile and does what she is told. Take the Woman rights movement, even though its thousands of years later. Before the Woman rights movement happened, woman did what they were told and followed the rules, like Ismene. After the movement, woman did what they thought were right to them and didn’t care about the rules, like Antigone.
The sexist stereotypes presented in this tragedy address many perspectives of men at this time. Creon the arrogant and tyrant leader is, the very character that exemplifies this viewpoint. Antigone's spirit is filled with bravery, passion and fury; which allow her to symbolize the very essence of women. She is strong enough to do what her conscious tells her despite the laws of the land. Many examples in the play prove that Antigone's character is very capable of making her own decisions in the name of justice. First, Antigone opposes Creon's law and buries her slain brother; because in her mind it was immoral not to. She does this because she is compassionate and loves her brother very much. Creon, however, believes that his laws must be upheld and would do anything to prevent any type rebelling. He is even more infuriated when he learns that a woman has broken his laws. He tries to show Antigone who's in charge by sentencing her to a life of imprisonment. Secondly, Antigone shows how determined she is by accepting her consequences with pride. She does not try to hide that she is responsible for breaking Creon's laws, moreover, she takes all the credit. All the while she maintains her strength because she truly believes in her actions. These sorts of actions ultimately prove that Antigone is courageous and willing to stand up to men, which was completely against the norm at this time. Her spirit refuses to submit to the role of a helpless woman like her sister Ismene's character does.
These two examples alone give us the impression, which degrades women and the power they had. On the contrary, Antigone goes against society view and a norm to do what she considers is morally proper. Ismene, Antigone’s sister and foil of the story, is compared with her throughout the story since Ismene believes that adhering to the law is more important over family loyalty. Ismene says: “I shall obey those who are in authority, for deeds that are excessive make no sense at all” (Antigone, Page 22, Line 67-68).
In Antigone and Things Fall Apart, the readers are left with glaring lessons of injustice that, if left unchecked and unquestioned, would never change. Achebe and Sophocles offer characters who go against society’s norms and traditions for the good of humankind. Throughout history, leaders, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Susan B. Anthony, have helped to bring equitable balance to mankind. Individuals who represent opposing views mold and change the course of history; without such risk takers, life may never progress for the good of humanity.
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.
“...never let some woman triumph over us. Better to fall from power, if fall we must, at the hands of a man —never be rated inferior to a woman, never.” This quote spoken by Creon, in Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone, adequately represents the opinion on women during the time in which Antigone would have been alive. Women were viewed as lower than men and were expected to be docile and passive. They were expected to never object to a man’s words, no matter if those words were to be unfair or unjust. Despite this, Antigone refuses to follow one of the most fundamental teachings of her culture by burying her brother even though the king, Creon, explicitly forbids the action, since her brother is a traitor. She rebelliously does what she feels is right, which cannot be said for her sister, Ismene. Ismene represents what a woman of her time was viewed as: weak and submissive to men’s