According to Dwight D. Eisenhower, the former president of the United States, “Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin”, which indicates that peace and justice cannot happen simultaneously, and people have to sacrifice either justice or peace if they want to achieve one of them. Based on Antigone and Brutus’ portrayals in the classic drama of Antigone by Sophocles and The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, both of them will agree with what Dwight D. Eisenhower says about the conflict between justice and peace in this quote. However, Brutus and Antigone will react to this quote differently due to their contrasting personal belief, which leads Brutus to believe that peace and justice can happen in the same time as long …show more content…
as people regards the importance of honor, whereas Antigone considers that peace and justice is not extremely contradictory with each other when people get what they deserve. The similar background and flaws cause Antigone and Brutus agree with what the quote states that people have to give up either justice or peace if they want one of them to be fulfilled. As the princess of Thebes, it is extreme necessary for Antigone to follow the king’s orders since she is part of the royal household. According to Iseme, who is Antigone’s sister, “our own death would be if we should go against Creon”(Shakespeare, 688), which means that Antigone will lose everything including her life if she is going to disobey the law, and Creon will definitely be more outrageous about Antigone because she is the princess. Not only Antigone has to give up her peace, but also Brutus. Although Brutus has been recognized as a man of honor and a friend of Caesar, he eventually becomes a conspirator because he decides to fight against Caesar for the sake of justice. Marcus Antonius, who is one of the triumvirs under Caesar’s leadership, states that, “Caesar’s spirit, raging for revenge” (Shakespeare, page 604) , and this quote shows that Brutus will permanently lose his status, and he is officially in war since Caesar’s supporters has already planned for their revenge to the conspirators. Because their high status and identity, both Antigone and Brutus will automatically lose their peace if they want to rebel, and peace and justice cannot happen simultaneously for them at this point. Besides Antigone and Brutus’ similar background does not allow them to rebel, their identical flaw also let them realize the conflict between peace and justice. Even though Brutus and Antigone can have better solutions such as negotiating with Creon and Caesar about the issue of injustice, both Antigone and Brutus choose to do it in an extreme way because of their stubbornness. No matter how hard Iseme has tried to persuade Antigone, she still does not consider about other solutions, and she insists that, “but as for me, I will bury the brother I love” (Sophocles , page 689). Moreover, Brutus’ stubbornness also leads him to give up his peace by ending his life. In page 651, Brutus states that, “it is more worthy to leap in ourselves than tarry till they push us” (Shakespeare, page 651), and this quote shows that Brutus is willing to kill himself in order to keep his honor and self-esteem before his enemy comes to kill him. However, in Marcus Antony’s opinion, Brutus is a man of honor, which means that Antony probably will not punish or kill Brutus if Brutus can compromise with him peacefully. Overall, Antigone and Brutus will definitely agree with Dwight D. Eisenhower’s quote because they understand that they will lose their peace as soon as they decide to fight for justice. Also, Antigone and Brutus’ stubbornness make them have a fixed mind that rebellion is the only solution to deal with injustice. Although both Antigone and Brutus agree with what Dwight D.
Eisenhower says about justice and peace because of their similar background and characteristic, their contrasting personal belief eventually leads them to respond this quote differently. If Dwight D. Eisenhower asks Brutus “whether you believes in my quote ‘peace and justice are two sides of the same coin?” Brutus will answer with “ I agree with the conflict between peace and justice, but I think they can exist at the same time as long as people have a belief in honor, which makes them more flawless and righteous.” The reason why Brutus choose to rebel is because Caesar is not a man of honor who is able to rule the country. In page 571, Brutus says that, “I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general,” which indicates that he will not rebel if Caesar can be a qualified and honorable king. From Brutus’s perspective, honor is one of the most important value that makes people flawless and respectful, and honor is capable to assure both peace and justice. However, if Dwight D. Eisenhower ask the same question about his quote to Antigone, he will receives a totally different answer, which states that “peace and justice can exist simultaneously when everyone gets what they deserve.” What makes Antigone decide to rebel is the unjustified treatment to her brother Polyneices’ death. Antigone believes that Polyneices deserves a burial with military honors as her other brother Eteocles because Polyneices is the one who “fought as bravely and died as miserably”(Sophocles, 688) Antigone’s loyalty to family drives her to rebel because she cannot allow injustice happen to her beloved family. If Polyneices can be buried appropriately with the honor he deserves, Antigone will absolutely keep leaving in her peaceful life, and justice and peace will no longer contradict with each other in her mind when everyone can get what they are supposed to have. In conclusion, the different personal belief makes
Brutus and Antigone no longer have the same answer in response to the quote of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Antigone believes that the world can be peaceful and justified when everyone has what deserve, whereas Brutus considers that honor is the only solution that guarantees a compromise between peace and justice. Overall, Dwight D. Eisenhower illustrates his opinion about peace and justice in his quote “peace and justice are two sides of the same coin”, which means that they peace and justice can never happen at the same time. Both Antigone and Brutus will agree with what Dwight D. Eisenhower has said in this quote because their similar background and flaw. However, Antigone and Brutus’ different personal belief make them conclude their answer contrastingly, in which Antigone believes that peace and justice can be on the same side when people get what they should have, whereas Brutus holds the opinion that peace and justice can exist simultaneously when people realize the importance of honor.
The drive for excellence, in all areas of life, such as honesty was prevalent in both Brutus and Creon. Based upon the fact that each was open with the citizens in their cities and the way they dictated their decisions. When Brutus comes to the people with the body of Caesar he never claims innocence, but asks the plebeians if he has offended anyone. The law that Creon provides for his people is straightforward; do not disturb the body of Polyneices. The citizens of each play were torn between accepting the truth of what each man offers to the country and justice for murder.
Antigone sought to do what she perceived to be right and just, and had no fear of consequences nor no desire to try to negotiate or protest. Antigone simply did her part of doing what she in her mind felt was right even though it was against what she was strictly forbidden to do. Antigone used these tactics differently from Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. Antigone says to her sister Ismene “To me it’s fine to die performing such a deed” (Antigone 22). The “deed” Antigone is discussing is the deed that was forbidden by Kreon. Antigone truly believes in civil disobedience of directly disobeying in order to fight for justice for her dead brother. Antigone also exclaims “What I shall suffer will be far less dire than dying from an ignoble death” (Antigone 24). To Antigone, honoring the Greek gods, her brother, and her family is more important than following an unjust rule. Antigone believes that dying from the consequences of civil disobedience is far more worth dying for than dying without having ever fought for a cause. When addressing Kreon, Antigone discusses that she in face knew of his proclamation but felt that honoring her brother, and the laws of the Greek gods was more important than standing idle to her brother being unjustly forgotten and watching his life not be honored after his death. She says that death for her punishment was a profit because she was doing
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
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.
In the play Antigone, both Antigone and Kreon could be considered tragic heros. A tragic hero, defined by A Dictionary of Literary, Dramatic and Cinematic Terms, is someone who suffers due to a tragic flaw, or hamartia. This Greek word is variously translated as "tragic flaw" or "error" or "weakness". Kreon's hamartia, like in many plays, is hybris - Greek for overweening pride, arrogance, or excessive confidence. Kreon's hybris causes him to attempt to violate the laws of order or human rights, another main part of a tragic hero. Also, like all tragic heroes, Kreon suffers because of his hamartia and then realizes his flaw.
Sophocles’ Antigone and Euripides’ The Bacchae are indubitably plays of antitheses and conflicts, and this condition is personified in the manifestation of their characters, each completely opposed to the other. Both tragedians reveal tensions between two permanent and irreconcilable moral codes; divine law represented by Antigone and Dionysus and human law represented by Creon and Pentheus. The central purpose is evidently the association of law which has its consent in political authority and the law which has its consent in the private conscience, the association of obligations imposed on human beings as citizens and members of state, and the obligations imposed on them in the home as members of families. Both these laws presenting themselves in their most crucial form are in direct collision. Sophocles and Euripides include a great deal of controversial material, once the reader realizes the inquiries behind their work. Inquiries that pertain to the very fabric of life, that still make up the garments of society today.
Antigone Sophocles When a dictator dies, his image and fame dies with him, but when a self-sacrificing individual dies, their legacy begins. This statement is true because oppressed citizens do not fondly mention a mean ruler, such as Creon from Antigone, after he passes away. Yet a martyr, such as Antigone, also from the story Antigone, is remembered for her self-sacrificing deeds. Creon will not be remembered because he did not allow Antigone to bury her dead brother Polynices, and decides to execute Antigone for trying while Antigone’s legacy will live on because she has the courage to defy Creon, and chooses to sacrifice herself for Polynices' honor.
After her mother committed suicide, her father died and her brothers fought until they killed each other, Antigone projects her strong character with interesting ways of showing it. As the main character with strong values and a stubborn way, she follows the laws of god, without minding the consequences. Antigone is a strong willed woman who wins the respect of the audience by the inner strength and resistance of manipulation she has, showing the potential of human kind. She becomes a heroine with noble qualities of mind, heart and soul because she is willing to sacrifice her life, doing what she believes it is right. With a sense of family ties, she is an ideal for humanity, the issue is that she must burry her brother Polynices with an appropriate ceremony since she believes it is the last right for every human being.
The notion of honor and justice is prevalent throughout all types of literature. In Greek culture, honor is essential for creating a solid foundation within a society and family. Honor will follow you until the day you perish, and beyond. The honor for men in Greece is spiritual in that loved ones show respect to the deceased by giving them a proper burial. Nevertheless, when a man acts upon betrayal of the city, that man looses the privilege to die in such honor. This is evident in the life of Antigone when her two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, both die at each other’s hands at war when deciding the ruler of Thebes. Polyneices cannot have a proper burial, because the new king, Antigone’s uncle, Creon created a law that decrees that anyone who tries to give Polyneices a proper burial will have a dire consequence: death. In Sophocles’ Antigone, the quest that Antigone endures to stay true to her pure intentions of honoring Polyneices by giving him a proper burial is in juxtaposition with the fact that her defiance towards Creon is not only to do with Polyneices, but also to show appeasement to the gods.
Sophocles’ play Oedipus and Antigone have many parallel themes and conflicts. Certain characters and events are mirrored and go through similar sequences in both plays. One conflict that is prevalent in both plays is the idea of loyalty. In Oedipus, many are loyal to Oedipus, including the city of Thebes itself. In Antigone, there is much strife in the relationships as well, and the idea of loyalty arises.
Plato’s “Crito” and Sophocles’ “Antigone” both argue that it is better to die than live life in a different way. Contrary to that, some would make the point that one should do anything to save one’s life even if it meant conforming to the common belief. I agree with both of these claims. I agree that a life lived with constant guilt is not worth living. Rather live your life how you want and you will be content with it. This is because life should be pleasant and if one spends their whole life regretting something they did not do then how can one be happy with themselves. Rather committing the act and looking at the big picture not just the present creates contentment and allows you to be content with your life even if it means death as a punishment.
In the play Antigone, Sophocles writing can be very controversial. He explains different perspectives of justice through the fates of the characters in the play. Creon and Antigone both would claim to have the law and Gods on their sides. They bring acceptable evidence for their reasoning to be true for their thought of the right way to carry out justice. Creon is certain that his ability to be king will justify leaving Polynices unburied. On the other hand Antigone sees justice as the ability to bury her brother. Conflict explodes with their inability to compromise over what is the definition of justice. Justice has a different role to play in any individual’s life because gender differs from man to women and society sometimes looks down upon women. Justice should be served and women should have the same divine rights that men do.
Having already been through public disgrace, when her own father, Oedipus found out that he was to fulfill a prophecy; he would kill his father and marry his mother, and this caused Antigone to be full of resentment toward her city. Both of her brothers die in a battle and, Creon, the king of Thebes forbids the burial of one of her brothers, Polynices. This must have driven Antigone to follow her moral law. Considering the love she had for her family as well as her God, she felt that you react upon morals not upon the laws of man. That morale law was to honor her brother and give him the respectful and proper burial that he deserved just as her other brother was given. The love she had for her family was the only thing she had left to honor. Ismene, Antigone’s sister was more fearful of the king’s law then the way her heart was leading her. Her values were slightly distorted.
Both Sophocles and Jean Anouilh use the simple story-line of a girl defying her uncle and king in the face of death to reflect upon the events and attitudes of their days. Sophocles' Antigone models the classical pattern of tragedy by incorporating key elements such as a tragic hero with a fatal flaw and the Man-God-Society triangle. Creon is the tragic hero who disturbs the natural harmony of Thebes by denying Polyneices a funeral. Antigone is the catalyst who forces him to reckon with the consequences of his pride and arrogance. In the twentieth century, Jean Anouilh takes Sophocles' drama, strips it down to its core, and weaves an entirely different version of the story. Anouilh redefines "tragedy" by removing the conventional tragic hero, the Man-God-Society triangle and the black-and-white distinctions within the story. He creates a heroine with human faults and emotions, whom society can both embrace and emulate, in order to criticize the Vichy collaboration with Nazi Germany during WWII.
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.