Sophocles Antigone: A Literary Analysis

There are several examples of literature that have not so much changed the particular way in which I view the world, but solidified my ideologies; however, one in particular, of very few, has made me think and reconsider certain aspects of my life and human struggle. Antigone, a play written by Sophocles in 441 B.C. offers a variety of lessons, two of which resonate with me above the rest. The first is the sharp contrast divine law and human law has to offer. The second: limitations can only be determined by those whom they affect. Antigone places a very radical step forward when she becomes determined to follow divine law and familial loyalty over the edict of a strong new ruler by burying her brother, Polynieces: the traitor. The principle

So, last school year when I received an invitation to a summer institute at the Naval Academy I applied with the knowledge that I very likely would not get in (which I did not). However, that spring I became eligible to apply to the academy because I was nominated based off of my summer institute application.This fall, around the same time I had read Antigone, a Naval officer visited my school, and I was able to have a conversation with him about my possible career in the Navy. What I learned was the reason why I was not accepted into the institute was due to my diabetes. In addition, I was told I would not be able to join the Navy because I was a liability. I then talked to a young woman I knew who is in the Air Force who was told a similar thing. What I learned from her is that there are all sorts of loop holes surrounding my being a liability that I can get around in order to enlist. What I took from that was the lesson that what society thinks are limitations are often times not; limitations are determined on an individual basis.

One of the many remarkable aspects of Antigone is that the same human struggles that affect people almost 2500 years ago affect people now. An example of these include choosing between