Sophocles Antigone Vs. Society

Antigone vs Society

In the play Antigone by Sophocles, the characters have a hard time choosing between what is right to society or what they feel is right. In the narrative, Antigone is the one who has the biggest conflict with this issue and has to choose between letting her brother have justice or listening to the king and following the law. With the support of only one other character she would stay strong with anyone that got in her way, no matter the consequences she would have to face. With the power of love, family, and the way of the gods, she knew what the right thing to do was.

Polyneices is Antigone's brother who the king said would not be buried. This is because he fought against his own brother Eteocles and his own nation, Thebes. The king of Thebes, Creon, would not allow them to bury or give respect to a traitor. At the beginning of the play, Antigone made her decision and was going to bury her brother Polyneices. She did not think it was fair that her other brother Eteocles would be buried but not Polyneices. Ismene, Antigone's sister decided she was not going to help her bury him because she knew he had done wrong and they would get in a lot of trouble. Polyneices is Antigones brother and she loved him. She wanted to give respect to

the life he lived because he is her family and family is important to her. "He is my brother. And he is your brother, too" (Sophocles 774). Even though her brother
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didn't make the best decisions towards the end of his life, she wanted him to be buried just like everyone else is able to.
Antigone knew she would have serious consequences when she did this, but that did not stop her. She would do anything for her brother even if that meant death. If she was going to die, she wanted to make sure her brother was buried first. When Antigone found a way to bury him with some sprinkles. The Sentry told Creon what had happened and how someone disobeyed him. They caught her in the act so they knew it was her. Creon then decided they needed to sentence her to death for what she had done. Creon specifically told her that man should not be buried. Antigone did not care that she went against the law. She knew what she did was right and just. Antigone believed you should die for your family to give them what they deserve "But I will bury him; and if I must die, 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" (Sophocles 774).
Antigone did not care she had to do this alone.

It did not stop her even when her own sister Ismene said she was not going to help. Antigone is strong and will stand up for what she believes in. She doesn't need anyone by her side helping her through it. Although everyone else was on Creon's side, there was one person who believed what Antigone did was good. This is Creon's son, Haimon. Haimon loved Antigone and let his father know that "Not here, no; she will not die here, King. And you will never see my face again" (Sophocles 795). He stood up for Antigone and told his father what he is doing to her is horrible. Antigone is a very independent woman who wants people to have what they

deserve.

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From the beginning, Antigone knew her choice of going against the king would lead to her death. When they took her and put her in a room to die, she did not want to wait for them. She hung herself before Creon was able to do anything more. Antigone made the choice that she would go with her heart and not with what society expects from her. She was able to accomplish this by her strong will and love for her family. She didn't need anyone by her side and wouldn't let anyone stop her from burying someone she loved