Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Antigone character analysis
Antigone character analysis
Antigone character analysis essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Antigone character analysis
In the novel Antigone by Sophocles, there is much betrayal in the novel, that a enormous quantity of the novel is generally about family, pride, and a drastic amount of drama. In the novel Antigone, the king Creon who was passed the thrown from Etocles because his brother Polynecies killed him for the ruling of Thebes but they both ended dying and Creon does not let anyone bury the body of Polynecies because he was a trader fighting against his brother and Thebes. Antiogone who is the sister of the brothers disobeys Creon and his order. When she buries her brother, she ends up getting caught and Creon sends her to be buried alive. When the blind profit tells Creon that the gods were good all along Creon repents and goes to let Antigone out but it is to late a mischief has happened. Now Creon will have to spend his life in agony looking back upon his mistakes.
Antigone the daughter of Oedipus is a strong believer who fights for what is right, Antigone’s moral authority is to the gods, and she will do anything to obey if it means getting killed she will suffer if she knows it is for as large cause. When Antigone’s two brothers killed each other Polynices was considered a trader for fighting against his brother’s country, and Etocles was buried a hero fighting for his country of Thebes. Because of such tragedy, the throne was embedded with Creon name who is the uncle of Antigone. In this time, the Greeks believed that if the dead were not buried that there body would never be in peace. Antigone stated that Creon would do the unpredictable, “But the body of Polynices who died miserably…He’s to be left unwept, unburied, a lovely treasure for the birds that field and feast to their heart’s content”(60). Antigone feels that she should...
... middle of paper ...
...too late, you see what justice means.” Creon responds “ Oh I’ve learned through blood and tears!...Oh the agony , the heartbreaking agonies of our lives…Take me away, I beg of you, out of sight. A rash indiscriminate fool! (127).” At the end of the story Creons figures out that Antigone was right along it was a tradition that he didn’t follow. So as a result Creon must suffer alive and let the birds pick as his body if he was a dead corps not being buried because he does not deserve it. Creon puts everything to blame on himself but that is what happens when you have too much pride in yourself and never take anyone’s words into consideration. As a result, he must suffer a lonely cruel life without his family.
In conclusion, one must never get too caught up into ones pride. You will either lose everyone that you care about and live with guilt the rest of your life.
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.
Creon's insecurity blinds his ability to direct order in his country properly. After Antigone buried Polyneices Creon felt he needed to take a strong stand or people would think he would always be lenient toward criminals. However, to achieve this Creon felt he needed to take drastic action against Antigone. He once even said to his son, Haimon, who was about to marry Antigone, "The woman dies. I suppose she'll plead family ties. Well, let her. If I permit my own family to rebel, how shall I earn the world's obedience?" (19) This quote shows that Creon feels that to prove himself to the country he needs to earn the "world's obedience".
Not understanding or listening to the opinion of others can frequently have unfortunate consequences and even lead to tragedy. In the play, Antigone, written by Sophocles, the two main characters, Antigone and Creon, both failed to listen which led to the death of several people. It was exhibited how important it is to acknowledge the truth and this was the central theme of the play. The conflict between Antigone and Creon started because they had opposing viewpoints of whether or not Antigone’s brother, Polyneices, should have been buried after he died in battle. Antigone strongly believed that Polyneices should have because it was the law of the gods and they are eternal, while man’s laws are not. However, Creon, on the other hand,
Antigone did the right thing by defileing Creon's strict orders on burying Polynices because the unalterable laws of the gods and our morals are higher than the blasphemous laws of man. Creon gave strict orders not to bury Polynices because he lead a rebellion, which turned to rout, in Thebes against Creon, their omnipotent king. Antigone could not bare to watch her brother become consumed by vultures' talons and dogs. Creon finds out that somebody buried Polynices' body and sent people out to get the person who preformed the burial. Antigone is guilty and although she is to be wed to Creon's son, Haemon. He sentences her to be put in a cave with food and water and let the gods decide what to do with her. He was warned by a blind profit not to do this, but he chooses to anyway, leaving him with a dead son, a dead wife, and self-imposed exile.
The opening events of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, quickly establish the central conflict between Antigone and Creon. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices, who tried to burn down the temple of gods in Thebes, must not be given proper burial. Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and insists on the sacredness of family and a symbolic burial for her brother. Whereas Antigone sees no validity in a law that disregards the duty family members owe one another, Creon's point of view is exactly opposite. He has no use for anyone who places private ties above the common good, as he proclaims firmly to the Chorus and the audience as he revels in his victory over Polynices.
“There are two kinds of pride, both good and bad. ‘Good pride’ represents our dignity and self-respect. ‘Bad pride’ is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit and arrogance”-John C. Maxwell, American author. In Antigone by Sophocles, Creon, the king of Thebes, typifies the tragic hero and Maxwell’s quote. Initially, he makes a huge error in judgment that eventually leads to his downfall. Also, his pure arrogance caused to go against the will of the Gods. After he gets over his self-pride, his view shifts away from that of ignorance.
Like her parents, Antigone defies a powerful authority. Unlike her parents though, that authority is not of the gods, but rather of a person who thinks he is a god: Creon, Antigone's uncle, great-uncle, and king. He proclaims that the body of Polyneices, Antigone's brother who fought against Thebes in war, would be left to rot unburied on the field, “He must be left unwept, unsepulchered, a vulture's prize....” (ANTIGONE, Antigone, 192). Antigone, enraged by the injustice done to her family, defies Creon's direct order and buries her brother.
Creon is a man who has just become the king of Thebes and has a flaw of having too much pride. He can’t control the power of being over other people and he lets the power go to his head. “ I now possess the throne and all its powers. No, he must be left unburied, his corpse carrion for the birds and dogs to tear, an obscenity for the citizens to behold!”(1272) In getting his new powers Creon decides to make a decree that will not allow the brother of Antigone to be buried, and if someone does bury him then that person will be killed. This goes against the beliefs of most of the people in the town and many feel that it goes against what the gods would see as acceptable. A leader tries to suggest that it could be the work of the gods. “My king, ever since he began I’ve been debating in my mind, could this possibly be the work of the gods?”(1274) This again is a reference that the people are disgusted by what Creon has decreed. They feel like it is gross or disgusting to let a persons body have no burial rights and leave the remains to be agains...
Antigone, as a character, is extremely strong-willed and loyal to her faith. Creon is similarly loyal, but rather to his homeland, the city of Thebes, instead of the gods. Both characters are dedicated to a fault, a certain stubbornness that effectively blinds them from the repercussions of their actions. Preceding the story, Antigone has been left to deal with the burden of her parents’ and both her brothers’ deaths. Merely a young child, intense grief is to be expected; however, Antigone’s emotional state is portrayed as frivolous when it leads her to directly disobey Creon’s orders. She buries her brother Polynices because of her obedience to family and to the gods, claiming to follow “the gods’ unfailing, unwritten laws” (Sophocles 456-457). CONTINUE
Antigone makes the decision to go against the king, Creon, and bury her brother. The king declares that this man, Polyneices, shall have no burial because he fought against his country; however, this decision goes
The main source of conflict between Antigone and Creon is the issue of the burial of Antigone’s dead brother. Both of her brothers were killed in battle, however one brother fought against their home city and was considered a traitor. Creon issued a law that whoever tries to bury this man will be put to death. Antigone is very upset because her one brother is graced with all the rites of a hero while the other is disgraced.
After studying the critical excerpts following Antigone, I found two to be beneficial to the understanding Antigone. When first reading this play I found I could relate to Antigone and the way she stood up for what she believes in. Going against any King during this time, and facing death, to act upon what she believed to be right was pure admiration in my eyes. There was one part of the play, however, that I had a little trouble relating to Antigone. Before she is led to the tomb of her death, Creon and Antigone have one final conversation where Antigone is explaining her reasoning for the defiance of her king’s laws. She speaks as if speaking to her dead brother Polyneices saying, “Had I been a mother of children, and my husband been dead and rotten, I would not have taken this weary task upon me against the will of the city” (Sophocles 1587). I believed Antigone to have stood up for the rights of what was right by burying her brother with the sacred ash and water, as any blood relative would in my opinion do for another; however, if this were the case then why would she have not done for her children or her beloved husband what she fought so hard to do for her brother?
What Antigone did goes against Creon and this is where his difficult decision comes in. “Creon represents the regal point of view, while Antigone is just the opposite. The primary conflict arises when Creon declares that no one be allowed to bury the body of Polynices, one of Antigone's brothers who was slain in battle. Antigone, who cares for her brother very much, wants to see him properly laid to rest, so that his spirit can find peace. Unf...
In the play Creon goes against the Gods by making it illegal to bury Polyneices, Antigone’s brother because he is deemed a traitor. The burying of a dead body is seen as a necessity by all of Greece as it is an unspoken law of the Gods. Antigone goes to bury her brother so his afterlife will be better. She does it in spite of the law that Creon has made. “It is the dead, not the living, who make the longest demands” (192) She tries to explain to her sister, Ismene, that they must bury Polyneices, but even that close relationship has trouble because of the law. Ismene is unwilling to suffer the consequences of the law, to save her brother’s soul “Forgive me but I am helpless: I must yield to those in authority” (192) Even the two sisters who have just lost both of their brothers have different views on the matter. One will not stray from the law and what is deemed right by their king, while the other will accept any punishment, even death just to do what she believes is right.
In Antigone, her brother Polynices, turned against his own city by attacking his own brother just so he could become king. On this day, both brothers died. One, Eteocles, was given funeral honors, but the other, Polynices, was not. This decision was made by Creon, Antigone’s uncle and the current King of Thebes. Creon said “He is to have no grave, no burial, no mourning from anyone; it is forbidden.'; (Pg. 432; l. 165) He also announced that anyone who should attempt to bury him would be put to death. After hearing this decision, Antigone said that Creon couldn’t do that and that the Gods would want Polynices to have a proper burial, therefore Antigone promised to her sister Ismene that she would be the one to defy Creon and bury her brother; and she didn’t care if the whole city knew of her plans. After being caught in the act, she was taken to the palace and when asked by Creon why she did it. Knowing the punishment that would come from it, she replied by saying that she didn’t think Creon had the power to overrule the u...