Antigone And Carrie Soto Is Back: Character Analysis

In both “Antigone” and “Carrie Soto is Back” the main characters, Carrie and Antigone, make huge life decisions that change their own lives and the lives of others. The primary choice Carrie makes is to come back to tennis after retiring due to an ankle injury. She continues to train with her father as her coach so that she can hopefully beat Nicki Chan and win back her grand slam record. Then something devastating happens and she has to make a choice that will ultimately make or break her career. In “Antigone”, the main choice made by Antigone is the choice to honor her brother by burying him against Creon’s order. She does this knowing that the punishment will be severe, but she chooses the morally right thing to do over the lawful thing

Ever since Carrie was young, tennis was basically the only thing she did and the only thing she was trained in. Her father was a world-famous tennis player and has been training her her whole life. Carrie only plays for her father’s approval, he is the person she looks up to the most. Javier, Soto’s father, in turn believed Carrie to be his one true meaning in his life which created a healthy and gratifying father-daughter relationship that was truly beautiful to read about. “Being your father is the best thing that has ever happened to me. . . Let me feel it and say it. You are the meaning of my life” (Reid 314). Carrie is extremely competitive and has a need to win with her goal being to be the best tennis player in the world. Because of this competitive atmosphere Carrie was raised by, as she grows up she begins to become cold, rude, and conceited to everyone around her. “I am ranked number two. And you are ranked — what? Maybe thirty? So in this case, yes, you are beneath me” (Reid 63). Carrie eventually reaches her goal, even if her means of getting there are questionable, by setting the world record of being the first person to receive twenty single Slam titles along with being the number one women’s tennis player in the world. Shortly after this though she retired due to an ankle injury, and believes she’ll never be

Polyneices and Eteocles both die tragically in battle. Creon believes that Eteocles died noblely and therefore deserves a proper burial, but Polyneices died a “traitor” and doesn’t deserve a burial at all. Antigone rightfully believes this to be absurd, she thinks both of her brothers deserve a proper burial. This leads Antigone to make the brave decision to bury her brother against Creon’s will. Antigone then urges Ismene to help her and that it is the right thing to do, but Ismene insists that it is wrong to go against Creon. “Polyneices fought as bravely and died as miserably – They say that Creon has sworn no one shall bury him, no one shall mourn for him . . . There it is, and now you can prove what you are: A true sister or a traitor to the family” (Sophocles 3.17-27). Antigone is evidently sentenced to death after being convicted for the burial of Polyneices, but just before her execution, Creon pleads with her to quickly marry Haemon so her life will be “fulfilled.” Antigone believes marrying Haemon in such a rush is futile and will not fulfill her. For this reason, she makes the choice to take her own life rather than being executed and marrying Haemon. Antigone shows how important it is to make choices that will advocate for yourself, stand up against authority, and to always choose the morally right thing even if it means breaking the law or even