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In the story of Antigone, Eteocles and Polyneices are both fighting to be the king of Thebes. They both die in the fight but Eteocles is buried while Polyneices is left to the vultures. Antigone is both Polyneices and Eteocles’ sister, With both brothers dead the throne was given to their uncle Creon, who believes Polyneices is a traitor and should not have a burial. Antigone strongly disagrees with Creon, thus sneaking out and giving him a proper burial. This action was considered punishable by death.
In addition, Antigone has her own struggle, faceing her uncle King Creon, by herself. Moreover, Antigone was declared the death penalty, on behalf of giving her brother funeral honors. This is a very unruly move, because her brother is considered a traitor to the king and people, which ultimately means he shall not be buried. However, it shows King Creon that Antigone would do anything to modify the law, as well as risking herself, just so her brother has a proper funeral. To emphasize, Antigone responds to King Creon, “ If I die young, I say I’d gain something” (Sophocles 20).
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” In the greek tragedy Antigone, which was written by Sophocles, we see how an unjust ruler can can lead to there being unjust laws and rules. Kreon fits this description, being an unjust ruler that has created unjust laws. This lack of just laws shown by Kreon gets tested when Antigone goes against these unjust laws and decides to take matters into her own hands. We also see a similar situation in the book The Wine of Astonishment, which was written by Earl Lovelace.
In Antigone, the character is Antigone and she is loyal and independent. Her brother was considered to be a traitor and shouldn’t be buried she goes against the rule to bury him anyways because she thought it was right even though her brother did many wrong things. In the reading it states, “Polyneices sought to taste the blood he shared with us,and lead the rest of us to slavery. You shall leave him without burial, you shall watch him get chewed up by birds and dogs and violated. But he that is loyal to the state in death, in life alike, shall have my honor.”
Within the play, Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone argues that basic rites should be entitled to everyone, whereas Creon states that one’s rites are determined based on whether they are a patriot or traitor. If the setting were to take place in modern times, in a situation likewise to Antigone's, I would decide to honor my family. For instance, Antigone mentions that her death beside her brother would be honor onto her family, as she will be “as dear to him as he was to [her]” (Sophocles 55). In this case, I too would favor my family in support and love, characteristics that are not likely to be found within a community of fear and disunity with the kingdom and its citizens. I particularly would return honor upon my family, as they once had done for me during times of need, all in reverence.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Antigone are very different people and they have quite similar aspirations. Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. had ambitions of fighting injustice, and they tried to achieve them by standing up for what they believe in. Antigone uses more of her religious views to help her case, while Martin Luther King Jr. uses more logic and allusions to help his case. Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. speeches use great words to help justify their beliefs; however, because of their different time periods, they use different types of references to help them obtain their goals.
Antigone was justifiable in her action to disobey the proclamation that Creon created. Creon is immoral in the condemned burial of Polynices. Antigone is moved by her religious perspective, family ties and passionate aspects to go against the law of the land that makes her actions just in what she did rather than unjust. The Gods’ law was more crucial than any mortals law. Antigone’s view on the gods being of a higher power made her decision non-defiant since she only broke a mortals law not the gods.
The two are bound to two opposing sides of the law with family stances being most prominent reason for their divide. Through the characters of Antigone and Creon, Sophocles and Anouilh prove that duty is bound to family loyalty, regardless of how polarizing the reactions may be. This is shown through Antigone and Creon’s actions and decisions, determination and persistence,
When duty diverges from the law, should it be pursued? In the tragedy, Antigone, written by greek playwright Sophacles, the protagonist Antigone breaks the law of a stubborn king when she buries her traitorous brother Polynices. Then in the tragedy Hamlet, written by Shakespeare, we follow Hamlet who is told by the returning spirit of his father that he was murdered by his uncle and that Hamlet must seek revenge for him. Both deal with themes of justice and the struggle that both Antigone and Hamlet face when enacting it. Both Antigone and Hamlet express themes of self-sacrifice, a thirst for justice, and a case of hubris in the main characters, while ultimately having different goals and showing different views on human nature.
Doing what one thinks is right is more important than following the rules because then it shows what one believes in and and the different perspectives that people can have. When Antigone followed her heart and buried her brother, Polyneices, she showed what she believed in and how she doesn't let anyone control her decisions. Doing what you believe is right is more important when it shows the different perspectives of things. Determining in what they believe in and shows their way of thinking contrasting to the way others think. For example when Antigone asked her sister to help burry her brother, Polyneices, her sister was more afraid of the law so she refused.
In the play, Antigone, Sophocles reveals a story of a character who responds significantly to an injustice. After a war between brothers’ Eteocles and Polyneices, both brothers are slain, but Creon, Antigone’s uncle, refused to bury Polyneices due to him fighting against the city. Antigone, the main character, decides to bury her brother against Creon’s orders, resulting in a conflict between the already cursed family. With the unjust refusal from Creon to not bury Polyneices, Antigone decides to stand up against this injustice, even if it means losing her life. Sophocles writes about a stubborn Antigone who believes she is following God’s law, in order to create justice between the cursed family and solve the unjust created by Creon, to
Antigone’s actions are motivated by her allegiance to her family, moral conscience, and religion amid Creon’s political injustice and tyranny. Antigone’s actions motivate her to demand Ismene to prove whether she is “a true sister or a traitor to your family” (26-27). Antigone maintains loyalty to her brother despite his actions which threatened Thebes. Her inability to bear the thought of her brother’s corpse being picked apart by animals and not being honored with proper funeral rites forces her to act. Antigone’s fierce allegiance to her family is laid bare as she is willing to sacrifice her life to honor her brother and defy the law in an act that she believes is morally just.
The search for justice is never ending. Justice may be delayed, denied, or postponed, however, the search is timeless. To be just is to argue for fair rights for all. It is to be someone that will help the people of the community. However, many times justice is not sought and not given to those who need it most.
In the play Antigone, Sophocles demonstrates the conflict between family and God through the characters of Antigone, Ismene and Creon. Antigone tries to persuade her sister Ismene that their brother Polyneices should be honored and have a proper burial while Creon uses both logical and emotional appeals to justify whether or not Polynices should have a proper burial. Ismene also uses both logical and emotional appeals to best respect her brother Polyneices along with the laws. Nowadays, family always comes first and like Antigone, some people would say they would die for
In Sophocles “Antigone”, translated by Richard Emil Braun, Haimon, the son of the Kreon, portrays elements of utilitarianism by trying to represent the best outcome for the community to his father. A sound argument towards Haimon showing utilitarianism is that Haimon only thinks about himself. Haimon states “You direct a course for me with good intentions, and I follow it” (Braun 46). This could show that Haimon is thinking for his own good intentions. However, Haimon follows his father’s commands but politely argues with Kreon about the greater good for the community instead of himself.