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Examples Of Creon's Behavior In Antigone

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Ivan Umana James Reed English 1301 05/1/2024 Is Antigone’s Behavior Justified? In Sophicles’ play Antigone, the main conflict in the story happens as a result of Creon’s decision to forbid Polyneices, one of Antigone’s deceased brothers, from being given a burial by law. This enrages Antigone, causing her to go against the king, Creon, and find her brother’s body and provide it the proper burial she believes it deserves. The conflict featured in the play raises a question, which is if Antigone’s behavior throughout the play is justified or are Creon’s decisions justified. Numerous individuals believe that since Creon’s decisions are the law as a result of him being king, that Antigone should therefore have no right to disobey the law by giving her deceased brother a burial. This, however, is proven incorrect by the fact that Antigone was merely …show more content…

In the beginning of the play, Creon states that Eteocles “shall be buried in his grave'' due to him perishing in a noble manner. Creon then proclaims that Polyneices shall not receive a burial and prohibits anyone from honoring him by giving him a grave or mourning him. The reason as to why Creon prohibits the burial of Polyneices is due to the fact that he was “a returned exile” that “sought to burn with fire from top to bottom his native city, and the gods of his own people” (Sophicles 2010-2011). This explanation given by Creon provides the reader with a reason as to why Polyneices is not deserving of being honored with a burial. Creon being the current king of Thebes signifies that his orders are meant to be perceived as the law. When Antigone is challenged by the fact that Creon has forbidden the burial of her brother, she states that it is not Creon’s right to keep her away from her own. This highlights the fact that Antigone is aware that it is against the law,

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Examples Of Creon's Decree In Antigone

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I used this quote from Antigone because it properly states Antigone’s viewpoint on Creon’s decree. As told in the story, Creon's decree was that no one could grieve for or bury Polyneices. Creon made this proclamation because when Eteocles and Polyneices fought over Thebes, Eteocles was pronounced king and exiled Polyneices from Thebes. Polyneices, in turn, formed an army to take on the city, ending up with Eteocles and Polyneices killing each other, thus putting Creon in the position of power. Creon then proceeds to label Polyneices a traitor and finally, makes his decree.

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848 Words | 4 Pages

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Throughout the first and second scene, the theme human law versus divine law separates the two main characters Creon and Antigone, creating a deep conflict between them. At the beginning of the play, despite of the state and the human law, which Creon made, forbids her to do so, Antigone determines to burry her brother, Polynecies. She says to Ismene, “Creon is not enough to stand in my way. ”(15). Antigone believes that Creon has no right in the matter of burial, because it is part of the divine law and she believes divine law rules over human law.

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In Sophocles’ devastating ancient Greek tragedy Antigone, the life of Antigone, a brave independent woman who is forced to question her morals, drastically changes due to fate and crucial decisions that are made. When Antigone’s brother Polyneices is killed at war, he is not given a proper burial, nor is he allowed to, according to Antigone’s uncle and the King of the state, Creon. Antigone wants to bury him, therefore causing the characters to struggle with the decision of who is morally correct. This theme of choosing between following one’s individual conscience or following the state’s law is seen throughout the entire play, and the three main characters who struggle with this decision are Antigone, Creon, and Ismene. Antigone, the brave female protagonist in the play, is determined to

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