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.
Antigone has a dilemma. She must decide who she will side with when her uncle, Creon, chooses to disgrace her brother by enacting a law forbidding his burial. The city of Thebes faced a time of crises when two brothers fought for the ownership of the kingdom. One brother greedily breached an agreement to share the crown and instead took the power for himself; the deceived other launched a rebellion. Both brothers died in this conflict and Creon was left with the task of reconstructing the city.
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.
This doing was by Creon her uncle who crowned himself king, which is part of his downfall. Antigone believes it’s her duty to bury Polyneices because she is his sister, but Creon believes Polyneices is the enemy. In Antigone the play, Creon says “He’ll be left unburied, his body there for birds and dogs to eat, a clear reminder of his shameful fate. ”(lines 234-236) and also Antigone says “No, no.
The burial of Polyneices is viewed nobly, yet Antigone is not faultless in that act. One of Antigone’s largest mistakes is that she burns bridges with those that care about her. Pleading with Antigone, Ismene laments “why would I care to live when you are gone?” (548). Antigone dismisses this heartfelt plea by deferring Ismene to Creon, thus isolating herself from her only kin.
1. In the play Antigone why is Ismene’s idea of justice (justice is obeying the laws of the land made by the king) wrong? Ismene’s idea of justice is very wrong.
In the play, Antigone, daughter of Oedipus learns about the death of her two brothers (Eteocles and Polynices).Creon, the new king of Thebes passed a decree to the city on the burial of the two brothers. In the decree, Creon declares that Eteocles body should be buried with honor and fame for his courage of saving the city from the enemy. Whiles Polynices body is left unburied and rotting for beasts to feed on because he came to destroy the city and enslave the people. Antigone defies Creon 's decree, buries Polynices body and gets caught. Creon imprisons her
In the classic play by Sophocles, Antigone is a tragic story of the bold Antigone who defied her uncle, King Creonʻs, edict by burying her brother, Polyneices, who died attacking the city of Thebes, trying to take the power away from their brother, Eteocles, who refused to share the throne with Polyneices. Even though Antigone knew that going against Creon and burying her brother would not end well for her, she still choose to risk her life to do what is right. After being caught breaking the law, Antigone is appointed to be locked away, isolated in a cave until she dies, but she hangs herself at the end. At the same time, things for Creon are not looking good, as everyone around him seems to be against him in his decision for punishing Antigone. Everyone Creon cares about kills themselves from a curse that is put on Creon for not following the Godsʻ laws.
Moral Choices Life is full of choices. Sometimes it’s easy for a person to make the right choice, but other times it seems a bit harder. The writer J.K. Rowling once said, “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”. She clearly states that choices are the fundamentals of our future, since our choices are what lead to our actions. Our choices can lead to happiness, sorrow, grief, anxiety or even bravery.
When people defend what they believe in or who they love that is sacrifice. In order to be certain that her two brothers she loved had a proper burial and that their souls could rest, Antigone sacrificed her life. Regardless of the potential outcome; even if that means that she was going to have to challenge her uncle (King Creon), she plans on pursuing her quest. Polynices and Eteocles killed each other in battle for control over Thebes, leaving the city to the new King, Creon Jocasta’s brother and Antigone’s uncle. Because of the actions that Polynices took during the war, Creon labels him a traitor and halts any burial process, leaving his body for the animals (222-234).
The Importance of Family in Antigone Following one’s heart does not always mean following the law. Civil disobedience is justifiable when dealing with family. Devotion to family is significant, especially in Greek culture. The play Antigone by Sophocles, stresses the importance of family and how the disturbance of traditions may lead to conflict.
English Literature Ms. Jackson The tragedy of right vs. right in the play “Antigone” In the play “Antigone” by Sophocles both Creon and Antigone are equally justified in their actions, however because they place different values first (Creon with law, and Antigone with emotion), conflict is created between them, creating a tragedy of right vs. right rather than right vs. wrong. The idea that neither of the main characters are going directly against each other proves this play is a tragedy of right vs. right. Creon himself says “Anarchy- Show me a greater crime in all the earth.
In the play Antigone by Sophocles, he demonstrates the many ways an unjust leader can overpower those who fight for what is right (Adams 1). In Antigone’s case, she fought for the just treatment of her brother in his afterlife and for giving him a proper burial. In her fight for justice, Antigone exhibits strong beliefs of fairness to her community regarding family, rights and morality in her battle against a seemingly unjust leader, Kreon. Sophocles’, in Antigone, displays the type of justice called fairness. He pulls the laws and unjust teachings of his time and puts them into a play for all to see and analyze.
In Antigone, there was two brothers who shared being the King and one of the brothers, Polynices, wanted to start a war with the kingdom because he wanted to be the main ruler. Polynices and his brother Eteocles fight and they both end up killing each other. Their Uncle Creon, who takes position as King when they are both killed, decides that only Eteocles will have a proper burial and Polynices will be left to rot. Antigone, Polynices and Eteocles sister, thinks that Creon’s decision is unfair and takes upon herself to give Polynices a proper burial. When their other sister Ismene finds out, she is stuck between helping her sister bury their brother and following Creon’s demands.
The drama Antigone places the culture of Greece on display by showcasing the many values that this culture held in reverence, including remaining loyal to family, honoring the dead, and honoring the gods. In Sophocles’ renowned drama entitled Antigone, one of the main values that Antigone chooses to honor is loyalty to family, even when that means that she has to forgo loyalty to her city and community. Even though her uncle the king, Kreon, forbade anyone to bury Polyneikes’ body because he had been on the opposing side in the battle, Antigone felt a duty to her brother to bury him. When speaking with her sister, Antigone says that Kreon’s command “…threatens our loved ones / as if they were our enemies” (Antigone 14-15).