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Free Will In Antigone

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The theme of Antigone by Sophocles is that the gods control the destiny of man. No matter how much power a man on earth has, whether he is king or peasant, he can not control his own destiny. The gods will always be able to control the things that a man can not, such as health. A man can control his wealth, but can not keep himself from dying. In Antigone, there are a few examples of how the gods can control the destiny of man, even if that man is King.

The first example in Antigone is when King Laius, the king of Thebes, takes his son, Oedipus, to the oracle at Delphi. The oracle told King Laius that Oedipus, his son, would kill his own father and then marry his mother. King Laius thought he could change the fate if he got rid of his son. The King ordered his servant to take his son into the woods and kill him. Oedipus was found by a peasant in Corinth and adopted …show more content…

Creon thought that his power on earth surpassed the power of god. Later, Teiresias tells Creon that he will lose one child for the crimes of leaving Polyneices unburied and putting Antigone into the earth. The Chorus tells Creon, he needs to free Antigone then bury Polyneices. Creon does the exact opposite, so the gods punished him. Antigone died so the gods to Polyneices life. Once Eurydice has found out that her son has died, she kills …show more content…

In the first example, both King Laius and Oedipus thought that they could change destiny by providing obstacles on earth. Neither staking Oedipus’ ankles in the woods nor moving changed the fate of King Laius getting killed by his son. In the second example, Creon thought he could kill Antigone without being punished by the gods, but the gods, in turn, killed his family and left him

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The Chorus points out that her fate could have been avoided if she had let go of her pride and passion, and bowed to Creon’s edict, as did the citizens of Thebes. This quotation portrays that play writer, Sophocles, views that one’s blind and obsessive passion can result in negative consequences. The downfall of Antigone derives as a consequence to her obsession in acting against the King’s edict to glorify her brave act of reverence to her family and the gods. When Antigone expresses her defiance to Creon’s

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n Sophocles’ play “Antigone”; written in 441 B.C., Antigone is a woman of impact, and her choices as a upstander affect the other characters. She was righteous in her pursuits to restore justice with her choices, that are taken because of Kreon unjust ruling. The first move was his, when she lawed the burial of Polyneices, whom is unhonored for being soldier of the enemy. Her choice to secretly bury him affected not only her life, but also Kreon and his family. She impacted her own life with her choice also to kill herself, and the lives of others.

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One example of this is when Odysseus get rid of the suitors in his home. Odysseus is trying to protect his wife and his son from them. He may have killed them but they were trying to marry his wife even if he was still alive. The suitors did try to kill his son when telemachus was trying too find any knows of odysseus whereabouts. Another example of odysseus is when he saves his men from circe's house.

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Some people think that elders are always wise and true, but not in this case, “It is not right if I am wrong. But if I am young, and right, what does my age matter?” (Antigone. III, 96-99). The play Antigone, written by Sophocles, tells the story of how a girl named Antigone who buries her dead brother Polyneices breaking a law, causing a huge controversy between Creon, the ruler of Thebes, and Antigone.

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American involvement occur because American officials supported the domino theory, which was the belief that a communist victory in South Vietnam would cause non communists governments to fall to communism. “American officials believed in the domino theory, which held that a communist victory in South Vietnam would cause noncommunist governments across Southeast Asia to fall to communism like a row of dominoes. To prevent such a disaster, the United States stepped in to shore up the Diem government” (page 797). America became more involved in the Vietnam War after Diem’s death, the United States started working with ruling generals to defeat the threat from communist rebels. “After Diem's death, the United States became more deeply involved

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956 Words | 4 Pages

One example that sticks out is in book 9, Odysseus and his crew find a cave filled with food and sheep. Odysseus chooses to linger a while longer and soon the Cyclops living in the cave returns. The Cyclops imprisons the crew and Odysseus to keep for a meal. Odysseus comes up with a plan in book 9, Odysseus tells his men, “Then, in my courageous heart I formed a plan to move up close beside him, draw the sharp sword I carried on my thigh, and run my hand along his chest, to find exactly where his midriff held his liver, then stick him there” (Homer). Odysseus changed his plan to stabbing the Cyclops in the eye instead of the chest.

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The recurring themes of conflict between personal and public affairs, death, and suffering throughout this play written by Sophocles is what makes Antigone the epitome of a Greek tragedy. One of the main aspects of a Greek tragedy is the constant conflict between family and state that reappears throughout the play. In the prologos,

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In Sophocles's Antigone he makes it seem like the characters are defying the rules of the gods. Characters in the story seem to be branching out, and choosing their own fate. Creon defied the rules of the gods, and refused to allow Polyneices to be buried. Antigone defied the kind, and buried Polyneices. Antigone also chose her own fate by hanging herself in the tomb.

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809 Words | 4 Pages

The play, Antigone, is a tragedy written by the Greek poet Sophocles. A common theme among tragedies is that they have a tragic hero, and Antigone is no different. The tragic hero of this poem is Creon, the King of Thebes. Creon is faced with the difficult task of punishing his niece, Antigone. She has broken one of his laws stating that no one is to give proper burial rites to Polyneices, Antigone’s brother, because he tried to overthrow Creon.

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In the Oedipus myth sophocles conveys a common theme that transcends into antigone as well. The oedipus myth does start the theme of fate and god’s law ruling over all;whilst fate is a big deal in the story, the main theme is that god's law rules over all. In “Antigone” Sophocles conveys that God’s Law is more important than Man’s Law by Antigone directly disobeying Man’s law so she could obey God’s law,by teiresias saying that creon should change his decision because the god’s don’t approve, and by Creon losing everything because he disobeyed God’s law. Antigone directly disobeys Man’s law so she can obey god’s law. Antigone proves that god’s law is more important than man’s law by earning the opinion of the people by following god’s law

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Many say that this play occurred because of Antigone’s decision to bury Polyneices. However, if Creon did not make the decision of not giving Polyneices a proper burial, then the whole tragedy would not have occurred. There would be no consequences for the reason that the gods would be happy. In other words, one could say that Creon’s actions lead into this tragedy. Not only does Creon lead the way for this play, but he is able to make very important choices, giving him the title of a leading

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837 Words | 4 Pages

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

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Sophocles addresses the issue of government authority over the people of Antigone through his incorporation of continuous unsuccessful as well as unjustifiable acts of power. Throughout the tragedy, Sophocles strongly exposes the lack of political authority at the time through his depiction of what he advocates as a corrupt monarchy. Considering Creon’s unceasing disregard for the opinions and desires of those around him, including his son Haemon when it came to Antigone's situation, his known brutality caused his citizens to obey him strictly out of fear of the potential consequences, such as when Ismene's obeys his edict is because she fears death. In addition, Sophocles addresses the issue of government authority by including the role

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936 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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First, he was blind to the truth about his own life. Oedipus had no idea that his real parents were Laius and Jocasta, he was so blind that he got mad at anyone that would even suggest an idea such as that. As the story went on though, Oedipus could no longer run from the truth; he was forced to open his eyes to the reality and truth of his life. Oedipus killed his father and married his mother; he is the brother to his own kids and the son of his own mother. Oedipus was the one that was causing all of the downfall and bad times in Thebes.

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