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Hannah Arendt's Critique On Violence

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INTRODUCTION In this essay I will be discussing and referring to Hannah Arendt’s essay On Violence (1969), Zizek 's essay Violence (2008) and Walter Benjamin’s essay Critique on violence (n.d.) in order to look at the notion of violence in Antigone written by Sophocles through theatrical terms. I will be focusing on the dramatization of some of the “events” that lead to the “ends” and the “means” and refer to the interruptions of these events (Arendt: 1969:4). BODY Concept of Violence in reference to Arendt Violence is defined synonymously with ‘strength of emotion or of a destructive natural force ' (Merriam-Webster n.d.). In the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary’s the definition of violence is defined as something “very strong and sudden” or an action as a result of a “physical force” with the intention to do harm to someone or something (Meriam-Webster n.d.). Arendt states that this type of violence used is natural, embodied and can sometimes be positive as well, when the “ends” justify the “needs” (Arendt 1969:4), and it can bring about change for better or for worse (Arendt 1969:46). The means-ends categorises a violent action within its characteristics (Arendt 1969:4). Violent means can be justified by its ends, but it can be a risk of overwhelming the ends as a result of the unpredictable outcome due to unexpected events (Arendt 1969:4). The implements of violence are characterised as the tools which give more power of the one who possesses it (Arendt
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