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The Role Of Justice In Sophocles Antigone

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Justice is an underlying idea that humans revolve around. It is our sole concept that constructs how we think and behave. Justice creates morals and therefore how we judge those around us. If we didn’t have justice, our society would be in chaos and completely unruly. When identifying what is just, there are quite a few traits that can be clearly spotted. Most important of those, is determination. Justice would never prevail and come to light if it was not the most persistent concept around. In Sophocles’ Antigone, the title characters continued determination moves her to do what she thinks is just in the face of death. Throughout history, mankind as a species has shown determination. Thousands of years ago, man used determination to survive. Fighting off wild animals, looking for a place to live, and gathering food …show more content…

This is not correct. The original punishment for attempting to bury Polyneices was being stoned to death. This usually takes anywhere from five to 20 minutes, usually never lasting longer then 30 (Ashtiani). Kreon, her uncle, decided to give her a longer, less painful death, by trapping her in a cave, alive. This allowed her to survive a few days longer, and possibly give her a chance to escape (if she found a way out). However, Antigone had determination for justice, even when it was her own life at stake. She decided she should not receive special treatment from uncle Kreon and was determined for justice to be sought. She knew the punishment for breaking the law. Antigone hung herself because she was still determined for justice. The person who broke the law needed to be punished fairly, and she thought her punishment was not fair. This clearly is not “taking the easy way out.” It is in fact one of the most just things a person can do and shows the true determination of

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During this time, the belief that Antigone had was that if one was not awarded a proper burial, they are never truly laid to rest. Since she went against Creon and buried her brother, she was executed. If she hadn’t

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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.

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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.

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Our society is so busy deciding what is or is not just, that no one has taken a second to actually figure out how to define it. Justice is a result that is rightly deserved. It’s a consequence, and like all consequences, it can be good or bad. Justice gives and takes and yet no one can agree on what justice is. The ones who decide what justice means, are the people in power.

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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.

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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.

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The article “The Tragic Hero in Greek Drama” claims that Sophocles, through the tragic heroes in Antigone and Oedipus the King, suggests, “we could do everything right, act on the best information available, and with the best of intentions, yet still commit unspeakable horrors” (“The Tragic Hero in Greek Drama”). Aristotle, a well-known ancient Greek literary critic, created a definition of a tragic hero. His definition is known as the Aristotelian tragic hero, which has many requirements that the character must possess. Creon is the character that best exemplifies Aristotle’s tragic hero because of his virtue, his hubris, and his realization of his fate; however, others may argue that Antigone is a better example of a tragic hero because of

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All creatures are destined to die. When it comes to it, everyone get scared, because no one knows when it is going to come. There are people who know when there time is set. There are people who stay frightened of the idea of dying; on the other hand, there are people who are not. They are not afraid of death not because they do not want to live their lives, but because they have a reason not to.

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As Antigone said when Creon asked her if she has heard of his edict, “It was public. Could I help hearing it?” (708). This tells us that Antigone knew that what she was doing was illegal and yet she still chose to bury Polyneices no matter the consequences for her. On the other hand, you could say that even though Antigone knew what she was doing was wrong, she did it because she knew that it was the right thing to do.

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Determination In the play, Antigone, different characters demonstrated the difference between being determined and being stubborn. For example have you ever been determined to do something for the cause of good or even been stubborn. In this story characters there are some characters that were the same way, The first person that I have to bring up is Antigone.

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In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone did the right thing because she stands up for what she believes in. “ I am going to bury him” (30-31). She believes that he needs a proper burial. Another example “ Creon is not strong enough to stand

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Kreon does not believe Polyneices deserves a proper burial for Polyneices was not noble in Kreons eyes. Polyneices was fighting against Thebes and causing terror. He does not want to give him a proper burial, as shown in the quote “... Polynecius, who died as pitiably - Kreon has proclaimed that his body will stay unburied, no mourners, no tomb, no tears, a tasty meal for the vultures” (Sophocles 22). Antigone is distraught at the thought of her brother being left to be “a tasty meal for the vultures” and soon vows to bury him regardless of the law.

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Thomas Jefferson once said, “It is reasonable that everyone who asks justice should do justice.” In the play Antigone by Sophocles, it contrasts many perspectives and definitions of justice. In the beginning, two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, fight in a civil war for who reigns Thebes, but both have been killed. Creon, the new ruler of Thebes, have honored Eteocles and disgraced Polyneices. He took the disgrace further and lawed that ever who buries polyneices will be executed.

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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” (Martin Luther King Jr.) Antigone takes the decision to resist Kreon, and insists on burying Polyneices. The act is something that brings her into a sharp conflict between familial duty based on divine law, and the commands of the king (Kreon). Leaving Polyneices unburied means that he becomes part of nature, as vultures and wild dogs will feed on him.

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In ancient Greece, a common saying that all citizens had in their very core, a traditional Greek principle, was this: love your friends, and hate your enemies. This rule seems pretty straightforward and would appear easy to apply in real life. However, in the timeless play Antigone, Sophocles shows his audience a situation where this maxim does not apply. Sophocles concentrates on a complex story where the values and principles of the ancient Greek culture come into conflict. Religious or moral versus secular, family versus community, and living versus dead: all of these conflicting aspects are explored in Antigone.

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