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Sister Ismene Loyalty In Antigone

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Family is like an army; in an army there needs to be loyalty like how in a family there needs to be loyalty. A person should be more loyal to their family than to their state due to family being there for them, and they themselves should always be there for their family as well. Antigone is loyal to her family the entire time, unlike her sister Ismene, but in the end Ismene fixes her wrongs, and they are both there for one another other even when it comes to death. No one backs out and chooses the state; they choose each other, which is what family does. Antigone went to her sister Ismene for help to bury Polyneices body. Antigone was hoping that she could count on her “loyal” sister Ismene to help her be more loyal to Polyneices by burying his body, instead of being loyal to their state who was completely against burying him. “I will bury him; and if I …show more content…

Antigone gave Ismene an option of being loyal or being a traitor, and must have known that Ismene wasn’t going to be loyal. “ Now you can prove what you are: a true sister, or a traitor to your family” (Ml. Language of literature…). Antigone must have known Ismene wasn’t going to be loyal, or she wouldn’t have given her both options. Yet Antigone was still shocked with what Ismene answered with. “ I should not want you, even if you asked to come. You have made your choice; you can be what you want to be” (Ml. Language of literature…). When Ismene refused to help Antigone, Antigone was furious with Ismene’s betrayal and basically called her a traitor that she wanted nothing to do with, even though she most likely knew that Ismene was going to choose the state over her and their brother. Antigone was hoping her sister would choose family over the state, but Ismene didn’t and Antigone was still angry with her decision even though she must have know Ismene wasn’t going to choose her over the state, which was sort of

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Tradition is a theme found in both the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and the play Antigone by Sophocles. In both stories tradition is used as a tool to force people to conform to the “norm” of society. In “The Lottery”, the people of the town revolve around their annual lottery. Everyone is quick to help each other get ready for the event and also show no remorse for the end of the ritual. Nobody objects to the continuation of the lottery, although Mr. Adams brings up the rumor that a nearby village were talking about giving up the lottery but he was quickly shut down by Old Man Warner.

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Antigone tries to persuade her sister by saying “ There it is, and now you can prove what you are, A true sister, or a traitor to your family” (Sophocles et al 190). Antigone tries get her sister to help her by telling her she has to make a choice between her family or let fear get in the way. Technically saying you’re with us or against us. Antigone knows that her sister Ismene will rethink her decision and take part in the burial. Antigone not only said that Ismene would be

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On one hand, he is determined to punish her for her actions, believing that she has defied the laws of the state and must be held accountable for her actions. However, on the other hand, he is also moved by Antigone's passion and conviction, and he is aware that she is acting out of love for her brother. He is unable to reconcile these two conflicting aspects of his character, and this ultimately leads to his

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Antigone is showing her loyalty to her brother by giving him a proper burial. Her loyalty to him doesn’t end in a happy

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In the scene in which Creon will not allow her brother to be buried. This goes against her personal beliefs she confronts Creon when she says “if I had allowed my own mothers son to rot, an unburied corpse that would have been an agony.” Creon wouldn’t allow Antigone brother to be buried even tho Antigone felt it was the right thing to do. Antigone is talking to Ismene about burying her brother but Ismene tells her to keep the idea a secret but Antigone disagrees and says “But I know I’ll please the ones I’m duty bound to please.

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The sisters are not the only ones that must face such choices, Creon’s son, Haemon, is in a dangerous position by fighting for Antigone and betraying his father's wishes. Antigone is a strong character that fights for what she believes in. She is not a person who is

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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).

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Antigone’s actions are motivated by her allegiance to her family, moral conscience, and religion amid Creon’s political injustice and tyranny. Antigone’s actions motivate her to demand Ismene to prove whether she is “a true sister or a traitor to your family” (26-27). Antigone maintains loyalty to her brother despite his actions which threatened Thebes. Her inability to bear the thought of her brother’s corpse being picked apart by animals and not being honored with proper funeral rites forces her to act. Antigone’s fierce allegiance to her family is laid bare as she is willing to sacrifice her life to honor her brother and defy the law in an act that she believes is morally just.

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Ismene has an internal conflict for not trying to help her sister when first asked, which is the reason for her trying to take some blame in the acts Antigone had done. Antigone and Ismene are both to be put to death but Creon relents on the executing off Ismene. Before Creon did so, Ismene is scorned by Antigone for her late attempt for trying to be righteous. Ismene has always believed in loyalty and has always been loyal to her family. Even though she made a late decision and it is rejected by Antigone she is still loyal to her family by offering her help after she denied it to Antigone the first

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Antigone uses both logical and emotional appeals to persuade her sister Ismene that their brother Polyneices should be honored and have a proper burial. During an argument between Antigone and Ismene, Ismene believes that the law should be obeyed therefore she will not help Antigone. Antigone states, “Polyneices, who fought as bravely and died as miserably…no one shall bury him, no one mourn for him… his body must lie in the fields (Sophocles et al.190).” Antigone is trying to communicate to Ismene through the use of an emotional and logical appeal by explaining that he was, left to be decomposed by the birds. In the Greek culture, having a burial is a civic and religious duty which is necessary to proceed to the afterlife unaffected.

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Antigone believes she should have the right of her brother’s burial. Creon states, “No one shall burry him, no one mourn for him” (Sophocles 2) illustrating that Polyneicis is irrelevant in the city of Thebes. The law in Greek society is a female should not have power or freedom over any circumstance. Antigone demands rights over her brother and will not accept

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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).

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