Irony, Choices, and Tragedies In Antigone by Sophocles, the sentry was faced with a difficult decision when his loyalty was forced to be established between two things he was deeply devoted to. The sentry had to choose between his individual conscience or his loyalty to his king and state. Viewing the sentry's struggle allows the reader to perceive the tragedy because even though he was able to choose an ideal situation where he acquired both self-preservation and loyalty to others, the outcome of his decision was still tragic.
The sentry’s decision to tell Creon the truth about Polyneices burial was more than just a choice to report a crime to the authorities. In actuality, he was choosing between saving himself or bringing death to others, and bringing eventually death upon his own friend. By ignoring the fact that Antigone buried Polyneices against Creon’s orders,
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However, by informing Creon about Polyneices unauthorized burial and not disclosing who committed the crime, he would risk being the scapegoat in a circumstance where he would be viewed as the only suspect. Ultimately, the sentry’s choices were limited to choosing the lesser evil. This moral dilemma allowed for dramatic irony in the play because the audience was already aware of the information and the choices the sentry was about to confess. The prologue permits the audience to have key insight in the motives of characters. Antigone is a women driven by her religion and beliefs. She discloses her plans to listen to the gods and bury her brother and endure whatever punishment comes as a result of her actions. So, when all the characters are baffled by Polyneices burial and the sentry is contemplating his