Essay on Antigone - 1772 Words

The opening events of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, quickly establish the central conflict between Antigone and Creon. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices, who tried to burn down the temple of gods in Thebes, must not be given proper burial. Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and insists on the sacredness of family and a symbolic burial for her brother. Whereas Antigone sees no validity in a law that disregards the duty family members owe one another, Creons point of view is exactly opposite. He has no use for anyone who places private ties above the common good, as he proclaims firmly to the Chorus and the audience as he revels in his victory over Polynices. He sees Polynices as an enemy to†¦show more content†¦Some of the times the Chorus speaks in this drama, it seems to side with Creon and the established power of Thebes. The Choruss first speech (117–179) describes the thwarted pride of the invading enemy: The God Zeus hates bravado and bragging. Yet this encomium to the victory of Thebes through Zeus has a cunningly critical edge. The Choruss focus on pride and the fall of the prideful comments underhandedly on the willfulness seen in Antigone and will see in Creon. In Creons first speech, where he assumes the â€Å"Now here I am, holding all authority and the throne, in virtue of kinship with the dead† and reiterates his decree against the traitor Polynices (191-192). In lines 308-309 the Chorus says to Creon â€Å"My lord: I wonder, could this be God’s doing? This is the thought that keeps on haunting me. The Chorus is questioning Creon if it could be the doing of God who buried Polynices, Creon replies; â€Å"Stop, before your words fill even me with rage that you should be exposed as a fool, and you so old. For what you say is surely insupportable when you say the gods took forethought for this corpse† (310-313). Even though Antigone exhibits a blamable pride and a hunger for glory, her disobedience is less serious than those of Creon. It is evident that Antigone’s actions are driven by a love for her brother, and a desire to please the gods. While Creon’s actions areShow MoreRelatedAntigone By Sophocles Antigone1525 Words   |  7 Pagesnothing that the gods demand† (1349-1350). Sophocles’ Antigone takes place in a trying time for the city of Thebes, when Oedipus, their king, and most of the royal family have died, and Creon has just been appointed the new king. Throughout the play, Creon tries on his power as the new ruler, and seems to believe that the gods will not be angry with some of his choices as king, even though they directly violate the divine law. However, in Antigone, when there is a conflict between the divine law andRead Moreantigone987 Words   |  4 Pageshamartia and lastly they need to realize their mistakes and accept their consequences. In A ntigone, there are two main characters that fit the criteria of a tragic hero, but only the protagonist, Antigone meets all of the conditions. Antigone meets the second requirement of a tragic heroine, by fulfilling the criteria of being neither entirely good nor completely bad. In the opening of the play, Antigone asks her sister, Ismene to help her give Polynieces a proper burial but Ismene disagrees becauseRead MoreThe Choices Of Antigone And Sophocles Antigone1560 Words   |  7 Pagesthat Antigone and Creon face in Sophocles’ Antigone differ, their decisions often end up pitted against each other’s, inviting comparison. Since I am juxtaposing the characters’ degrees of rightness, I believe that the rightness of the reasoning, not just their ultimate stances, should be examined. The entirety of his or her argument, not just the conclusion, must be taken into account. I’ll also note that my perspective of rightness could and does conflict with that of the gods in Antigone and SophoclesRead MoreCharacterization of Antigone in Sophocles Antigone2448 Words   |  10 PagesSophocles’ tra gic drama, Antigone, presents to the reader a full range of characters: static and dynamic, flat and round; they are portrayed mostly through the showing technique. In â€Å"Sophocles’ Praise of Man and the Conflicts of the Antigone,† Charles Paul Segal takes the stand that there are two protagonists in the drama (which conflicts with this reader’s interpretation): This is not to say that there are not conceptual issues involved in the characters of Creon and Antigone. But the issues areRead MoreAntigone Summary771 Words   |  4 Pagesunburied to rot. Antigone was dejected with Creon’s ruling and decided to bury Polynices herself. She tried to enlist Ismene to help her, but Ismene was to afraid. Antigone furiously continued with the plan on her own. A sentry discovered Antigone and brought her to Creon. Ismene was also brought to Creon and confessed that she had helped Antigone with the burial rites of Polynices. Antigone stopped Ismene and told her not to admit to an act that she had not committed. Antigone took sole responsibilityRead MoreAntigone2454 Words   |  10 PagesAntigone– The Characterization Sophocles’ tragic drama, Antigone, presents to the reader a full range of characters: static and dynamic, flat and round; they are portrayed mostly through the showing technique. In â€Å"Sophocles’ Praise of Man and the Conflicts of the Antigone,† Charles Paul Segal takes the stand that there are two protagonists in the drama (which conflicts with this reader’s interpretation): This is not to say that there are not conceptual issuesRead More Antigone Essay1318 Words   |  6 PagesAntigone Essay In any story or piece of literature, there will always be the main characters to fill the pages with incessant adventure. The characters whose names appear on almost every page and the characters whose actions the story revolves around. However, a story will also always have its minor characters. These are the characters that contribute heavily to the plot, yet arent mentioned quite as often and are underestimated regarding their importance in the story. In the Greek masterpieceRead More Antigone Essay3001 Words   |  13 PagesSUBJECT Antigone is a play about a woman who disobeyed the Kings order to not bury her brother. The play was written by the famous Greek tragedian, Sophocles, in 441 B.C. The story took place in the city of Thebes and the time period is not mentioned. The main characters introduced in the play are of Antigone, Ismene, Creon, and Haemon. The primary focus was centered on Antigone and the consequences she faces after breaking the Kings orders. In the beginning, the author introduced Antigone and herRead MoreEssay on Antigone1426 Words   |  6 Pagesimprudent judgments will ultimately suffer from the consequences of their actions. In Sophocles Antigone, these prejudices notably surface in the form of paternalism as demonstrated through Creons government, highlighting the importance of gender roles throughout the play. Therefore, analyzing the motif of gender roles and its effect on the definition of justice through the perspectives of Ismene, Antigone, and Creon enables the audience to understand how Sophocles macroscopic analogy to humanitysRead MoreAntigone by Sophocles622 Words   |  3 PagesIn the playwright Antigone by Sophocles, the characters reveal their values while exposing a life lessons through their actions, dialogue, thoughts ,and effects on others. Antigone starts with two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, being killed at battle. Creon, the king of Thebes, declares that Eteocles’ death will be h onored and Polyneices’ dishonored. He instead will lay unburied to become the food of animals. When the play opens, Antigone takes Ismene, Antigone and Ismene are sisters of the dead

Analysis Of Walt Whitman s This Compost - 1293 Words

Love in the Ground Walt Whitman’s poem â€Å"This Compost† utilizes incestuous allusions to communicate a mood of revulsion, that is at once wondering and terrified at the ability of Mother Earth and her humans to turn death and decaying forms into provisions for life. By forming an incsestous relationship with the natural world, Whitman displays his belief that a perverse relationship with the Earth is what yields the food that humans need to survive. Furthermore, he shows that human’s relationship to the Earth is unbounded by conventional morals like the taboo against incest. The speaker’s terror comes from the perverse, yet eternally loving relationship that other men seem to disregard with their need to waste and decay the natural gifts; given to them for their own industry and agriculture. The last stanza clearly displays the idea that the relationship between humans and the Earth is in one part maternal. One might argue that death is being celebrated in its ability to nurture the Earth s processes, but the speaker is wondering at the Earth’s ability to â€Å"grows such sweet things out of such corruptions† (42). It is the Earth who is committing the â€Å"Sweet† actions, and not the humans. We are shown overtly that the Earth is the provider for humans. â€Å"It gives such divine materials to men, and accepts such leavings from them at last† (48, 49) Men are shown to be insolent in what they give back to the Earth, with this lines references of the corpses that they leave behind

The Devil Free Essays

Proctor for avoiding church and forgetting a commandment. )The spiritual center is the church. I The Devil and Tom Walker Tom is starting to venture out on his own a bit from organized religion a la the transcendentalists, but later in life aerobically comes back to It without real passion or Interest. We will write a custom essay sample on The Devil or any similar topic only for you Order Now Halls adamant adherence to religion Is likened to his adamant adherence to greed and rings false. I Transcendentalismorganized religion is not needed and might even be a distraction to the person in obtaining spiritual enlightenment on one’s own. I Land I Nature must be tamed by people and worked to obtain her resources. Forests are unknown and where the â€Å"heathen† Native Americans live. Len The Crucible a man’s worth Is often tied up in how many acres he has. I Tom’s usury is likened to the â€Å"land grabbers† and speculators who made money off selling land In a dishonest way. Native American view that land is not a commodity but a spiritual place. Nature should be preserved in its wild, unadulterated state to allow for the calming presence it gives the individual as a solace away from busy and corrupting society. Hypocrisy I The Puritans held to the 10 commandments and religious doctrine, yet they were overzealous and ended up putting to death innocent people on speculation Just because they didn’t conform to their rules. I Tom becomes corrupted by greed and sells his soul to the devil. He was once poor but now greedy and â€Å"ostentatious. † He uses people through his usury. I Holds that the hypocrisy comes from society that corrupts when people become â€Å"blinded† by material things and comparing themselves with others. Therefore, the individual is favored to avoid bad influences of others or via peer pressure, etc. How to cite The Devil, Papers