Antigone Essay

In the play ‘’Antigone’’ ,written by Sophocles, the major concept was that the laws of the gods take priority over the laws of man. In the story Creon’s pride and inability to listen to others leads to his downfall and Antigone’s faithfulness to the laws set by the gods instead of the laws set by Creon leads to her end. In the story Creon’s sense of justice is that the head of the government laws’ are to always be followed even when they are not fair. This quote from Creon ‘’Whoever is chosen to govern should be obeyed-must be obeyed in all things great and small, just and unjust.’’ This belief that the leader of a state should always be obeyed in all cases causes him to come into conflict with others and leads to his downfall. In addition Creon’s tragic flaw is his pride. It is shown when he says "My voice is the one voice giving orders in this city".In the quote it shows that his single voice is the will of the entire . Another is when he says “You wait and see. The toughest will is first to Break: like hard and untempered steel, which snaps and shivers at a touch , when hot from off the forge.” In the quote he believes that he can break anyone’s will because of how many simply do as he says without rebellion. Ultimately his pride is his own undoing when his son and wife commit suicide, his city rebellion against him, and left to wallow in his suffering. In the story Antigone’s sense of justice is that the laws of the god’s are more important than the laws of man. Her sense of justice is shown when she says ‘’Your edict ,king, was strong but all your strength is weakness itself against the immortal, unrecorded laws of God’’ Her concept of justice is a factor that leads to her end. Another is her stubbornness . Her stubborn attitude is shown when she says ‘’Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way’’ In the quote it shows that Antigone will not allow anyone to stand in her way. Ultimately Antigone hangs herself not wanting to die by Creon’s decree.