Antigone: When Pride Leads to Ruins
Kelley Booth
Humanities: Classical Greek & Rome
Critical Paper #1
09 October 2011
When Pride Leads to Ruins Antigone, a play about corruption, political context, and bravery, shows how the different perspectives on values and conflict between the characters can lead to destruction and death. Antigone is a great tragedy between family members that illustrates the characters true purposes and personas on what they believe is right and wrong in their society. It explains how Antigone and Creon battle a theoretical war dealing with the controversy of the Greek ideals and values. The classic tragedy allows readers to see the values and conflicts in the play about social, political, and religious matter. In that day and time, ancient Greeks believed that women were nothing but objects, and they were only to be seen and not to be heard. Antigone reveals that is not always the case and that women have a right to say and stand up for what they believe in. Antigone was written by Sophocles, who demonstrates different views of political and religious principles of Antigone and Creon, along with conflict of blood relationships and honor in the fight for what is right. Antigone reveals bravery in a political, social and religious sense with the support of the characters values and beliefs. Antigone, the main character, is faced with a major decision in following her religious beliefs, or the law of her uncle, Creon (temporarily the king of Thebes). Creon’s law is put in place when he prohibits the burial of Polyneices, Antigones brother of flesh and blood, and if anyone attempts to bury him, the sentence for disobeying the king will be death. Antigone sees how wrong Creon is and “appeals not only to the bond of kindred blood but also to the unwritten law, sanctioned by the gods, that the dead must be given proper burial- a religious principle” (Fagles 40). On the other hand, Creon believes that the gods and religion are on his side because he “finds it
Humanities: Classical Greek & Rome
Critical Paper #1
09 October 2011
When Pride Leads to Ruins Antigone, a play about corruption, political context, and bravery, shows how the different perspectives on values and conflict between the characters can lead to destruction and death. Antigone is a great tragedy between family members that illustrates the characters true purposes and personas on what they believe is right and wrong in their society. It explains how Antigone and Creon battle a theoretical war dealing with the controversy of the Greek ideals and values. The classic tragedy allows readers to see the values and conflicts in the play about social, political, and religious matter. In that day and time, ancient Greeks believed that women were nothing but objects, and they were only to be seen and not to be heard. Antigone reveals that is not always the case and that women have a right to say and stand up for what they believe in. Antigone was written by Sophocles, who demonstrates different views of political and religious principles of Antigone and Creon, along with conflict of blood relationships and honor in the fight for what is right. Antigone reveals bravery in a political, social and religious sense with the support of the characters values and beliefs. Antigone, the main character, is faced with a major decision in following her religious beliefs, or the law of her uncle, Creon (temporarily the king of Thebes). Creon’s law is put in place when he prohibits the burial of Polyneices, Antigones brother of flesh and blood, and if anyone attempts to bury him, the sentence for disobeying the king will be death. Antigone sees how wrong Creon is and “appeals not only to the bond of kindred blood but also to the unwritten law, sanctioned by the gods, that the dead must be given proper burial- a religious principle” (Fagles 40). On the other hand, Creon believes that the gods and religion are on his side because he “finds it
Cited: "Antigone by Sophocles." Studyworldworld: Studyworld Guides, Research Papers, Book Reports, Essays. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.Studyworldworld.com/basementpapers/papers/stack35_6.html>. "Antigone Themes | Antigone ThemesSaver." Studyworld Guides & Essay Editing | Antigone ThemesSaver. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.Antigone Themessaver.com/antigone/Studyworld-guide/major-themes/>. Sophocles, Robert Fagles, Bernard MacGregor Walker. Knox, and Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus. New York, NY: Penguin, 1987. Print.