Preview

Examples Of Abuse Of Power In Antigone

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
396 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Examples Of Abuse Of Power In Antigone
The ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality way. The definition of power shows exactly how people can abuse it. People that have power can abuse and misuse it in many different situations from historic literature to politics in real life.
The abuse of power is shown by King Creon in the greek tragedy Antigone by Sophocles. King Creon has used his power as king to control people and inject fear into them to get them to get them to do whatever he wants. In the tragedy King Creon threatens anyone who buries his nephew,Polyneices, will publically stoned to death. This injects fear into anyone that even thinks about giving Polyneices a proper burial and makes them think twice about it. When someone

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Power is defined as the ability or capacity to influence others in some way shape or form. With the piece of literature in…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many definitions of power. Power can be defined as physical strength, energy, and the ability to do something. Battle royal and Mr. Durant consider power in their texts. Both stories focus on power defined as the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. Power is a very common topic among Battle Royal and Mr. Durant. The two stories give detail and provide a negative outlook on power.…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Additionally, violating the law brings harm to others. For example, in Scene 5 it states, "The burden you carry in your hands is heavy, But it is not all: you will find more in your house... The Queen is dead." (Lines 1000 & 1002). Due to Antigone breaking the law it lead to the death of many. Antigone's one decision to bury Polyneices consequently caused a chain reaction of negative outcomes such as harm to others.…

    • 76 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play, “Antigone”, by Sophocles there are two characters, Antigone whose tragic flaw is her loyalty to her family that results in her own death, and Creon whose tragic flaw is his hubris that causes his son and wife to die. Antigone had a brother named Polynieces who was an enemy to the town of Thebes, and was announced to not have a burial in the form of a law by Creon. Antigone’s tragic flaw of having loyalty to her family caused her to illegally bury her brother in a manner that would barely be considered a burial ritual. When Creon had found out about it he told his servants, “take her to the vault and leave her alone there.…

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Power Corrupt In Antigone

    • 272 Words
    • 2 Pages

    With power, a ruler can control people into not doing what is right. King Creon makes a law where no one can bury Polyneices (his nephew). In the play Antigone by Sophocles King Creon makes a law that says “ Polyneices, I say, is to have no burial” pg. 820. King Creon has a lack of sympathy towards his family members. He doesn't care about Polyneices or about his family members, the law is the law. Creon could have created harmony by letting Polyneices have a burial. King Creon uses his powers to have the upper hand against all people.…

    • 272 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Power has a negative effect on others because powerful people are unable to see other perspectives. If people have too much power, they begin to put themselves on a pedestal. For Example, in Antigone, Creon does not understand Antigone’s reason for betraying the law set in place, Creon’s law does not allow Antigone to bury her brother, but that does not stop her. Antigone’s religious values causes her to break the law so her brother can find peace, and go to heaven. Because of Creon's power, he is unable to sympathize with his niece/future daughter-in-law.…

    • 192 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Having too much power is a bad thing , too much power in the wrong hands never ends well. Tick, tick, tick, boom! That was all of your power blowing up in your face. Ultimate power leads to ultimate corruption, it affects not only you, but everyone around you.…

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play, Antigone by Sophocles Antigone is a rebel against society because she went against Creon, the king of Thebes to bury her brother. Antigone breaks Creon’s law because she believed it was unfair that her brother Eteocles was buried with full military honors and Polyneices wasn’t. So she went on a mission to bury Polyneices even though she knew her actions would come with serious consequences. Then when she was finally able to bury her brother she was captured by the sentry and brought to the king. When she stood before him she said, “This death of mine Is of no importance; but if I had left my brother.…

    • 165 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    When one dies and is then consequently buried by their families it not only completes a spiritual process of passing the soul to the underworld it also fulfills a moral responsibility that the death creates. It is a not just a part of the “Greek Way” to bury the body of a soul who has passed on it is also part of a moral tradition that is felt across all cultures. It is not always a way to allow the soul to pass into the afterlife it is more times than not a way to give the body a peaceful exit and bring the body back to where it had originally come from, the earth. It is a process of putting the body to peace which is owed to all human beings which does not always consist of burial. It can consist of burial rights like the ones that Antigone performed on Polynices the first time that she had visited the body. It can consist of cremation, a funeral, or very low-key ceremony to honor the dead. Giving the body a place to rest and a place to find peace is important across all cultures. By not burying the body of Polynices, Creon disrupted a human ritual, not a ritual just felt by the Greeks, but a ritual of honoring the body that is felt by all people of every walk of life on this planet. Creon, a mortal being, does not have the right to usurp the authority of the…

    • 1598 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Power can change people in a way that is incomprehensible either for good or for evil. Power can make one so greedy that someone will do anything for it and won’t let anyone, or thing stand in their way. Macbeth by William Shakespeare portrays both the positive and negative uses on Power through the main characters. Macbeth’s greed of power allowed him to exercise abuse and ultimately he was corrupted and destroyed by power. Lady Macbeth used power in a positive way but her ultimate goal was domination of the Crown. Shakespeare uses dialogue and symbolism to allow his readers to engage with his mood and therefore the concepts of power.…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Violence, greed, and suffering are all great examples of power being abused negatively. When someone has power, they have the decision to either use that power in a positive or negative way. Sadly, some people decide to use their power in a negative way that affects others. Power can have a negative effect on others by using fear and manipulation.…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Creon Antigone Analysis

    • 1113 Words
    • 5 Pages

    When Creon first made the law banning the burial of his nephew Polyneices, he had good intentions to maintain his position as the king, “I claim and hold the throne and…

    • 1113 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Great Compromise Definition

    • 2304 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Power: The ability or capacity to direct the behavior of people or type of events.…

    • 2304 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Creon

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Aside from his inflexibility, Creon misconducts his power as a ruler. He believed he was able to change and violate the laws of the Gods by forcing his people to follow his laws instead of the Gods’. When Polynices died Creon didn’t burry his body nor did he let others of Thebes, since he considered Polynices a traitor for rebelling against the city. For traitors, Creon believed they didn’t deserve the proper burial and should be left to decompose. But little did he know that he had violated one of the God’s laws. The law that every human body was to be buried no matter what type of person he or she was.…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Power In Antigone

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages

    At the very beginning of the play Creon quickly establishes the conflict for the play. He states that “no one shall bury the corpses of the traitorous polyneices”, which starts the conflict between himself and polyneices sister, after time pases during the play antigone desides that she needs to bury her brother polyneices the correct way and she goes on to bury him, when the people find out that he was buried, they think think it was the god’s that did it because there was no trace of anyone doing it. Time passes and antigone is finally accused of the crime and fully accepts the punishments she has received. One of her quotes really stand out to me she said “And if I have to die for this pure crime,/ I am content, for I shall rest beside him;/ His love will answer mine” (lines 72-74). This quote is basically saying that she is not afraid of the so called crime she committed and that she would rather be with her dead brother All of this is proof that all of these catastrophic events where from a individual who had or has too much power in his or her name. This is why if you ever see someone receiving or gaining too much power and becoming somewhat of a dictator, leave the country it is happening in or if you cannot leave try to escape or take a stand against it with many…

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays