Pinches Essay
Alex Formichella
Ms. Pinches
English 9
February 1, 2013
If she was a he Antigone, a tragedy written by Sophocles is a story about a girl named Antigone, who was sentenced to death by the ruthless king Creon, her uncle after burying her dead brother Polyneices, which was declared against the law after him and his brother fought, killed by the other’s sword. Back then women were not treated as equals like in today’s society, they were sometimes forced into marriage, had to stay home and could not work, and had very few rights to their name. But what if Antigone was a man? In the tragedy Antigone, if Antigone was a man her fate would have been different because it would not have been Antigone’s duty to bury the body, he or she might have had more of a chance to convince Creon it was a noble act to bury the body once found guilty, and there would not have been a law to break because Antigone if a man, would have been next in line to take the heir and not Creon. To begin, if Antigone was a man he or she would not have had the obligation to bury the body. Back then, women were not treated as equally as men and women had very few rights to their name. One of their rights however, was having the obligation to bury the deceased family member’s body. When Creon, the king, declared it illegal to bury Polyneices he was not only letting Polyneices soul suffer, but taking away the only right Antigone had. If Antigone was a man, it would not have been her/his duty to bury her brother but Ismene’s since, “He is my [Antigone’s] brother and your [Ismene’s] brother too” (Sophocles 191). So it would have been Ismene’s job to bury the body since Ismene would be the only sister to three brothers. This would change Antigone’s because Ismene would have died trying to bury her brother and protecting her rights to do so. Besides women having the obligation to bury the deceased family member’s body, if Antigone was a man he or she might have had more of a chance to convince
Ms. Pinches
English 9
February 1, 2013
If she was a he Antigone, a tragedy written by Sophocles is a story about a girl named Antigone, who was sentenced to death by the ruthless king Creon, her uncle after burying her dead brother Polyneices, which was declared against the law after him and his brother fought, killed by the other’s sword. Back then women were not treated as equals like in today’s society, they were sometimes forced into marriage, had to stay home and could not work, and had very few rights to their name. But what if Antigone was a man? In the tragedy Antigone, if Antigone was a man her fate would have been different because it would not have been Antigone’s duty to bury the body, he or she might have had more of a chance to convince Creon it was a noble act to bury the body once found guilty, and there would not have been a law to break because Antigone if a man, would have been next in line to take the heir and not Creon. To begin, if Antigone was a man he or she would not have had the obligation to bury the body. Back then, women were not treated as equally as men and women had very few rights to their name. One of their rights however, was having the obligation to bury the deceased family member’s body. When Creon, the king, declared it illegal to bury Polyneices he was not only letting Polyneices soul suffer, but taking away the only right Antigone had. If Antigone was a man, it would not have been her/his duty to bury her brother but Ismene’s since, “He is my [Antigone’s] brother and your [Ismene’s] brother too” (Sophocles 191). So it would have been Ismene’s job to bury the body since Ismene would be the only sister to three brothers. This would change Antigone’s because Ismene would have died trying to bury her brother and protecting her rights to do so. Besides women having the obligation to bury the deceased family member’s body, if Antigone was a man he or she might have had more of a chance to convince