Antigone and Ismene also show different characteristics in the story. Firstly, Antigone is strong, loyal, kind, and determined. She is determined and strong because she went alone to bury her brother Polyneices. She went to bury Polyneices because she said that he deserves it and she didn't want her brother to rot and be eaten by the ants. Secondly, Ismene is timid and follows the rules. For example, when Antigone asked her if she would come and help her bury their brother Ismene immediately said no. That shows that she follows the rules…
The central conflict of Antigone is not a simple hero versus villain clash because both Antigone and Creon are driven by what they believe is morally right. Creon and Antigone simply have extremely different viewpoints on how to handle the same situation. Antigone believes that the laws of the Gods overpower any decrees of man, and she assumes that regardless of Creon’s decree and risk of her own death, she must bury her brother because it is a religious obligation. On the contrary, Creon believes in handling the death of Polynices in vastly different manner. The king is pro-government and prioritizes the jurisdiction of the state regardless of any emotional or religious ties.…
Arguably, Antigone’s strong moral character, consistent actions, and difficulty of becoming intimidated resemble qualities like those of her father’s,…
Ismene is weaker than Antigone and doesn’t hold the same beliefs. Therefore, Ismene shows distress when she learns the news of Antigones’ capture by crying on her way to the palace (Lines 490-493). Ismene confesses that she committed the crime to Creon showing her loyalty to her sister but also her irrational thought process. This interaction causes the king to believe Ismene is mad and wants to commit them both as criminals (Lines 526, 530-531). Ismeme pleads with Creon, showing her inferiority, to save her sisters life. She even brings up the fact that Haemon, Creons son, and Antigone were supposed to get married. Ismenes actions make her seem desperate and give Creon the opportunity to make her look guilty to the…
5.) Ismene is the foil for her stronger sister. In comparison to Antigone she has almost no agency, primarily because she is terrified of disobeying men in power.…
Sophocles creates a strong sense of devotion and resolve through her actions as she is seen as a martyr for her cause. Antigone follows what is just in the world that Sophocles creates. He does not reflect that same quality in his portrayal of Ismene. Ismene is more fearful of Creon’s laws, she holds reverence towards her brothers, but is not as eager as Antigone to sacrifice herself to uphold a divine law. This is shown when she responds to Antigone’s call to action, “We are only women, We cannot fight with men, Antigone! The law is strong, we must give in to the law” (191-192). In her response Ismene expresses her lack of strength and fear, Sophocles portrays her as less righteous than Antigone. Although Ismene later retracts her refusal, Sophocles still frames this act in relation to Antigone. The nobility in Antigone’s conviction to the law of the gods is further shown through Ismene’s change of…
On the outskirts of Thebes, Ismene, daughter of Oedipus whom was the king of Thebes, has just heard the decree that she and Ismene’s sister, Antigone, cannot bury their…
Sophocles, an ancient Greek playwright, is the author of the prominent play named Antigone; the third of the trilogy. Even though one would usually think that ancient Greek theater is dull, one can learn a lot about themselves while reading them. While reading this story myself, I found that I correlate to the main character herself, Antigone. The character intrigued me; for we think and speak similarly. After finding this, I kept discovering more and more connections between the two of us. Separating into three different categories, Antigone and I are similar by Appearance and Surroundings, Personality, and Relationships with Others.…
We see Antigone's wild, unwomanly side best when she is with her sister, Ismene. Ismene is carefully portrayed as a good, obedient, curvy woman. She would never think of overstepping the boundaries that are allotted to women in Thebes. She expresses her true interests when Antigone asks her to partake in the forbidden burial of Polynice.…
Antigone is an award winning play by Sophocles, one of the three best Greek dramatists of all time. Antigone is a mythical princess of Thebes. She is the product of the accidental incestuous marriage between King Oedipus and Jocasta, whom is Oedipus’ mother as well. Antigone had two brothers and a sister: Polynices, Eteocles, and her sister, Ismene. After Oedipus discovered that he had married his mother, he fled, leaving Thebes to be ruled by his sons. Polynices and Eteocles had their differences arguing over the throne. Polynices left Thebes and returned with an army to declare war on Thebes. The two brothers killed each other during the war, leaving Thebes to be ruled by Jocasta’s brother Creon,…
In Antigone and The Odyssey, women are portrayed as insignificant characters to show the quintessential role of Greek women. In Antigone, Ismene is shown as the ideal woman in Ancient Thebes when she chooses law over family by leaving her brother unburied, no matter how offensive it is to the gods. Ismene chose to leave her brother unburied rather than face the rule of Creon, the king, which supports the Greek vision of lawful women. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus’s…
The well-known play, Antigone, is a representation of classic tragedy written by Sophocles. The story’s protagonist, Antigone, is portrayed as a tragic hero whose efforts to keep her family close quickly backfire on her. When Antigone’s brother dies, she wants to face the consequences and do the right thing in order to respect her brother and properly bury him. Antigone’s sister, Ismene, also displays the heroic qualities that Antigone does when she attempts to save her sister for being prosecuted. The classic qualities of a tragedy are displayed in the story, and these can also be found in many other tragedies later in literature. The important qualities that a tragedy always has can help analyze other novels and stories later are the heroism of the protagonist and the emotional connection the audience will sympathize for the protagonist.…
Antigone, by Sophocles, is a story about the struggle between Antigone, who represents the laws of the gods and Creon, who represents the laws of the state. The play takes place circa 442 B.C. in the city-state of Thebes. The story revolves around the burial of Polyneices. Polyneices led an army against his brother, Etocles, the King of Thebes. They killed each other in battle and the new king, Creon, made a decree that only Etocles was to be buried because Polyneices was his rival. Antigone, sister of Polyneices and Etocles, feels that she needs to bury Polyneices in accordance to Zeus ' law, but this went against Creon 's decree. Also, Antigone has to bury Polyneices without the help of her sister Ismene. Since Antigone decided to follow Zeus ' law, which states that all bodies must be buried, she defied Creon 's decree and buried Polyneices anyway. Caught by the guards, while burying her brother, Antigone was sent to a rocky chamber as punishment by Creon. Creon 's son, Haemon, was engaged to marry Antigone, but he along with the rest of the city thought Antigone 's death was unjust. Even after Teirsias, the blind prophet, warned Creon to release Antigone and bury Polyneices, Creon remained reluctant. Finally, Teirsias told Creon that the gods were going to punish him and Creon became worried. By the time he got to the rocky chamber, it was too late: Antigone already hung herself. Creon found his son sobbing next to her and when he told Haemon to come back with him, Haemon spat in his face and pulled out his sword. In the struggle to save Haemon, Creon opened the way for Haemon to impale himself. After Creon 's wife, Eurydice, found out her son was dead, she stabbed herself to death.…
Reading The Odyssey and Antigone are two very different experiences. Despite that, they both come from a similar culture and reading one prepares one for reading the other. Reading The Odyssey first is probably more beneficial in part because it includes short descriptions almost every time someone is mentioned. Zeus is seldom mentioned without some reference to thunder or that he is the son of Cronus, Poseidon is constantly accompanied by his title the Earth-Shaker, and Hermes is referred to as the giant-killer. This general reminder is helpful in and of itself, but what really prepares one for reading Antigone is the respect for the dead that the gods demand. When Odysseus visits the House of Death he meets his recently deceased companion,…
When presented with situations whose outcomes reflect that of a Catch-22, exactly how does one know which repercussion is more favorable, or the least detrimental? In the circumstance of the trolley, mothers, and children, both decisions can be determined “the morally correct decision” depending on the philosophies behind them. In this paper, I will compare Mill’s, Kant’s and Antigone’s perspectives in order to determine their position in the trolley situation.…