of the oldest depictions of civil disobedience is in Sophocles’ play Antigone‚ in which Antigone‚ one of the daughters of former King of Thebes‚ Oedipus‚ defies Creon‚ the current King of Thebes‚ who is trying to stop her from giving her brother Polynices a proper burial. She gives a stirring speech in which she tells him that she must obey her conscience rather than human law. She is not at all afraid of the death he
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Betrayal of Family Loyalty In the play Antigone‚ written by Greek playwright Sophocles‚ loyalty to family seems to be a recurring theme. We first see it when Antigone defies King Creon’s order to keep her brother‚ Polynices‚ unburied as a punishment for his betrayal of their country Thebes. We also see how Antigone’s sister‚ Ismene‚ accepts partial blame for the burial (even though she refused to actually do it) in an affectionate‚ loyal act. Creon is also family (their father’s brother)‚ but
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Achelous: River god; son of Oceanus and Tethys and said to be the father of the Sirens. Acheron: One of several Rivers of Underworld. Achilles: Greek warrior; slew Hector at Troy; slain by Paris‚ who wounded him in his vulnerable heel. Actaeon: Hunter; surprised Artemis bathing; changed by her to stag; and killed by his dogs. Admetus: King of Thessaly; his wife‚ Alcestis‚ offered to die in his place. Adonis: Beautiful youth loved by Aphrodite. Aeacus: One of three judges of dead in Hades; son of
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Antigone. In these stories‚ the prominent characters(s) seem to be isolated from others because of their beliefs and/or actions. Antigone is alone at the beginning of the play when her sister decides that she is not going to take part in the burial of Polynices. This isolation from her sister‚ the only family member she has alive‚ leads to Antigone’s development of “emotional individualism”. Lady Macbeth’s isolation is caused by her partaking and plotting a murder. Since most women of that time were seen
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The idea of justice is one of the strongest motivators for humankind to make decisions on how to live and whether or not to try and change how one conducts themselves. Creon‚ in the play Antigone by Sophocles‚ is immovable in his ideals and confident in his personal idea of true justice‚ maintaining pride and order in his city-state Thebes. He faces the dilemma of whether to prioritize the good of his city-state by ostracizing a traitor in the family‚ or to respectfully bury him as is the will of
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In some respects Creon is seen as a positive character‚ in others as an antagonist. However‚ if one sees it from a different perspective‚ it’s obvious that Creon is the victim of fate and his own flaws‚ making him a tragic hero. His first misfortune was to fall from the grace of his people when saying that Antigone should die for her actions. "Your people are beginning to question your judgment and are beginning to side with Antigone." (256-257) This scene is very ironic! Creon is actually trying
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Tyranny is defined by Merriam Webster’s online dictionary as “oppressive power exerted by government (Merriam-Webster). This scene begins with the Sentry entering from the side and slowly describing to Creon that his decree forbidding the burial of Polynices has been broken. The Sentry seems to be afraid of Creon‚ wondering aloud that “if somebody get the news to Creon first‚ what’s to save your neck?” (Antigone lines 256-257) This mood of fear continues throughout this scene‚ with the Sentry dragging
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her life as the result of her sentence from Creon‚ it is not her pride that defines her fate but her unwillingness to accept her fate. Creon‚ King of Thebes‚ suffers his fate of pride. Not by his own demise‚ but his denial of Antigones brother Polynices burial; this caused catastrophic events in Creon’s life to fall into place like an extravagant domino effect. With the sentence of Antigone‚ she took her own life. With Antigone’s suicide‚ her fiancé’ Creon’s only living son Haemon took his own
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Two different readers can interpret any text completely differently. This may be due to their age‚ background‚ quality of education and social status. On the other hand even a males and a females understanding may differ. Similarly with art‚ the author of any piece creates it with the intention of evoking a rare and unusual emotion in every person to create an effect. In this case‚ it is more about what the audience receives from this play and how they construe the act themselves. All of this applies
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In Oedipus Rex Sophocles uses Creon for a foil to Oedipus. In Antigone Sophocles uses Creon as the Greek tragic hero. In Oedipus Rex the character of Creon serves as a foil to Oedipus. Creon is portrayed as a rational‚ ethical‚ and dutiful leader who represents the need for a stable society. All the while Oedipus is portrayed as a rash‚ unreasonable‚ and overly confident king‚ who is constantly trying to keep up with his unavoidable fate. Creon shows his rationality when he replies to a question
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