antigone paper

Antigone Guilty

Antigone should be found guilty by the court of Thebes for deliberately going against King Creon's orders to not bury the body of Polyneices, Antigone and Ismene’s brother. Polyneices died while fighting against Thebes and because of this King Creon ordered that his body could not be buried and if anyone disobeyed this order they would be killed. “for him, the proclamation in the state declares he’ll have no burial mound, no funeral rites, and no lament. He’ll be left unburied, his body there for birds and dogs to eat, a clear reminder of his shameful fate. That’s my decision. For I’ll never act to respect an evil man with honours in preference to a man who’s acted well. Anyone who’s well disposed towards our state, alive or dead, that man I will respect” (Johnston 231-241). This shows how strongly he feels about leaving Polyneices body not buried. It shows how he thinks the corpse should be put to shame by letting birds and dogs eat it. It also shows how he will never respect someone who dies fighting against their state over someone who died fighting for it. Creon really did not want Polyneice’s body to be buried. This is shown when he says “There are men assigned to oversee the corpse” (Johnston 249). He assigned guards to watch the body to make sure that it was not buried.

Antigone was not afraid of the consequences for burying her brother’s body. “Don’t fear for me. Set your own fate in order” (Johnston 102). This is what Antigone says to Ismene when Ismene says that she is afraid for her. It shows that she is fearless and thinks her sister should worry about herself. Antigone says “No, no. Announce the fact—if you don’t let everybody know, I’ll despise your silence even more” (Johnston 106-108). This shows that she wants her sister to let everyone know that it was her who honored Polyneices and she was proud of it. Antigone was willing to bury her brother even if it meant death because she felt she was doing the right thing. “So be what you want. I’ll still bury him. It would be fine to die while doing that. I’ll lie there with him, with a man I love, pure and innocent, for all my crime. My honours for the dead -must last much longer than for those up here. I’ll lie down there forever. As for you, well, if you wish, you can show contempt for those laws the gods all hold in honour” (Johnston 88-96). This shows that she would be willing to die for burying and honoring her brother. She would gladly die for honoring her family even if it goes against the orders of the king. This is why she should be found guilty.

Antigone even admits to being guilty when asked if she committed the crime. “Yes. Zeus did not announce those laws to me. And Justice living with the gods below sent no such laws for men. I did not think anything which you proclaimed strong enough to let a mortal override the gods” (Johnston 508-512). This shows that since the gods did not tell her to not bury her brother she should be able to. She thinks that Creons order does not matter because a mortal came up with it, not a god. When she is told she will be sentenced to death she says “where could I gain greater glory than setting my own brother in his grave?” (Johnston 570-571). This shows that she is willing to die because she would die for honoring her brother, and she thinks that dieing that way is a great honor.

Antigone is a criminal. She blatantly disobeyed the King’s order and is proud of it. She thinks that the king has no authority over her and that breaking the law to not bury Polyneices was the right thing to do. She even talked Ismene into joining her as well, even though she felt that it was the wrong thing to do. She is nothing but a criminal and a manipulator and that is why she should be sentenced to death!

Works Cited

Sophocles. “Antigone.” Sophocles Antigone. Trans. Ian Johnston. 9 Aug. 2008. Vancouver Island University Malaspira. 11/24/08 .

LRJ 2

LRJ #2

Antigone wants to give her brother, Polyneices, a proper burial but she can't bury him because he was fighting against Thebes so King Creon said that nobody could bury his body. She buried him anyways and now faced the wrath of Creon. Antigone is perceived as a very strong and stubborn woman, but also shows her loyal and courageous care for her family. She cares for her brother even though he went against their city. "It is my nature to join in love, not hate" (Sophocles 118-119). This shows that she is stubborn because she wants to bury her brother against Creons orders. It also shows that she is strong and loyal because she is going against the king to protect her brother’s honor. Antigone really does not care what happens to her because she knows that what she is doing is right. "There is no guilt in reverence of the dead" (Sophocles 107-108). This shows that she thinks she should be able to show her dead brother love and respect.

Antigone's fatal flaw is that she chose to bury her brother, because even though she thought she was doing the right thing, she could be killed because of her actions. Her stubbornness led up to this because she refused stop trying to give her brother a proper burial. This is shown throughout many quotes in the story. "If that is what you think, I should not want you, even if you ask to come. You have made your choice and you can be what you want to be; but I will burry him; but if I must die, I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down with him in death, and I shall be as dear to him as he to me. Not the living who makes the longest demands. We die forever. You may do ask you like, since apparently the laws of the gods mean nothing to you" (Sophocles 107-108). This shows that she is willing to bury her brother even if it means death for her.

Antigone's anagnorisis is that she realizes that even though her uncle is the king, he still will not show her any mercy for trying to bury Polyneices. He will still kill her no matter what. "O city of my fathers in the land of Thebe! O ye gods, eldest of our race!-they lead me hence--now, now-they tarry not! Behold me, princes of Thebes, the last daughter of the house of your kings,-see what I suffer, and from whom, because I feared to cast away the fear of Heaven!" (Jebb 242).

Antigone's Peripeteia happens when she kills herself because she knew that the after life would be better than starving in a dark, cold, cave. She knew she was going to die for the crime, so rather than suffer, she decided to just get it over with herself because there was nothing else to live for and she knew she was going to die either way.

The audience has a catharsis when Antigone is going to be sent off to the cave where she will die. The audience is not sure what Creon is going to do with her and it is very suspenseful. When the audience finds out that she will be sent off to a cave to die, they feel bad for her because she was doing what she felt was right. They think that she does not deserve such a harsh punishment because she was staying loyal to her family. "Tomb, bridal-chamber, eternal prison in the caverned rock, whither go to find mine own, those many who have perished, and whom Persephone hath received among the dead!" (Jebb 235).

In Antigone, women are portrayed as weak characters. It appears that women cannot do anything by themselves and they always need the help of a man. This is shown when Haemon says "If thou art a woman; indeed, my care is for thee" (Jebb 197). This shows he feels that women need his help. Ismene also talks about how women should not fight against men because they would lose. "Nay, we must remember, first, that we were born women, as who should not strive with men;" (Jebb 16). This shows that women feel that they are less important than men.

Works Cited

Sophocles. “Antigone.” The Internet Classics Archive. Trans. R. C. Jebb. 04 Oct. 2000.
Classics.mit.edu. 11/24/08
.

Sophocles. “Antigone.” Literature Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes: World Literature. Trans.
Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2001. 814-826.

LRJ #1

Creon's Orders Ignored.

Yesterday morning news reached Creon, the king of Thebes, that his order to not give Polyneices a proper burial had been disobeyed. The news was broken to him by a sentry that ran to his palace. When the sentry arrived he was exhausted and out of breath, so he could not speak the moment he got there. Once the sentry caught his breath he explained to Creon that Polyneices had been buried. The king was furious when he heard this. The king replies “go and find this traitor and bring them to me, or else, you will suffer the wrath that I must bestow upon someone. Do not fail me in this task!” The king did not want to give Polyneices a proper burial because he dishonored Thebes, however, his brother Etocles was given a proper burial for his loyalty to Thebes. The citizens of Thebes agreed with Creon and were outraged when they heard the news that Polyneices received a proper burial.

Antigone was seen near where Polyneices was buried shortly after it happened. She was brought to the palace but Creon did not believe that she had buried Polyneices all by herself. Our wise king knew that she was denying her sister, Ismene’s involvement in the burial. When the king spoke to Ismene about the incident she confessed to helping her sister bury Polyneices. Despite this Antigone continued to deny her sisters involvement in the burial and insisted that her sister death would not be necessary.

blog experiences

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