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 .