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Antigone: A True Tragic Hero

Decent Essays

SUBTOPIC A:
According to the Aristotle’s interpretation, a tragic hero is a great person who comes to misfortune through a fatal character flaw.
Greek tragedies present us with the main characters which are born as tragic heroes in accordance with the first points of philosopher’s definition.
Oedipus and Antigone have the nobility that a true tragic hero must have. They are worthy of attention and sympathy.
Antigone and her sister Ismene are the daughters of King Oedipus of Thebes and Jocasta. She is of high birth standing and in a state of good fortune. Antigone's values loyalty to gods and family.
To fully understand it, we must first understand the background behind the princess of Thebes.
Antigone is both the daughter and the sister …show more content…

As a baby crawls on his hands and knees, Oedipus depended solely on others. He was at the weakest point of his life at the time when the shepherd gave him to Polybus to raise as his own. If not, Oedipus would have died.
Man walks on two feet when he has matured. This is a metaphor for the time when Oedipus reached the state of being mature and left Corinth to escape the oracle. He met up with a band of travelers and in a rage killed them. Unknowingly, Oedipus has killed his own father. By becoming king of Thebes he married Jocasta the Queen of Thebes, his mother. In answering the riddle Oedipus inevitable brought about his own tragic ending.
Both Oedipus and Antigone live through a struggle that tests them morally and which ultimately destroys them.
Antigone and undergo a morally significant struggle for her family against the law. She fights for her brother to be given a proper burial despite the fact that Polyneices betrayed their city. For the simple fact that he is family, Antigone must bury him. When Ismene questions Antigone about her plan, “Bury him! You have just said the new laws forbids it?” (prologue, 30), Antigone responds passionately with: “He is my brother”. She feels that her family is more important than the law – she will never be “betraying him”. Antigone’s refusal to accept the authority ends awfully for her, however, she becomes really free to decide what to do with her

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