The Significance of a Single Soul How can one single person make a difference in the world? It seems impossible that a single person can make a difference in such a large world but it happens all the time. In history, many people have made very notable influences in the the way we live today. They have indeed changed the world forever. Literature illustrates this very same principle time and time again. In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, for example, Brutus is burdened with two choices: stay loyal to Caesar or join Cassius’s conspiracy. Brutus eventually decides on joining Cassius because he sees it as the healthier alternative for the Roman Republic. He murders Caesar with the group and the repercussion is brutal. Antigone in the play by Sophocles makes the choice of following divine law over civil law, deciding to bury her brother Polyneices’ corpse rather than letting his soul fester in …show more content…
People can completely ruin or end lives with relative ease. Dictators throughout history have accomplished this through their selfish campaigns for their own gain. If Antigone hadn’t been a strong-willed person, her family wouldn’t have died. At the same time, If Creon wasn’t also just as strong-willed, that outcome wouldn’t be true all the same. If one of them would have broke under the pressure sooner, the lives of the family would be saved. If one of them had just seen the the trouble as not worth it and not as an issue to fight over, none of these lives would’ve been wasted. Brutus, after his group’s assassination of Caesar, costs the lives of 100 senators, his friends, his family, and many more soldiers during the subsequent civil war. If Brutus had not joined the conspiracy, maybe Caesar would be king, but these hundreds of lives would’ve been unharmed. Brutus did not think the situation through with himself enough to realize the danger posed from such an assassination and he paid the price for it, with his
The first article I read was “Sophocles’ Antigone and the Self-Isolation of the Tragic Hero” by Elizabeth Bobrick. After reading this article I have gained more information on how Antigone and Creon were similar. For example, in the article the author talks about how Antigone and Creon both isolate themselves from their family. It is also mentioned in the article how both Creon and Antigone accuse each other of being wrong which I find ironic because both characters always believed to be right due to their high egos. It is also mentioned that Antigone immediately identifies herself as a hero girl giving more reasons to why she is so egocentric. Creon tries to destroy his Philoi meaning family because he felt dishonored by Antigone who was wanting
Why did a poor black man lose a court case because he’s black? Why are girls told they have to sit and be pretty? Why does it matter if you are wealthy or poor? We are all people, aren’t we? The answer is prejudice. Harper Lee gives many examples, race, class, and gender, in her fascinating book To Kill a Mockingbird. In the town of Maycomb a white man takes a case about a black man (Tom) raping a white girl, but at court, everyone knows Tom shouldn’t be found guilty. But tom is found guilty. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place during the Great Depression. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, prejudice is shown as a good and bad thing. Prejudice is shown through race, class, and gender.
A tragic hero is a character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw, which combined with fate, results into a tragedy. The tragic hero must fall from good luck and well being to misery and misfortune. The tragic hero causes a sense of pity through the tragic downfall that weakens the character. In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone follows her own beliefs by giving her brother a proper burial, even if she has to break the law of King Creon. Because of her innocent actions, Antigone is punished unjustly and unfairly. Through her risky and unselfish actions, ability to follow her own beliefs, and perseverance Antigone is the tragic hero of this play.
As an author, Kurt Vonnegut has received just about every kind of praise an author can receive: his works held the same sway over American philosophy as did those of Jack Kerouac or J.R.R. Tolkein; his writing has received acclaim from academics and the masses alike; and three of his books have been made into feature films. Society has permanently and noticeably been altered by his writing. Through accessible language and easily-understood themes, Vonnegut has created works subtle, engrossing, and familiar. His main method for doing this is by exploiting a theme with which everyone is familiar and about which everyone has his own opinion: religion.
Antigone, a Greek a tragedy, is the third of the Three Theban Plays by Sophocles. Throughout the play, readers are introduced to few, but intriguing characters, one being the protagonist of the play, Antigone. Antigone is the tragic hero of Antigone; she presents recognition of the gods, exemplifies good virtues, and possess a fatal flaw, or hamartia. A tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat.
Around 442 BC in the city of Athens, Greece, Sophocles wrote the greatly admired tragedy, Antigone. Antigone includes many themes such as Freedom, Protection of Personal Dignity, Obedience to Civil Law, Protection of Community/Nation, Loyalty/Obligation to Family, and Observance of Religious Law. Many of the Greek tragedies that have been written include a tragic hero that has his/her tragic flaw. In Antigone there are two main characters; Creon, the tyrant king of Thebes, and Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. One of these main characters must be chosen to be the tragic hero in the story. Creon and Antigone are almost polar opposites when it comes to views of society, but their attitudes are almost identical.
The opening events of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, quickly establish the central conflict between Antigone and Creon. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices, who tried to burn down the temple of gods in Thebes, must not be given proper burial. Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and insists on the sacredness of family and a symbolic burial for her brother. Whereas Antigone sees no validity in a law that disregards the duty family members owe one another, Creon's point of view is exactly opposite. He has no use for anyone who places private ties above the common good, as he proclaims firmly to the Chorus and the audience as he revels in his victory over Polynices. He sees Polynices as an enemy to
Sophocles, a great tragedian, was the one who gave Greek tragedies their traditional form. An important part of traditional Greek tragedies is the presence of a tragic hero. All tragic heroes should have the characteristics of rank, a tragic flaw, a downfall, and a recognition of mistakes. The seemingly tragic hero is Antigone. She wants to bury her brother Polyneices even though this would be going against Creon, who is her uncle and the king. When Antigone buries Polyneices Creon sentences her to death because of it. In Antigone by Sophocles the tragic hero is not Antigone because she only meets the characteristic of a tragic flaw, hers being pride, but doesn 't meet the other three characteristics of a
Sophocles’ play Antigone is an example of when failing to consider the consequences can be fatal, as seen in the actions of the character Antigone. In the prologue, when Antigone is telling Ismene her plan to bury her brother against Creon’s decree, she says, “Ismene, I am going to bury him. Will you come?...Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way” (Sophocles, prologue). Antigone is unhappy during the prologue and acts reckless, even when informed that the punishment is a public stoning in the town square. Regardless of the punishment, Antigone is trying to protest Creon’s decree without considering the penalties that follow. Later in the book, when Antigone is being tried for violating Creon’s decree, she is disrespectful and quite rude to Creon, stating, “This talking is a great weariness: your words / Are distasteful to me” (Sophocles, scene II). Her dialogue shows her lack of sensitivity and respect towards Creon, which ultimately leads to her death. Her actions reflect the lack of consideration of the consequences and it goes to show Antigone’s bad judgment when protesting Creon’s decree.
As the tragedy concludes, the chorus issues its final words: "Pray for no more at all. For what is destined for us, men mortal, there is no escape," demonstrating how justice remains impartial to the prejudice of men; those who make imprudent judgments will ultimately suffer from the consequences of their actions. In Sophocles' Antigone, these prejudices notably surface in the form of paternalism as demonstrated through Creon's government, highlighting the importance of gender roles throughout the play. Therefore, analyzing the motif of gender roles and its effect on the definition of justice through the perspectives of Ismene, Antigone, and Creon enables the audience to understand how Sophocles' macroscopic analogy to humanity's
Throughout time society has developed a system from which humans are able to define good and bad, Ethics. Although Ethical norms have been adapted throughout the passing of time, its most intrinsic values have prevailed, enabling individuals to agree on standards of what good and bad are built on their moral standards. Morals are what give the individual the capacity to distinguish good from bad. In the ancient Greece morals were indeed the individuals perception of good, and bad however, these perceptions were greatly abided and driven by the divine laws imposed by the gods. In Antigone, a tragedy written by Sophocles, we see the how the main character defies the kings rules and stands for her own perception of what she believes is the rightful thing to do .We are able to able to see the decision chosen by the two main characters, Creon and Antigone are the ones to define and condemn their faith and the one of those who live around them. In Bernard Knox’s Introduction poet T. S. Eliot states, “Antigone did the right thing for the wrong reason”(pg53). I believe that Antigone by deciding to mourn for her dead brother does indeed the right things but for the wrongs reasons. Through her actions she evidently follows the ethical norms imposed by the Greek divine laws, but it is her moral judgment the one to ambiguously expose her true reasons, the fulfillment of an unalloyed lust, creating a rupture beyond the scopes of rationality by incarnating the simple desire of taking upon
Full of drama and tragedy, Antigone can be used to relate to current conflicts. One such conflict is that between Haemon and his father Creon. Haemon looks up to Creon with honor and pride, but as conflict arises, that relation is disassociated and new feelings grow. The first conversation between them is what initiates the downfall of their bond. While it seems that Creon is the most important person in Haemon’s life, Antigone is in fact the one that has won Haemon over.
Antigone is a play about a woman who disobeyed the King's order to not bury her brother. The play was written by the famous Greek tragedian, Sophocles, in 441 B.C. The story took place in the city of Thebes and the time period is not mentioned. The main characters introduced in the play are of Antigone, Ismene, Creon, and Haemon. The primary focus was centered on Antigone and the consequences she faces after breaking the King's orders.
It is plain to see what about the character of Antigone it is that makes this a tragedy. Tragedy is defined as a dramatic composition dealing with a serious or somber theme, and this story fits all these criteria. First of all, it involves a tragic course of events that involved both of her brothers dying and then being completely disrespected even in death. She felt she had to rectify this mistake, even though it was against the law, and the opposition was too great. Because of her attempt to rectify the injustice, even more tragic things happened to her and her family. This is why she is a tragic heroine.
and set of values. She dies with pride and no regret for she died because she acted doing what