Ismene In The Character Of Antigone

While Antigone represents a full devotion to humanism, her sister, Ismene, represents not only the rejection of it, but also passivity towards the notion of morality which, in a sense, is equivalent to Creon’s treachery towards what we hold morally sacred. Ismene has long been used as a symbol of both anti-politics and anti-humanism, which creates a dynamic plot by contrasting the cowardly fear to stand up for one’s concept of what is right with a brazen display of self-fulfilled justice. (2) What’s worse may be Ismene’s knowledge of her cowardliness and complete complacency, as seen when talking to Antigone about her plan to bury their slain brother when sharing her fear of punishment, " Think how we’ll die far worse than all the rest, if we defy the law and move against the

Within the first few hundred lines of Antigone, Sophocles shapes the reader’s perception of Antigone and her philosophical beliefs. When speaking to her sister, Ismene, about her plan to bury their brother, Antigone states “I’ll do what’s honorable, and then I’ll die” (Sophocles, 750). Antigone’s willingness to die for a cause that she feels is honorable and right demonstrates a particular value in regards to her philosophies on right and wrong. Antigone demonstrates that the conflicting nature of her beliefs and the king’s beliefs on the right way to deal with Polyneikes’ death will not hold her back from doing what she believes is right.

Like Creon, Antigone also never falters in standing up for what she believes in. Although Creon fights for stubborn pride, Antigone is trying to promote what is right and shows her higher reverence for God’s law rather than for Creon’s laws. In the eyes of the townspeople, Chorus, Choragos, and Haimon, Antigone is sacrificing herself to give her brother Polyneices the rightful honors due to the dead. Many side with this brave, honorable girl because she would rather suffer persecution and even death rather than give into Creon’s illogical demands. In the play, the chorus says about her, “You have made your choice, Your death is the doing of your conscious hand”. Antigone knew of the consequences before she acted and in doing so she chose her fate. At the time, she pleaded her sister Ismene to help her bury Polyneices but was rejected. Despite being alone in trying to rebel and perhaps she may have been afraid, Antigone goes out of her way and puts her life on the line to bring her brother respect.

Not all women however are as willful as Antigone. Her own sister, Ismene, portrays a women reluctant to follow what she feels is right in her own mind and follow the laws set by the governing state. Ismene’s words to Antigone, “I do them no dishonour, but to act against the city’s will I am to weak.” (Ismene,

When she finds out that Antigone is disobeying Creon, she becomes very worried. Ismene says she cannot act against the law and that the consequences of acting against the laws put fears in her. Ismene being righteous interferes with her decision of whether she is to help her sister or not. Eventually Ismene recants and wants to help Antigone with the illegal burial of their brother Polyneices but Antigone rejects. Ismene recanting angers her sister; She feels that Ismene should of chose her in the first place but it is now too late because Antigone does not want the hep. Without the help of Ismene, Antigone gets caught by the guard for trying to bury her brother Polynices for a second time. If Ismene did please her sister and decide to help in the first place would Antigone of got

Within this Narrative, Antigone frequently uses the emotional values of others to convince them of what she believes to be right.The first illustration of this phenomenon is when Antigone compares her willingness to face death as the result of giving her brother an honorable burial, to her sister Ismene's unwillingness in doing the same.The main character feels as though it is her personal and moral obligation to retrieve the afterlife that’s been taken from her brother.Therefore, she does not agree in abiding by Creon's man-made legislation and makes it her mission to concede to the laws of the gods. Asking for her sister's help, she hopes to obtain reliability, only to find her too intimidated by Creon, Their uncle, and king. Accordingly,

In the second episode, Creon's Sentry captures Antigone at Polynices' graveside. When Antigone is brought before Creon, she proudly admits that the Sentry's recount of the story is true and that she buried Polynices. Creon suspects that Ismene, Antigone's sister, is also involved. However, Antigone contemptuously recounts her sister's earlier refusal to assist him. In this scene, Antigone is shown to be a woman with extreme pride, arrogance, and stubbornness. She states again and again that she is just following the dictates of the gods and is not willing to listen to Creon's logic. When Ismene is brought in, Antigone treats her with contempt and appears very harsh. This shows a very inflexible and hard character.

She goes against the law of the king and buries her brother, Polyneices. Once Antigone came up with the idea of burying her brother; she decides to go to her sister, Ismene, for help. Ismene is appalled by the thought of going against the king. Ismene yells at her sister, in fear of Antigone’s safety, “We are only women! We cannot fight with men!” (816). This statement shows how frightened women were of going against a man’s orders, but, of course, Antigone showed no fear. She speaks confidently, “Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way.” (816). After the crime had been committed, Creon calls Antigone to his court and asks if what he had been told was true; Antigone did not deny a word. This shocks Creon mostly because he thought a man committed the crime; “I swear by God and by the throne of God, The man who has done this will pay!” (823). Antigone went against the typical behavior of a woman and took a stand for what she believes in. If she was going to die, she thought, she might as well die with honor; “I knew I must die, even without your decree. I am only mortal. And if I must die now, before it is my time to die, surely this is no hardship,” (827). Even though at the end of the play Antigone gets sentenced to lifetime in a cave, she shows it does not matter the gender; anyone is can stand up for what they believe

There are those who will praise you; I shall have honor, too. ”(213) Even though Antigone is mad at Ismene, she doesn't want her sister to experience her downfall. Antigone has accepted her fate, and having someone else get hurt to lessen the blame isn't worth removing another family member from the world. Every tragic hero has a fatal flaw and

In the play Antigone by Sophocles the play is about Antigone getting punished for honoring her family. Therefore, the tragic hero of the play is Antigone because of her pride and defiance. First my reason for choosing Antigone as the tragic hero is because of her pride. Antigone’s sense of pride helped her constantly try to give her brother a proper burial. According to Page 2, Antigone States “ I will go and heap a mound of earth over my brother”(70-71).

Later that day Antigone went back to finish the burial she discovered someone had undone what she had done. When the guards discovered it was her they immediately took her to Creon to tell him that it was her. When Creon asked if it she did it. Antigone did not deny anything. They ended up getting into an argument. He calls for Ismene to come and he ask Ismene if she is guilty too. She said yes but Antigone told her that you did not do anything so don’t try to take credit for something that you didn’t do. Creon had enough of the girls arguing and sent them away. Haimon Creon’s son and Antigonies fiancé came in and started telling his father that everything he does is not always right and he should let people help him even if its not what you want to do. Teiresias came and told Creon he had to

The main themes of Antigone are honor and bravery based on Antigone's actions to help her beloved brother even in tragedy. Antigone is the daughter of King Oedipus and sister to her brother Polynices, who has been required by law not be buried by the new king. A brave Antigone is determined to defy the law and fights for justice of her brother, "I am not afraid of the danger, if it means death/ It will not be the worst of deaths-death without honor." She also convinces her sister, Ismene to join her in the uprising, but Ismene refuses, fearing death will be the punishment for her as well.

Ismene, the vigorous girl of the family, does as told and follows the laws. When she finds out that Antigone is disobeying Creon, she becomes perturbed. Ismene says she cannot act against the law and that the consequences of acting against the laws put fears in her. Ismene being righteous interferes with her decision of whether to help her sister or not. Eventually Ismene recants and wants to help Antigone with the illegal burial of their brother Polyneices, unfortunately Antigone rejects. Ismene recanting angers her sister; She feels that Ismene should of chose her in the first place and now the option of helping no longer exists. Without the help of Ismene, Antigone obtains entanglement by the guard for the strenuous entombment of her brother

In contrary Ismene is docile and someone who follow the laws at all costs. She said, “we are women” stating a woman’s position in society and obligated to obey by the law. She doesn’t agree with her sister Antigone, since is prohibiting for women to have a voice during those times. Ismene believe that women should never violate the laws of man who were guide by the gods. Antigone will carry out the forbidden burial alone, nevertheless she seeks futilely the complicity of her sister Ismene. Ismene without endorsing the established power by King Creon, discreetly folds to it, became a passive collaborator of the system implemented by him.

Not only is Antigone courageous and highly motivated by her morals by standing up for her political and religious beliefs, she also protects her personal ones when she buries her brother. Antigone places family above her own life, and she refuses to let a man stand in her way of maintaining her ideals. She buries Polynices out of her own loyalty to her brother even after her sister, Ismene, refuses. Antigone is cruel to her for not taking part in illegally burying their brother. Instead of being caring and considerate, she becomes irate and at the end of their conversation says, "Go away Ismene: I shall be hating you soon, and the dead will too, for your hateful words," Antigone's flaw was her headstrong behavior and her stubbornness, which ultimately brought about her downfall and the downfall of those around her. Her persistence of course, is what forces Antigone to rashly take matters in to her own hands. Creon then decides to take Antigone's life "Away with her at once, and close her up in her rock-vaulted tomb. Leave her and let her die". To everyone's surprise Antigone does not run from her death sentence suggesting a great trait of braveness, which the chorus recognizes before her exodus from life. The notion that a person has no say in the affairs of their loved ones and the fact that those laws were defied deserves