Pride Is More Important Than Family In Antigone

For most people family is the most important thing in their life. But what if you had to choose between honoring your family and obeying the law? What would you do? In the play Antigone by Sophocles, a woman named Antigone is faced with a very difficult decision. If she decides to honor her dead brother she may be persecuted and put to death but if she leaves her brother’s body to decay without performing a ritual he will have a terrible afterlife. Antigone decides that family always comes first and perform the forbidden ritual on her brother. She is eventually prosecuted for her actions and later on kills herself. Personally, I agree with Antigone. To a certain extent, family should come first. In my opinion, family is almost always more important than authority. But, according to the play, it depends. Based on the results of everyone's actions I think that the play believes family is more important than authority. Creon punishes Antigone for choosing family over authority and as a result the members of his family all die.

Family is very important and is shown through many ways in society. That family will often be more important than the authority or law. Within the play Antigone, Sophocles shows many situations where the characters are forced to choose between law or family. Throughout Antigone, Sophocles proves his strong devotion to family, even more. Sophocles shows this through the actions of Antigone, Creon and Haimon and the choices that they make throughout the play.

Creon tried to shut Antigone down by arguing that what she did was wrong, but it was useless. Antigone stood her ground and remained loyal to her family and beliefs. Some of Creon's counterclaims were the fact that it was the law and she should’ve followed it no matter who it was that she was burying. Antigone returns this by saying that Creon doesn’t have the power to change what the gods want. In the passage, Antigone states, “Nor did I think your edict had such force that you, a mere mortal, could override the gods, the great unwritten, unshakable traditions.”

After analyzing the whole story of Antigone and Creon, I decided to choose the side of Antigone. I understand that Polyneices was a traitor to Thebes and I also understand the frustration of Creon, but when I put myself in the shoes of Antigone, I think I will feel the same thing she felt. I do not think that I will be happy if one of my family members was treated like that no matter what he/she did. Polyneices already got his punishment, he is death from his wrongdoing. So the least thing that Creon can do is to allow his family to bury him. Creon’s proposition is very disrespectful for Antigone’s family. I think Antigone did the right thing by fighting for what is wright.

Antigone’s stubbornness and loyalty to her brother led Creon to become very prideful, as he would not change his mind about Antigone’s punishment. Although Antigone knew it was against Creon’s order to bury her brother, she insisted that she would bury him to prevent being “caught betraying him” (Sophocles, 58). When Creon found out that Antigone had disobeyed his order, he became very upset and prideful, as he was a new king and wanted to look as if he had his kingdom under control. Thus, Creon wouldn’t change Antigone’s punishment, insisting that “no woman’s going to govern” him (Sophocles, 600) and ordered her to death as a punishment.

I do think Antigone was right about burying her brother; but I can see why Creon didn’t want Polyneics buried. If you truly love you sibling you will forgives their faults, sometimes it’s hard and may take a while for you to forgive them. Antigone did know that Polyneic did wrong and shouldn’t have FULL honor in the underworld but she wanted him to have SOME honor in the underworld. She wanted him to have some dignity left not left out to be eaten by the birds and the dogs. When she didn’t deny that she was trying to bury Polyneic it shows that she was willing to take the punished that the king proclaimed and she thought this through and know what the confes where.

The larger issue between Creon and Antigone are whether family members should be above the law. I personally think that Creon is wrong but his point of view is that if he allows Antigone to get away with trying to

Pride is a quality that all people possess in one way or another. Some people take pride in their appearance, worldly possessions, or position in society. The story of Antigone written by Sophocles has two characters who have a tragic flaw of pride. I will show how Creon’s pride of power leads to his destruction, and how Antigone’s pride makes her an honorable character who should be treated as a hero.

In Antigone, the main character, Antigone, wants to abide by the law of the gods and bury her beloved brother. Creon, the king of thebes, has made his own law of the land that prohibits the burial of Antigone’s brother, Polyneices. Creon has an overwhelming amount of pride and ignores any wisdom brought before him. Because of Creon’s blindsided thoughts, Antigone is sentenced to death. Later in the story Haemon, Creon’s son, challenges Creon’s decision but Creon ends up ignoring Haemon’s wisdom because Creon thinks he is right.

In life people have to make difficult choioes between family and authority. Decisions nro hard to make. Family is vory important, for example if a family member in dying then you might go ngainst the authority of the police and speed to if it the emergency room, Authority is important but overall came down to it which one come first in the play sophodes dearty believes that family is most Antigone.S important. think in the play Antigone. Sophodes dearly believe that family is most important because in the play antigone, antigone want to bury her brother. hard a This was a very decision for because he life was on the line. creon stated that anybody who bury will be stoned to polymeices death. Antigone went against the king order to give her

Antigone has the strong belief that loyalty to the dead and to the gods has precedence over all other opinions, specifically those of Creon. Antigone does not at all care that the one with all governing power has the most disagreement with her decision to remain devoted to her family below. “Since I must please those below a longer time than the people here, for I shall lie there forever” (Sophocles 16). She knows and understands that time in the mortal world has a limit, however time in the underworld is eternal. Pleasing Creon and his belief to only stay true to civil laws are of no concern to Antigone, for all she wants is to please her family below and the gods above. An example of this is the burial of Polynices, because while it is right in Antigone’s eyes, Creon believes it is foolish and a sin

In the play Creon rejects the burial of Polyneices but still seems to value family heavily. When Creon speaks with Haemon he expresses that he should listen to his father’s choice over anything else “Stand by your father’s ideas in all things.” (Page 37), showing that Creon values family honor. Sophocles shows moments of family love throughout the play, Creon knows letting Antigone go after burying her brother is the right thing to do so he makes the decision to let her go free for the action she performed “I myself, since my judgement has turned and seen better ways, I bound her up and I will go and release her.” (Page 54), this shows that Creon truly loves Antigone and chose family over authority by freeing her. As Haemon finds out Antigone has hanged herself, in

Antigone believed that the actions she took were done for the right reason, because they adhere to the law of the Gods. In opposition to that, Creon believes that the actions he had taken were in fact the right ones, because he believed that Polyneices was a traitor to the land, and that anyone who should give him a proper burial would suffer the penalty of death. So, the actions that were taken by both of them individually were the right ones, in their own minds at least.<br><br>Antigone, in her plan to give her brother Polyneices a proper burial, kept in mind the consequences that she would suffer for having followed through with the plan. This doesn't necessarily mean that Antigone does not obey the human law that is set up by King Creon, it just means that this particular rule conflicted with the law of the Gods, something that Antigone believes highly in obeying, especially when it deals with her family. Antigone disregards the Olympian Justice that governs the land and also presides over the set laws that make civilized life attainable (Segal "Antigone" 172).<br><br>Antigone goes up against human law, by burying her brother Polyneices, knowing well that she will have to sacrifice her own life. She does this only because it is morally and ethically right, and this is why she stakes her life based upon her strong beliefs (Segal

Antigone retaliates by saying that his law is not that of the Gods so it does not stand. He wants to have Antigone killed, but his son his her fiancé. He tries to explain to the king that the gods would have wanted Polyneices to be buried and that Antigone did the right thing that she should not be punished for it. Creon’s hubris however comes out yet again. He will not even listen to a word his son has to say; however now he does not want to kill her, but to send her away into a tomb, where the Gods can determine her fate.

Polyneices was left to be picked at by birds as a result of his actions were discerned as opposing the state. However, Antigone perceived the situation much differently. Antigone took on the task of burying her brother, “My honours for the dead must last much longer than for those up here” (Sophocles 92-93). She explains how her honors for the dead have to last longer, meaning that the dead are far more significant than ‘those up here’ who are the living. Antigone recognizes that she will be with the dead far longer than the living so she prioritizes what she does for the dead over the living. She understands that burial is a tradition going back to the gods, so a mortal king has no value to her. This demonstrates the clear differences between Creon and Antigone as for Creon would never go against the state while Antigone would, if she