Though Antigone is certainly the protagonist of the play, she makes her decision very early in the action -- she chooses to bury her brother despite the civil disobedience and disrespect of the State that it shows. Ismene, on the other hand, wavers between the two duties. When Antigone is caught, her sister tries to take the blame with her: "But now you're in trouble, I'm not ashamed / of suffering, too, as your companion" (Sophocles, 540-1). Though Ismene's motives might be somewhat questionable, she is at least claiming a sense of duty and companionship with her sister -- and a desire to honor her brother -- by joining in the guilt of the act against the State. Antigone will not let her, again for reasons that could be put under
One possible explanation for Antigone's refusal to let Ismene share the punishment for the act would be her love for her sister. She has no need to share the punishment, and is now the only member of the family left. Her death would mean that Antigone's and her brothers' were all in vain; the honor of the family would not matter if the family ceased to exist. Both Ismene and Antigone end up defying the State for family, making it clear which duty is ultimately stronger and more moral, at least according to Sophocles.
One interesting modern application of similar family vs. state conflicts is the illegal immigration issue that this country is now dealing with, especially regarding Hispanic workers. Most of these people are very law-abiding, and do not set out to subvert the State, but in order to feed and support their families, it is something they feel they must do. Many of them face punishment for it, too, though generally not as harsh as what occurs in this play. The family tends to show itself as most important in drama and in life.
Works Cited
Sophocles. Antigone. Ian Johnston, trans. Accessed 5 March 2009. http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/sophocles/antigone.htm
43). In The Odyssey, Jocasta demonstrates loyalty to her family by urging Odysseus to give up his pursuit for the truth. She literally begs him to stop quarrelling with Creon but he refuses to listen to her. He becomes obsessed to Jocasta's demise. When he tells his wife, "I will not listen; the truth must be made known" (Sophocles Oedipus 825), she knows that she has lost her husband. The
Sophocles According to Aristotle, the tragic hero's suffering results from an error (hamartia) he or she makes. Does Antigone make a mistake, and if so, of what kind? Sophocles wrote the play Antigone in 441 BC in which the emotions of loyalty, love and honor are found in conflict of each other as Antigone ignores Creon's law and follows that of the Gods, by burying her brother, Polynices who otherwise has died
It is interesting to note that this fact is not scorned by anyone in the story, and that the incestuous relationship was officially sanctioned by Jacob's uncle Laban, who gave Jacob "his daughter Rachel as wife also" (Genesis 30: 28). Whereas incest functions as merely an aside in the story of Jacob, it is the primary plot function in Myrrha's tale. All of her woes descend from the fact
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Antigone suggests that Creon has defied the divine law even though he claims to promote lawful behavior, suggesting that he violate ritual and that it is her duty to change that, "Hate and scorn and shame have followed us, we two, living with hell's own curse... now Creon makes an enemy of our own flesh and blood" (Braun 22). Antigone argues that her actions are done out of love,
Tragedy in the Oedipus Trilogy Sophocles is considered to be one of the greatest Greek dramatists, and remains among the most renowned playwrights even today. The Greek tragedy is one of the most influential genres of literary and theatrical history on the modern drama and theatre. The theatre of ancient Greece was inspired by the worship of Dionysus, and the performance of plays was considered to be a religious experience for
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