The Evil of Disobedience Disobedience of the law leads to punishment if a person is caught. When people do not do as they are told, things tend to turn out differently than if they had been done like they are supposed to. In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, the protagonist Antigone plays a major role in the events that take place when she disobeys and commits her crime against the state. Antigone is to blame for the madness that occurs after burying Polynices because she knowingly defies Creon’s orders and disobeys the law of the land. Antigone plots the burial of her brother in a conversation with her sister, Ismene. She continuously tries to sway Ismene to help her and is adamant that she will bury her brother, no matter the consequence. …show more content…
Creon talks to his son about his obstinate bride. His son, Haemon, tries to sway his father, but it is no use. Creon tells him that, “No evil is worse than disobedience. This one thing destroys cities, turns homes upside down, it leads to the rout of allied armies;” (684-686). Turning houses upside down is exactly what it did. Antigone's actions turn Haemon against his father and puts Creon’s household to be at odds. Creon further explains Antigone’s disobedience when he says, “You see how, in the winter storms, the trees yield that save even their twigs, but those who oppose it are destroyed root and branch” (724-726). If Antigone had been flexible like a tree and gone with his orders, she would have been saved, but instead she chose to go against him and will now be punished for her actions. Antigone is also the main reason for Haemon’s demise. Creon is made aware of this when one of his guards tells him, “Haemon is lost. His blood was spilled by a familiar hand” (1181-1182). The conversation continues and the guard says that the familiar hand was, “Himself, angry with his father for the murder” (1184). Creon loses his son and later his wife, angry over Haemon’s death. If Antigone had followed the law, she would have prevented the deaths of Haemon, Eurydice, and herself. Due to her stubbornness, Creon loses his family and she loses her own
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.
Humanity is often faced with ambivalence towards law; at once, we find it a necessity in attempting to deal with a world which is constantly in some type of chaotic turmoil, and also as a glaring flaw in our society, which can at times result in more chaos than was originally had. This conflict is no more obvious than in Sophocles’ Antigone. Antigone, the character, represents half of the struggle between what the law says is just and what we inherently deem to be morally upstanding – Creon represents the opposing side which views law and power as the ultimate dictator of life’s unraveling. Though Antigone is ultimately thwarted, she is on the side of justice rather than blindly following the law. Antigone’s empathy while breaking the law
Antigone’s motivation is love for her family- she puts it above all else. In fact, she is willing to sacrifice her life to defend that love. Antigone goes to great lengths to bury her deceased brother, who according to an edict issued by King Creon, died in dishonor, consequently making it illegal for anyone to bury his body. Through her actions to comply with her motivations, it is revealed that Antigone’s actions are also fueled by her strong beliefs that, first, the gods’ laws
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.
One has the capability to determine from right and wrong and having the determination to stand up for what one believes in, no matter what the price is. In Sophocles’ Antigone, a written dramatic play, Sophocles portrays the theme that at times of one’s life, it is necessary to follow moral law and ignore political law. In the play, a determined and courageous woman named Antigone is loyal to her beloved brother by granting him a proper burial and having to suffer the consequences for revolting. Throughout Antigone, several incidents occurred where the political law was of no importance to the individual. Conflicts between Antigone and Ismene and then with Creon and Antigone are examples of the theme. The theme also ties with the
It was soon discovered what Antigone had done. Creon her to be executed and was imprisoned in a cave. Her fiancé, Haemon, son of Creon, begged his father to let her go. He finally agreed but he was too late, Antigone had hanged herself. Haemon was devastated that his love was dead, so he committed suicide. At the news, Creon's wife and Haemon’s mother, queen Eurydice, commits suicide fulfilling Creon’s fate of being responsible for his family’s death. Antigone lines 1335-1336 “From suffering that has been/ Decreed no man will ever find escape”.
We read that Creon has issued a law that if anyone buries the body of Polyneices they will be sentenced to death. Antigone plans to bury her brother regardless of the law set into place. She is going to try and do it in secrecy and to avoid detection. She asks her sister, Ismene, to join her in the burial, but she refuses. At this point in the play the you realize the fear setting in. Ismene believes
Even if he believes he is right and his son should obey him, he doesn’t show an ounce of sympathy for Haemon, who loves Antigone. Creon details his thoughts on the importance of the rule of law over other loyalties, and his belief that to allow any anarchy or, seemingly, freedom would threaten the state. Creon’s method of executing Antigone is interesting. By entombing a living person, Antigone, and denying burial to a dead person, Polynices, Creon’s laws seem to go against common sense, tradition, and nature itself. Creon does not keep a cool head, as a wise leader should, or look for a way to compromise. He is as stubborn as Antigone, as if this were a street fight, he feels he could never back down.
Actions speak louder than words in the case of civil disobedience just actions speak louder than unjust written law. When it comes to civil disobedience there are many examples of it throughout history. There are times when it has made things better and times when it had made things worse. However what exactly is civil disobedience and when is the appropriate time to use it. It is an act by someone in order to get the message out of something they believe is wrong. In most situations civil disobedience is used to fight an institutionalized law that is unfair to a certain group. However some people miss use civil disobedience or just have poor timing or no plan for how to enact it. Some may say that these act of defiance against the government
Civil disobedience is the purposeful violation of a law to show that it is unconstitutional or morally defective. In the plays, Antigone and Trifles, the female main characters commit an act of civil disobedience. The plays are respectively written by Sophocles and Susan Glaspell. Antigone, the main character of Antigone, protects her dead brother's honor as she disobeys the laws of King Creon. Mrs. Hale, the main character of Trifles prevents a neighbor from being charged with homicide as she breaks the law in front of two lawmen-The Sheriff and the County Attorney. Both characters' crimes are similar; however, their differences lie in how they handle their violations. Antigone
Until Creon follows the simple burial rites, numerous misfortunes, including the deaths of his loved ones, will occur as a result of his actions. One may think that Creon must challenge the Gods because Antigone challenges his laws; however, fear of the Gods and guilt motivate Antigone to defy Creon. Antigone’s defiance does not lead to the deaths of others because she defies an individual who did not follow the law, while Creon’s disobedience ends in violence.
In Antigone, Antigone’s brothers kill each other in battle. One is giving a proper burial, and the other is not because he is believed to be a trader to the kingdom. Antigone is angered by this and decides that she is going to properly bury her
Antigone's decision to bury her brother caused harm to many people. First, she tried to convince her sister Ismene to help her. She did this by trying to make Ismene feel guilty if she did not; stating it was Ismene's brother too. She says after Ismene tells her she is on a hopeless quest "If you say so, you will make me hate you and the hatred of the dead, by all rights, will haunt you day and night."(Act I: Scene I: Line 57) This threat brings Antigone farther apart from the only living family member that she has left. She has her mind set so much on burying her brother that she will stop at nothing, not even threatening her opposing sister to do it. Since Ismene has been through the same
Sophocles believed that it was significant that the law of a persons conscience supersedes the law of the state. Antigone overlooks the law of the state and follows her heart to do what she knows is morally right, opposed to a law created by a human with high authority. She understands that the consequences are heavy for the act, however, she courageously concluded that the importance of the act was greater than the consequences.
By definition, civil disobedience is when people refuse to abide by the law because they believe it is unjust. Civil disobedience is present in today’s world in many ways. Furthermore, it is displayed throughout the play Antigone by Sophocles due to the main character Antigone, who goes against King Creon of Thebes’ laws and never denies her actions. She wishes to give her brother Polyneices the proper burial that she believes he deserves. Antigone continuously carries pride in her actions, even when her sister Ismene does not believe in her ideas. Modern civil disobedience occurs in the articles “Saudi Arabia women defy authorities over female driving ban,” “Rosa Parks leaves challenge to consider justness of laws,” and “Largest Civil Disobedience in Walmart History Leads to More Than 50 Arrests.” All of these articles portray independent activists who attempt to make a change in the unjust laws of their political systems. Civil disobedience is displayed throughout the Greek play, which relates to the actions of multiple people regarding modern day civil disobedience.