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  • Essay / Destiny and Free Will in Sophocles' Antigone

    In the play Antigone by Sophocles, a tragic thing happens where Antigone and Creon are torn between law and family. The law clearly states that "Polyneices returned from exile with the intention of burning and destroying his homeland and the gods of his homeland, of drinking the blood of his parents, of making them slaves." He must have no grave, no burial, no mourning from anyone; it's forbidden. The king of the time is Creon and he forbade the burial of the fallen warrior, even if it is a family, no matter if his family or the law is immoral, it is still the law and Antigone is in the wrong for the actions she committed. did it, regardless of the circumstances. But the law is stupid and seems to have been created in the heat of the moment. In a way that you can argue on either side, was Antigone right to not obey the law and put family first or is the law so powerful that nothing else should have any importance? importance. The role of fate and free will plays an important role in all of the plays that Sophocles wrote, especially in Antigone in particular, and it really shows. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Throughout the Thebaan plays, you learned about family. Polyneices was exiled from the kingdom and virtually rejected by his family. He becomes the leader of his army as they fight in a war for power and what's even crazier is that he's fighting his own younger brother. Meanwhile, Antigone begs Polyneices to bring her army back to Argos and end this fight: “Order your army to return to Argos; now, before it's too late to save you and our city from destruction. and Polyneices defends himself and proves his point. “Must I bear the insult of exile and the mockery of a younger brother? Polynices has gained a lot of respect for himself and wants to prove to himself that he can be great and that he does not deserve what happened to him. But it's so obvious that he cares so much for his sisters and wants them to be safe. “May the gods be good to you. God knows you deserved it. For someone so frowned upon, he seems like a stand-up man who would do anything he could to protect his family. The saddest part is that her family doesn't even seem to want to give her the chance to regain her trust in the family, with the exception of Antigone. She shows this when she speaks to her sister Ismene about the burial of Polyneices. “Is he not my brother and yours, whether you like it or not? I will never, ever give up on him. » At the time the plays were written, women's rights didn't really exist. It seemed that their fate was being decided for them. The good thing about Sophocles' plays is that we don't see as much hatred towards women, but rather about family and respect for each other. In the play Antigone, you see Antigone and Creon share a moment that shows that Antigone is free to speak her mind; “So why delay?” There is nothing you can say that I would want to hear. It was at this time that Creon's guards had captured Antigone as she attempted to properly bury her brother Polyneices. The guards capture her and bring her to Creon where he tells her that death is the order for those who defy the king's laws. But it's very interesting to see that Creon lets her speak. She does not defend herself but simply tries to explain why her faith is to proceed with the burial of her brother Polyneices. King Creon lets her talk, he listens to her because it is very obvious that he is letting his family play a very small role in hisdecision to let her speak so aggressively towards him. Creon shows that his fate has already been decided and that nothing can change his mind, no matter how many try. King Creon decided his fate using the law as a defense mechanism. He would make sure that everyone in the country respected him and did what he said. He clarified that no one was authorized to carry out the burial of the polynices. “It must not be buried, it must be eaten by dogs and vultures.” (Sophocles; Theban Plays, Antigone, page 131.) He decided his fate so that no one would defile him. This comes back to bite him in the butt when his son commits suicide after learning of Antigone's death. “Hamon is dead, killed by his own people.” After learning this bad news, his wife also ends up committing suicide. “She is dead, your wife, the mother of the dead man.” Creon was not able to accept the fact that he was wrong. He decided his own destiny and it ended up hurting him more than anything. If only he had let his free will get the best of him, he could have seen the truth of everything. He let his power reign get the better of him. Family is the most powerful thing in the world and Sophocles made that clear by writing this play. Antigone is a woman who lives in a time where women are considered property and one of the greatest things Sophocles did is not let the inequality between men and women affect the game. Destiny of Antigone was to bury her brother honorably, she promised and she was going to make sure of it. She doesn't care that Creon forbade it. Her fate is decided and she explains it when she speaks with her sister Ismene, telling her: “He has no right to take me away from my family.” (Sophocles; Theban plays, Antigone, page 128). A woman acting like this at the time Sophocles wrote this would be in serious trouble. Antigone sees herself as having the free will to speak as she wishes. She responds to King Creon after being captured and it is something very impressive that would not be done by someone during this time period. “Even so, we have a duty to the dead. » Antigone made it her duty to give her brother a proper burial. She lived in a spirit where she had free will and didn't care what others had to say about it. It is very impressive that someone from that era like Sophocles was able to right something that was so ahead of its time. Women were able to think for themselves and have their own destiny and it's amazing to read. Then the ending was both tragic and spectacular. Afterwards, Creon sees all the people he loves die before him. He sees that his destiny has been destroyed. Creon noticed that free will was once available to him, but now this is no longer the case, his family is gone and the people who mattered most to him have disappeared. The chorus respects the law with Creon and we can tell that they are annoyed by it and know that they were wrong. “My last most beautiful hour, my only happiness is coming soon. Don't let me see another day. Away". He wanted to die, all his happiness was gone. He let power control his destiny, you can say he considered his free will the way he ruled everyone and the laws he made. Se cheating is something that can bring a man to his knees. Sophocles showed Creon as a weak leader who didn't care about anyone and used his power to control his destiny Antigone is the type of character many people wish they could be. the sense of caring and free will she possesses She spoke for herself and showed that equality and immoral laws cannot change..