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  • Essay / The law of the gods or the state in Antigone by Sophocles

    The state of Thebes cursed by many tragedies, where two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, fought for the crown of Thebes after death and curse of their father, Oedipus. When the two brothers die of each other, the new king of Thebes, Creon, their uncle and brother-in-law of Oedipus, must decide how to organize their funeral ceremonies. The characters in Sophocles' "Antigone" turn out to have divergent opinions on the question of their burials, which leads them to provoke contradictory decisions. Antigone and Ismene, the last two living children of Oedipus, are perplexed to find that Creon had decided to organize only one ceremony for Eteocles and none for Polyneices; thus, Creon and Antigone fight against each other to demonstrate loyalty to their family or to respect the laws imposed by the state. Antigone sees Creon's decision as opposition to the laws of the gods. For when she says to Ismene: “You can do what you want, because apparently the laws of the gods mean nothing to you” (Sophocles 475). Antigone takes steps to bury her brother's corpse, knowing full well that Creon would refuse to allow this to happen, leading Ismene to agree with her sister but also with the law of Creon's state. Many critics consider Creon's violation of unwritten civil laws to be corrupt, but many also view his decision as an act of righteousness. As he said: “For some he is a patriot, sincere in his convictions, but narrow-minded in his conception and obstinate in the application of his duty to the State. For others, he is the tyrant, selfish and suspicious, whose awareness of the insecurity of his position impels him to assert his power…” (Peterkin 263). By denying Polyneices her right to a proper burial, Creon dictated his rule over the right of the people, while Antigone declares the right of the people and the law of the gods over the established laws of the state. Antigone and Creon's violation of differently proposed laws gives Sophocles the opportunity to say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay The state of Thebes cursed by many tragedies, where two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, fought for the crown of Thebes after the death and curse of their father, Oedipus. When the two brothers die of each other, the new king of Thebes, Creon, their uncle and brother-in-law of Oedipus, must decide how to organize their funeral ceremonies. The characters in Sophocles' "Antigone" turn out to have divergent opinions on the question of their burials, which leads them to provoke contradictory decisions. Antigone and Ismene, the last two living children of Oedipus, are perplexed to find that Creon had decided to organize only one ceremony for Eteocles and none for Polyneices; thus, Creon and Antigone fight against each other to demonstrate loyalty to their family or to respect the laws imposed by the state. Antigone sees Creon's decision as opposition to the laws of the gods. For when she says to Ismene: “You can do what you want, because apparently the laws of the gods mean nothing to you” (Sophocles 475). Antigone takes steps to bury her brother's corpse, knowing full well that Creon would refuse to allow this to happen, leading Ismene to agree with her sister but also with the law of Creon's state. Many critics consider Creon's violation of unwritten civil laws to be corrupt, but many also view his decision as an act of righteousness. As he said: "For some, he is a patriot, sincere in his convictions, but narrow-minded in hisconception and obstinate in the application of his duty towards the State. For others, he is the tyrant, selfish and suspicious, whose awareness of the insecurity of his position impels him to assert his power…” (Peterkin 263). By denying Polyneices her right to a proper burial, Creon dictated his rule over the right of the people, while Antigone declares the right of the people and the law of the gods over the established laws of the people's state. Antigone and Creon's violation of the differently proposed laws gives Sophocles an even greater plot to leave his viewers and readers in doubt: who is right between each of their decisions? I support Antigone's assertion because Creon oversteps the powers in which he has no decision, the right of the people. Perseverance has a crucial role played by Antigone and is responsible for sparking the conflict, man versus man, between her and Creon. The conflict, man against man, induces the theme of the play, which is largely the theme of destiny, but it also induces the heroine of Antigone. She persists in burying her brother's corpse, even when her sister refuses to get involved in her project. Antigone believes that all citizens should be aware of her actions and that nothing will stop her from doing what she recognizes is right, even if it results in her "death". Most critics consider Antigone to be a strong-minded character and is even implied by Ismene in the prologue. According to William Robert, “If tragedy is a matter of excess, of surpassing and even surpassing ultimate limits, then Antigone is the representative figure, for Antigone is excessive.” Antigone is an excessive character through her conversations with Ismene and with Creon. Antigone must be a persistent character to be true to her excessive behavior and defend the rights of the people of Thebes. Antigone's fact as a persistent and excessive person, also stubborn, leads to her predictable fate. The central idea of ​​destiny is defined in the play as the development of events and actions undertaken by the characters, as they accomplish what is set and destined for them. To act like an excessive person would, you must first have a consistent mindset focused on the goals you want to achieve, which ends in acting with persistence. An excessive person is one who goes above and beyond their task and accomplishes more than what they set out to do. Antigone proves her excessive character by confirming that she will bury Polyneices' body without first speaking to Creon and without holding back her intentions. She creates more tension when she performs a physical action against state law than a verbal action towards Creon, thus creating a significant event. Antigone fits the definition of an excessive person and goes beyond limits, pointing the finger at her demise, to defeat Creon's said edict. Antigone is seen by most critics as a person for the people. She is a representation of the State of Thebes' version of a democracy, where citizens should have rights, and in particular the right to their opinions. As Robert further explains, Antigone is fascinating in her actions to resist Creon's dominant status towards the citizens of Thebes. Creon had highlighted the domination of the State by condemning Antigone to death, and this is why he “terrified” the people. Antigone's excessive resistance causes Creon to reconsider his decision to leave Polyneices' corpse in the "fields" and without proper burial. Although he reconsiders, Antigone unfortunately committed suicide, also with her son, Haimon, Antigone's fiancé, who committed suicide, and finally his wife, Eurydice, who also committed suicide, all because Creon did not listen to theAntigone's statements. Eurydice's death is what completes Creon's regret, which he would never have had to face if he had considered Haimon's argument to reason with Antigone and do good for the people of Thebes. Creon says: “And the city offers to teach me how to govern? (Sophocles 482) and in response to Creon, Haimon remarks: “Ah. Who is talking like a boy now? Antigone's actions in burying her brother, after his death in the Thebesian civil war, expose Creon's excessive authority to the citizens and realize his plan for the people's justice. Only afterwards does Creon realize his mistake in punishing Antigone, but his realization was too late and he could not repair the damage he had done to his reputation by the people. Antigone, as we said before, is provoked by the conflict to become a heroine against Creon and his overwhelmed power. It is evident how much Creon views women as subordinate to men, when he speaks of Antigone, calling her a "woman" and implying that she has fewer rights and virtues than he does. Once again he craves power, but this time specifically over women, noble or not. Creon comments: “The man who did this thing will pay for it!” Find this man and bring him here to me” (Sophocles 478). When Creon first hears of a person trying to bury Polyneices' body, he believes the attacker to be a man and does not hesitate to think that this person is a woman. And when his son comes to him, Creon accuses him of having sold himself to a "woman", suggesting that men should only side with men other than women and seeks to make fun of his son. Haimon's main intention is to help her understand her wrongs, but Creon perceives that he is only helping Antigone. Creon seeks to imagine and create, in some sense, a state filled with women opposite to Antigone's nature, thereby reinforcing her purpose and meaning. Antigone's actions, towards Creon and the state, do not correspond to the way women would behave as such in the 5th century BC. Robert says: “This is a woman who speaks and acts inappropriately. As a woman, her “real” place in its ancient Greek context is the oikos: house, hearth, household.” Antigone has a strong will and can go beyond her limits to prove to Creon that a woman can do what a man can also do. Creon continues to fail to understand or give women any chance, leaving Antigone to her demise but ultimately being proven wrong by a woman. Another reason for the characters' "destiny" and Creon's decision to favor the state is his pride. . Creon, like Antigone, is a stubborn character, but he is quick to judge or draw a conclusion according to his own opinion, and so he bases his verbal and physical actions on his pride. His stubbornness evolves from the constant arguments he made to accuse Polyneices and Antigone against other people. Creon first asserts his pride when he admits his contempt for governors who are afraid to do what is best for their state. He believes that all decisions he makes for the state are in accordance with his own judgment, and so he presumes that he oversees all laws, including those of the gods. According to Bernard J. Paris, "Filled with the pride of being king, Creon oversteps his authority, attempting to rule where he must obey... When he is named ruler of Thebes upon the death of Oedipus's sons, Creon becomes obsessed by power. and order.” Without knowing that he would become king, as only one of his two sons was expected to die, he must have been shocked and delighted to the point of not knowing how to properly govern Thebes, which determined his failure in as king. A king should.