Fate, Loyalty, and Law in Antigone Essay - 1576 Words

Fate, Loyalty, and Law in Antigone The play Antigone by Sophocles is a play like no other. There are three major themes or ideas which have a very important role in the play. The first major theme is fate, on how the play comes about and the turn of events that come about throughout it. Another main theme or idea is the pride the characters have and their unwillingness they have to change their minds once they are set on something. The last major theme is loyalty and the practical problem of conduct involving which is a higher law between the divine laws and those of the humans. It is an issue of which law is the right law, and if Creon and Antigones acts are justifiable or not. The issues that Antigone and Creon have between them†¦show more content†¦In the first paragraph of the play it reads, My darling sister Ismene, we have had a fine inheritance from Oedipus. God has gone through the whole range of sufferings and piled them all on us, -grief upon grief, humiliation upon humiliation(1042). This just sho ws how terrible fate has treated the family of Oedipus. Creon has a different fate, one that he brought upon himself but it is much more dour than anyone elses. Creons fate was to lose all of all of his family and the rest of his life knowing it was his entire fault because of his selfish actions and his stubborn ways. In the end of the play Creon says, Nobody else to share the blame. Just me . . . I killed you. I killed you my dear(1078-1079). Pride acts as another major theme; it is what got Creon in this situation in the first place. Creon has too much pride to admit to anyone that maybe he was wrong. Even when he has Antigone he has too much pride to let her go. Creons own son questions him and he replies, Am I to stand here and be lectured to by a kid? A man of my experience(1063)!Creon shows that here he is too proud to change his decision for his own son even if he made the wrong choice. The kings friend the Leader tries to convince Creon to change his mind by telling him My king, ever since he began Ive been debuting in my mind, could this possibly be the work of the gods(1050). The Leader was trying to tellShow MoreRelatedCreon As A Tragic Hero In SophoclesAntigone1509 Words   |  7 Pagescharacter as someone who experiences an error in judgement, experiences a reversal of fortune due to the error, has an excessive pride, and receives a fate much greater than what is deserved. In Sophocles’ Antigone, many would argue that Creon is the tragic hero of the play. However, he is not alone as the recipient of tragedy. A young woman by the name of Antigone also fits the characteristics for being considered a tragic heroine. 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The sentence for anyone attempting to bury him is death by stoning. Creon has become King of Thebes byRead MoreEssay Physis vs. Nomos in Sophocles Antigone1460 Words   |  6 Pagesrebellion-inspiring tragedy Antigone. Among others, his main characters, Antigone and Creon, are representative of the two ideologies in contrast. In regards to the burial, or rather, non-burial, of Antigones slain brother Polyneices, they are constantly battling over polar positions: state against individual citizen, law against conscience, and human nature against divine nature. Ultimately, in following her conscience and sacrificing her life in defiance of nomos, Antigone is validated as a martyr