After Oedipus, the king of Thebes becomes exiled; his two sons Polynices and Eteocles become the joint rulers of Thebes. After both brothers argued over whom deserved the right to become the king, they decided to duel for the throne. Because of this dual, both brothers killed each other and now the question is who should rightfully become the next in throne. Antigone, by Sophocles was a story about a young woman, Antigone, who betrays her own uncle, Creon, to bury her brother. After reading this short play, I believe that Antigone was right to bury her own brother’s body.
I believe that Antigone is correct in burying her brother. Now, although Antigone’s brother betrayed the city of Thebes and its law of the new king, their uncle, he rightfully deserves the right to be buried. This, I believe, is because of the argument of the state Law versus divine Law. I believe that regardless of the law that is set, it is rightfully deserved to obey the laws put forth by the Gods. Of course I did. It wasn’t Zeus, not in the least, who made this proclamation—not to me. Nor did that Justice, dwelling with the gods beneath the earth, ordain such laws for men.
Nor did I think your edict had such force that you, a mere mortal, could override the gods, the great unwritten, unshakable traditions. They are alive, not just today or yesterday: they live forever, from the first of time, and no one knows when they first saw the light (Antigone 82). Antigone, in this scene, is obeying what is right of what some Gods have allowed in proper burial traditions. Although there are many Gods who have many opinions, I believe that the argument could go either way.
Regardless if you think it is right or wrong to bury the brother of Antigone, it should be allowed to do so as some Gods have agreed to such a statement. As I stated earlier, I believe that the brother of Antigone should be buried. Another reason why Antigone should be allowed to bury her brother is because of family. As anyone who has a family or is close to someone would respectfully want that individual to have a proper burial. Regardless of the circumstances of that individual’s actions, I will stand by that individual because of the family bond.
This family bond is greater than any other legal law that is obliged in my opinion. If I believe that my family member has the right to do such action that may go against the law, I would stick to my family. Family trumps any and all laws. I will stick by my family through thick and thin and argue until the ends of the earth as to why my family member is right. Finally, I believe that Antigone was right to bury her own brother for the sake of Polynices’ pride as well as her own pride.
Antigone, a woman of great pride herself, decided that her brother, Polynices, deserved a proper burial for his right. Being a woman of pride, Antigone felt compelled to bury her brother. I do not think that Antigone has any problem by burying her brother. This burial for her bother seems to be Antigone’s final actions in Polynices name. Antigone was a woman who wanted to die with some pride of her family. I believe that if an individual desires to do such an act for the sake of her family, that individual has every right to achieve their goal. In Antigone’s case, she wanted to bury her own brother.
Although this is against the law of the king, her uncle, I believe that it is completely reasonable to respect those who have died before us. Creon, as the new king of Thebes, believes that he should show his authority and power to the people. I believe that Creon’s decision of this new law to not bury the disloyal citizens of Thebes is a way to strike his power to the public. This law is a very serious one for actions that many may seem harsh to the many. However, after Creon found out about the individual who buried Polynices, he became astonished.
Now although Creon was the king of Thebes, could not back down his power. While Antigone was the niece of Creon, he could not change the charges of the crime. Antigone must face the charges as they are stated. Creon cannot give her a slap on the wrist or just disregard the significance of her actions. If all citizens should abide by the laws that are set forth by the king, than I believe that no citizen should have any immunity regardless of their significance in the city of Thebes. To me, it sounds like a fair and just law that all should abide by the kings orders.
Although I believe that Creon has a right to keep any of the laws that he has created, I believe that he must understand that the consequences of someone who goes against his rulings shall not end in the death of an individual even if they are rightfully dishonorable. I believe that Creon has one tragic flaw in this play. I believe that Creon’s tragic flaw is that he believes that certain men have the right to be able to understand and interpret divine law. In place of the divine law, Creon believes that he can enforce his own power’s law.
Because of this tragic flaw, Creon never believes that he is wrong when he speaks to Antigone, a woman. Creon’s thought process is that he will do anything in his power to defeat Antigone in this argument. This argument has become more than just who is right and who is wrong. This argument has become who is the better gender. If Antigone wins this argument, Creon is not worthy to consider himself a man. This flaw of Creon is the main reason for the unnecessary number of deaths that occur throughout this entire play. I believe that Creon dug himself a hole that he was unable to escape.
On page 83 of the text, you can see how Creon’s desire for glory and pride has taken over all aspects of his rulings. Creon says to Antigone, This girl was an old hand at insolence when she overrode the edicts we made public. But once she had done it – the insolence, twice over- to glory in it, laughing, mocking us to our face with what she’d done. I am not the man, not now; she is the man if this victory goes to her and she goes free (Antigone 83). The reader sees how little of importance Creon’s loyalty to his family is rather than to his city.
If we were to rank Creon’s importance of values that govern his life, I would say that his most important value is his glory and pride. This glory and pride to win against Antigone in this argument is based on the fact that he thinks men are of greater importance than women. I believe that this reasoning is understandable in one sense as Creon is an elected official and his opinion is thought of highly. Creon’s next value is the importance of his city’s safety and security. Creon cares much for the city of Thebes. He believes that the city trumps the lesser important values in his life such as the Gods and family.
Creon’s stubbornness of not allowing for Polynices to be buried affects the city greatly to the point where he cannot win either argument of pleasing the city or pleasing his own beliefs. This stubbornness of Creon is one of the main reasons why he loses his self. Creon does not think of his own actions and how they affect those around him. The fact that family and the Gods are on the lower end of Creon’s values strikes me as a shock. This is because I believe that these two aspects of one’s values should be of high importance as they go hand in hand.
If we were to look at Antigone’s values that govern her life I would rank glory and pride to be of the most important aspect to her. The reason I would decide this is that Antigone wants to bury her brother for her own pride and glory. When Antigone is accused of burying her brother, she accepts her fault and is proud of her own actions. What Antigone believes is that her brother should be buried. She thinks she is completely right in her actions and personally I agree with her. The reason I agree with her decision is she has every right, not only because it is her nature to bury a loved one, but also because of the divine law of the Gods.
These Gods want her brother to be buried regardless of his actions that went against the law of the city. Antigone’s next important value, which governs her decisions, is family. I am a strong supporter of my family and would do anything in my power to respect those who have died before me. I believe that anyone who is my family has the right to a proper burial and to celebrate the life that they lived by. Now although everyone may not agree with the way that individual may have lived, there is still the personal entitlement to pay respect to that individual and bury them.
Antigone’s final two values that affect the way she decides her actions are the Gods followed by the city. To me, this makes sense in the fact that Antigone has the Gods on her side. The Gods decision to allow Antigone to bury her brother gave her every right to act in the way she did. With the power that is vested in the Gods, Antigone’s reasoning for what she did was a respectful decision that was based on what the Gods decided. I believe that if the Gods have spoken and told me to do the same that they have for Antigone, I would have buried my own brother.
Antigone’s disloyalty to the city is what is shown through her least important value of the city’s concern versus what is Antigone’s own concern. Antigone is a woman who speaks her own mind and is not easily persuaded when she has her own mind set on what she desires most. When Antigone was confronted for what she had committed, she rightfully accepted her wrong doings. Now although these rules for burying her own brother went against the laws of the city of Thebes, Antigone was right to go to bury her own brother. This is because of the arguments of state law versus divine law, her loyalty to family, and the pride for her ow