Antigone Essay -- essays research papers

The opening events of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, quickly build the central conflict among Antigone and Creon. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices, who tried to burn down the temple of gods in Thebes, must not be given comely burial. Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and insists on the sacredness of family and a symbolic burial for her brother. Whereas Antigone sees no validity in a law that disregards the employment family members owe one another, Creons point of view is exactly opposite. He has no use for anyone who places private ties above the common good, as he proclaims firmly to the emit and the audience as he revels in his victory over Polynices. He sees Polynices as an enemy to the state because he attacked his brother. Creons first speech, which is dominated by course such as "authority and "law, shows the extent to which Creon fixates on government and law as the supreme authority. Between Antigone and Creon th ere can be no compromisethey both find absolute validity in the respective loyalties they uphold.      In the struggle between Creon and Antigone, Sophocles audience would have recognized a authorized conflict of duties and values. From the Greek point of view, both Creons and Antigones positions are flawed, because both oversimplify ethical manners by recognizing only one kind of good or duty. By oversimplifying, each ignores the fact that a conflict exists at every(prenominal), or that deliberation is necessary. Moreover, both Creon and Antigone display the dangerous flaw of pride in the focal point they justify and carry out their decisions. Antigone admits right from the beginning that she wants to carry out the burial because the action is glorious. Antigone has a savage spirit she has spent most of her life burying her family members.      Creons pride is that of a tyrant. He is inflexible and unyielding, unwilling throughout the pla y to listen to advice or Antigone. Creons love for the city-state cause him to abandon all other beliefs. He tries to enforce this upon the people of Thebes. He wants them to think that his laws should be followed before any other personal, moral, or religious belief. This is where the conflict of character occurs between Antigone and Creon. Antigone knows that the sacred laws held by heaven are far more important... ...y exist within the two viewpoints, making a conclusion that much more difficult. passim the play, each character rattles off the reasons for their actions. Both also justify their actions religiously, believing they are the ones acting accordingly by the gods. The entire plot is a wind of conflict between personal and social motives, a scene not uncommon in todays society. Sophocles attempts to answer the debate by at last showing that the gods approved of Antigones motives and that Creon should have buried his nephew. But with so much unnecessary bloodshed commi tted at the end of the story, it is impossible to look at that this is the final decision. Sophocles believed that the individual held the power and the state shouldnt have total control over an individual. This is hardly a solution to the debate, the fact that everyone dies. Rather, it is a point that the debate will live on for all of eternity.Beaty, Jerome., et. al. The Norton Introduction to Literature. W.W. Norton and      Company 1998.