What is the thesis of Antigone?
The thesis statement (the first sentence of the conclusion) is as follows: Creon most closely fits with Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero because of his mistakes, his pride, his great downfall, and his suffering. This thesis statement is certainly defensible and completely addresses the prompt.
What is the main message of Antigone?
A central theme of Antigone is the tension between individual action and fate. While free choices, such as Antigone’s decision to defy Creon’s edict, are significant, fate is responsible for many of the most critical and devastating events of the trilogy.
What is a good thesis for an essay?
Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up. Particularly in an argumentative essay, your thesis statement should be something that others might question or disagree with.
What is the lesson of Antigone?
The lesson I learn from “Antigone” is that you have to be ready to accept the consequences of your convictions. Not only is she loyal to her brother and her religious beliefs, brave when confronted with danger and death, but she accepts the consequence (death) before she ever acts.
Why does Antigone kill herself?
When King Creon finds out, he becomes furious and orders Antigone to be walled up alive in a tomb. Rather than live in dishonor, Antigone sees it as her religious duty towards the gods and her brother to take her own life by hanging herself.
How is Antigone relevant today?
The ideas Sophocles presents in Antigone have relevance in today’s world, and indicate that modern society is not as advanced as we believe. The problems of gender equality, democratic voice, and religious faith still resonate today. Antigone attempts to show the strength women have in the face of male authority.
What are the major themes of Antigone?
Antigone Themes
- Pride.
- Individual versus State; Conscience versus Law; Moral or Divine Law versus Human Law.
- Gender: the Position of Women.
- Inaction/Lack of Agency versus Agency.
- The Threat of Tyranny.
How does gender play a role in Antigone?
In the play Antigone, both Creon and Ismene assert and reinforce gender roles. Creon wants men to be leaders and women to be subjects. He even describes women as fields to be furrowed. She not only defies Creon with her actions but also goes on to tell him that she thinks he is wrong and she is right.
Is Antigone Oedipus daughter?
Antigone, in Greek legend, the daughter born of the unwittingly incestuous union of Oedipus and his mother, Jocasta. Antigone, moved by love for her brother and convinced of the injustice of the command, buried Polyneices secretly.
Who is Creon’s wife?
Eurydice
Is Polyneices Antigone’s brother?
Polyneices is the brother of Antigone, Ismene and Eteocles. His name means ‘many troubles’, and he’s generally remembered as ‘the bad brother’, because he attacked Thebes with a foreign army.
Who was Antigone trying to bury?
Polyneices
What was Creon’s punishment for Antigone?
Creon’s punishment for killing Antigone is that he loses his family to death.
Why does Antigone want to bury Polyneices?
Antigone’s primary reason for wanting to bury Polynices is that it’s in accordance with divine law. Once someone dies, their body isn’t supposed to be just left to rot out in the streets; they must be buried according to the appropriate funeral rites.
Why did Creon not bury Polyneices?
He is also Haemon’s father. Creon exiled Oedipus from Thebes after Oedipus killed his father and married his mother. Creon also declared that Polyneices would not receive a proper burial because he committed treason against his own city.
Why did Creon bury Eteocles?
The reason Creon wanted Eteocles to have a proper burial was because he died defending his country. Because Polynices had fought against the Thebans, Creon declared that Polynices should not be buried.
Is Creon justified with his reasons?
Creon and Antigone Because Polyneices left Thebes and fought against his own people, Creon felt he was justified in not burying Polyneices’ body. Fighting against one’s home and family is a major no-no in Greek antiquity, so Creon sees his order and punishment as the right and honorable thing to do.
Why does Creon hate Antigone?
Antigone was following her familial duties and felt that both her brothers needed to receive proper burial no matter which side they died fighting for. Creon, angered by the blatant disregard for his orders, imprisons both sisters regardless of Ismene’s innocence.
Why is Creon angry?
Creon responds angrily that the Gods would never honor a wicked person who had come to burn their temples. Instead, he is convinced, someone was bribed to do it.
Is Creon good or bad?
Angry and intent on his will, Creon appears the epitome of the bad, ruthless leader, impervious to the laws of the gods or humanity. As the king of Thebes in Antigone, Creon is a complete autocrat, a leader who identifies the power and dignity of the state entirely with himself.
What did Creon do wrong?
Creon’s tragic flaw, hubris, causes his downfall. “The State is King!” says Creon, which shows that he even thinks he’s better than the gods are. Creon has too much pride, and the gods do not like that. Creon’s hubris causes his downfall.
Does Creon kill himself?
No, Creon does not kill himself in Antigone. His wife, son, and niece all commit suicide during the course of the play, but Creon refrains from taking…
How did Creon die?
Creon does not die in Antigone, although his wife, niece, and son do. They both commit suicide as a result of Creon’s actions. He imprisons Antigone,…
What does Creon fear?
Creon’s greatest fear is: War. Angering the gods. Losing his family.
Does Creon fear of anarchy justify his decisions?
To Creon, anarchy is the worst crime because it opposes the order that he is so desperately trying to achieve with his rule. With Antigone’s defiance of his ruling over Polynices’ body, Creon takes it as treachery against the state and thus, himself.
What tragedy falls on Creon’s family?
Antigone
Why is Creon the tragic hero of Antigone?
Lesson Summary Creon is the tragic hero because he tries to restore order in Thebes and is a good ruler but ends up alone due to his excessive pride. Antigone is the tragic hero because she sticks to her beliefs in the Gods and family and dies because of her loyalty to them.
How is Creon arrogant?
Creon now views himself as a man blinded by arrogance and excessive pride. He realizes that he has done wrong, and thus excepts his punishment, asking of the people to “lead [him] away,” for he is “a rash [and] foolish man” (110).
What is Antigone tragic flaw?
Next, Antigone does have a tragic flaw. Her tragic flaw is that she has hubris, which is excessive pride, and that leads her to be unbending. Ironically, Antigone means unbending in Greek. Because she is unbending, she will not denounce her decision to bury Polynices.
What kind of person is Antigone?
She is strong, passionate, and full of love; sometimes to a fault; she feels a heaviness of duty to her family name and to the Gods, and to her, they are one and the same; fearless and thoughtful, takes risks, and is quick to judge; empowered by her defiance, she is proud, sensitive, and open, which gives her a …