Antigone
Choose one prompt to respond to
Aristotle identifies the tragic hero as a character who falls from a lofty position because of a tragic flaw (hamartia)--normally that flaw is pride (hubris).
# 1 What causes Creon’s fall? (identify the fall and explain how something-hubris, fear of weakness, inflexibility etc caused all the events / mistakes that led to his fall).
# 2 Discuss Antigone as the tragic hero of the play. Antigone's defiance of the king's edict is heroic, yet her suicide at the end may appear unheroic to modern readers. Does Antigone's suicide diminish her stature as a tragic protagonist?
Aristotle identifies the tragic hero as a character who falls from a lofty position because of a tragic flaw (hamartia)--normally that flaw is pride (hubris).
# 1 What causes Creon’s fall? (identify the fall and explain how something-hubris, fear of weakness, inflexibility etc caused all the events / mistakes that led to his fall).
# 2 Discuss Antigone as the tragic hero of the play. Antigone's defiance of the king's edict is heroic, yet her suicide at the end may appear unheroic to modern readers. Does Antigone's suicide diminish her stature as a tragic protagonist?
posted by K.Dawson | 5:10 AM
22 Comments:
#2
Antigone's suicide does not diminish her stature as a tragic protagonist in any way. From her point of view she was not giving Creon the pleasure of letting her starve, instead she was dying the way she thought was best given her situation. She is still a hero who stood up for what she thought was right and just because she chose her method of death, it doesn't mean she's any less of a hero.
option two:
I think that Antigone remained the tragic hero through out the whole book. She refused to let creon keep her from doing what she wanted to and or what she knew was right. She wouldnt let creon take away her ability to burry her brother. she also wouldnt llet creon tell her how and when to die. Her life endoing in suicide just proves her to be more strong willed. She rufused to be creons puppet and do what he said. She risked her life doing somtihng she felt was right and she wasnt going to let him get the feeling of acomplishment by killing her, I tihnk she felt that if she killed herself she wouldnt be giving in.
I think Antigone's prior actions will always make her the tragic hero of this play. She is a incredibly strong women who stood up against a extremely powerful man. Antigone's death to me makes her an even stronger hero because she won't let Creon kill her the way he liked. Just like she disregarded Creon's words not to bury Polynecies she disregarded his hope to let her die suffering. Even in death she remained the free-willed strong women she showed us she was.
(#2)
#2
From reading this entire book, I have really gotten to know all the characters. Now I mean, really know them. We know most all of their personality and characteristics. One thing we do know is the fact that Antigone is a VERY strong and independent person. Not to mention quite stubborn, but who said that stubbornness is always bad. In this case, she was stubborn to the right person, which is of course Creon. She stood by her morals, and nothing was getting in her way. She really is the main tragic hero in this story. And just because a tragic hero dies, does not mean they aren’t one any more. Although her suicide was portrayed as unheroic to some viewers, these people must now that one who is once a legend, most likely always a legend. Because legends and heroes never stop until their mission is accomplished. And in this allegory, she felt like she was done, and was only left to die. Her death is a symbol of a done deed. It might sound crazy, but to people like Antigone it is the way of life. Interesting thing is, there aren’t many people out there like that. She was unique in her very own way. Maybe that’s why she was the only one to stand of to Creon…
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#2--Throughout the book I have learned more and more about the personalities and characteristics of each character. Antigone takes the role of being very strong willed and stubborn. No matter what anyone tells her or suggests to her she sticks to her own beliefs. Antigone was the only person brave enough to stand up to Creon and speak her mind publicly although at the time this was very out of place for a woman. Although some readers may think of Antigone's suicide as unheroic; I think of it more as a heroic action. Hero's don't give up when they're told "no" they try harder. For me, Antigone killing herself is more of a way to show Creon that he can't stop her and show an example for future generations of women.
Response for question #2:
Antigone was a tradgic hero. She was a hero, no she was more a leader. Antigone showed how the king's morals can be much different. She went against Creon's orders. Took the lead to do what SHE thought was right. Not only does that make her a hero but a leader, she sets the stage for other people to "rebel" and show Creon the real way. I think Antigone's courage helped Ismene get the courage to stand up to Creon in the begining of the book. Ismemne followed Antigone's lead. The tradgic part of Antigone is she's put to death in the cave. A real hero would sacrifice themselves for the good of everyone else and the truth. I do not think that for one minute her "suicide" made her any less heroic. A real hero would sacrific themselves for the best of the community. A coward would start to "save" a communtiy and then back out once they catch glimpse of the punishment. Antigone started her actions, persude her actions, got cought and took the blame while sticking up to Creon. That's a real hero to me.
#2
I do not think Antigones suicide diminished her stature as a tragic protagonist, because a Hero is someone who puts themselves in danger to save people. Antigone buried her brother, and put her life in danger. Creon sentanced her to the vault because it was a slow death, so she could think of what she did. He wanted her to suffer, but Antigone didn't let him have that satisfaction, the satisfaction of watching her die and suffer a long painfull death, instead she commited suicide, again "disobeying" Creon in a way. The whole play was saying that you should follow your morals and do what YOU think is best, that is what a hero does, they do everything they can to make people happy and safe. Antigone was honoring her family by burying her brother. Heros do everything they can to make the villians mad and feel defeated, by commiting suicide Antigone defeated Creon because she didn't let him get the satisfaction of making her suffer. To me that is what a Hero does.
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#1
At the beginning of "Antigone," Creon was all powerful and very self-centered. He felt so good about himself, that when Antigone broke his law, he simply couldn't believe it. Creon then proceeded to kill Antigone, and this started a lethal chain reaction. Haemon committed suicide because he lost his love, and Eurydice did the same because she lost her only son. This all seemed to happen at once, and Creon had no choice but to back down and surrender to the Gods. An interesting mistake Creon made was when Creon and Haemon were talking, Creon treated Haemon like another person who was against him, regardless of his relation to him. Haemon must have took that to heart because of how angry he looked at Creon when he was in the cave. But Creon's initial mistake was passing the law in the first place, and making the penalty death. His overall false pride and narcissism made him mad with power, and the Gods made him pay for it.
Number 1
Creon's flaw is that he was so full of pride that he decided to kill Antigone. Creon's fall took place when he was punishing Antigone for burring her brother and he sentenced her to death. Creon thought that he was right and whatever he said went. All the people of Thebes were to afraid to stand up to him which is probably the reason he has so much confidence in himself. Creon is a character who had many falls in the book. Another example was when he made he law that Polynecies could not be buried just because he thought he went against the kingdom. Creon finally realized what he did was wrong when the gods warned him that he would be harshly punished if he did not free Antigone. Creon finally got the point the gods and the oracle were trying to make this whole time. He has false power and that was going to be him major flaw in the end. Even though Creon still lived he was punished in another way he had to live with the guilt that came with killing Antigone, causing his own son to kill himself and hurting others like Ismene. He did all this just so he could have the power he craved.
#2
To me, in no way does Antigone's suicide take away from the massive amount of pride she has. Throughout the entire story, she never backed down from supporting her beliefs, even as she was antagonized on her actions and sentenced to death. She had already proved her pride to me and the fact that she took her own life could not diminish her self esteem at all. Maybe her suicide even showed she had more pride than we thought. It is possible that she did not want to die being so weak and helpless, or knew that she could no longer help herself survive. She would die with more honor killing herself than being executed by the corrupt morals of her enemy King Creon. Antigone remained heroic until her death. Realistically, pride is definitely Antigone's tragic flaw, as it could have caused her own death. It is so sad how the hero in the story caused her own death through heroism in sevral ways.
Creon is the tragic hero in the story of Antigone. He assumes rule of the city of Thebes after both sons of Oedipus are killed as they are fighting for power. Creon is a harsh, self centered, intimidating and power hungry ruler with excessive pride. In the beginning of the story, he declares a law which states that the bury Polyneices, one of the sons of Oedipus, must be left unburied because Polyneices had fought against Creon. Antigone decides to bury her brother Polyneices because of her loyalty and the feeling that Creon “has no right to stay her from her own.” Creon finds out it is Antigone and sentences her to die from starvation in a cave, but still doesn’t believe that he is wrong. His fall takes place after Antigone is killed because he loses the people that he loved most and does not even want to live anylonger.
Creon’s tragic flaw causes him to fall from his position of power, and this fall is a result of his characteristics. Hubris, fear of weakness and inflexibility all contributed to Creon’s decisions, which then led to his fall. His excessive pride and fear of weakness are connected because Creon was believed his law was right and stood by his decision, even when he was warned that he would be punished by the Gods for his wrongdoing. King Creon felt that the city “is held to be his who rules it” and did not want to seem weak by letting Antigone, whom he considered “a criminal”, be free of the punishment of death. Creon is also a very inflexible person because he only considers his own views and would not even relent when he son told him that would be the right choice. Haemon specifically says, “Do not persist, then, to retain at heart one sole idea, that the thing is right which your mouth utters , and nought else beside.” Creon only responds to his son by saying that men do not need to be counseled “by a boy like this.”
Throughout the story, Creon refuses to listen to warnings and his decisions to make a law against burying Polyneices and to kill Antgione caused his fall. As soon as Antigone dies, Haemon is enraged and kills himself. When hearing of her son’s suicide, Eurydice who is Creon’s wife also takes her own life. Creon is left with nothing but guilt and regret, with no pride as a result of his stubbornness and selfishness.
#2
Antigone's suicide does not take away from her heroism. It may have made her stronger by showing not even the mighty Creon could stop her. She decided when she wanted to die and not anyone else. In addition to that she showed heroism throughout the book. She stood up to Creon and completely undermined his authority. She broke his law twice and made him lose support from the people of Thebes and from the gods. He was forced to use a cruel punishment and even then he didn't have the last say in what happened. On top of that he was indirectly punished by Antigone because he lost both Haemon and Eurydice. Antigone was also the tragic hero because she was proud of everything she did. She never regretted what she did and could stand it when Ismene tried to take credit for what Antigone did herself. She then didn't back down and proudly took er own life rather than let Creon have the joy of doing so. Even though she committed suicide she was still the tragic hero of the play.
#1
There were a lot of faults with Creon that lead to his fall. He was a man who was full of pride. He took the role of King as if he were a god in human form and Antigone and Haemon saw this. The Gods did not like this and Creon was given multiple warnings that bad things would happen to him if he killed Antigone. A blind prophet even came just to tell him that it would not be wise to kill Antigone. Creon, being full of pride, did not listen to any of these warnings. Once it got through his head that he should let Antigone out of the cave, it was too late. She had committed suicide. It took Creon until the end of the book to realize what he had done and that everyone is his family died because of him. That was when he fell. He fell when he realized his whole family died because he sentenced Antigone to death.
Antigone's suicide does not take away from the fact that she is the tragic hero in this play. All throughout the story Antigone did what she believed in, even if it meant going against people of higher power. When Creon said that Polynices was not to have a proper burial because he had gone against him, Antigone didn't care. Even though she knew her punishment would be death, being loyal to her brother was more important to her. Antigone was a very stubborn and free willed person. She believed in her own morals, and stood up for what she believed in. When her sister, Ismene tried to talk her out of burying their brother, Antigone said that she had to be loyal to him, because he deserved a proper burial and she didn't care if Ismene helped her or not. This shows how free willed Antigone is because she didn't listen to the comments of others, if they were going against what she wanted to do. Some people may think that Antigone's suicide took away from here heroism, but I do not. She stayed strong throughout the story, and always stood up for herself. She did not back down when Creon asked her about burying Polynices, she came right out and said that she was the one who did it. Killing herself could have been her way of showing Creon that she was not going to let him make her suffer, and that she was stronger then him. She wasn't going to let him feel good about killing her, so she killed herself. She was proud of what she did for her brother, she went against Creon when nobody else had the courage to.
Prompt #1:
Throughout "Antigone" Creon was warned many times about his wrong doings, yet he continued to commit more sins. Karma was bound to come back to him, once he chose not to bury Polynices which was a cruel and unjust punishment, disrespecting his religion greatly. He sentenced Antigone to death for burying Polynices; a suffering one too - to be locked in a vault until she starves to death. Even after Creon was warned by his own son, Haemon, he did not listen to one word of it because it went against his morals. The last time Creon was warned that if he acted unfairly to another innocent person was by the seer, Tiresias. The Gods were sending him signs, and this was the final chance for Creon. But of course he ignored them and karma finally hit him. All the previous events ended like a domino effect, each event triggering the next. His actions triggered Antigone's, to kill herself. Then Antigone's death affected Haemon so much, he killed himself. Then Haemon's death hurt Eurydice so much, she commit suicide. Then all that was left was Creon, alone and pathetic. It all occured because Creon pushed down the first domino.
prompt #2
Throughout the entire book i feel that Antigone portrays a heroic character. Within the first five pages of the book i got a very good sense of her personality. She is strong-willed, confident, and indapendent. She decided to give her brother Polynices the proper burial even though King Creon had made the law that anyone who dares bury him shall face the death penalty. She was the only citizen who dared to break the law in doing what what right. Not even her own sister would help her. On page two Antigone says," My own brother and yours i will! If you will not, i will; i shall not prove disloyal. This is a great example of how Antigone expresses heroic qualities. I feel that when she died she almost became more of a hero. She excepted the consequences with poise, and did not hide behind fear. On page 17 Creon asks Antigone," Do you i say- you, with the downcast brow- own or deny that you have done this deed?" she willingly confesses," I say i did it; i dent it not." Without hesitation she admits to it. Later in the book on page 20, just before she is sent away she tells Creon," It is no shame to pay respect to our own flesh and blood." I really admire her for this. She knows in her heart that she made the right decision. She can die with dignity and pride, which makes her even more of a hero than when she was living.
#1
Creon, the king of Thebes, is illustrated as the antagonist of Antigone. An arrogant character, he is a cruel and unfair leader. At the end of the story, his character faced what is known in literary terms as a tragic fall. This unfortunate outcome usually comes to a character with a tragic flaw, or a trait that finally causes their own downfall. Creon’s main tragic flaws were his greed for power, selfishness, and excessive pride. He tried to rule the city like a god, and expected everyone to follow his laws, no matter what they believed in. He was astounded when one day, a woman (the protagonist Antigone) objected to one of his laws and disobeyed it. He sentenced her to death, as he had warned that he would. He refused to listen to others when they advised him to reconsider his decision. For example, his son Haemon says, “. . . though a man be wise, it is no shame for him to live and learn.” Tiresias, the blind prophet, adds, “. . . tis pleasantest to learn of good advisors when their words bring gain.” Creon knew that this decision was wrong, yet he chose to follow through with it. He was willing to do what he knew inside was wrong in order to maintain his own reputation. He refused to be seen as a weak leader. Creon’s pride, or hubris, led to his tragic downfall. By the time he understood that he needed to release her, it was too late. Antigone was already dead. Many of his relatives were killed in a tragic chain of events that began with the death sentence of Antigone. Only after it was too late did he truly feel guilty and realize what he should have done. This tragic fall teaches the audience that all actions, both good and bad, are accompanied by consequences.
#2
Antigone's suicide does not diminish her stature as a tragic protagonist, but perhaps made her even more of a tragic hero. Throughout the book she is presented as a tragic hero. She does what she believes in and even breaks the almighty law against the burial of Polynices that Creon has created. Even when she is caught she shows no fear. She immediately admits it, proud of what she has done. She even was angry at her sister for saying she was part of the plan too. Antigone thought that Ismene didn't deserve the blame. Antigone is unstoppable when it comes to her bravery. And when it came to the end, Creon had realized he made a mistake and went to free Antigone, but before he could get there, Antigone had taken her own life. It was like Antigone had a plan. No one could stop her from her own beliefs. This is what makes her a tragic hero. Even though she stood up for what she believed in, she still died. It was her fate.
#2: I don't think Antigone's suicide diminishes her stature because of many reasons. The first is she was sentenced to death; her death being her locked in a vault until she starves to death. This kind of death is long and painful. Also, if she waited for her death, it would just make it seem like she had no control over her own fate anymore. By taking her own life (although in our time it's viewed otherwise) she showed that she was strong and nobody could tell her what to do or how to die. If anything, it makes her more of a hero.
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