Mike Newsham
ENG111
Prof. E. Joy
Critical Essay #1
Antigone the Hero
In the play Antigone, I believe Sophocles purposely depicts Antigone as a hero. Antigone portrays extremely courageous qualities, and definitely fights for what she believes in. She does not accept what the king says just because he is the king or a person in authority. She does not agree with his law so she goes with her heart and her feelings and disobeys the king’s rule. It takes courage and strength to stand up against authority for what you believe in. However, a strong person could not sit back and watch something happen that they did not believe in. They would figure out the best way to stop it and then attempt to do so. I guess it is just a matter of how important something is to you. If something happens that has no or little significance to you, then most likely you will not worry about it or do anything to stop it. In the case of Antigone she felt loyal to her brother and felt that she should protect his honor and give him the respect that he deserves even if the king did not agree with her.
Who is the king anyway? He is just a human being like you and I. Why should we listen to and obey anything he says. How did this person (king or person in authority) get the power they have? How do they handle the power they have? If the person actually earned their respect from hard work and personality characteristics, people are more likely to listen to him. On the other hand, if the person did not earn respect, and got in the position they are in simply because they were a predecessor of a previous king and were handed the power, people are less likely to follow the rule of that person. This makes a big difference in the way that people will react to a person in power. They must respect him or her and believe that he or she is doing what is best for the people.
Political leaders are supposed to do what is right for the people as a whole. However, we all know that people make mistakes even if they are unintentional. Their mistakes may not even be realized until further down the road. Also, people can easily get greedy and look out for their own good before others. Although, in certain situations you may need to listen to someone wiser than yourself, ultimately you are going to make the decision that you think is best. Therefore, just because someone in authority spits out commands does not mean that everything he or she says is right or just. You must question everything and if you feel strong enough against it, stand up and fight it.
In the story, Antigone does just this. She is aware of the consequences and sticks to what she feels she should do. Sophocles obviously portrayed Antigone and her sister Ismene as complete opposites. When Antigone runs to tell her sister of the situation Ismene will not help Antigone and tries to stop her from going through with her plans to bury her brother. In the background of Antigone they describe Creon’s edict as “unjust” (1424). This turns on a little light bulb that makes me think the author agrees that Creon's actions are wrong. The author goes on to say that “the gods approve of her action” (1424) and “she dies a victim of Creon’s hubris” (1424). If she were not being portrayed as a heroine, the gods would not approve of her actions. Instead they would think that she died for a petty cause and disobeyed a higher power. When they say she is a victim of Creon’s hubris, they are essentially saying she was put to death because of Creon’s excessive pride not because she committed a crime that stemmed from her excessive pride. The only thing that may not support this argument is that Sophocles may not have written the background. Instead it may be interpretations written by the author of the book.
Ismene is nowhere near as strong as her sister. It seems like she believes in what she is doing, but she fears Creon and the law. In the play she says, “We are only women, we cannot fight with men”(1427). This quote shows Antigone’s strength. She is not afraid of men, death, or what anyone can or will do to her. She is loyal to her family and herself. Ismene agrees that she is a loyal person, but says that she is “unwise”(1428). Ismene also says, “I beg the dead to forgive me, I am helpless”(1427). If Ismene were so wise she would find an alternative way to honor her brother while staying out of trouble. Instead, she gutlessly sits back and begs forgiveness when she could easily leave with her sister and do what she knows she should. In the end Ismene goes to Creon and confesses to a crime she did not commit.
If Sophocles were trying to highlight Ismene as a wiser person, he would have had her live on and make something of her life. Instead, she makes a complete fool of herself. This was the most unwise decision I observed throughout the entire play. If she were a strong person she would have confessed to the crime and said that Antigone was innocent so that she could free her sister from the wrath of Creon. Ismene contradicted her entire argument in trying to persuade Antigone not to disobey Creon and the law by going against her own advice. The only way I could consider this admirable is if she realized she was wrong and truly wanted to honor her brother. Sometimes I believe it takes a stronger person to admit that they made a mistake and attempt to make up for it. However, I do not think that is the case with Ismene. I believe she was afraid to live alone with no family alive.
By having Ismene come back and make a complete idiot of herself at the end of the play, Sophocles made Antigone stand out as a leader and a very courageous person, because Ismene follows her. Also following Antigone is Haimon, Creon’s son, who quarreled with his father and tried to persuade him not to execute Antigone. Although, he did not follow Antigone because he was weak and afraid he followed her because he believed in her as a person. Haimon seems to have the most sense of everyone in the play and also is portrayed as a hero. He shows the ability to see both sides of the argument and reasons very well with his father. He understands his father’s sternness, but at the same time makes good arguments for Antigone. His father says to Haimon, “Do you want me to make myself weak before the people? Or to break my sworn word”(1440). Haimon replies:
Reason is God’s crowning gift to man, and you are right to warn me against losing mine. I cannot say I hope that I shall never say! –that you have reasoned badly. Yet there are other men who can reason, too; and their opinions might be helpful. You are not in a position to know everything that people say or do or what they feel. . .Everyone will tell you only what you like to hear. But I, at any rate can listen; and I have heard them muttering and whispering in the dark about this girl. They say no woman has ever, so unreasonably, died so shameful a death for a generous act. (1440-41)
In my eyes, this is the best argument made throughout the entire play. Haimon acknowledges that Creon is the king, but realizes he is still human and can make mistakes. The people of the city agree that the girl should not be punished for such a generous act. However, the people will not tell him to his face how they actually feel. They only say to him what he wants to hear. This is a great statement that should make Creon think about what is really best for the city and the people in the city.
Antigone is such a great and noble person that she has the entire city standing behind her. In the end of the story she is sentenced to death. She accepts her punishment with bravery. She knows in her heart that what she has done is not wrong. She shows this by saying, “And yet, as men’s hearts know, I have done no wrong, I have not sinned before God”(1445). Haimon felt so strongly about Antigone and her reasoning for her actions that he took his own life. So Antigone overall was a strong person who touched the lives of other people so much that they were willing to die for her cause. Now that is a strong leader. Sophocles had this in mind when he wrote the play and wanted to make Antigone the hero. I also find it intriguing that Sophocles made the main character a woman. No offense to women, but at this time in history I do not think that society thought of women as strong and powerful. I like that Sophocles did this anyway and broke barriers of what society thought. Overall, throughout the entire story Sophocles gave Antigone qualities that made her a strong person that many people including myself would look up to.
Works Cited
Sophocles. Antigone. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.
8th ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York Longman, 2002. 1425-1455.