Power And Justice, Femininity, And Fate - 1260 Words

All plays pose questions around the world however some questions are easier to ignore than others. Despite their age, The Greek Tragedies offer meaningful insight to questions that cannot be ignored in today’s society. These questions are explored through the story of a confrontation between a tragically flawed King and a young woman in search of moral righteousness. Sophocles’ play Antigone inspires us to question the structure and attitudes in our own society and prompts self-reflection on our own values, beliefs and purpose on the earth as human beings. Throughout the play, Sophocles explores the areas of divine power and justice, femininity, and fate as well as raising distinguished questions about the morality of mankind. The play†¦show more content†¦Ismene disagrees with her decision saying that â€Å"to act against the citizens is beyond her means† (p.194, lines 78-79) however Antigone justifies herself by declaring that she owes a longer allegia nce to the dead than to the living. She continues to argue with Ismene, accusing her of cowardice, â€Å"the dead will hate you in all justice. I shall nothing so great as to stop me dying with honor.† (p.195, lines 94,96-97). Furthermore, in contrast with Antigone’s defiant feelings of religious duty, Creon views the laws of the state as the highest laws, and his actions are done for the benefit of society instead of for the gods. He believes that â€Å"the man that state has put in place must have obedient hearing to least command when it is right, and even when it’s not† (p. 215-216 lines 666-668) and illustrates this belief through his tyrannical abuse of power. The battle between these two beliefs fuels Antigone’s plot al the way through to he end of the play when Creon receives his punishment. Creon s failure to respect the divine law leads to his family deserting him for death and he suffers from the ultimate punishment of guilt. These premi ses that Sophocles proposes in Antigone enable us to question the extent in which we value the ‘state laws’ over our moral integrity and the degree to which our moral duties and obligations are interconnected with the relationship between ourselves and our surrounding