Antigone 1185 words Essay Sample

would be a death without honor. When they part ways, Ismene tells her sister that she is unwise but loyal to those who love her.
Later, when the guards discovered that someone had buried Polyneices' body, the chief guard went to inform the king. This made Creon extremely angry. He accused the guard of being a paid soldier and told him he could not return unless he found the person who buried the body or revealed who had bribed him. Afterward, the terrified guard and his men removed the sacred burial dust from the body and watched from a distance to see if the rebel would come back to bury it again. As expected, during a sandstorm, Antigone was observed burying the body she had cared for so diligently before. The guards seized her, but she displayed no fear.She did not attempt to evade her pursuers, resulting in her being brought before the king. The king asked her if she had heard his proclamation about burying her brother. Without hesitation, she boldly confirmed that she could not have missed it. Choosing not to deny it, she knowingly risked death because she believed she had done nothing wrong. She expressed that her own death was insignificant compared to the immense suffering she would experience if her brother remained unburied. In doing so, she called Creon a fool for thinking of her as one. One of the king's advisors remarked that she resembled her father in being stubborn and closed-minded. The king became furious and accused her of showing double insolence by breaking the laws and boasting about it. Creon commanded some servants to bring Ismene, believing

her to be equally guilty. Antigone criticized the king, stating that everyone present would honor her actions if not for their fear of him. The king acknowledged this but argued that only she was guilty, not the others. Antigone countered by asserting that there is no guilt in showing respect to the deceased. Creon attempted to highlight her guilt by pointing out that she honored both brothers despite one being a traitor.Antigone believes that all the deceased deserve respect and that it is not for us to judge who the gods deem wicked or honorable. This angers Creon once again, but just then Ismene enters the room. In a cold tone, Creon asks Ismene if she admits to her involvement in the crime. Ismene does not deny her part in the crime and welcomes the consequences of her guilt. Antigone becomes furious that her sister is attempting to claim credit for participating in the honorable act that she herself was too terrified to commit. Ismene argues that it is her duty to join her sister in death, as she was too afraid to bury their brother. Antigone states that Ismene will not diminish her own death by sharing in it. Ismene insists that they are both equally at fault. Creon orders them to be guarded and taken away, but later decides to spare Ismene while showing no mercy towards Antigone.

The following day, as Antigone is brought to her tomb where she will be imprisoned from life, she starts to break down from her proud stance on the deed for which she believed she deserved honor. She becomes angry with the people who have gathered to

witness her departure. They do not offer any sympathetic words or express remorse for her imminent death. Instead, they make it clear that she has brought this upon herself. Antigone no longer speaks of honoring her deceased brother, but rather laments the horror of her father's marriage and how it has ruined her own life, as she was meant to be wed before facing execution.Now, lacking pity from those around her, she is depressed and no longer desires to live. She is forced to enter the tomb, where she will slowly perish without water, food, or light. Isolated from the outside world, she finds no value in this and decides to end her life by hanging herself with her own garment. Through this final stage of her existence, she can finally obtain the long-awaited admiration from those for whom she had dedicated her life to worship.

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