Antigone English paper pdf - 1196 Words

Pearce 1 Camille Pearce Ms. Kettle IB English Period D 12 October 2014 Antigone; A Martyr Who Dies for the Wrong Reasons Pearce 2 Antigone as a strong and determined tragic hero who presents herself as a powerful woman who will not be defined by a man. Antigone is steadfast in her decision to disobey the law and bury her brother and dose not hesitate to take fully responsibility for her actions even if it means death. Unfortunately, Antigone does not consider the effect her death will have on her family and friends. She is confident and prideful and will not allow anyone to â€Å"lessen† her death. Finally, Antigone feels she has a duty as a woman to stand up against Creon and to define herself by her actions not by her gender. Antigone†¦show more content†¦Antigone has feministic views and will not let herself be defined by a man. She wants to be defined and remembered by her heroic actions. She is unlike woman in her time because she is confident and sees herself equal to men. Her sister, Ismene, is a stereotypical woman of this time. She believes woman should subject themselves to the will of man and that woman are too weak to stand up to a man. Sadly, woman during this time are looked at and treated like minorities who have a fraction of the power men do. Antigone sacrifices her own life trying to stand up to this society of men in which she is trapped. Creon disapproves of her rare confidence, and sees woman as silly, weak and emotional beings who are inferior to men, but this only fuels Antigone to defy him more. Antigone’s sister, Ismene, refuses help her bury their brother because she is afraid of the consequences. She also does not believe woman can stand up to men or the state. Antigone is not afraid to stand up to the Creon or the state. She believes their brother has the right to an afterlife and Creon does not have the authority to take that away, only the gods do. She says, â€Å"Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way.† (Antigone 191) Her pride and her belief in the rights of woman empower her to stand up for her individual beliefs and oppose the decree of the state. Her love for Polyneices may seem like the reason for her defiance of the state, but in