Antigone

Introduction

Antigone is an admirable character in some aspects through out the play. Her pride basically serves as a building block to her being admirable. Certain examples through out the play prove this to be true but in some instances the end result is negative.      

A big example of this was her willingness to bury her brother accepting any consequences. To Antigone the Gods are more important than any subject and Creon seems to think that he is at their level of standing just because he is king. Creon having this mental feeling of power says that if anyone buries Polyneices they shall be put to death which basically is directly against the Gods laws. Antigone's strong loyalty to the Gods and compassion led her to bury her brother. (Kamerbeek, p.15-19)    

Secondly she confronts Creon admitting what she had done and she does not show any sign of fear. This is a perfect example of her loyalty and faith within the Gods laws. Antigone also has this mental preparation for death ,but she does not realize that death is so real and not just some easy thing to accept. Death is non-negotiable.   

Discussion

When Antigone's death approached her with a cold realization, she started blaming her family. Antigone said “Their crime, infection of all our family!”(Antigone Scene 4, line 39). From that she basically stated that her own family had cursed her which was the first scene all through the play that showed any sign of weakness coming from Antigone. Fear of death, obviously her weakness.      Antigone is an admirable character because no person is perfect of everything. Depending on the readers full criteria for being admirable, the reader would most likely conclude that Antigone worthy of being admirable.  In Sophocles' Antigone, the question of who the tragic hero really is, has been a subject of debate for a great number years. Creon does possess some of the qualities that constitute a tragic hero but unfortunately does not completely fit into the role. Antigone, however, possesses all the aspects of a tragic hero. These are, having a high social position, not being overly good or bad, being persistent in their actions, arousing pity in the audience, a revelatory manifestation, and having a single flaw that brings about their own demise and the demise of others around them. Antigone possesses all of these traits therefore qualifying as the tragic hero. The first qualifying aspect is that Antigone is of a high social standing in Thebes. Creon himself refers to her as a princess though she is technically no longer one. Because of her high standing she is capable of great suffering, in that she has a lot of fame and regard to lose. Those who say Creon is the tragic hero say that Antigone is no longer in a high position in the society, therefore does not qualify on that account.

If the character had needed to be in a high political position this would be true, but they need only have a ...