All categories - 28 March 2007

Mark Lagrisola
March 28, 2007
AP Literature
Reaction Paper: Antigone

Summary:
The characters are introduced through different events that occur. Polyneices and Eteocles, two brothers leading opposite sides in Thebes' civil war, have both been killed in battle. Creon, new ruler of Thebes, has declared that Eteocles will be honored and Polyneices disgraced. The rebel brother's body will not be honored, and it will lay unburied to be the food of carrion animals. Antigone and Ismene are the sisters of the dead brothers, and they are now the last children of the ill-fated Oedipus. In the opening of the play, Antigone brings Ismene outside the city gates late at night for a secret meeting: Antigone wants to bury Polyneices' body, in defiance of Creon's edict. Ismene refuses to help her, fearing the death penalty, and she is unable to dissuade Antigone from going to do the deed by herself.
Creon enters, along with the Chorus of Theban elders. He seeks their support in the days to come, and in particular their support for his edict regarding Polyneices' body. The Chorus pledges their support. A Sentry enters, reporting fearfully that the body has been buried. A furious Creon orders the Sentry to find the culprit or face death himself. The Sentry leaves, but after a short absence he returns, bringing Antigone with him. Creon questions her, and she does not deny what she has done. She argues unflinchingly with Creon about the morality of the edict and the morality of what she has done. Creon grows angrier, and, thinking Ismene must have helped her, summons the girl. Ismene tries to confess falsely to the crime, seeking to die with her sister, but Antigone will have none of it. Creon orders that the two women be temporarily locked up inside.
Haemon, Creon's son and Antigone's fiancé, enters to pledge allegiance of his father. He initially seems willing to obey Creon. But when Haemon tries gently to persuade his father to spare Antigone, the discussion deteriorates and the two men are soon bitterly insulting each other. Haemon leaves, vowing to never see Creon again.
Creon decides to spare Ismene but to imprison Antigone in a cave. She is brought out of the house, and she bewails her fate and defends her actions one last time. She is taken away, with the Chorus expressing great sorrow because of what is going to happen to her.
Teiresias, the blind prophet, enters. He warns Creon that the gods side with Antigone. Creon accuses Teiresias of being corrupt, and Teiresias responds that because of Creon's mistakes, he will lose one child for the crimes of leaving Polyneices unburied and putting Antigone into the earth. All of Greece will despise him, and the sacrificial offerings of Thebes will not be accepted by the gods.
The Chorus, terrified, asks Creon to take their advice. He assents, and they tell him that he should bury Polyneices and free Antigone. Creon, shaken, agrees to do it. He leaves with a retinue of men to help him right his previous mistakes. The Chorus delivers a choral ode on/to the god Dionysis, and then a Messenger enters. He tells them that Haemon has killed himself. Eurydice, Creon's wife and Haemon's mother, enters and asks the Messenger to tell her everything. The Messenger reports that Haemon and Antigone have both taken their own lives. Eurydice disappears into the palace.
Creon enters, carrying Haemon's body. He understands that his own actions have caused these events. A Second Messenger arrives to tell Creon and the Chorus that Eurydice has killed herself. With her last breath, she cursed her husband. Creon blames himself for everything that has happened, and, a broken man, he asks his servants to help him inside. The order he valued so much has been protected, and he is still the king, but he has acted against the gods and lost his child and his wife. The Chorus closes by saying that the gods punish the proud, but punishment brings wisdom.

Reaction:
One of the themes that came to arise in this play was that of pride. Antigone showed great pride and stubborn allegiance towards her brother. She didn’t give up in trying to bury her brother and honoring him. She goes by what she feels is morally right. Creon also shows great pride and dedication to the law. He has made a choice of not giving Polynices any honor by letting his body rot instead of burying him. Due to these two characters pride it makes it impossible for either one of them to back down as soon as they make their stand.
Antigone is an interesting character. She shows great courage in taking a stand, especially for being a woman. In ancient times women were very limited in their lives, which made Antigone’s stand surprising and threatening. It threatened the gender roles and the hierarchy of the time. By rebelling she defied one of the fundamental rules of the society. She is a great example of a female idol before our time of equality.
The chorus played a significant part in the play. The Chorus comments on the action and interacts with Creon, actively giving advice at a critical moment late in the play. They are Theban elders, important for maintaining order in the city, and Creon summons them to win their loyalty. They watch the unfolding of events with sympathy, pitying Creon and Antigone but also commenting critically on their faults. They seemed to be the wisest in the play and helped give us a better understanding of the tragedy by giving a prologue and epilogue.
I didn’t find the use of the character Queen Eurydice of any importance. The chorus mentioned that her purpose in the tragedy was to keep knitting until she dies. That to me seems utterly useless; she commits suicide at the end after the other tragic deaths. Her death just didn’t seem to fit in with the tragedy. She just didn’t go along with the story.
The overall play wasn’t as pleasing as I perceived it to be. There just have been so many other tragic plays that I have already read that overwhelmed this play. Such as plays like Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and pretty much most of William Shakespeare’s plays. Other than that, I really don’t have much left to say.

2007-03-28 13:28:56 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Books & Authors

OK so last year my best friend went out with this guy. At the time I didnt know who he was really. But this year he is in my homeroom. He is tall like me and sooo cute also he is popular. My friend is now going out with someone new but i'm still not really comfortable telling her that I think i like him. Also i think he might like me because he always smiles at me and talks to me... we're only in seventh grade and he was only going out with her for a few months last year. do you think its okay that i like him? should i tell her? i neeeed advice. she is my best friend and i always tell her everything and it feels so wrong to be keeping this to myself! thank you!!!
<3 mee

2007-03-28 13:28:55 · 5 answers · asked by lovelyyy 2 in Singles & Dating

Its hard for me to lose lb for some reason. ( Also dose water really help lose lb. ) Also please don't say eat fruit and go to the gym because i asked stuff like this and it didn't help at all.

2007-03-28 13:28:54 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Diet & Fitness

Theres this girl I know know and we are great friends. I madly like her but she thinks were just friends. I invite her to go with me to the movies with me and she acts like were just two friends seeing a movie. I can't tell if she likes me back at all because I can never tell if she does the signs. It so frustrating sometimes that I just want to scream at her "I love You." However I don't know if she likes me back. I keep trying to find a way for her to realize that I want to be more than just friends and I keep trying ways to impress her. So far nothing has worked. She is a very artsy photographic type so I tried showing her photos of mine (Which might I add are great!!) but she just says they look cool. Ive tried everything useless from card tricks to doing back flips and running up walls. I just want to say I love her in a way that she will start to like me. She has no boyfriends so its not like shes pressured. I just don't know what to do

2007-03-28 13:28:52 · 8 answers · asked by leafshadow 2 in Singles & Dating

What should I buy my boyftiend for our 1 month anniversary?
Please name items $10 or less. Thankx

2007-03-28 13:28:46 · 38 answers · asked by Ian's GFFFFF!!!<333333 2 in Polls & Surveys

even if the person is injures

2007-03-28 13:28:46 · 21 answers · asked by $Kalen$ 1 in Other - Football

You are confronted with the Borg(Star Trek). You have two choices: surrender yourself to the collective, or self-destruct your ship and die. What do you choose? Why?

2007-03-28 13:28:44 · 12 answers · asked by wolvorine555 1 in Television

I have been single for almost a year and not one date. I'm just not meeting single attractive women in my male dominated everyday life or in my male dominated hobbies. My only choices are my friend's ex's and my ex's friends...arg.

But online dating seems so vulger and desperate.

2007-03-28 13:28:44 · 10 answers · asked by tenbadthings 5 in Singles & Dating

I think pretty soon being a Christian will be illegal...I would go to jail for my beliefs...would you?

2007-03-28 13:28:44 · 43 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

i want to get side swept bangs my hair is thick and brown and i have a oval face. will it work? what should i tell my hairdresser to do and what are some good examples . thanks

2007-03-28 13:28:42 · 17 answers · asked by »-(¯`v´¯)-»♥Daisy♥ 5 in Hair

2007-03-28 13:28:41 · 15 answers · asked by cintiapm 1 in Friends

I read in the paper a few days ago that more and more people are living together vs getting married...having kids while living together...what are your thoughts on this? What do you think the reason for this trend is? Is it that people do not believe in the piece of paper? Weddings are expensive? Although I would think you could get married by a judge cheaply and have a party at your house if it were the expense...is it the till death do us part thing? I would think you would figure on a long term commitment if you were having kids though? I am just wondering what everyone's thoughts are on this, as it seems to be happening more and more...

2007-03-28 13:28:39 · 18 answers · asked by AugustMarch 2 in Marriage & Divorce

does kobe bryant have a nickname? if not what would you name him?

2007-03-28 13:28:30 · 16 answers · asked by cecilia m 1 in Basketball

My family is considering moving to San Francisco or somehwere in SoCal (San Diego or LA possibly). Right now we reside in Medina, WA. Looking for safe neighborhoods, family friendly places (i'm in high school, I have younger siblings). So where are some good spots?

2007-03-28 13:28:30 · 8 answers · asked by foshizzzle 1 in Other - United States

I'm new into martial arts and I've recently found out about whole USA Mc'Dojo concept. Unfortunately as it is, there is a lot of people out there that doesn't take everything in consideration and when they hear "whoa. he is a bb guy/girl" they assume they are fighting gods. No disrespect to anyone but how is it possible that kids from 13-16 can have their first dan bb's ?? Or how is it possible that someone, child or a grown up, can obtain their bb under 5 years of training? It wolud mean quitting your day job and working your butt off with constant practise for that kind of fast advancment as I understand. My senpai (karate) has been training since he was 9 and now i 31 and has second dan. The realistic advancment time for any martial art with belt rankings to first bb sholud be from 6,7 years minimum, if your work very hard .

2007-03-28 13:28:26 · 14 answers · asked by milauwio 1 in Martial Arts

I put a DUAL AUDIO cd- mp3 unit in recently.My problem is,when first put in it worked fine.Now the battery goes dead over night.HELP?

2007-03-28 13:28:24 · 9 answers · asked by fasteddie 1 in Car Audio

i am having a birthday party coming up and i can invite 14 girls to the party.. but i can only invite 4 to the sleepover..all of these girls are my friends.. but how do i choose the girls i want to spend the nite?
P.S>>>>> i already picked out 2 that i HAVE to invite....

2007-03-28 13:28:24 · 2 answers · asked by soobvioustoday 2 in Friends

Is it the person who agrees with you the most?

Is it the person who tells you what you want to hear?

Is it the person who is the most helpful?

Creativity points.

2007-03-28 13:28:23 · 10 answers · asked by fancypants 2 in Polls & Surveys

I slept in the wrong position for the last couple of nights and my lower back is hurting. What is a good over the counter medicine for this?

I took some extra strength tylenol but I've seen things advertised especially for back pain and I can't remember what it was. Thanks!

.

2007-03-28 13:28:17 · 7 answers · asked by rob1963man 5 in Pain & Pain Management

With all my shirts you can see my bra what do i do?

2007-03-28 13:28:14 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Women's Health

and is this likley to happen?

2007-03-28 13:28:11 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Small Business

Mine is pink because I always get compliments when I wear pink.

2007-03-28 13:28:09 · 12 answers · asked by howellslj 2 in Other - Arts & Humanities

2007-03-28 13:28:09 · 12 answers · asked by returnofkarlos 2 in Internet

Britney spears and JT (justin timberlake) are just friends or are they more than that i was reading weekly mag and they said that he sent a letter to her while britt was in rehab saying lovey dovey stuff and he put their nicknamesthat they use to call each other when they were a couple, and he wrote ill be waiting for you... could this be more than friendship love or?

2007-03-28 13:28:03 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Celebrities

if i just eat fruits and vegatables, will i lose weight?
and if so how long till it shows results

2007-03-28 13:28:00 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Diet & Fitness

I have asked quite a few questions and have gotten quite a few answers, but one thing that I can almost always bet on is someone saying that my premise is false and therefore my question is worthless.

But I ask, if the premise is not understood by someone, if the person being asked is too ignorant or arrogant to understand the question, does this suddenly invalidate the question?

The answer must be no, since all things are relative to all people, right? Just because it is not true to one does not mean that it is not true to all, right?

And as such should these who say such things keep this in mind and remain silent, instead of tearing others down?

P.S. I am only talking of non-true/false questions, ones that do not have one single answer. I.E. Is the earth a sphere? Yes. There is no other answer because the earth is a sphere. So do not answer with a comment about some questions having a single answer.

Serious answers only please.

Thanks.

2007-03-28 13:28:00 · 8 answers · asked by Arthur N 4 in Philosophy

we know that just about all sports have someone gay in them.i mean really gay,like coming out of the closet gay.senators,congressmen,judges,and so forth.
we all get on here and bash other drivers we dont like and call them "gay".
now my question is,has there ever been a driver,crewchief,crew member,owner,or whatever in nascar ever come out of the closet and admit to being gay?
i dont know of any.do u?

2007-03-28 13:27:51 · 39 answers · asked by 'HUMVEE' 5 in NASCAR

How can one email music they recorded onto the pc from their guitar? with-out the file being to big . also with-out having to buy more item's for the pc. Is there a way????? I have audacity and that's how I recorded it onto the pc, but don't know how to zip it smallier to email it.

2007-03-28 13:27:50 · 2 answers · asked by Lefty Bassist 1 3 in Music & Music Players