Oedipus and Antigone Essay

Submitted By JTHolley
Words: 289
Pages: 2

JT and Jordan Argument 3 Block 2
Antigone Is Justified
Antigone was courageous and willing to die for her cause. She thinks burying her brother was the right thing to do. When she approaches her sister Ismene for help to bury Polyneices, she speaks fearlessly about her willingness to die for her cause, “But if I must bury him, and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy, I shall lie down with him in death and I shall be as dear to him as he to me” (1.2.57-60). She disobeyed Creon and buried Polyneices anyway, knowing that the punishment was death. She places dust on the body only to have it removed by the sentries, than again by the gods and the storm. When confronted about it, Antigone she responds saying, “Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way” (1.2.36). She isn’t afraid of Creon and she won’t let him hold her back. She isn’t afraid to die for her brother and what she thinks is right. She will fight to the death to try to prove she is right and what she is doing is fair. Later in the play, when she is arrested, Creon confronts Antigone. She says to Creon, “I knew I must die, even without your decree, I am only mortal, and if I must die now, before it is my time to die, surely there is no hardship: can anyone living, as I live, with all evil about me, think death less than a friend? ” (1.2.73-75). She stands firm even before the highest ruler of Thebes. She doesn’t try to run away from what she did. She didn’t deny what she did. She stood in front of Creon