Skip to main content

What are some quotes that show Antigone's stubborn nature?

Antigone shows her strong-willed nature throughout the play, never wavering in her resolve to do the right thing. She is willing to die for what she believes in and won't give in or allow anyone to sway her with illogical arguments. In the beginning of the play, she approaches her sister Ismene to ask for Ismene's help burying their brother Polyneices. Ismene refuses due to her fear of disobeying authority, especially when that authority is male. Antigone replies:


ANTIGONE: If that is what you think, I should not want you, even if you asked to come... 
But I will 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. 



She expresses her belief in the innate sanctity of her decision to bury Polyneices. Antigone believes she is following the laws of the gods and allowing her brother's spirit to journey into the next world, and she will not allow the king's law to stop her, even if it means certain death. 


Later on in the play, Creon orders Ismene's arrest. Once Ismene is captured, she jumps on the bandwagon and professes to have a share in Antigone's crime. Antigone responds by saying that Ismene has no right to say she had a part in this, showing her strong-willed nature. She won't let Ismene take credit for something Ismene wanted no part in.



ANTIGONE: No, Ismene. You have no right to say so. You would not help me, and I will not have you help me.



Creon asks Antigone whether she heard his proclamation forbidding anyone to bury Polyneices. She replies that she did, and tells him that he was wrong to issue this command against what the gods would have wanted. Throughout the play, she remains strong-willed and steadfast in her certainty that her act was according to the will of the gods. Antigone refuses to give in and pretend that she thinks she did the wrong thing to try to gain favor with Creon and save her life. She was ready to die for her actions, and does not give in even when she is being led to her death. 



CREON: And yet you dared defy the law.


ANTIGONE: I dared. It was not God’s proclamation. That final Justice
That rules the world below makes no such laws.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What are some external and internal conflicts that Montag has in Fahrenheit 451?

 Montag, the protagonist of Fahrenheit 451, faces both external and internal conflicts throughout the novel. Some examples of these conflicts are: External Conflicts: Conflict with the society: Montag lives in a society that prohibits books and critical thinking. He faces opposition from the government and the people who enforce this law. Montag struggles to come to terms with the fact that his society is based on censorship and control. Conflict with his wife: Montag's wife, Mildred, is completely absorbed in the shallow and meaningless entertainment provided by the government. Montag's growing dissatisfaction with his marriage adds to his external conflict. Conflict with the fire captain: Montag's superior, Captain Beatty, is the personification of the oppressive regime that Montag is fighting against. Montag's struggle against Beatty represents his external conflict with the government. Internal Conflicts: Conflict with his own beliefs: Montag, at the beginning of th...
Post a Comment
Read more

In A People's History of the United States, why does Howard Zinn feel that Wilson made a flimsy argument for entering World War I?

"War is the health of the state," the radical writer Randolph Bourne said, in the midst of the First World War. Indeed, as the nations of Europe went to war in 1914, the governments flourished, patriotism bloomed, class struggle was stilled, and young men died in frightful numbers on the battlefields-often for a hundred yards of land, a line of trenches. -- Chapter 14, Page 350, A People's History of the United States Howard Zinn outlines his arguments for why World War I was fought in the opening paragraph of Chapter 14 (referenced above). The nationalism that was created by the Great War benefited the elite political and financial leadership of the various countries involved. Socialism, which was gaining momentum in Europe, as was class struggle, took a backseat to mobilizing for war. Zinn believes that World War I was fought for the gain of the industrial capitalists of Europe in a competition for capital and resources. He states that humanity itself was punished by t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Where did Atticus take the light and extension cord in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Atticus brings the light to the courthouse jail so that he can protect Tom Robinson.  Atticus learns that Tom Robinson, his client, is in danger.  A group of white men want to prevent the trial and lynch Robinson. He is warned by a small group of men that appear at his house.  He refuses to back down.  Atticus knows that the Cunninghams will target his client, so he plans to sit up all night with... Atticus brings the light to the courthouse jail so that he can protect Tom Robinson.  Atticus learns that Tom Robinson, his client, is in danger.  A group of white men want to prevent the trial and lynch Robinson. He is warned by a small group of men that appear at his house.  He refuses to back down.  Atticus knows that the Cunninghams will target his client, so he plans to sit up all night with Jim if that’s what it takes to protect him.  Atticus tells the men that he will make sure his client gets his fair shake at the law.  “Link, that boy might go to the chair, but he’s not going till ...
Post a Comment
Read more