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Antigone's Character

            I love my brother and I would do almost anything for him. I would lend him money if he was in financial trouble. I would support him if he were in court and he honestly told me he was innocent. Even though I"d do most anything for my brother, I would draw the line at giving up my own life. However Antigone took it to the next level and was killed for defending her brother. In my eyes Antigone was very foolish in her decision making.
             One of the reasons why I feel Antigone was foolish is that she let her emotions get in the way of her logical thinking. This is evident within the first 116 lines where Antigone is trying to get Ismene to help her in her efforts to bury Polynices. Antigone speaks with a sparatic tone that suggests that she is just letting the words flow out of her mouth. If she were to put her emotions to her side she would have approached Ismene in a different way to convince her to help. Another example of her emotional talking is when she admits to Creon that she buried her brother (line 492). Why didn't she deny it or just deny she knew about the law to lessen the punishment? She buried her brother because she felt it was her duty to her family and her gods, so what was the point of letting other people know? Even though she was willing to die for her actions she still could have made some sort of attempt to escape the punishment. I have respect for her courage, yet wonder about her actions.
             Another reason why I feel Antigone was foolish came through her validation for dying. "I"d never have taken this ordeal upon myself" (998) she proclaims if it had been a husband or child of hers. She feels that both of these are sort of expendable because they can both be replaced. A reason for her dying for her brother is that since both her parents are dead there is no way to replace Polynices (lines 995-1005). I think this rationalization is absurd. First of all, a spouse or child is not even close to being replaceable if lost.


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  • Word Count: 751
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