In both The Republic and Antigone, the reader finds a set of characters who have different beliefs on the idea of justice. The Republic follows the story of Socrates, a philosopher who questions what justice means to everyone he meets throughout the day. He creates conflict between characters by questioning every answer they give. In Antigone, King Creon has prevented the burial of one of his nephews involved in a civil war with his brother. Antigone is found desperate to bury her brother since she believes it is her duty as his sister, even if it means she will be stoned to death. Despite the different storylines, the characters as well as their argument methods will be analyzed and compared. In The Republic, the character Polemarchus, who
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She asks Ismene if she is willing to help her do what she believes is a duty towards her dead brother. “I won’t be caught betraying him (Sophocles 59),” she says, making Ismene feel like Antigone is going way too far for her dead brother. But Antigone is willing to go against the king, despite being at a lower position than him and a woman. Unlike Polemarchus, who cowered away from Socrates’s argument, Antigone only gets more passionate. She seems to have an answer to all of Ismene’s logical questions, while Polemarchus just agrees to Socrates instead of thinking for himself. It’s ironic, because Antigone seems to have no real benefit from acting upon this crime, besides self-satisfaction, while Polemarchus who is receiving his father’s wealth, will have material benefit from this relationship. Based on personality, Polemarchus is either too cowardly, or treasures his own life way too much to ever go against anyone over a matter concerning family, if it could lead to his death. Antigone doesn’t need anything but pride to strengthen her beliefs and actions she plans to take to bury …show more content…
In terms of justice, both Creon and Thrasymachus emphasize power over everything else. In Creon’s view, the king has a final say in every decision, and his decision is the ultimate justice. The king is often associated with God, so he is always correct in a religious view to a certain extent. In this instance, Creon has a certain sense of arrogance in what he believes to be right, and what he claims as law, is set in stone. He describes his nephew,” Polyneices, who returned from exile, eager to wipe out in all-consuming fire his ancestral city and its native gods, keen to seize upon his family’s blood and lead men into slavery…(Sophocles 230)” showing that he truly thinks Polyneices has betrayed his family and his people. The way he talks is intimidating, and he has a very dominant aura, which is not surprising for a king. But he also is merciless, as he doesn’t even forgive his own family, probably to maintain power himself and because he wants to show his people that he is deserving of his
She asks Ismene if she is willing to help her do what she believes is a duty towards her dead brother. “I won’t be caught betraying him (Sophocles 59),” she says, making Ismene feel like Antigone is going way too far for her dead brother. But Antigone is willing to go against the king, despite being at a lower position than him and a woman. Unlike Polemarchus, who cowered away from Socrates’s argument, Antigone only gets more passionate. She seems to have an answer to all of Ismene’s logical questions, while Polemarchus just agrees to Socrates instead of thinking for himself. It’s ironic, because Antigone seems to have no real benefit from acting upon this crime, besides self-satisfaction, while Polemarchus who is receiving his father’s wealth, will have material benefit from this relationship. Based on personality, Polemarchus is either too cowardly, or treasures his own life way too much to ever go against anyone over a matter concerning family, if it could lead to his death. Antigone doesn’t need anything but pride to strengthen her beliefs and actions she plans to take to bury …show more content…
In terms of justice, both Creon and Thrasymachus emphasize power over everything else. In Creon’s view, the king has a final say in every decision, and his decision is the ultimate justice. The king is often associated with God, so he is always correct in a religious view to a certain extent. In this instance, Creon has a certain sense of arrogance in what he believes to be right, and what he claims as law, is set in stone. He describes his nephew,” Polyneices, who returned from exile, eager to wipe out in all-consuming fire his ancestral city and its native gods, keen to seize upon his family’s blood and lead men into slavery…(Sophocles 230)” showing that he truly thinks Polyneices has betrayed his family and his people. The way he talks is intimidating, and he has a very dominant aura, which is not surprising for a king. But he also is merciless, as he doesn’t even forgive his own family, probably to maintain power himself and because he wants to show his people that he is deserving of his