It’s no secret that cruelty has flourished in the world since the early ages. Whether it was the Roman Empire placing Catholics in the Colosseum, or ISIS radicals killing thousands, cruelty has existed and doesn 't seem to be going away. As terrible as cruelty is in the world today, it has, at times, the catalyst for the actions of people with good intentions. Two people who recognized this idea and talked about it in their respective works were Sophocles and Tim O’Brien. Their works, Antigone and “The Things They Carried,” both preach about the effect that cruelty has on the individual. This is shown through a dictator who refuses to bury the dead, a blind prophet, M-16s, pictures of girlfriends, and so much more. Antigone and “The Things
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Creon is the source of all things cruel in Antigone. He orders “that none may bury, none make moan for [Polyneices], But leave unwept, untombed, a dainty prize” (Sophocles 28-29). In addition, he does not reason with Antigone, nor Haemon when he is deciding how to punish Antigone for her horrendous deed. He truly marches to the beat of his own drum and is hated by the people. He acts this way partially because he knows that dictators need to be tough and “never let for a woman 's sake Reason give way to sense” (Sophocles 648-649). He is acting this way because he is controlled by his presumptions and visions of how powerful dictators must act; he is unable to recognize, at this moment, that his actions are cruel and inhumane. He does eventually understand why Haemon and Antigone were rebelling against his horrendous actions. His recognition comes at the end of the story when a multitude of characters begin to commit suicide. It all begins with Antigone. She takes her own life and her suicide persuades Haemon to take his life as well. Once all o this terrible news is reported to Eurydice, Creon’s wife, she too takes her own life. All of this has happened within the course of a few moments and it causes Creon to recognize that something is wrong with his ways. There is not much text that depicts Creon’s reaction but in his …show more content…
Both of these authors use cruelty as “an attempt to depict and reveal the results of others’ actions” (Post 13). O’Brien uses a death in his short story as a wake up call to Jimmy. He places the death in his story so Jimmy can learn how to be a better leader and teach the other members in his squadron how to conduct themselves while on the battlefield. Similar to O’Brien, Sophocles takes the suicides of three people to get Creon to realize that he must change his ways for the sake of himself and for the sake of others. Both of these characters are not only similar because of their self actualizations, but also because their shifts are both to benefit others. Jimmy is going to make sure the men in his squad don 't make the same mistakes as him, and Creon is hopefully going to change the culture of the leadership in Thebes. As terrible as it sounds, there sometimes needs to be cruelty in the world in order for individuals to change their ways not only for the betterment of themselves, but for the betterment of
Creon is the source of all things cruel in Antigone. He orders “that none may bury, none make moan for [Polyneices], But leave unwept, untombed, a dainty prize” (Sophocles 28-29). In addition, he does not reason with Antigone, nor Haemon when he is deciding how to punish Antigone for her horrendous deed. He truly marches to the beat of his own drum and is hated by the people. He acts this way partially because he knows that dictators need to be tough and “never let for a woman 's sake Reason give way to sense” (Sophocles 648-649). He is acting this way because he is controlled by his presumptions and visions of how powerful dictators must act; he is unable to recognize, at this moment, that his actions are cruel and inhumane. He does eventually understand why Haemon and Antigone were rebelling against his horrendous actions. His recognition comes at the end of the story when a multitude of characters begin to commit suicide. It all begins with Antigone. She takes her own life and her suicide persuades Haemon to take his life as well. Once all o this terrible news is reported to Eurydice, Creon’s wife, she too takes her own life. All of this has happened within the course of a few moments and it causes Creon to recognize that something is wrong with his ways. There is not much text that depicts Creon’s reaction but in his …show more content…
Both of these authors use cruelty as “an attempt to depict and reveal the results of others’ actions” (Post 13). O’Brien uses a death in his short story as a wake up call to Jimmy. He places the death in his story so Jimmy can learn how to be a better leader and teach the other members in his squadron how to conduct themselves while on the battlefield. Similar to O’Brien, Sophocles takes the suicides of three people to get Creon to realize that he must change his ways for the sake of himself and for the sake of others. Both of these characters are not only similar because of their self actualizations, but also because their shifts are both to benefit others. Jimmy is going to make sure the men in his squad don 't make the same mistakes as him, and Creon is hopefully going to change the culture of the leadership in Thebes. As terrible as it sounds, there sometimes needs to be cruelty in the world in order for individuals to change their ways not only for the betterment of themselves, but for the betterment of