In the story of Antigone, the first thing the character Creon does is declare a harsh but understandable law. He proclaims that while the body of Eteocles will be buried with dignity, the corpse of Polyneices will be left to rot on the field of battle. Anyone who attempts to honor Polyneices's body with burial will be sentenced to death. Though Polyneices is Creon’s own family, he does not hold back in punishing him. “Did you by any chance act on the assumption that a daughter of Oedipus, a daughter of Oedipus’ stubborn pride, was above the law?” (Jewkes, 198). He doesn’t believe anyone is above the law, even if it is to please the natural order of the gods. The law, as Creon often indirectly states, is the most important philosophy in
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It is this rebellious act and Antigone's determined loyalty to the memory of her brother that forms the spine of the play. Her stubborn loyalty becomes her hamartia, her tragic error, and ultimately causes her downfall. “But because you said yes, all that you can do, for all your crown and your trappings, and your guards- all that you can do is have me killed” (Jewkes, 204). Antigone is a great example of how a hamartia doesn't necessarily have to be a character "flaw" as it is often described. Most people would call loyalty an admirable trait. Antigone's devotion is so extreme, however, that it brings tragedy once more to Thebes. Her error comes when she disobeys Creon and the city of Thebes, showing loyalty to her brother and the gods. Whereas Oedipus tried to change his fate and thwart the gods, Antigone is trying to honor Hades, god of the dead. She tries to help Creon do the same. “I don’t have to do things that I think are wrong. If it comes to that, you didn’t really want to leave my brother’s body unburied, did you say?” (Jewkes, 205). This is the way of respecting the dead in ancient Thebes, and Antigone’s actions show her priority of placing the gods’ order above a worldly …show more content…
The portrayal of his homosexuality is a bit shallow and uncomfortably stereotypical if one looks closely: Paul is petrified by rats, splashes cologne on himself, and is fastidious about odors and dirt. The only woman who interests Paul is the soprano he sees at Carnegie Hall, a middle-aged woman described as “the mother of many children” (Jewkes, 69)and a clear substitute for Paul’s own deceased mother. The prospect of heterosexual relations seems to repulse Paul. He is unsettled, for example, by the young clerk’s marriage to a nearsighted schoolmistress and by the couple’s four children. Paul is most interested in boys. He tussles with the other young ushers at the theater and latches on to Charley Edwards, who allows Paul to help him dress for performances. “For more than a year had Paul spent every available moment loitering about Charley Edwards’s dressing room” (Jewkes, 75). The narrator notes that Charley thinks Paul has a vocation. The kind of vocation is not specified, and we infer that Paul has an affinity both for the theater and for men, as does Charley. Paul’s homosexuality makes him feel deeply alienated from society. Although he seems to achieve a certain acceptance from a few groups and individuals, the details are so vague that one can assume the acceptance was hardly
It is this rebellious act and Antigone's determined loyalty to the memory of her brother that forms the spine of the play. Her stubborn loyalty becomes her hamartia, her tragic error, and ultimately causes her downfall. “But because you said yes, all that you can do, for all your crown and your trappings, and your guards- all that you can do is have me killed” (Jewkes, 204). Antigone is a great example of how a hamartia doesn't necessarily have to be a character "flaw" as it is often described. Most people would call loyalty an admirable trait. Antigone's devotion is so extreme, however, that it brings tragedy once more to Thebes. Her error comes when she disobeys Creon and the city of Thebes, showing loyalty to her brother and the gods. Whereas Oedipus tried to change his fate and thwart the gods, Antigone is trying to honor Hades, god of the dead. She tries to help Creon do the same. “I don’t have to do things that I think are wrong. If it comes to that, you didn’t really want to leave my brother’s body unburied, did you say?” (Jewkes, 205). This is the way of respecting the dead in ancient Thebes, and Antigone’s actions show her priority of placing the gods’ order above a worldly …show more content…
The portrayal of his homosexuality is a bit shallow and uncomfortably stereotypical if one looks closely: Paul is petrified by rats, splashes cologne on himself, and is fastidious about odors and dirt. The only woman who interests Paul is the soprano he sees at Carnegie Hall, a middle-aged woman described as “the mother of many children” (Jewkes, 69)and a clear substitute for Paul’s own deceased mother. The prospect of heterosexual relations seems to repulse Paul. He is unsettled, for example, by the young clerk’s marriage to a nearsighted schoolmistress and by the couple’s four children. Paul is most interested in boys. He tussles with the other young ushers at the theater and latches on to Charley Edwards, who allows Paul to help him dress for performances. “For more than a year had Paul spent every available moment loitering about Charley Edwards’s dressing room” (Jewkes, 75). The narrator notes that Charley thinks Paul has a vocation. The kind of vocation is not specified, and we infer that Paul has an affinity both for the theater and for men, as does Charley. Paul’s homosexuality makes him feel deeply alienated from society. Although he seems to achieve a certain acceptance from a few groups and individuals, the details are so vague that one can assume the acceptance was hardly