The Downfall of Oedipus Essay

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “a person or thing that contrasts with and so emphasizes and enhances the qualities of another” is a foil. The play Antigone by Sophocles has a strong example of foils. Antigone is a play about the daughter of Oedipus Rex. She breaks a law made by her uncle Creon and buries her dead brother. She receives punishment for her actions and, consequently, dies. Antigone and Creon have differing motivations, making them foils of each other. Their…

My favorite Myth is Oedipus the Theban. I like this story because it shows that a normal human cannot avoid fate, and pride is often our downfall. Sometimes people believe they can take control of their fate and choose their own destinies. They think that they are smart enough to deceive fate into doing what they want. This myth shows people can not belittle fate into letting them choose what happens to them. Human pride takes control and we try to make our own destiny. I think we should try to…

Plot in Antigone Antigone, written by Sophocles, is an Ancient Greek tragedy that takes place in the city of Thebes. The two daughters of Oedipus, Antigone and Ismene, who both face a dilemma because Creon, the new king, has enjoined that Eteocles, one of their brothers, will receive a hero burial, while the other, Polynices, will have no burial rights. Antigone and Ismene have two options: defy the king’s orders and suffer death or forget about the situation and move on with their lives.…

Okonkwo and Creon are characters that share multiple similarities. Okonkwo, the hero of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, and Creon, the antagonist of Sophocles’ play Antigone. Both establish strict beliefs when their family member goes against civil law. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo’s father is lazy and does not work in the community to provide for himself. This image is frowned upon in the Igbo tribe and is very much uncivil. Throughout the book, Okonkwo tries to avoid his father's footsteps by…

Tales of Woe ‘To be or not to be: That is the question’ An undoubtedly famous quote, that most misunderstand the true meaning upon first glance. Written none other by the even more notorious William Shakespeare in his tale of woe about a prince from Denmark, Hamlet. In The Tragedy of Hamlet the ghost of his dead father comes to him, telling his son to avenge him. The current king, Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, poisoned his father to claim the throne. Hamlet thus complies with this ghosts wishes, and…

led to the freedom of their people. Scriptures from the Bible about pride include; “But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.” Daniel 5:20 , “ His pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God. 2 Chronicles 26:16 , “Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.” Galatians 6:4 . Much…

Antigone, a play written by the ancient playwright Sophocles, is a tale of a ruler learning through tragedy. This play is the third part of the trilogy, Oedipus Rex. After Oedipus’ death, his son-brothers both die in a battle over the throne. The throne is ultimately inherited by Creon, the next male in the blood lineage. Creon declares a law to punish the brother, Polyneices, for initiating the attack on the kingdom by leaving his corpse unburied. Polyneices’ sister, Antigone, cannot accept…

A tragic hero is a character who makes a judgment error that leads to the downfall of that character. Unfortunately for Antigone, that character is her. Although Creon makes bad judgments, he is not a hero because he did not make a personal sacrifice for what he believed in. Antigone resolutely believed that burying her beloved brother, Polyneices, was the conscientious thing to do, even though Creon inhibited the proper burial for whom he believed to be a traitor. Antigone believes “Creon is…

suffering of many people and will likely lead to his downfall, similarly found in Creon, a character in Antigone. In Sophocles’ play, Antigone, the conflict of a leader’s strength and compassion shows with Creon being an authoritarian leader believing that his laws have a higher power than that of the Greek gods and the compassion Antigone shows when fighting to bury her brother against the word of Creon. The difficulties of the Theban family of Oedipus began with Polynices, Antigone’s brother,…

to achieve goals that can be considered just? Does the person working towards the justice they want become evil while working for their cause? A tragic hero can cause his downfall by seeking a just cause by using unjust methods to accomplish it. People used to regard these tragic heroes as great people, but after their downfall, their whole life falls with as well. In Shakespeare’s tragic play, Julius Caesar, Brutus wants to keep the democracy of Rome, and decides that murder is the only way to…