Essay on Sophocles Family vs. Law - 890 Words

Sophocles: Family vs. Law Family, an important theme of life, gets expressed throughout many ways in society. Family may take precedence over many things, including authority and the law. Within the tragic play, Antigone, the author Sophocles presents situations where the characters have to choose between their family and the law. The characters must choose what is more important to them, their family or obeying the laws of Thebes. Throughout the play, Sophocles presents a strong theme of family values and the importance of it through the actions of Antigone, Creon and Haimon. Antigone, placed in many situations throughout the play, has to choose between her family and the law. Antigone chooses to honor her brother, Polyneces, by†¦show more content†¦Creon, reluctant at first, listens to the Choragos and says to them, â€Å"It is hard to deny the heart!† (SceneV.235). Creon knows deep down inside that he will be doing the right thing by letting Antigone go free. Although Creon wants Anti gone to pay for breaking the law, his family ties with her prove to out shine his devotion to the law. As Creon orders the Choragos on what weapons to bring, he says, â€Å"I buried her, I/ Will set her free† (SceneV.236). Creon realizes that his family ties with Antigone mean more to him than justice and he wants her to know that by freeing her himself. Creon wants to prove to Antigone that he does care about her safety and her future so he will set her free so she can go on living her life with Haimon. Although Creon decides to free Antigone partly out of guilt, he mostly does it because of her love for her. Sophocles shows throughout the tragic play that he prefers family over the law through the actions of Creon. Sophocles shows his devotion to family over the law by the actions of Haimon. Haimon has to decide whether to fight for his wife’s life or obey his father. Haimon, driven mad by the situation he has at hand, decides to kill himself after he finds out Antigone has done the same. The messenger delivers the horrible news to the Choragos and says, â€Å"Haimon is dead; and the hand that killed him/ Is his own hand† (Exodos.239). If he cannot liveShow MoreRelatedAntigone vs Kreon Essay915 Words   |  4 PagesAntigone vs. Kreon- Nomos vs. Written Laws Antigone is a play written in 442 B.C. (hypothetical) by the noted Greek playwright Sophocles. In the play Sophocles deals with issues such as the relationship between males and females and the state as well as the position of women in society. He uses Antigone to represent obligation to family and the gods while Kreon represents obligation of the written laws of the state. 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