Hello Scholars!
I hope all of you enjoyed the time off and stayed safe and sound at home today!
I want all of you to print PUB #1 and begin thinking about the writing. IT IS POSTED AS A PAGE AT THE TOP OF THIS BLOG.. IT IS TITLED MORAL LAW V. CIVIL LAW!
1. The first step to writing is pre-writing. Decide on the topic you would like to write about based on the choices . Study the question.
2. Your response should encompass an Introduction, Body Paragraphs and a Conclusion.
Your introduction should have a background and thesis. This thesis will reflect the topic you choose. You will be introducing the topic and your thesis based on the topic you choose.
3. Your body paragraphs should have a topic sentence and concrete examples to support them! In addition, your examples should have quotes to support them. Quotes should accompany in-text citation (you should know this from 101).
character and lines OR Author and page
(Antigone, 397-401) OR (Sophocles 1129).
4. Be sure to have a conclusion. This is known as a final analysis.
I encourage all of you to begin thinking and writing over the weekend. Type it up in a WORD document. Published Writing Assignments do not require a proper heading. Formal Papers will require it. However, pubs are a bit different.
Pubs do require proper format , grammar, MLA in -text and all of the other requirements of academic writing. You will need to treat Published WRiting seriously. I have posted a rubric.
I WILL GO OVER both the RUBRIC and THE Writing on Tuesday 2/14 in class. I will be sure to answer any questions you may have. I will go over commenting on another student's response. Please come to class with questions.
I wish all of you a happy and healthy weekend! STAY WARM!
Ancient Greece was a time when the God’s were the warriors, and free thought was not on the forefront of the general population's mind. Individualism was nearly unheard of, and yet Sophocles’ demonstrates the idea of free thought in a time where that simple thought was of the unthinkable. The conflict “Fate vs. Freewill” depicts the the opportunity costs faced when mythology and philosophy coincide. All characters within “Antigone” are faced with their own beliefs and the effects it will have on their religious beliefs, and vise versa. Essentially, individualism is the downfall of all of the characters.
ReplyDeleteThe center of Greek mythology is control. Within the multitude of Greek god’s there was a hierarchy, therefore everyone behaved accordingly. This idea is translated when Sophocles uses Creon to set a decree that had a belief that went against all Greek burial rites. This decree in of itself is an example of self thought. Creon states, “ His body shall be left unburied to be devoured by birds and dogs and managed in men’s sight” (Sophocles 205-06). Such a decree is so vast that it could have only been harvested by free philosophy. Creon is no God to declare this. He has fought no battle to give him the honor for such an announcement. Creon is also very aware of the individualistic approach he took when he disclosed his doubt to his son, “Lord, suspicion has been dawning on me some time that this deed might perhaps be the work of the gods” (Sophocles 278-79). He begins to doubt himself because he is conscious to the fact that his decision goes directly against the gods, and may eventually lead to his downfall. His own idea on how to unite the city goes against every burial rite in their culture. This consequently leads to his demise and indirectly causes him to lose his son. Also, his decision to not bury his nephew is what leads to his own destruction.
After hearing this decree, the entire city blindly obeys, but Antigone, who is also a free thinker, decides to go against her uncle. In this play she is the epitome of free thought and individualism. She knew exactly what she was doing and why she was doing it. She quotes, “I know that I am pleasing those whom I am chiefly bound to please” (Antigone, 88-9). She knew what her individual values were and how they correlated with her religion. She did not accept what her peers and family believed, and chose to believe in her own values, and fight for them. Antigone understood that this decree caused the people of Thebes to go against the god they personally believed in. She states to Creon, “It is in their view also, but they keep their mouths shut for you” (Antigone, 590). If Creon’s decree was set to place control over the city-state, then all that could be expected is that the people blindly obey. She was noble and one who thought with her mind, yet it was these qualities, and her insubordination that lead to Antigone’s leads to her own downfall.
A mind blindly obeying religion in an Ancient Greek society may have been the only way to avoid one's self destruction or downfall, and to think freely or to enact individualism, according to Sophocles, was essentially in one form another destined to lead to one's self demise. Nonetheless, it is this theory of thinking that will allow one to chose the path of that destruction. In “Antigone”, Creon chooses to set the decree, and in doing so loses his entire family. This was his own decision to go against his religion and chose this outcome. Conversely, Antigone chose her religion and her beliefs over her uncle’s. In doing so, she knew what this laid out for her destiny, and knew by doing so it would lead to her death. Both individualists were faced with weighing their values and choosing their own fate based on their own personal will.
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ReplyDeleteProtagonist in Sophocles’ drama Antigone goes against those of higher power regardless of the consequences. After the tragic death of brothers Polyneices and Eteocles, only Polyneices was denied a proper burial for fighting against their city of Thebes. Despite Creon’s rule, Antigone goes forth with the burial of her brother Polyneices even without the help of her sister, Ismene. “At least do not speak of this act to anyone else; bury him in secret; I will be silent, too (Ismene, 97-98). Unlike Antigone, Ismene is too instilled with fear to do what she knows is right. It is evident that Antigone’s fearless attitude and family obligation portrays her moral values.
ReplyDeleteAntigone’s moral value over civil law is what drives her to stand up for what she believes in. Antigone knows that although she is going against the leader of her city Thebes, she is doing right of her Gods. “Yes, it was not Zeus that made the proclamation; nor did justice, which lives with those below, enact such laws as that fro mankind” (Antigone, 494-496). Being in this time period with the importance of a proper burial, Antigone knew it was necessary for her brother to be given one so his soul would rest at peace and not wander for eternity. “But if I dared to leave the dead man, my mother’s son, dead and unburied, that would have been the real pain” (Antigone, 510-512).
Antigone refused to be concealed about her brother’s burial, she did not fear Creon and his actions. “Oh, oh, no! Shout it out. I will hate you still worse for silence-should you not proclaim it, to everyone” (Antigone, 99-101). In order to make a point to not only Creon but to the people of Thebes that she will not follow the rules of her egoistic leader but of the rules of her Gods. Antigone refers to herself as a religious criminal because although she is going against the laws of her city, she morally believes that what she is doing is right and that her Gods would do the same. “I shall be a criminal- but a religious one” (Antigone, 84-85). Antigone exclaims to Creon “I did not believe your proclamation had such power to enable one who will someday die to override God’s ordinances, unwritten and secure” (Antigone, 469-499). Antigone does not regret going against the law to bury her brother and is not afraid to admit to Creon of her doings, she believed that Creon had done wrong by the Gods by denying Polyneices a proper burial and will eventually get his punishment. “If this proceeding is good in the God’s eyes I shall know my sin, once I have suffered. But if Creon be the wrongdoers let their suffering be no worse that the injustice they are meting out to me” (Antigone, 975-980)
Antigone’s rebellious and heroine characteristics allude to Rosa Parks, Parks refused to move from her seat for a white passenger to sit on the back of the bus and stood up to those, who at the time, had more power than she. At the time, doing this was civilly wrong but like Antigone, she did what she thought was morally right and went against the law. Many of Antigone’s bold actions and loyalty to her family shows how she believes moral law is more important than civil law. In the end Antigone ends her own life to once again prove to Creon that one's beliefs are more important than the civil law.