Introduction to Literature. Antigone
Introduction to Literature
Week 1 Essay- Antigone
June 6, 2013
In reading Antigone, it’s fairly natural to see Antigone as a good, principled woman who is wronged by the dogmatic, inflexible Creon. But if you had to defend Creon’s actions, what would you say? Does he have any justifiable reason for acting the way he does?
As Creon states in Sophocles Antigone: “Whoever places a friend above the good of his own country, he is nothing…” (Meyer 1490). As I was reading Antigone I could not help but think “this play should be called Creon rather than Antigone”. Creon’s role in this play is a huge part of the narrative. The plot of the story depends on Creon’s belief that patriotism to his country is more important than ones obedience to the gods. However does Creon have justification for his actions? I would say in Creon’s case he shows an extremist viewpoint of patriotism that is slightly understandable. Creon is much like patriots of countries around the world today. Even in the past some more barbaric patriots would go to extremes to show the cost of treason. Most extremist believe there is nothing that a person can do against their country that is forgivable. Even though I would not say our country is full of extreme patriotism there is a pride that can be dangerous. According to a worldwide survey Claude Fischer provides some evidence by Tom Smith at the International Social Science Programme that shows: “We (US citizens) believe that we are #1 almost across the board, when in fact we are far below number one in many arenas – in health, K-12 education, working conditions, to mention just a few” (Wade 1).The survey begs the question does our #1 pride then blind us to the possibility that we could learn a thing or two from other countries? Creon would not listen to his advisors until the cost of his patriotism affected his nuclear family directly. So would Creon have taken the advice of another culture? I would emphatically say no. This shows the extreme
Week 1 Essay- Antigone
June 6, 2013
In reading Antigone, it’s fairly natural to see Antigone as a good, principled woman who is wronged by the dogmatic, inflexible Creon. But if you had to defend Creon’s actions, what would you say? Does he have any justifiable reason for acting the way he does?
As Creon states in Sophocles Antigone: “Whoever places a friend above the good of his own country, he is nothing…” (Meyer 1490). As I was reading Antigone I could not help but think “this play should be called Creon rather than Antigone”. Creon’s role in this play is a huge part of the narrative. The plot of the story depends on Creon’s belief that patriotism to his country is more important than ones obedience to the gods. However does Creon have justification for his actions? I would say in Creon’s case he shows an extremist viewpoint of patriotism that is slightly understandable. Creon is much like patriots of countries around the world today. Even in the past some more barbaric patriots would go to extremes to show the cost of treason. Most extremist believe there is nothing that a person can do against their country that is forgivable. Even though I would not say our country is full of extreme patriotism there is a pride that can be dangerous. According to a worldwide survey Claude Fischer provides some evidence by Tom Smith at the International Social Science Programme that shows: “We (US citizens) believe that we are #1 almost across the board, when in fact we are far below number one in many arenas – in health, K-12 education, working conditions, to mention just a few” (Wade 1).The survey begs the question does our #1 pride then blind us to the possibility that we could learn a thing or two from other countries? Creon would not listen to his advisors until the cost of his patriotism affected his nuclear family directly. So would Creon have taken the advice of another culture? I would emphatically say no. This shows the extreme
Cited: Meyer, Michael. Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. [S.l.]: Bedford Bks St Martin 'S, 2013. Print. Wade, Lisa. "Sociological Images." Sociological Images RSS. N.p., 25 July 2010. Web. 09 June 2013.