Are we unaware as to when we are going to far with something? Sometimes, when writing an essay it is hard not to keep everything succinct and down to the point when you have a good example or good explanation behind it all. When put this way, it is hard not to think of Antigone’s actions as solely trying to prove a point and get her opinion out there. But without trying to understand the motives to her actions, they can be seen as rash, impulsive and rather rebellious. To make other people understand her point, Antigone does whatever possible. She goes against government, society norms, and even her family values. And, in this process, Antigone manages to separate herself from her family; her uncle Creon, fiancée, Haemon, and sister, Ismene.
As metaphorically described before, Antigone’s acts are similar to those of an essayist who is thrown “off-path.” The ideas seem to flow together less, and are intertwined with other ideas, resulting in complicity and misunderstanding. Antigone, in trying to provide her brother with the appropriate burial service, gets carried away in her acts, when her motives and reactions are questioned by her family. Her uncle Creon asks her why she does not “give up” and just face reality, while her sister says that she needs to “down.” In trying to give a proper burial to her brother, Antigone has started to look into things and see what good it can do for her; a sort of look into it as “what is in this for me?”
What is in it for her; glory, pride, or perhaps a feeling of contentment? Antigone is so “sick” of her life on earth that is surrounded by government and society-formed barriers that she wants to leave in search for a sort of glory that may only be attained after death in an “after-life.” And with so much of her attention focused on her brother’s death and burial, it seems as if she cares more and more about merely the dead rather than the living. If one only cares for self-righteousness and so-called glory, does that make her conceited? So much can be assumed and read from the actions of this one character. Her uncle Creon once called into question Antigone’s ability to bend before adversity, meaning did Antigone have the capability to bend or submit to authority. I feel that Antigone definitely has a problem with admitting or letting a high official’s power determine what she can and cannot do. And, considering this, she has no problem bending to glory because she sees positive outcomes from “disobeying” the law and staying true to her own perspectives (451).
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Ashleigh, at first I wasn't sure what you meant when you said Antigone gets carried away. But when you began talking about how perhaps she starts to care more about the dead than the living, I began to see your point. So it's not that her beliefs are wrong, but rather that she loses sight of a bigger picture, or perhaps that her dedication turns into self-righteousness, that bothers you? An interesting line of thought. Thanks.
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