Creon's Guilt

Creon is guilty, without a doubt. There were three deaths in the play, Antigone, Haemon and Eurydice and in a way he was responsible for all of them. Each of them was a suicide triggered by the previous suicide: Eurydice killed herself because Haemon killed himself because Antigone killed herself and she killed her self because of Creon. Creon’s extremely stubborn actions caused Antigone to do what she did.

Creon’s pride is what makes him guilty and his inability to listen to others. First Haemon try’s to convince old Creon that there has been an error in his judgment “'no woman,' they say, 'ever merited her doom less,-none ever was to die so shamefully for deeds so glorious as hers; who, when her own brother had fallen in bloody strife, would not leave him unburied, to be devoured by carrion dogs, or by any bird:-deserves not she the meed of golden honor?'” (Sophocles 693-697) But rather than thinking of the big picture and the fate of Antigone, he is purely focused on how he will be viewed as king and how he can’t listen to others because of his stature “Am I to rule this land by other judgment than mine own?” (Sophocles 137) Then he received warnings of terrible things in his future by Teiresias, “Thou wilt learn, when thou hearest the warnings of mine art. As I took my place on mine old seat of augury, where all birds have been wont to gather within my ken, I heard a strange voice among them; they were screaming with dire, feverish rage, that drowned their language in jargon; and I knew that they were rending each other with their talons, murderously; the whirr of wings told no doubtful tale.” (Sophocles 179)
All of which he ignored based solely on his pride and position as king.

Creon had a chance to right his wrong but he chose not to. This is why he is guilty,
He even confesses it. “"Alas for me . . . the guilt for all of this is mine—it can never be removed from me or passed to any other mortal man. I, and I alone . . . I murdered you . . . I speak the truth.” (Sophocles 840) The case is rested, Creon is guilty.

Sophocles. “Antigone.” The Internet Classics Archive. Trans. R. C. Jebb. 04 Oct. 2000.
Classics.mit.edu. 24 Nov. 2008

LRJ TWO

There is a lot of imagery used through out Antigone, but an image that you can see repeated a great deal is that of a proper burial for Polyneices. To this society, having a body go unburied one of the greatest insults imaginable. One can tell because of the amount of care she expresses on the subject. “Yes. I’ll do my duty to my brother—and yours as well, if you’re not prepared to. I won’t be caught betraying him.” (Sophocles 56-58) The thought of the body going unburied is too much for Antigone to handle. “He’s to have no funeral or lament, but to be left unburied and unwept, a sweet treasure for the birds to look at, for them to feed on to their heart’s content.” (Sophocles 34-37)

A fatal flaw can be seen in Creon. It is his stubbornness and lack of cooperation. Creon is in a position of great power, but with great power comes great responsibility. He decides to not allow the burial of Polyneices. This was a foolish mistake and even after he subconsciously knows that he is wrong he will not bend simply because of his pride ”Do you want me to show myself weak before the people? Or to break my sworn word? No, and I will not.” (Sophocles 217) His pride is once again brimming when he speaks to Teiresias “You can be sure you won’t change my mind to make yourself more rich.” (Sophocles 1190-1191)

The Peripeteia seems to happen when Creon is talking to the Choragos after consulting with Teiresias. “Ah me, 'tis hard, but I resign my cherished resolve,-I obey. We must not wage a vain war with destiny.” (Sophocles 288) However Creon comes to the peirpetia
Too late and despite his best efforts there is nothing he could possibly do to stop what had been set in motion. The following chain of events (The deaths of Haemon, Antigone and Eurydice) is what leads to the Anagnorisis. Creon falls to the lowest point he has been in the play and lets his heart out “Oh Hades, all-receiving whom no sacrifice can appease! Hast thou, then, no mercy for me? O thou herald of evil, bitter tidings, what word dost thou utter? Alas, I was already as dead, and thou hast smitten me anew! What sayest thou, my son? What is this new message that thou bringest-woe, woe is me!-Of a wife's doom-of slaughter headed on slaughter?” (Sophocles 840) It just so happens that this point in the play is also the Catharsis because Creon has nothing left, he is left in a depressed pitiful state, leaving one feeling great sorrow for him. He even wishes death upon himself “Oh, let it come, let it appear, that fairest of fates for me, that brings my last day,-aye, best fate of all! Oh, let it come, that I may never look upon to-morrow's light.” (Sophocles 840)

In Antigone, Women are depicted in two different ways. The first is seen through Ismene. She is timid, afraid and feels like she must obey the unwritten law regarding a women’s place. “Nay, we must remember, first, that we were born women, as who should not strive with men; next, that we are ruled of the stronger, so that we must obey in these things, and in things yet sorer.” Through Antigone the second depiction is seen. Antigone is strong, confident and knows what she is doing is right. Her statements to Creon show all of this. “So for me to meet this doom is trifling grief; but if I had suffered my mother's son to lie in death an unburied corpse, that would have grieved me; for this, I am not grieved. And if my present deeds are foolish in thy sight, it may be that a foolish judge arraigns my folly.” (Sophocles) There is a massive difference between the two portrayals; one might say that they are opposites.

Spohocles. "Antigone." Literature Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes: World Literature. Trans. Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2001. 814-826

Sophocles. "Antigone." The Internet Classic Archive. Trans. R.C. Jebb. 04Oct2000. Classics. mit. edu. 24 Nov 2008 http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/antigone.html.

Poll Closed

The results are in and Ian is indeed the the meanest man in all of Ms. Peifers 5th period english class. He wins with a whopping 156 votes. Megatron came in a distant second. Jake Wythers and Chad tied for third.

Honorable mentions:
aleandro
aaron (sorry for misspelling your name)

last place:
ryan readinger
(just kidding)

Ryan Quotes

Infamous Quotes from Ryan Readinger
(im not kidding, actually siad each of these)
(they are listed in chronological order)
(all in complete seriousness)

"i like xbox, mostly xbox live, never the wii, I HATE THE WII!"
"Why can't you see that you are my child!"
"who are you and what do you want with my trousers!?!?!"
"don't you ever touch my touch my fore head agian!!!"
"I suppose now would be a good time to go to the rest room!"
"are you trying to tell me that a watermelon is a fruit!!!!!
"you can't kill me, im already dead!"
"i would dance with you, IF YOU WERENT SO UGLY!!!!" (directed at chad)
"Pass me that juicey juice, im bout to do something craaaaAAAaaazy!"
"Get out of my mothers car!!!!!"
"hole in 6! thats a new record!!!!"
"you'll never get away with this!!"

The Letter

Dear Sister Antigone,

I will start by saying you are a brave soul. The people of the town consider a you hero, much more so than a criminal. They talk of your great feat. However, I don’t think you realize how dangerous going against the king is, you don't realize the ramifications of your actions. I fear that Creon will have your head for this. I just hope you’re prepared, for the worst.
Polyneices would thank you. I laid awake last night wondering how I could go on knowing that my own brother was going to be food for carrion birds. He deserved a proper burial, whether he fought against our country or not, and thanks to you, he got it. I am a coward, a foolish coward. If only I had seen through my selfish ways earlier. Well, know matter what your punishment is, I will under go it with you. Through the good or the bad, the thick or the thin, I will stand at your side. Let us hope for the thick and good, our family ties may help us a great deal. By the end of the week our souls maybe resting with our brother's. May the gods have mercy on you, you did the right thing.

Please Forgive -
Ismene

Telephone Booth Stuffing: A Fad of The 50's

One of the most well known fads of all time is Telephone Booth stuffing. It was started by several college students who would squeeze themselves into a telephone booth until no one else could fit inside. Although the fad was popularized by colleges from the west coast in the U.S., it was actually started in South Africa where twenty-five students packed themselves into a booth and claimed they had set a world record. Soon, many colleges around the world were trying to beat each other's records. The fad died out in 1959, but was reincarnated in the form of Volkswagen stuffing a few years later.

I hope that one day soon telephone booth stuffing will become popular again and my bedfellows and i can participate in such an event!

Blogging outrageous

Blogs, eh? Well prior to the past few days i have had almost zero experience with blogging. If i were to collect a large number of followers and have something interesting to write about, blogging would be the perfect thing to do. I'm actually rather exited to begin my blogging experience now that i think about it.

Well here it is, my blog. Its pretty fancy, i have to say. Well i really need some thing to blog about, so I'm going to blog about my schedule. Recently, two days ago to be specific, my schedule underwent a drastic change. More than half my day shifted around. i have to say i rather pleased with it, it is the reason i reside in this class. 5th period English IB, its fantastic.

alex has mastered blogging

not a whole lot to say