Oedipus And Antigone Essay, Research Paper

Jay Freedman Mr. Doyle

12/21/99 College English

Oedipus the King and Antigone

Grecian play is about human nature and the human status. Both Antigone and Oedipus the King by Sophocles are two of the most distinguished pieces of theatrical work that reflects upon Greek mythology and civilization. In both of these plants they are comparable because in both dramas sensible picks are made from the best possible motive but are come back to stalk one twenty-four hours and both dramas have a tragic hero.

In the drama Oedipus the King, when Oedipus grows up and finds out he is a menace to his female parent and male parent, he leaves who he believes are his parents in order to forestall his executing the atrocious workss predicted of him. When he meets Laius, his biological male parent, on the route, he kills him in what he considers self-defense. He so saves Thebes from the Sphinx and is rewarded with the manus in matrimony of the late widowed queen, with whom he conceives four kids, who happen to besides be his brothers and sisters, and his married woman & # 8217 ; s grandchildren. Each of the above actions lead to, and really do possible, the awful destiny that befalls Oedipus.

In Antigone, the drama starts after the twenty-four hours of a conflict in which both boies of Oedipus, leaders of opposing ground forcess killed each other in conflict. Thebes, which is led by King Creon orders that Polyneices organic structure, the treasonist, is to be left unburied for the crows to eat. He besides states that if anyone goes against his order that they will be sentenced to decease. Antigone does non obey Creon s order because Polyneices is her brother and she believes even though he is a treasonist to Thebes, that he deserves a proper entombment. Creon sentences Antigone to decease. Tiresias, the prophesier, tells Creon to bury Polyneices with awards and to allow travel of Antigone. Creon refuses and Tiresias says A cadaver for a cadaver the monetary value, and flesh for flesh, one your ain begotten. ( Antigone, 239 ) This quotation mark means that if Creon does non obey he will pay with his boy s life. Antigone kills herself before Creon can acquire to her in clip. Her decease triggers Haemon s decease, the boy of Creon, to besides take his ain life because he can non populate without his love. Once Creon s married woman, Eurydice, found out about her boy s decease she instantly ran to her room and took her ain life.

& # 8220 ; Fate & # 8221 ; is the word frequently used in concurrence with authoritative Grecian literature and play, but destiny in the sense of pre-determined results is non a perspective held by many Am

ericans today. It is non that one is fated before one makes a pick to hold certain effects occur, but that certain effects will finally ensue from certain picks and actions. In both these dramas fate determines both of the leader s consequences.

In the first drama, Oedipus thinks he has escaped destiny, but comes to recognize, that he is incorrect and has married his female parent and killed his male parent. Once his wife/mother, Jocasta, finds out

about this, she commits suicide. Oedipus, gouges out his eyes because, he no longer wants to see if he can non see his love and is exiled from Thebes for killing Laius. In Antigone, Creon does non believe in destiny and his obstinacy makes him disobey Tiresias orders.

His determination consequences in the decease of his boy, and finally ends in the decease of his married woman.

Both charcaters tried to make something noble for their land but destiny has is set for them that their lives will stop in a catastrophe.

In both dramas, there is a tragic hero. A tragic hero is person who dies or who s life is destroyed for something that they have done that they believe is right and for the good of the land.

In Oedipus the King, he is seeking to salvage Thebes from the pestilence. He has Creon, travel to Apollo, the God of healing, and inquire him what can he make to stop this retched disease. Apollo replies that if they find the liquidator of Laius and if he is banished than pestilence will be stopped. The liquidator turns out to be Oedipus and he is banished from Thebes. This shows that he was seeking to make something virtuous but ends up aching himself.

In Antigone, Antigone seems to be the tragic hero. She dies for what she feels is a right and merely cause. She wants to bury her brother s organic structure, Polyneices, even though she knows she is disobeying Creon s jurisprudence and will pay for her workss with her life. She believes Creon can non halt her from assisting her household and says I go to raise a grave above my dearest brother. ( Antigone,194 ) This quotation mark means that she will bury her brother no affair what consequences. After being accused of disobeying Creon s jurisprudence for burying Polyneices, Creon sentences her to decease, but Antigone takes her ain life before she is murdered.

Both of these dramas discourse how people can non get away destiny, no affair how good or bad they are in life and that destiny is something that is pre-determined and can non be changed. Besides they both have a tragic hero, one of so is Oedipus while the other is Antigone. They both die for the something that they thought was right.