Antigone Ib A1 Paper 2 Essay - 819 Words

‘Antigone’ Paper 2 Essay (e). Evil not only fascinates people in general, but writers as well. In what ways and with what effect has â€Å"evil† been treated in Antigone? In the play of ‘Antigone’, evil appears in many forms. There is the soldier who is a traitor to his nation; the sister trying to prove her love for her family yet ends up breaking the law; the king who so eagerly tries to stop rule-breakers yet he himself neglects his flesh and blood. Here the difference of the two works is seen: The Earth of Mankind gives the impression that characters of power possess evil, whereas in Antigone, evil can be inside all of these opposing individuals. Polyneices, a soldier who fought against his own nation was to be punished as a traitor†¦show more content†¦Antigone had to break the law in order to give him his right of getting a burial. Ismene, who was too scared to go against the decree, was said to be a traitor to her family, as she didn’t come to assist Antigone in her mission. They then cause Creon to imprison the sisters, punish them, which then cause him to have a fight with his son. Creon then causes death of Haimo n, and therefore leads to the suicide of the Queen. On page 243, the messenger says, ‘†¦and her last breath was a curse for their father, the murderer of her sons.’ A number of misfortunes occur as being the result of one act of evil. The play now gives the effect that evil gives more negative outcomes in comparison to good giving positive results. Here, evil is powerful enough to make such a big impact on its surrounding; bigger than the good. Creon sees Antigone as a traitor to his rules, despite her reasons. Creon imprisoned both Antigone and Ismene for the burial of the nation’s traitor, Polyneices, who is their brother. It is true that Antigone has broken the law, but according to her logic, it is more important to follow the rules of the Gods than the King. She feels that the dead, no matter what they did in their lives, deserve respect and be buried, and that it was her duty to do so as Polyneices’ sister. She didn’t care that she is breaking the decree, and may be punished to die, as long as this task is done. Creon,