Creon: Guilty

Bayley Taple
Peifer
10 IB Hr 4
26 November 2008

Creon: Guilty

To the jury of the Theban court,
Creon, King of Thebes and son of the late Menoeceus, is guilty on three counts. One, he prevented his nephew, Polyneices, from receiving a proper burial. Two, his hand caused the death of Antigone. Three, the two above actions led to the stress and suicide of his own wife and son. He shall be punished for the problems he has caused in the House of Thebes.

The first count, on which Creon is guilty, was commented on by Antigone before her murder. She said, “Dishonors which better fit our enemies are now being piled up on the ones we love” (Johnston 12-13). Antigone was referring to the fact that Creon would not allow Polyneices a peaceful journey across the River Styx, while Eteocles received a full funeral and lament. Subjects close to Creon may argue that Polyneices was indeed an enemy of Thebes, but that is countered by the fact that he was a noble warrior fighting for the cause of his country. Another point made by Antigone was that no matter what side Polyneices was battling for, he still shared Creon’s blood. In response to Creon saying that Polyneices was part of the ungodly army, Antigone replies, “Yes- from the same mother and father, too” (Johnston 585). Ask Creon this: does the bind of family not override the triviality of matters of state?

Now, the second count on which Creon is guilty shall be examined. There is no possible way to deny that Creon commanded the execution of Antigone. There is evidence: Creon himself said to Antigone, “Then go down to the dead” (Johnston 599). As examined in the first count, Polyneices deserved a proper burial. Therefore, Antigone’s action to bury him was better than innocent; she was performing a great deed. Though she was willing to take any punishment for what she thought was right, and is right, she should not have been killed.

The third and final count on which Creon is guilty has been attested to. When Creon saw the bloody corpse of Haimon sprawled on top of Antigone and that of Eurydice as well, he took the blame. “I have been rash and foolish. I have killed my son and my wife” (Fitts and Fitzgerald 134-135).

If none of the evidence above satisfies this jury, there is one more confession that certainly will. Creon said himself, “I alone am guilty” (Fitts and Fitzgerald 122). This disclosure of his wrongdoings will surely have him chastised.

Works Cited

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

_ _ _ “Antigone.” Johnstonia. Trans. Ian Johnston. May 2005. Malaspina University-College 25 Nov. 2008 .

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LRJ #2

Bayley Taple
Peifer
10 IB Hr 4
24 November 2008

LRJ #2

Imagery

There are many strong images given ion Antigone. Teiresias describes the birds in his vision, "Tearing each other, dying In a whirlwind of wings clashing"(Fitts and Fitzgerald 15-16). In this example of imagery, it is easy to imagine bird of prey ripping each other apart, with feathers flying everywhere and their wings flapping all around. The choragos gives another image, "He gathered Antigone close in his arms again, choking, his blood bright red on her white cheek" (Fitts and Fitzgerald 73-74). In this example of imagery, Haimon's blood is splattered onto the corpse of Antigone. His struggle between life and death is seen; he is choking, while Antigone lies peacefully. The choragos describes Antigone soon after she is killed, "...Antigone lay on her couch of stone" (Fitts and Fitzgerald 45). This image reveals that Antigone was comfortable with the stance that she took that led her to death. Her comfort can be inferred by the connotation "couch".

Fatal Flaw

Haimon sates his opinion on Creon's decision to put Antigone to death, "I beg you, do not be unchangeable: Do not believe that you alone can be right" (Fitts and Fitzgerald 73-74). Creon is the tragic hero with the fatal flaw. His fatal flaw is that he does not consider other people's perspectives, and thinks he is the sole being with the answers. In his mind, he is never wrong; he is King.

Anagnorisis

Near the closing of Antigone, Creon admits that he was wrong, realizing the truth, "I alone am guilty" (Fitts and Fitzgerald 122). He was wrong to kill Antigone because, she was just giving her brother the honor he deserved. Also, his choice to kill her led to the deaths of his loved ones. Creon takes responsibility for these deaths, "I have been rash and foolish. I have killed my son and my wife" (Fitts and Fitzgerald 134-135). Here, he acknowledges that even though he did not provide the final blow to take the lives of Haimon and Eurydice, his actions led them both to suicide.

Peripeteia

When Creon knows the misfortune he caused, the circumstances are reversed. Instead of always thinking that he is right, he comes to know his doing that has caused others so much pain. "When Creon saw him the tears rushed to his eyes" (Fitts and Fitzgerald 64). Seeing Haimon dead brought Creon to face his actions; he cries. "Creon was happy once...And now it has all gone from him!" (Fitts and Fitzgerald 6-10). Again, this shows how his fortune has taken a turn; he was once a happy King, and now his family has perished.

Catharsis

Creon brings the finale of Antigone, "I look for comfort; my comfort lies here dead" (Fitts and Fitzgerald 136). Once he says this the audience is satisfied. Though Creon's fortune turned into a downward spiral, there were no other interactions for him to have with the other characters. The audience should feel no fear because everyone who was going to die is dead. Also the audience should not pity Creon any longer because he realized his wrongdoing.

Characterization of Women

Women are portrayed as strong characters in Antigone. At the beginning of the play when Antigone tells Ismene of her plan to give Polyneices a proper burial, Ismene tells her that they (women) cannot fight men. Despite Ismene's opinion of a a woman's place in Creon's kingdom, Antigone goes to battle. She says, "Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way" (Fitts and Fitzgerald 35). Antigone follows her instincts, buries Polyneices, takes the blame, and walks to her death. Her actions showed that she did not only have firm beliefs in what was right, but she actually followed them.

Works Cited

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

Polyneices Buried: Dishonor to Thebes?

Polyneices, nephew of King Creon, was illegally buried yesterday, according to the order of Creon himself. This deed, seen as good by many, but blasphemous to the kingdom by others, was carried out by Antigone, daughter of Oedipus and sister of Polyneices. Though Polyneices was battling against our homeland and his brother, the honorable Eteocles (may his soul cross the River Styx peacefully), Antigone felt the need to give her blood a proper burial. After all, Polyneices was one of the best warriors of our time, he just happened to be on the opposing side. People of Thebes, please look at this man from a different perspective. He was doing his duty as a warrior! His caring sister was right in thinking that he should not be condemned to the fiery depths of the underworld. The memory of Polyneices should be remembered forever as a great hero. His body shall not be dismembered as carrion, and his soul shall cross the River Styx as Eteocles. It was recently reported that King Creon is currently deliberating what to do with Antigone and Ismene, her sister who knew of her plans. The source of this information came directly from the sentry of King Creon's royal court.

Braces: Beauty is Pain

I began my obsession with the want for braces somewhere around the third or fourth grade. Teeth have always intrigued me though; my father is a dentist. I thought braces were so cool. Who wouldn't want to have metal dots with bright colored stretchies all over their teeth? The admiration I had for braces turned into an admiration for other orthodontic appliances. Do not worry; I didn't go dumpster diving for retainers that irresponsible children threw away at lunch. Orthodontics just interested me. When I would chew gum, I folded it around my top front teeth, to see how a retainer would look on me. This may seem off-topic, but my sister and I used to take Tae Kwon Do. I was actually quite good, and got first place in a pattern competition once. One thing I did not compete in was sparring (probably because I never tried it), but my little sister did. When my dad made her a mouth guard, boy was I jealous.

In the fifth grade, I started having orthodontic appointments. I was going to get braces!!! It took two whole years for those braces to finally be adhered to my teeth. Within those two years, my excitement to have metal tracks across my smile slowly went down hill. The day I got my braces on, the excitement returned. I was able to choose the purple bands and everything. I was ecstatic, until the Motrin wore off. I had a pounding headache from all of the pressure on my teeth, the metal was cutting into my tongue and cheeks,and my teeth were so sore, that I could barely eat applesauce.

Eventually, I became used to the pain. Each time I had an appointment, I knew to have the Motrin ready. After a while, it really wasn't that bad. I learned quite a bit, actually. Since my dad is a dentist, I know basic dental lingo, so I could talk with the orthodontist in "their language".

Ask anyone, my teeth were never really crooked. The reason I needed braces was that I swallowed in a way that pushed out my front teeth, and since I am the daughter of a dentist my teeth had to be perfect. Now the long journey of braces is almost over. Those little metal squares have been glued to me for two and a half years. They were scheduled to be in the garbage by May, but my teeth were not quite perfect. That probably occurred because I chewed gum, ate apples and caramel and nuts, and didn't always wear my elastics. Though I may have strayed from the plan a little, I have still succeeded. My back braces were removed today. It shouldn't be too long before the others are gone forever.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I would love to be an orthodontist. No, not to inflict pain on others in vengeance, but because I love science and braces still intrigue me.

Bolg Creation!

Yay! I finally figured out how to create this blog, after having no success in the computer lab. Well, this has to be about 200 words in order not to be SPAM; I will just keep on writing (blogging actually). This blog will probably be very useful for school, and other things I just want people to know about. I am pretty good with computers, but I have never blogged before. I can follow directions and carry them out on the computer, but I do not know html. This shall be a learning experience. Now, I'm going to decorate my blog, get it started, really just make it more creative. Hmmmmm.....how many words is this? about 100. I guess I'll just tell you a little about myself. Hi, my name is Bayley. I have one sister and one brother. I have a really old cat, one lovely Boston terrier, and one not-so-lovely labradoodle. I love singing, musicals, acting, art, science (except AP Chemistry), camp, books, TV, fashion, movies, inspirational quotes, photography, the list goes on... I know I am going to be an orthodontist "when I grow up" because, I am working towards that goal. For college, my top three choices are: Harvard, Madison, and Michigan. my favorite month is may, though my birthday is in January. I have freckles. I am quite short, only 5 feet tall. You have to be 4'11" in order to be considered a legal midget in Minnesota; so, I am not a legal midget. Okay...this should be about 200 words, so I think i am going to stop. I'm so excited that this worked! Yay (again)!