The state of Thebes cursed by many tragedies, where two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, fought for the crown of Thebes after the death and curse of their father Oedipus. When both brothers died for each other's cause, the new king of Thebes, Creon, their uncle and Oedipus' brother-in-law, was left to decide how to handle their funeral ceremonies. The characters in Sophocles' Antigone demonstrate differing opinions on the issue of their burials, which leads them to make conflicting decisions. Antigone and Ismene, the last two living children of Oedipus, are perplexed to discover that Creon had decided to hold only one ceremony for Eteocles and none for Polynices; thus, Creon and Antigone struggle with each other to pay loyalty to their family or to follow the laws imposed by the state. Antigone sees Creon's decision as an opposition to the laws of the gods. In fact when he says to Ismene: “You can do whatever you want since, apparently, the laws of the gods mean nothing to you” (Sophocles 475). Antigone takes action to bury her brother's corpse, despite knowing full well that Creon would refuse to allow this to happen, leading Ismene to agree with her sister but also with the law of Creon's state. Many critics view Creon's violation of unwritten civil laws as corrupt, but many also see his decision as an act of righteousness. As said: “For some he is a patriot, sincere in his beliefs, but narrow-minded in his conception and obstinate in enforcing duty to the State. For others he is the tyrant, selfish and suspicious, whose awareness of the insecurity of his position leads him to assert his power…” (Peterkin 263). By denying Polyneices the right to a proper burial, Creon has dictated his rule over the law of the people, while Antigone declares the right of the people and the law of the gods over the established laws of the state. Antigone and Creon's breaking of differently proposed laws gives Sophocles a way to say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The state of Thebes cursed with many tragedies, where two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, fought for the crown of Thebes after the death and curse of their father, Oedipus. When both brothers died for each other's cause, the new king of Thebes, Creon, their uncle and Oedipus' brother-in-law, was left to decide how to handle their funeral ceremonies. The characters in Sophocles' Antigone demonstrate differing opinions on the issue of their burials, which leads them to make conflicting decisions. Antigone and Ismene, the last two living children of Oedipus, are perplexed to discover that Creon had decided to hold only one ceremony for Eteocles and none for Polynices; thus, Creon and Antigone struggle with each other to pay loyalty to their family or to follow the laws imposed by the state. Antigone sees Creon's decision as an opposition to the laws of the gods. In fact when he says to Ismene: “You can do whatever you want since, apparently, the laws of the gods mean nothing to you” (Sophocles 475). Antigone takes action to bury her brother's corpse, despite knowing full well that Creon would refuse to allow this to happen, leading Ismene to agree with her sister but also with the law of Creon's state. Many critics view Creon's violation of unwritten civil laws as corrupt, but many also see his decision as an act of righteousness. As said: “For some he is a patriot, sincere in his beliefs, but narrow-minded in his conception and obstinate in enforcing duty to the State. For others he is the tyrant, selfish and suspicious, thewhose awareness of the insecurity of his position leads him to assert his power…” (Peterkin 263). By denying Polyneices the right to a dignified burial, Creon has dictated his rule on the right of the people, while Antigone declares the right of the people, and the law of the gods, on the established laws of the state. Antigone and Creon's breaking of the differently proposed laws gives Sophocles an even greater plot to leave his viewers and readers in question, as to who is right between each of their decisions? I support Antigone's statement due to the fact that Creon has overstepped the powers he has no decision over, the right of the people. Persistence has a crucial role played by Antigone and is responsible for initiating the conflict, man against man, between her and Creon. The conflict, man against man, induces the theme of the play, which is largely the theme of destiny, but it also induces the heroine of Antigone. He persists in burying his brother's corpse, even when his sister refuses to be involved in his plan. Antigone believes that all citizens should know of her actions and that nothing will stop her from doing what she knows is right, even if it brings her "death." Most critics see Antigone as a strong-minded character and it is even implied by Ismene in the prologue. According to William Robert, “If tragedy is a question of excess, of exceeding ultimate limits, then Antigone is its representative figure, because Antigone is excessive.” Antigone is an excessive character through her conversations with Ismene and with Creon. Antigone must be a persistent character to be true to her excessive behavior and uphold the rights of the people of Thebes. Antigone's being as a persistent and excessive, even stubborn, person leads to her predictable fate. The central idea of ​​destiny is defined in the play as the development of events and actions taken by the characters, as they do what is established and destined for them. To act as an excessive person would, you must first have a mindset that is constantly oriented towards the goal you want to achieve, which culminates in acting with tenacity. An excessive person is one who goes beyond their task and accomplishes more than they set out to do. Antigone demonstrates her excessive nature by confirming that she will bury Polyneices' body without first speaking to Creon and without holding back her intentions. He creates tension to a greater extent when he takes a physical action against the law of the state than a verbal action towards Creon, thus creating an event of great impact. Antigone fits the definition of an excessive person and goes beyond the limits, indicating her death, to surpass the said edict of Creon. Antigone is seen by most critics as a person for the people. It is a representation of the state of Thebes' version of democracy, where citizens should have rights, and above all the right to their own opinions. As Robert further discusses, Antigone is fascinating in her actions of resisting Creon's ruling status over the citizens of Thebes. Creon had asserted the dominion of the State by condemning Antigone to death, and thus "terrorized" the people. Antigone's excessive resistance leads Creon to reconsider his decision to leave Polyneices' corpse in the "fields" and without a proper burial. Although he reconsiders, it sadly turns out that Antigone committed suicide, her son, Haimon, Antigone's fiancé, also committed suicide, and finally his wife, Eurydice, also committed suicide, all due to Creon not listening Antigone's declarations. Eurydice's death is what completes Creon's remorse, which he would never have had to face if he had considered Haimon's argument to reason with Antigone and doof good to the people of Thebes. Creon states, “And the city proposes to teach me to govern?” (Sophocles 482) and in response to Creon, Haimon remarks: “Ah. Who's talking like a boy now?” Antigone's action of burying her brother, after his death during Thebes' civil war, exposes Creon's excessive authority to the citizens and realizes his plan for justice for the people. Only afterwards does Creon realize his mistake in punishing Antigone, but his realization was too late and he could not reverse the damage he had caused to his reputation.by the people. Antigone, as mentioned before, is provoked by the conflict to become a heroine against Creon and his overcome power. It is obvious that Creon views women as subordinate to men, as he speaks of Antigone, referring to her as a "woman" and implying that she has fewer rights and virtues than him. Once again, he struggles for power, but this time specifically over women, noble or otherwise. Creon comments: “The man who did this thing will pay for it! Find that man, bring him hither to me” (Sophocles 478). When Creon first hears of a person attempting to bury Polyneices' body, he believes the perpetrator to be a man and does not think twice about the fact that it is a woman. And when his son comes forward to him, Creon accuses him of selling himself to a “woman,” suggesting that men should only side with other men and not women, and tries to mock his son. Haimon's main intention is to help him understand his mistakes, but Creon perceives that he is only helping Antigone. Creon seeks to imagine, and in a sense create, a state full of women opposite to Antigone's nature, thus strengthening his purpose and meaning. Antigone’s actions, towards Creon and the State, are not how one would think women acted as such in the 5th century BC Robert states: “She is a woman who speaks and behaves out of place. As a woman, her “proper” place in her ancient Greek context is the oikos: home, hearth, family.” Antigone has a strong-willed mindset and can step out of her expected limits to prove to Creon that a woman can do what a man can also do. Creon continues to neither understand nor give women any chance, leaving Antigone to his death but ultimately being proven wrong by a woman. Another reason for the "destiny" of the characters and Creon's decision to favor the state is his pride. . Creon, like Antigone, is a stubborn character, but he is ready to judge or determine a conclusion according to his own opinion, and therefore bases his verbal and physical actions on his pride. His stubbornness comes from the constant arguments he makes to accuse Polyneices and Antigone against other people. Creon first states his pride when he admits his disdain for governors who are afraid to do what is best for their state. He believes that all decisions made for the state are according to his judgment, and therefore presumes to oversee all laws, including those of the gods. According to Bernard J. Paris, “Filled with the pride of being king, Creon exceeds his authority, seeking to rule where he should obey…When he is appointed ruler of Thebes upon the death of Oedipus' sons, Creon becomes obsessed with power and command.” Without knowing that he would become king, because only one of the two sons was expected to die, he must have been shocked and happy to the point that he did not know how to properly rule Thebes, which resulted in his failure as king. A king should certainly be a proud person because a gloomy king could not assert his rule on the throne, similarly, an overly proud king could not rule to the extent that he feels the need to encroach on the rights of the citizens. Pride is there.