Unfortunately for all (most of all me) it is my turn to write a blog and allow others to comment on it. My blogs are not nearly as funny as Jimmy Steeby’s or as brilliant as Greg Peirs’s. In fact they are not very entertaining at all, and I think the only reason why Mr. Coon comments on them is to make me feel good about myself.
Anyways, I’m getting kind of sick of Sophocles. Though we only had to read two-thirds of the Theban plays, I feel like I’ve learned all I need to know about him: he really enjoyed screwing the characters of his story. Just look at Oedipus for more proof on my brilliant theory. “Antigone” brings up some great discussions on right versus right. I’ve been surprised though by the stance that most people seem to take towards Creon and Antigone. I fully believe Antigone deserves the fair share of blame for what has happened.
First of all, Thebes has been really lacking in the king department. They lost their King to an act of road rage which was probably brought upon by the King himself. Then when it appears as if the city has found its savior in Oedipus, we find out that he has a great deal of problems, which he can only deal with by gouging out his eyes. It turns out Oedipus’s kids are just as messed up as he is as they can not even properly share the throne. I do not know how the older brother, Polynices, loses the throne as he is supposed to be the rightful heir, but to me that displays a lack of leadership on some level. Then the younger brother, Eteocles, displays some terrible judgment by simply banishing the brother. Did he not think that Polynices would not come back for revenge? He should have finished him off if he wanted to avert trouble. Predictably, Polynices comes back with an army and Eteocles and Polynices manage to kill each other. I just hope they didn’t have duel like they did in Troy where both armies just sit still and watch their leaders have a go at it. By the time Creon comes to power, I do not blame him for being so decisive as the city really needs some strong leadership.
Sure, Creon may not have made the soundest law when he declared that nobody could give Pohynices a proper burial, but let us not forget that Polynices just tried to take over Thebes. If I am a regular citizen of Thebes, I would be pissed with Polynices right now considering he felt it was necessary to kill Thebans just to get back a city he lost. I don’t blame Creon for making the law as once Polynices attacked the city he essentially became a foreigner. Some people will argue that he was still family, but to that I say that its probably better of not having a family member who wants to kill his own siblings. Creon put the feelings of the city ahead of his own personal agenda which is what a ruler needs to do. Others wouild argue that Creon had no authority making this law because it contradicted with the will of the gods. To that, I say I am sick of the Gods imposing their will on helpless humans. The Gods are hardly of better moral authority than most humans considering the shady history that many of them have. Now my opinion on the own matter may be a bit biased because I have always been a strong proponent for the separation of church and state, and I feel that Thebes is no acceptance. One of the things I do not like is that the Gods do not judge cases individually. For example, even though Oedipus killed his father, I do not think he should have been punished for it as he seemed to be acting purely out of self defense. As some may point out, religion played a large part in Greek culture to which I must say that is it really worth praying to a God who seems to treat one’s enemies the same as oneself. I mean if Zeus really wants to allow Polynices to travel to some special place where his soul can relax, why does he have to be covered in dirt for that to happen, but maybe that’s just the anti-authoritarian side of me speaking.
So let’s just say that Antigone just had to bury Polynices to let her self sleep better at night. Well I’m fine with that, but then she should have accepted her punishment. I don’t like the fact that I can only drive 65 MPH on the 51, but it is a law. If I get caught going over the speed limit, I should rightfully be punished. Unfortunately, Antigone has no problem breaking the law but she can’t accept the punishment which has clearly been laid out. I would have had much more respect for her if she had just accepted the penalty as opposed to bringing up the fact that she is essentially his daughter in law. She just lost any respectability she had with me. Also, I wish Ismene did not wuss out at first but then try to accept responsibility once the act had already been committed. The only purpose this served was to annoy Antigone, Creon, and me.
Ultimately, I feel bad for Creon. He turned out to have a weak son who chose Antigone over his family but failed to realize that Antigone had chosen her family as priority. I do not blame Creon for enforcing his laws because otherwise he would have no standing among the citizens of his nations. Then Creon’s wife blamed Creon for both of the deaths even though she failed to consider that the first son was killed by Polynices and that Creon had just taken steps to not dishonor the memory of the dead Thebans. Maybe I just really feel strongly against religion invading our everyday lives or maybe I’m just sick of Sophocles but I feel as if this story gave me a lot to rant about even if not of it makes much sense.
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9 comments:
Hey, cut Oedipus's kids some slack, they're the product of some pretty serious incest. Also, Antigone was slated to marry her cousin, with whom she would share, what, roughly seventy-five percent of her genes? That's an exaggeration but it's a lot. Those kids would have been even worse of.
I think I agree with almost every point on your blog except for the one where Antigone can't accept her punishment. She accepts her punishment with way, way too much enthusiasm. She gets sentenced to a slow death but jumps the gun and kills herself right before she gets rescued. Which really just further supports your first point, in that all of Oedipus's kids have serious issues.
Im not gonna lie Navdeep I didn't read your whole blog as it is just a bit on the long side, but what I did read was utterly mind blowing.
Eric
Navdeep--
I really enjoyed the title of your blog. Way to be creative. The rest of your blog was good as well. However, I disagree that "Antigone has no problem breaking the law but she can’t accept the punishment which has clearly been laid out." I think she does accept her punishment but merely wants to point out to Creon that what he is doing is wrong. I agree that Ismene is a wuss and that the main themes of Sophocles's plays are usually related to people getting screwed over.
-Ally
You know, one sentence here really jumped out at me--"The only purpose this served was to annoy Antigone, Creon, and me." You were talking about Ismene, but that pretty much sums up the whole play, right? Yeah, Sophocles, we know, you like to make your characters suffer and then be really melodramatic about it (or enthusiastic in Antigone's case)...
Navdeep
I believe Creon's son did understand Antigone's moral obligation to her family as more important than a not very well-thought-out law created by a headstrong king. Yet this creates some sort of discrepancy because although Haemon values Antigone's loyalty to her family, he does not value his own loyalty to his father. In the end, maybe Sophocles wants us to know that people can be morally right AND make different choices in different situations.
I appreciate your very organized and riveting rant.
Danni
Navdeep, it's a work of art. Your blog I mean, not the play. If you read my blog, you would already know that I share your disgust with Antigone (and every other character in this play). I also think that Creon sucks, but not as much as Antigone. I look forward to our literary departure from Greece. If Sophocles intended to make his readers (or audience I guess) never want to go to Thebes, he succeeded. If I was a Theban, I definitely would have ex-patriated long ago. In all seriousness, the play must be a counterexample because these Greeks are the most unreasonable people I have come across and in no way contribute to the historical conception of the Greeks that we have today.
you are so wise...
Navigator--you got comments not only from half the AP classes, but form Jenny in the Shakespeare class as well.
Your first paragraph seems to be inspired by the Aravind "poor poor pitiful me" school of blogging, so I'm a little reluctant to comment at all, since it might be viewed as some sort of sympathy note.
Still. The one thing I've noticed, both in the comments on your blog and elsewhere, is that your classmates are waaay too eager to superimpose the findings of 20th century genetic research on a historical culture which had no possible way of knowing what we know now? Do people really think that everything that's written now should be held totally accountable for knowledge that won't be known for another 2000 years? Come on! give me a large break!!!!!
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