Marlena Szumowski
En-102
Reading response #5)
When
we read literature we sometimes come across the word agency. This term means, “The
freedom and capacity to live or act in a defined world.” In the play Antigone,
the protagonist is a girl named Antigone. I feel as though she is a really good
example of a character that acts very much on her own to be able to live and
survive in the particular world that she lives in but as the play comes to an
end, Antigone has a moment of weakness and starts to think if in the end it was
all worth it. Antigone returns back home and finds out that her brother
Polynecies has been killed and didn’t have a proper burial, his body had been
left to rot and for everyone else to see. From the very beginning we get the
sense that Antigone does whatever she puts her mind to do, and follows her beliefs
in the Gods opposed to everyone else in the village. While talking to her
sister Ismene if she will help bury her brother’s body we discover just how
true Antigone’s loyalty is towards he brother and what her beliefs are. In
Antigones head burying her brother is more important to her than any human
love. In lines 51-52 Antigone says the following, “At least he is my
brother-and yours, too, though you deny him. I will not prove false to him.” Regardless
what Ismene had told her that she’s not supposed to bury him and that she’s
going against the rules Antigone doesn’t care what the consequences are she
just wants to respect her brother and give him the proper burial that he
deserves according to her. Another
example that can be used to support the idea that Antigone is able to live and survive
in the world that she lives in is that when she was caught burying her brother
by Creon she openly admits to it and will go with the consequences that are given
to her we see this in line 487 where she says “Yes, I confess; I will not deny
my deed.” Soon after Antigone says that she has no shame in honoring her
brother. Antigone is a very strong protagonist and wants everyone to get along
and be civil instead of going against each other we see this when she speaks in
lines 575 “My nature is to join in love, not hate.” In the end of the play
where we hear last of Antigone we come to the sense that she feels that all she
had done is not worth is and begins to question everything she has done. She
was born into and incest family and I think everyone frowns upon it and is
leaving the brother out to shame everyone in the family. Maybe Antigone isn’t
as strong as she thinks she is and the only real reason that she wants to bury
her brother is to cover up all the disgrace the family has left behind. She
mentions that she doesn’t have friends and isn’t married and is broken hearted.
Antigone begins to think and question as to who will be there to cry for her
when she dies, who will be there to give her a proper burial and give her the
respect that she tried to give to everyone around here.
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