Reading Response 5

As we grow up, we are all taught to think, act, and speak for ourselves. The term agency means to have the freedom or capacity to live or act in a defined world. We as human may not have a full understanding of agency. We must all take control of our own world and life by the actions we make as we go through our journey of life. In the play "Antigone" by Sophocles, the character Antigone was introduced in the very beginning, and from the moment she became a ver important character. From the start she takes control of her own fight by doing what she feels right to do. The ruler Creon made it clear to everyone under his reign that it is against the law to bury or morn the death of  Polyneices (which is Antigone's brother). Even though Creon set that law, she did it anyway. By doing this alone she is setting the rules and is not letting anyone tell her what she can and cannot do, she is going to do what she feels is the right thing to do. By doing this in the very beginning of the play, she has set the tone for the rest of the play.
By having agency, all that is is saying is that you have the power and free will to do what you feel is required to do the right thing. Throughout the whole play, Antigone was doing actions that she though was morally right and she didn't care about what rules she had to break to complete her actions. By doing these actions, although they seem right at the time, they can also have serious consequences. By doing the actions she did, she forced Creon to be on her case for the rest of the time she has left on this earth. We all have control of our fate no matter what. Our fate is not predetermined, our fate is based on the actions we make with the time we have on this earth. Our free will or agency can determine this fate because we have the power to do whatever we want to do, wether it is right or wrong.
Although Antigone is a very strong character in this play, there are other people who have agency and have the power to do what is right no matter what anyone says. One of these characters is Haemon who decides to disobey his father no matter what he is. Haemon knows what is the right thing to do and he will make sure he makes the right decision. Haemon is one of the few characters in this story who will do whatever it takes to do the right thing. To conclude this response, almost everyone has agency, we just don't have a clear understanding about what is it. Antigone did the right thing no matter what. She had agency, and everyone should learn that by having the power of free will, we as humans are able to be wonderful people.