Prosecuting Creon

Ian Decker
Ms. Peifer
Per. 5/10 IB
11/26/08

The Prosecution of Creon

Creon is a cruel man and deserves to be punished. He helped in the war against his own nephew who was the rightful heir to the throne of Thebes, Polyneices, he didn't allow the royalty of Thebes to be properly buried, and he caused the death of his own niece, wife and son. How can such wickedness go unpunished?

Creon, the usurper of the throne, helped to wage the war that killed his eldest nephew, who was the rightful heir to the throne of Thebes. He supported Eteoclus who was the younger of the two brothers and who was the brother who stole the throne from the other one, and showed no remorse for his other nephew, Polyneices,when he was killed.

Another disgraceful thing Creon did was pass a law that forbade Polyneices, Thebeian royalty, from being either mourned, buried, or honored in death in any way, "Dishonors which better fit our enemies are now being piled up on the ones we love"(Johnston lines 11-12). This is what Antigone told her sister, Ismene, when trying to convince her to help her undo the wrong that has been inflicted upon their family. Here is another quote from Antigone to help expand on the subject, " Look—what’s Creon doing with our two brothers? He’s honoring one with a full funeral and treating the other one disgracefully!" (Johnston lines 25-27). Here, Antigone is telling Ismene what disgrace has befallen her brother and who the culprit is. These are firsthand accounts, you cannot deny them.

And yet another thing Creon did was he caused the death of his son, his niece, and his wife, all within a small period of time. He killed his niece by condemning her to death and causing her, in turn, to take her own life rather then be publicly executed, "But you chose life- it was my choice to die" (Johnston line 634) In this passage, Antigone reveals that she chose to die, it wasn't forced upon her. Not only did Creon cause his niece to kill herself, he also caused his son to kill himself in grief from seeing his bride-to-be hanging by the neck in a fine-linen noose, "M: Haimon has been killed. No stranger shed his blood; CL: At his father’s hand? Or did he kill himself?; M: By his own hand— angry at his father for the murder" (Johnston lines 1304-1310) Here, Socrates is describing the cause of Haimon's death, and look who it is: Creon. And the final person he causes the death of is his own wife. Her heart is broken when she finds out both Haimon is dead, and so she kills herself out of grief, "Stabbed with a sharp sword at the altar... She had cried out in sorrow for the glorious fate of Megareos, who died some time ago, and then again for Haimon" (Johnston lines 1445-1450) Creon stumbles upon this scene and weeps for the cause of his evils while carrying the corpse of his deceased son, Haimon.

As you can see, Creon was a wicked man who deserves to be punished. He helped to murder four members of the royal family, and one murder is enough for puishment. Let not this wickedness go unpunished!

Sources:

• Sophocles. “Antigone.” Sophocles Antigone. Trans. Ian Johnston. 9 Aug. 2008. Vancouver
  Island University Malaspira. 11/26/08
  <http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/Sophocles/Antigone.htm>.

LRJ #2

Ian Decker
Ms. Peifer
Hr. 5/10 IB
11/26/08

LRJ #2 (oh what an exciting name!)

There are three instances of powerful imagery that can be found in the story of Antigone. The first image is that of Polyneices being covered in a layer of dust, "The body, just mounded over with light dust: you see? Not buried really, but as if they'd covered it just enough for the ghost's peace" (Fitzgerald pg 820). This image shows that Antigone has enough love for her brother that she will disobey a law the punishment for which is death. This image also shows that Antigone has at least a little bit of respect and/or fear for her uncle because she still tried to make her transgression as unnoticeable as possible.

The second image is that of when the sentry who reported the original crime describes what he and the other sentries saw the night they caught Antigone, "I have seen a mother bird come back to a stripped nest, heard her crying bitterly a broken note or two for the young ones stolen" (Fitzgerald pg 823). Here, the sentry is using the metaphor to describe how Antigone looked when she found that the little burial she had lovingly given to her brother had been ruined by some unseen force.

The third and final image is a little more violent than the rest. It is that of when Haimon dies at the tip of his own sword "Desperate against himself [Haimon], drove it half its length into this own side, and fell. And as he died, he gathered Antigone close in his arms again, choking, his blood bright red on her white cheek" (Fitzgerald pg 840). Here, the king has stumbled upon a deceased Antigone and a grieving Haimon. Haimon, not wanting to live under his father's rule without his betrothed, drives his own sword into his side and draws his loved one close as he whispers his final breath.

Fatal Flaw

Antigone's fatal flaw is the same thing as one of her more noble and admirable qualities. It is Antigone's love and devotion towards her family that gets her in trouble and ultimately leads to her death. "Yes. I'll do my duty to my brother- and yours as well if you're not prepared to. I won't be caught betraying him" (Johnston lines 56-58)In this quote, Antigone is trying to convince Ismene to help her do what she feels is her duty to her brother and help to bury him. She's also giving Ismene a way to back out if she feels she doesn't have as much of a sense of duty to her family. The line "I won't be caught betraying him" gives a little bit of foreshadowing to what is going to happen later in the story. Antigone isn't caught betraying her brother, but rather her uncle instead.

Anagnorisis

The Anagnorisis in this Greek Tragedy has actually taken place before the play even starts. In this play, Antigone realizes the truth about what she must do when her uncle declares that anyone attempting to mourn or bury the traitor shall be put to death. She becomes angry from this and realizes that she must bury her brother herself (or possibly with her sister's help if she'll comply) in order for his soul to be at rest.

Peripeteia

The Peripeteia comes at an obvious time; when Antigone has been captured and brought before her uncle for judgement. He finds her guilty because she denies nothing, and so he condemns her to death. It is from this point in the story that everything in Antignoe's life starts going on a downwards spiral.

Catharsis

The Catharsis in this story is sort of a weak one. It comes when the audience learns that Antigone has hung herself. They lose pity for her because she took her own life instead of dieing somewhat honorably in the execution. The reason why it is weak is because she was standing up to tyranny and that made the audience appreciate her bravery so that the little disappointment in her character is delivered in a glancing blow.

Portrayal of Women

Women are portrayed in Antigone as devoted to the ones they love, but also sadly as weak willed, but still able to do the right thing when the time comes. Antigone shows her devotion to her brother, even after the law banning all mourning and burial of him is passed, "Yes. I'll do my duty to my brother" (Johnston line 56). She is set in her way of doing what she feels he needs to do in order to have a peaceful eternity. Ismene sets the standard for the final two points. She was weak willed when trying to decide to help her brother or not, "Think how we'll die far worse than all the rest, if we defy the law" (Johnston lines 74-75). She is frightened by the ramifications of what she could possibly do. Ismene also sets the point for how women will come through and do the right thing when needed, "But now you're in trouble, I'm not ashamed of suffering, too, as your companion" (Johnston lines 618-619). She shows that when her sister is in trouble, she will come through and try and help her all that she can, despite the consequences.

Sources:

• Sophocles, "Antigone" Literature Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes: World Literature. Trans. Dudly Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. Upper Saaddle River: Prentice Hall, 2001. 814-826
• Sophocles. “Antigone.” Sophocles Antigone. Trans. Ian Johnston. 9 Aug. 2008. Vancouver
  Island University Malaspira. 11/26/08 <http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/index.htm>.
  .

Fun e-mail I got

Hey guys, this is a fun e-mail I got from a friend. Enjoy!

Are you tired of those sissy 'friendship' poems that always sound good,
but never actually come close to reality?
Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship.
You will see no cutesy little smiley faces on this card-
Just the stone cold truth of our great friendship.

1.. When you are sad --I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!

2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

3. When you smile -- I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.

4. When you're scared -- we will high tail it out of here.

5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big baby!!!!

6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.

7. When you are sick --Stay away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.

8. When you fall -- I'll pick you up and dust you off.

9. This is my oath...I pledge it to the end. 'Why?' you may ask -- because you are my FRIEND!

Friendship is like peeing your pants,
everyone can see it,
but only you can feel the true warmth.

Antigone News Post

-The Greek Gazette
*King Creon's Decree Dishonored*
It has been discovered that King Creon's niece and future daughter-in-law, Antigone, has disobeyed a law recently decreed by the king and has sought to bury her deceased brother, Polyneices. The disturbance of the corpse was first noticed two nights ago, when the sentries of the battlefield discovered a fresh layer of dust on the dead prince's body while making their timely rounds. The Sentries found this perplexing seeing as there was no evidence left at the crime scene to start them on the right path.
In a bit of a gamble to expose the culprit, the sentries posted a group steak-out among the carrion in the hopes that their criminal would return to the scene of the crime. The Sentries' gamble payed off, and after a brief sandstorm, the culprit was found standing over the corpse. The law breaker turned out to be none other then the deceased traitor's sister, Antigone, (as previously mentioned). When brought in for questioning, Antigone denied nothing and took full credit for the illegal event.
Things were sent into an even greater state of confusion when Antigone's sister, Ismene, stepped forward to defend her sister and decided to take partial credit of the crime. What will become of this mess? Only time will tell, but as for these two sisters, current speculation suggests nothing short of death. -Ian

Thoughts on Technology

Hi people. This is my first blog, so bear with me if I'm horrible at it.
My experiences with technology are both stretched and shorter when compared to those of others. The first time I remember playing with technology was when my family and I had a windows 95 (I know, fancy!) The best thing I remember about it was whenever I would play it with my dad, we would sort of do this tag-team thing and he would work the controls while I worked the fire button. i enjoyed blowing things up (still do), and he enjoyed spending time with his son, so it was a win-win situation.
When we moved to the house I currently live in now, we got the newest and latest version of windows, the almighty windows 98. Sufficed to say, I was pretty excited. This computer opened meup to the types of games from two of my favorite tv shows of the time, Beast Wars (an animal version of transformers), and Earth Worm Jim (some personified worm with a space-suit to match the brain). it was abut this time that i got my first game consol, a game boy pocket! I was excited beyond belief because I had seen all these cool ads about it and my parents had been adament about keeping all game systems out of the house.
Everything just moved forward from there and I eventually got to learn how to use things ranging from a special effects program to learnig how to work a soundboard. I'm stiil a little behind in the times though. I didn't even have a facebook or anything resembling one until last week. My famly just finally got it's first digital camera earlier this year, and I didn't even fully understand what a blog was until we started doing this project. Well, looks as if I've got the experience ahead of me.