Oil and Water
Just as oil and water do not mix, neither do Antigone and her sister Ismene. Antigone, a powerful and headstrong woman, refuses to let the ideal gender-roles of the Greek society hold her down. She rebels against the ideals of society in belief that her brother Polyneices should be delivered a proper burial. Antigone remains powerful until the very end, when she dies as a martyr out of a great love for her brother. She is similar to the oil of the mixture, in the sense that she uses her power to rise to the highest of her capabilities, and dies as a heroic and glorious figure. Ismene, on the otherhand, is like the water, which has a greater potential of mixing and combining with things. She mixes in with society by conforming to the laws and ideal beliefs. Ismene, who appears to be powerless, is the complete opposite of Antigone. Antigone is a powerful character because she refuses to yield to the laws of men. As soon as she hears news that her brother Polyneices is to be denied a proper burial, she bravely sets out to bury him with
Antigone follows her conscience by doing what she believes is right according to the unwritten laws of God. Creon realizes that Antigone possesses a great amount of power and insists that she be killed. His plan is that she be deserted without any food or water. Antigone, however, will not let a man steal away her pride and power. She uses her power to die as a martyr. She hangs herself out of love for her brother and never once abandons her beliefs in the higher powers. As some of her last words before her death, she states, "Before my time, I am descending to that world; but I am returning home, as well, from an exile" (1047-1048). She was exiled from society because she did not conform to the ideal gender-roles like her sister Ismene did. Antigone did not believe that women should remain inferior to men, and although she did not completely change the ideas of the society, she certainly had an effect. She was so powerful that Haimon, Creon's son, attempted to save Antigone from death, even though Creon told Haimon he was "property
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 706
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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