Antigone answer keys:



Antigone answer keys:

Assessment 1: Choose a study question and respond in a paragraph, citing evidence from the prologue and parados to support your points. SUBMIT.

Why do feel Antigone was so determined to bury her brother, and why was Ismene not?

Antigone is loyal to her family. She feels that despite his alleged betrayal, Polyneices deserves a proper burial because he is her brother. She respects the dead and believes that burial is a god-given right of all human beings. She does not want his body to be desecrated. She believes that because humans spend more time in the underworld than in life it would be disrespectful to Hades, god of the underworld, to not give proper funerary respect to those with whom she will share eternity. Ismene, on the other hand, follows Creon’s law. She wants to help Antigone but she is afraid of the consequences of such an action. She feels that as a woman, she is defenseless against the laws that men have made.

Why would Antigone say that even if Ismene changed her mind later that she would not now let Ismene help her bury their brother?

Refer in particular to these lines:

ISMENE: Oh, dear sister! Oedipus died with the hatred of the world upon him, his eyes ripped out by his own hands. Iocaste, his mother and his wife, killed herself, and now our two brothers have killed each other in battle. Only we remain. Think how much more horrible our own deaths will be if we break this law! We are only women. How can we fight against men? The law is strong, and we must surrender to it. I pray the dead will forgive me, but I am too weak to overcome this. I must submit to those who are in authority over me.

ANTIGONE: If that's what you believe, then I don't want you with me. You've made your choice, and you can live with it if you can. But I will bury him, and if I die, it is a holy crime for which I will be punished. I will lie with my brother in death. I will be as loving to him as he to me. The dead make the greatest demands upon us, for we die forever. Do as you like! The laws of the gods have no meaning for you

Antigone believes Ismene is being selfish and cowardly. Antigone sees her decision to bury her brother as noble and does not want Ismene to tarnish the act by helping for the wrong reason. Antigone also does not allow the fact that she is a woman to direct her actions as Ismene does. And Antgione believes that the laws of the gods mean nothing to Ismene so the crime would not be a holy one for Ismene as it would be for Antigone.

Assessment 2:  Write an answer to the study question in at least one paragraph. SUBMIT.

What do we know about Creon and what can we speculate about him?  Provide evidence (examples) from the text to support your point(s). 

Creon, Antigone’s uncle, is the leader of Thebes as a result of the death of Polyneices and Eteocles. He places matters of state above family and believes it would not be in the best interest of the state to leave Polyneices unburied because of his traitorous actions. He seems a bit paranoid, at first believing that whoever covered Polyneices corpse did so in direct defiance of his rule:

Have you gone mad? How could the gods favor this worthless corpse? How had he earned their favor? By defiling their temples and destroying their images? By trampling on the state? Does this assembly of old men think in their failing, aged thoughts that the gods honor evil men?

No! This is the work of traitors, people who have plotted against me from the beginning. They have been plotting secretly in the hidden recesses of the city. They have bribed my own guards to do this. That shows the corrupting power of money. Look at how all sense of decency and honor has been ruined by the power of money.

He is even suspicious of the sentry, assuming he has taken bribes and is questioning his motives. Creon, like most tragic figures, is proud and unyielding. At the end of the scene, the chorus hints at the problems with such overreaching power:

Strophe 2

Words and thoughts he uses to his own end. He uses the art of politics to guide the state. He can ward off the wind, the rain, and the sleet. He conquers all but one--only death is unconquerable.

Antistrophe 2

Oh power beyond measure, Oh power of fate! When we obey the laws, how proudly stands the city! When we break the laws, though, the city falls! Never let the traitor find refuge with me! Never let my thoughts turn to treason.

Assessment 3: Choose a study question and respond in a paragraph, citing evidence from scene 2 to support your points. SUBMIT.

Explain why the sudden and powerful dust-storm witnessed by the guards enforcing Creon's decree about Polyneices' corpse might not have been just a coincidence.

The Greeks believed that nothing happened by chance – that, in fact, the gods controlled everything. As Antigone states when Creon asks her if she is guilty of breaking his law:

I did. It was not the law of the gods. The gods in their great wisdom would never make such an evil law. Your law has great power indeed, but all its power is mere frailty before the immortal laws of Olympus. Those laws will guide us forever, far beyond the power of the greatest of men.

Antigone’s actions must be discovered in order for Creon to seal his, Antigone’s, and his family’s fate. It is one of the main impetuses for the tragedy.

How is Ismene portrayed in this scene and the prologue? Does your attitude about her change in this scene?

Ismene is clearly the weaker-minded of the two sisters. In the prologue she is portrayed as docile and fearful. She is afraid to help Antigone bury her brother because she fears the repercussions of such an act. In this scene, however, she is portrated as repentant and self-centered. She tries to share the punishment for burying Polyneices, but neither Antigone nor Creon will allow it. One might see Ismene as practical, but that may be giving her too much credit.

Is Antigone's adherence to the moral law in the face of Creon's decree a rational or an impulsive act?

Both, really. She is able to rationalize it and has thought through the consequences, but the act itself could be considered impulsive given Antigone’s character. She is head-strong – determined to do what she believes is right no matter what she and other’s will sacrifice as a result.

Who do you believe is the hero in this scene, Creon or Antigone?  Who is right in their judgments and actions?  Why?

Answer will vary. Creon has reason to be angry with Polyneices for bringing war to his country. He feels that burying Polyneices would be like honoring a traitor. He does not want to be seen as weak. However, as the chorus points out at the end of the scene, Creon may well have overstepped his bounds: “What mortal dares defy mighty Zeus? He and his house are eternal, undying, and unforgetting. No one can escape the curse of Olympus.” Creon may be allowing his anger to rule his reason. Antigone, on the other hand, seems heroic in her insistence on burying her brother despite his betrayal. She is being punished for committing a holy act. However, she might also be seen as foolish since she forfeits her life to honor the dead and appease the gods.

Assessment 4: Answer the study question in a paragraph, citing evidence from scene 3 to support your point. SUBMIT.

As their conversation in Scene III breaks down, Haimon makes clear his opinion of Creon. What does Haimon think of his father and why does he think this?

Haimon believes his father should “Listen to wise counsel and learn from others.” He attempts to present his father with a rational argument as to why he should reconsider his sentence on Antigone, but Creon is too proud and angry to listen. Creon is clearly afraid of seeming weak. He refers many times to his right to make the laws. He is particularly determined not to be undermined by a woman. Haimon believes that Creon’s ego and pride are getting in the way of his reason.

Assessment 5: Choose a study question and respond in a paragraph, citing evidence from scene 4 to support your points. SUBMIT.

Why did Creon choose to abandon Antigone in the tomb to choose her own death?  Why didn’t he stone her to death?

Creon puts Antigone in the tomb as punishment for having broken his laws. The reason he doesn't have her executed outright could be for dramatic purposes. For Creon to decide to free her, only to see that she has killed herself, adds a significant element of pathos, in a way punishing Creon for his past unjustness. This way, it is impossible for him to correct his mistake, even when he wants to.

What do the stone walls of Antigone’s tomb symbolize?

The chorus says, “You have passed now to the stone of justice.” So the walls could symbolize justice, or injustice depending on your interpretation. But it is more likely that the walls symbolize the impassable place within which both she and Creon find themselves. They are “walled in” by their stubbornness – or unwillingness to back down. Also, according to ancient Greek religious beliefs,  Creon could be considered innocent Antigone’s death because he has given her  a choice: to commit suicide or to die of hunger.

Assessment 5:  Write an answer to the study question in at least one paragraph. SUBMIT.

If Tiresias can see the future, then why was he still unable to avoid tragedies in this family?

Tiresias knows the future, but he cannot change it. He can give Creon hints on how he should act but Creon is free to do what he wants. According to ancient Greek beliefs, man is responsible for his actions. Creon should have listened to Tiresias’ prophecy and made different choices.

Journal Entry Section 4: So what does Aristotle’s’ Poetics have to do with Antigone?  Everything.  What Aristotle is basically saying in the Poetics, is that the protagonist of the story must learn something.  In Antigone, Creon, the protagonist does learn something.  In your journal, respond to this: What does Creon learn?  Why is it so important?  How is Creon a perfect example of what Aristotle describes in Poetics? Submit.

Entries will vary. Students will likely respond that Creon learns that there are tragic consequences for those who believe their judgment is superior to anyone else’s. Although the play is called Antigone, it could definitely be argued that the actual tragic hero is Creon. It is his power, actions, and flaws that set the tragedy into an irreversible downward spiral. Because of his position of power, he is the one most of the characters fear. This position also sets him up to experience the greatest fall. His arrogance essentially makes him deaf to everyone around him. He even places himself above the gods. It is this arrogance combined with pride that leads to Creon’s downfall. He looses everything and his loss is so great the audience can not help but feel the kind of catharsis that Aristotle describes in his Poetics. In these was, Creon is a perfect example of Aristotles tragic hero.

Activity – Section 5:  For this activity, you will be required to write a short play.  It only has to be one scene, and it must follow the rules of Aristole’s Poetics.  Go back and review this material to ensure that you have a grasp of it.

Your job is to pick a person in history that is admired for standing up to authority.  You could look into Jim Crow Laws, Civil Rights Movement, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parts, etc.  There are so many options here! 

In your play, you need to describe the situation and motivation for this person to take such action.  What gave this person the courage to stand up for what he/she believed?  Was it religious, political, etc?  WHY did this person oppose some type of authority?  What were the short and long term effects of this eventual opposition for this person and society?

Plays will vary. Use the attached rubric for assessment.

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