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Is Antigone Still Relevant Today

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The play Antigone by Sophocles, still remains relevant today, even though it was written in 441 B.C. The issues that arise in the play are also seen now. This includes the conflict between faith and the law and sexism. This play is about a girl named Antigone who wants to bury her brother, because she felt that it was the right thing to do. Her belief of burial went against the law, causing conflict between Antigone and the king, Creon. Throughout the play, many remarks are made against Antigone about her gender. She was told various times that what she was doing was wrong because she was a woman, and that she couldn’t do bury her brother because she was a woman. Both issues are seen today because women are continuously being mistreated, and …show more content…
Morally, she felt obliged to bury her brother, Polynices, when he died because if she hadn’t she’d be going against the “Gods.” This was illegal, and once she was caught, the king, Creon decided to subject her to horrible punishment. When her sister, Ismene, refuses to help her bury their brother, Antigone says, “But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy…” (lines 55-56). Antigone was put in an incredibly tough situation, because she was forced to choose between her own faith and the law, but she chose her faith. She refers to the crime as “holy” because is doing it for the Gods. Antigone didn’t care if she was going to be killed, because she felt that she did it for all the right reasons. This is continuously seen today between muslim women who wear the niqab and laws that banned the niqab in various areas of Europe. This puts thousands of women in horrible positions, because they have to choose between staying true to their faith and risk paying thousands of dollars in fines, or follow the law and go completely against their religion. According to the reporter Jake Cigainero in the article Five years into ban, burqa divide widens in France, “France is home to the largest number of Muslims in Western Europe, with about 5 million. When the law went into effect, it was estimated that fewer than 2,000 women wore the …show more content…
When Antigone tries to do the right thing and bury her brother, she is faced with many remarks regarding her role as a woman. She is undermined and told that she couldn’t succeed because of she’s a woman. When Antigone is trying to convince Ismene to help her bury Polynices, Ismene says, “Our own death would be if we should go against Creon, And do what he has forbidden! We are only women, We cannot fight with men, Antigone!” (lines 45-47). Ismene strongly believes that women should should abide by the law, and not exceed the limits put on them. It’s not only Ismene that feels this way, but the majority of people in that society. It was men who had a say and if anyone were to do what Antigone were doing, it would only be a man. Antigone feels the opposite, because she knows that although she’s a woman, she’s still going to fight for what she believes in. This is also seen today with how women are treated in the workplace. Even now, woman make $0.85 for every dollar a man makes. The same amount of work is done, but women are paid less. There shouldn’t be any type of expectations put on a certain gender, because it’s completely unfair. Women are stereotyped into a certain category, as seen in Antigone and today, resulting in sexism. Most women are outraged by this difference in pay, which arises conflict and various protests. It can all be prevented if women are seen equal to men, and aren’t looked down upon because of

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