The tragedy of Antigone Essay Example for Free

The tragedy of Antigone Essay The tragedy of Antigone is the culmination of Sophocles’ line of troubles for the Oedipan line, beginning with the unmasking of the King’s tragic secret. The last tale of the doomed Theban family, however, was different from the other two stories; here, the main theme was not the unfolding of tragedy as willed by fate, but a defiant challenge to mortal pride. Antigone faced Creon to challenge the dishonorable sentence to her brother, and also to unmask the pride by which the Theban King defied the gods. Dante’s Divine Comedy follows a similar theme: driven by the despair of wrath and pride, the poet-pilgrim is led by the spirit of Virgil through the recesses of his soul to see first-hand the ugliness of sin and pride that moves his despair. Through analysis of the two stories, it will be revealed that they share similar devices in narrative, and a common theme: Mortal Pride blinds its owner, turns it against those he holds dear, and offends the Divine. The first recognizable similarity between the two stories lies in the role of the women in unmasking the folly of mortal pride. Antigone begins in the aftermath of a great battle and the decision of the Theban King, Creon, to disgrace the dead of the besieged and withhold the honor of proper burial. Antigone represented divine admonition and retribution, in her defiance of the law forbidding the burial (Watling, 1959, p. 125). The purpose was two-fold: one was to give redeem the lost honor of her brother, who was one of the doomed, and the other to dare the King to do his worst and in so doing, and thus expose the extent of his folly. The heroine of Dante’s Divine Comedy is Beatrice, who, seeing the despair and error that Dante found himself in, sent for the ancient writer Virgil to guide him through Inferno into the gates of Paradise (Ciardi, 1960, pp. 28-30). This journey through the bowels of Inferno represents the soul’s examination of self, revealing that at the center of the blackness of his despair was sin, and at the core of that was pride. Beatrice is fulfilling the same two-fold purpose that Antigone bore for herself: she wished to redeem Dante, by exposing the folly of his own pride. The devices of both stories are also similar in their approach to curbing mortal pride: initially there is the advice of Reason, and then the chastisement by the Divine. King Creon is approached by his son, Haemon, in the hopes in him seeing the error of his ways (Watling, 1959, pp. 143-147). His careful admonition of speaking for Creon’s benefit and that he could still admit to his mistake, is similar in Virgil’s firm but gentle handling of Dante, as the latter is led through the depths of Hell and the scourges of Purgatory. Mortal pride, in both stories, has blinded too much the protagonist; Creon would not heed to the warnings of his son, and would even trade barbs with the blind prophet Teiresias (Watling, 1959, p. 154). Similarly, throughout Dante’s journey through the nightmarish landscape of the Inferno, he could see tormented souls who are too blinded by their pride to realize the gravity of their sins and its consequences. One memorable scene is in Inferno’s Canto VII, where, in the dregs of a swamp, the souls who were wrathful in their lives continue to tear each apart even in Hell. There is also Vanni Fucci’s defiant cry to God in Canto XXV of Inferno, in the midst of his torment from vipers (Ciardi, 1960, pp. 75, 213). Even Dante himself, later in Purgatorio’s Canto XIII, admits of continuing lapse to pride, despite the horrors he had to face in Inferno (Ciardi, 1960, pp. 143-144). Mortal pride, however, eventually shrinks before the glare of Divine wrath, the second and more effective narrative device used to quelling the former. Teiresias, having been rebuffed in his gentle words of advice to Creon, reveals the extent of Heaven’s curse. His final barb at the King (â€Å"Let us leave him to vent his anger on younger ears/Or school his mind and tongue to a milder mood†) exposes Creon’s fury for what it is: nothing before the eyes of the Divine (Watling, 1959, pp. 154-155). Beatrice, in a similar office, released righteous fury upon a Dante that seemed to have gotten off easy in Hell and Purgatory—incidentally at the same time that Virgil finally leaves him. Dante, suddenly naked before Divine Wrath, swoons in grief and guilt (Ciardi, 1959, pp. 304-307, 310-313). Thus, the two stories share the same lesson: Pride that is defiant before the Law of the Divine eventually is humbled against Righteous Wrath. Thus is Antigone the same with the Divine Comedy. Through the device of Reason (Haemon in the former, Virgil in the latter), the Divine sought to redeem the soul caught in the despair of pride. The act of pride is exposed for its absurdity, and the sinner shrinks before the realization of the extent of his error. Pride, that it may be scourged from its wielder, is then met with the punishment of the Divine. Creon faced it in the multiple tragedies of son, mother and would-be daughter-in-law. Dante, though, could not yet suffer this burden as he was still alive (though Beatrice’s denunciations would have sufficed), but he could at least see it from the Proud preparing themselves in Purgatorio, as was illustrated in Canto X (Ciardi, 1960, p. 115-117). The sins of Mortal Pride are not thrust upon Man by fate, but it is taken up by choice. It is a grotesque thing that blinds its possessor and thus in turn possesses him. Only by seeing clearly how small, insignificant, and foolish it is and how it hurts those held dear, can it be overthrown and the soul thus redeemed.

Benjamin Franklin Essays -- essays papers

Benjamin Franklin Who was he? In reading the Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography one can see the true character of a great man. But some may argue that this man, deep down inside, was not so great. Through out his book he touches on many aspects of his life. He lets the readers have a glimpse at what he was thinking and why he did things the way he did. Some critics do not agree that Franklin was such a noble man. They thought he might not have been telling his whole story, and that he was hiding a lot he had to offer. This paper will look at how one critic portrays Franklin---" Benjamin had no concern, really, for the immortal soul. He was too busy with the social man (292)." This critic is D.H. Lawrence. In Lawrence's piece he disagrees on what Franklin believes in and what his standards are. Most of Lawrence's argument comes from a disagreement with how Franklin expresses how he works to what he really does when he works. He thinks Franklin is more of a social man, a man of himself, more than man of the people. Lawrence has looked at how Franklin didn’t come to invent thi...

Developing and Maintaining Skills for Everyday Life

As a carer your role is not to do things â€Å"for† the individuals you care for but to do things â€Å"with† them. Your role is to work in partnership with the individual and support their decisions, regarding their care and support them to do as much as possible for themselves. If you provide too much care for an individual they can lose skills, not learn new skills and do not regain skills they have lost. By providing active support and encouraging the individual to participate in their daily living needs you are helping them to develop and maintain their skills for everyday life.Individuals may have an evaluation to assess their physical skills. This may be carried out by an occupational therapist who will assess how well an individual can function in daily life and participate in their environment. The OT will assess what equipment and adaptations are appropriate which might assist an individual to remain as independent as possible. Occupational therapy has been sh own to be successful for the elderly population with many medical conditions and surgical recoveries.Therapists work with individuals to improve their strength and regain or maintain necessary life skills. Occupational therapists working with the geriatric community counsel families, groups in the community and local governments, to make sure that each sector is doing its part to help the elderly to maintain their independence. Occupational therapy also helps geriatric clients and patients with other activities to assist in diminishing the possibility of social isolation and its unpleasant side effects.They do this by helping elderly clients and patients continue social activities they know and encouraging them to get involved in new ones as well as showing these folks ways to continue to learn in spite their limitations. Occupational therapy also promotes mind stimulating activities. These mental gymnastics give the seniors feelings of self-worth and may help them avoid getting dem entia. Encouraging individuals to join local clubs and activities can also help them to maintain and develop their skills. Developing and Maintaining Skills for Everyday Life As a carer your role is not to do things â€Å"for† the individuals you care for but to do things â€Å"with† them. Your role is to work in partnership with the individual and support their decisions, regarding their care and support them to do as much as possible for themselves. If you provide too much care for an individual they can lose skills, not learn new skills and do not regain skills they have lost. By providing active support and encouraging the individual to participate in their daily living needs you are helping them to develop and maintain their skills for everyday life.Individuals may have an evaluation to assess their physical skills. This may be carried out by an occupational therapist who will assess how well an individual can function in daily life and participate in their environment. The OT will assess what equipment and adaptations are appropriate which might assist an individual to remain as independent as possible. Occupational therapy has been sh own to be successful for the elderly population with many medical conditions and surgical recoveries.Therapists work with individuals to improve their strength and regain or maintain necessary life skills. Occupational therapists working with the geriatric community counsel families, groups in the community and local governments, to make sure that each sector is doing its part to help the elderly to maintain their independence. Occupational therapy also helps geriatric clients and patients with other activities to assist in diminishing the possibility of social isolation and its unpleasant side effects.They do this by helping elderly clients and patients continue social activities they know and encouraging them to get involved in new ones as well as showing these folks ways to continue to learn in spite their limitations. Occupational therapy also promotes mind stimulating activities. These mental gymnastics give the seniors feelings of self-worth and may help them avoid getting dem entia. Encouraging individuals to join local clubs and activities can also help them to maintain and develop their skills.

Critical Essay on Shakespeares Measure For Measure

Critical Essay on Shakespeares Measure For Measure Measure for Measure is one of the most unusual plays of Shakespeare. It was originally considered to be a comedy. However, the text is so cynical and gloomy that it is often referred to as a problem play or a â€Å"black comedy†. The play mostly deals with the points of mercy, justice and truth, and their relationship to pride and humility. Ideologically the play investigates the issue of the absolute power and its influence on the society: a person who gets the power, becomes a tyrant. If the tyrant is seduced, even the strongest church-goer can be found sinful. The main character Angelo is known to be a hard-liner in the issues of sexual immorality and tries hard to control the private sexual life of the citizens. However, he turns out to be a hypocrite, who harbors lustful thoughts on a novice nun Isabella. The girl is made to choose: she can save her brothers life if she yields Angelo her virginity or they will both die. The girl chooses to die together with her brother, rather than to sacrifice her immortal soul. Being more a tragedy in the beginning, the play turns into a happy end story, as the Duke of the city finds out about Angelos cruel plans and helps the sufferers to prove trustful. The title of the story is usually considered to be the interpretation of a famous biblical quote â€Å"For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you†, which can actually be used to describe the whole idea of the play, so successfully dealing with the themes of honesty, hypocrisy and true virtues.