Antigone

The story of Antigone can be symbolized in many different ways using the two main characters, Antigone and Creon. Their relationship with each other can be symbolized as the fight between male vs. female, family ties vs. civic duty, man vs. nature, etc. In my opinion, the story most symbolizes the struggle between family ties and civic duty. Antigone is faced with a decision that can either end her life (which it ends up doing) or letting her see another day. Creon's decree that made it illegal to give Polyneices, who is Antigone's brother, a proper burial because he believes he was a traitor infuriates Antigone. Even after being begged by her sister, Ismene, not to risk her life, she ends up making the decision to bury Polyneices, which ultimately ends up her death. Personally, I think that the smarter decision would have been to leave Polyneices' body alone and not try to bury him for several reasons. One, burying Polyneices would give Antigone satisfaction, yes, but it was inevitable that she would be captured and end up dying. Plus, if she dies, her sister Ismene would be left all alone, for Antigone is the only surviving family she has left. Also, in the end, Polyneices' body wasn't even properly buried! Antigone was caught before she was even able to start the process of putting him six feet deep. It would be a much smarter decision in the long run to follow the law in order to stay alive and carry on their family name instead of dying and leaving her sister alone in the world.