Creon and Antigone †Victims of Fate Essay Example for Free

Creon and Antigone – Victims of Fate Essay Sophocles put a lot of layers of meaning in his Creon and Antigone. For ancient Greeks these great tragedies were not only an entertainment, but they also possessed a lot of philosophical meaning which made people think about many different problems. When reading Sophocles’ play Antigone we get into a difficult life situation together with main characters, think about their choices and possible consequences of their mistakes. We can see two different systems of beliefs, two different worlds presented by two main characters Creon and Antigone. Creon is a carrier of the state power; he expresses obedience to his fate and obedience to the state laws. He is driven by the burden of responsibilities put on him by his high position. We see that he is ready to forget about his feelings and emotions in order to perform his duties. â€Å"Kings, my girl, have other things to do than to surrender themselves to their private feelings† he says to Antigone during their talk (Sophocles 42). He can not influence his destiny and it seems that everything is predetermined for him. Antigone is a complete antipode of Creon. She is lively, impulsive, enthusiastic and counts on her feelings and emotions. She can break the limits of the state laws and even does not feel guilty for that. â€Å"I didn’t say â€Å"yes†. I can say no to anything I think vile, and I don’t have to count the cost. But because you said yes, all that you can do, for all your crown and trappings, and your guards- all that you can do is to have me killed† (Sophocles 45). She is driven by completely different motives and her inner truth is more important to her than formal laws and regulations. She makes decisions, which determine her fate. She influences her own life and people around her. Antigone seems free and determine. She makes her decisions and is ready to take responsibility for them. We can find a lot of things, which unite them if we look deeper than just on the surface of the play. Creon and Antigone do not seem so different if we study their personalities better. They both are stubborn; they both are directed by their goals and do not want to step aside. They have different values and look for different things in life but both are ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of these values. Creon recognizes himself in young and passionate Antigone. â€Å"Don’t think me fatuous if I say that I understand you; and that at your age I should have done the same thing. A moment ago, when we were quarreling, you said I was drinking in your words. I was. But it wasn’t you I was listening to; it was a lad named Creon†¦he was thin and pale, as you are. His mind too was filled with thoughts of self-sacrifice† (Sophocles 50). He knows that they are alike, were alike if to be precise. But the burden of state responsibilities has changed his thoughts and deadened his feelings. His ideals were replaced by the obedience to laws and higher power. Like in the most Greek tragedies Creon is dependant on the will of whimsical gods and has little choice. The only his choice is whether to follow his destination or not. Creon makes his choice and obediently follows his fate. Antigone challenges not only social norms, but also her own destiny and will of gods. Antigone easily breaks with her beloved sister when she refuses to help her. She does not forgive her even when Ismene comes to prison and wants to share Antigone’s guilt. The same thing does Creon, when refuses to listen to the advice of his old and loyal friend Polyneices. Both, Antigone and Creon could sacrifice their dear people and just forget about them in the fight for their ideals. Both, Creon and Antigone have their own moral standards and live according to them. Works Cited Sophocles: The Complete Greek Tragedies. Edited by David Grene. 2 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1954-57.

The Virtuous Pamela of Virtue Rewarded Essay -- Virtue Rewarded Essays

The Virtuous Pamela of Virtue Rewarded      Ã‚  Ã‚   Samuel Richardson began his literary career when two booksellers offered him the opportunity to amass a publication for unskilled letter writers. While preparing this volume, a small sequence of letters from a young lady asking her father's counsel when endangered by her master's advances, entranced him. His enthrallment resulted in a shift in his work. The result was the tome Pamela; Or, Virtue Rewarded. The book has been subject to much inquiry. One such question critics ask is if the main character, Pamela Andrews, is truly virtuous or a convincing hypocrite. By understanding the character of Pamela, one must conclude Pamela is a truly virtuous young lady.    First, Pamela regards her virtue very highly. In the first letter from her parents, they write, "...the loss of our dear child's virtue would be a grief that we could not bear (46)." Throughout many of their following letters, her parents continue to warn her to be on guard of her virtue. Furthermore, as a poor girl, Pamela's virtue was all she had to offer a future spouse. In one letter, she tells of an account with Mr. B. In this account she says, "For heaven's sake, your honour, pity a poor creature, that knows nothing, but how to cherish her virtue and good name: I have nothing else to trust to (62)." After escaping captivity, she contemplates taking her life before renouncing her virtue.    Moreover, Pamela's virtue stems from her being a devout Protestant Christian. Throughout her letters, Pamela refers to Scripture over thirty times. Furthermore, she calls upon God numerous times in prayer. Moreover, after kidnapping Pamela, Mr. B. detains her for six weeks. Throughout her captivity, Pamela laments n... ...arriage bed is a gift of God. She looks on the prospect of such an established man with joy and happiness.    In conclusion, Pamela's virtue is a virtue of the very highest. She regards it very highly. Second, her virtue takes root in her Protestant Christian heritage. Thus, the Bible would guide her ethics. This high ethical standard manifests itself throughout the attacks of Mr. B. His attacks upset Pamela to a high degree. Outside of marriage, Pamela can never yield her innocence. Moreover, marriage seems impossible. Yet when Mr. B. humbles himself by giving his troth, Pamela becomes excited at the prospect of marriage. When married, she will no longer have any virtue to protect. She will marry as an unsullied bride.    Work Cited: Richardson, Samuel. Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded. 1740. Ed. T.C. Duncan Eaves and Ben Kimpel. Boston: Houghton, 1971.

Having a New Member in a Family

When a child is used to being the baby of the family its hard to let go of that position. So for me finding out that a new baby was on its way it was very exciting, but than when the baby arrived it wasn’t very exciting after all. Everything change. As a result, I decided to built a fence that kept me separated from my family. I enjoyed being the baby of the house. I would always gets everything I wanted or asked for. I would think that basically the whole world revolved around me and only me. Everyone one always called me daddy’s little princess and that made me even more spoiled. I would love to be around my family play games with them do mostly everything. But, everything started to change once my mom made an announcement that she was pregnant. That moment was very important and surprising to everyone. I was happy that I was going to have a little sister or brother. After a while, everyone started paying attention to my mom and her tummy and that I wouldn’t get any. One day my uncle said to me that after the baby arrived he or she was going to be the new baby of the family, that it was going to take my spot. After I heard that I got sad, since I was used of having everyone spoiled me. From that moment on I was starting to drift away from my family. Months later my mom was ready to give birth one morning and I couldn’t go since I had school. Later that morning my dad told me and my brother we had a new baby sister. All throughout school I was thinking how my life was going to change. Lots of ideas popped into my head. I even thought of my parents forgetting about me. After school my dad came to pick me up so I could go to the hospital and visit. Once I entered the room I saw my mom holding a small human being. I was happy to see my new baby sister. I walked towards the bed and carried the baby. She was so small and her face was red with little white dots on her cheekbones, and she had a look of confusion. As I held my new baby sister I realized that she was going to need all the attention in the world even mine. I than also realized that I wasn’t a baby anymore that I didn’t need all the attention I always had that now it was going to be the baby’s turn to be daddy’s little princess. After that day I stopped acting like the world revolved about me because it never did. I gave my full attention to my baby sister. Everyone told me they thought I was going to get jealous and my respond was that I was at first but I than realized that she need it more than me. One day my dad told me that I was always going to be his little girl. I was glad he told me that. The fence I had built was just to damage the beautiful relationship I had with my family. It started to fall little by little as I started to become conscious that attention was nothing compared to having a family that cared about you. My family helped me tare down the fence because they showed me that just cause your growing doesn’t mean people are going to stop caring about you or not give you attention that there will always be a time where you have the spotlight.

Being Impaired A Social Problem - 1456 Words

We live in a society that is not very accepting of individual differences. There is always a norm to strive towards. But what happens if one is unable to meet these norms due to physical or mental impairment? Those who are affected by impairments are treated differently by typical-abled members of society, stigmatized, stereotyped, or pitied, all of which can make one feel subhuman. The way that our society reacts to individuals with physical and mental impairments is what causes them to be disabled. Disability is a social problem that hinders the flourishing of those affected by impairments. There are numerous ways that a person can be impaired, some appearing to be more severe than others. Some philosophers like Peter Singer argue that being impaired is a harm which requires biomedical intervention to help the individual affected to function in society and prevent them from suffering, and that if given the chance, we should select against disability ; however people affected by impairments have learned to adapt and live with their impairment. They are typically not suffering because they have one, as many assume. According to Barnes, being impaired is only part of one’s life; it does not necessarily make up the entire global concept their life quality (340). Barnes makes the argument that similar to being homosexual, a person with an impairment life would be harder, but we cannot assume that the person life quality is less than that of an unimpaired person. As anShow MoreRelatedThe Walk By Judith Butler And Sunaura Taylor976 Words   |  4 PagesAfter watching t he documentary â€Å"The Walk† with Judith Butler and Sunaura Taylor that we watched in class together as a whole. It made me wonder about how Taylor put the idea of being handicapped as a political meaning, rather than just a social or medical way of living. In the documentary, the two women talk about the vast ways that handicapped people face today in the world. Throughout the semester we have learned how not just handicapped people like Taylor a person with a physical impairment areRead MoreImpaired Nurse667 Words   |  3 PagesAccording to the American Nurses Association, an impaired nurse is unable to meet the requirements of the code of ethics and standards of practice of the profession. This nurse has cognitive, interpersonal or psychomotor skills affected by psychiatric illness and/or drug or alcohol abuse of addiction (American Nurses Association, 2010). 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In 1991, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – a civil rights law was implemented across the U.S [with four sections] that prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities including deaf and hearing impaired people. The purpose of the ADA is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. Each section of the ADA – employment, government, public accommodations, and telecommunications – lists services