1) Antigone sneaks out at night which was forbidden at the time, conspires with her sister to perform illegal activities, and openly challenges and insults the king solely based on her principles. Regardless of the extremity of her punishment, was Creon wrong or unjust for punishing her? Or were her actions justifiable?
2) “(Creon) has no right to keep me from my own” (Line 59)
Where is the boundary between religious laws and political laws? Is one superior to another, and, if not, who is to decide when two laws contradict each other? Eg. Marriage rights in the US, cultural rights, etc.
3) Creon says “Whoever places a friend above the good of his own country, he is nothing. I have no use for him. Zeus my witness” (Lines 203-5), yet he places his very own pride above the good of the country. Was he unintentionally/unconsciously lying? Even today, are there any leaders who maintain power and righteousness? Or does this level of power always lead to corruption?
4) “A proclamation has forbidden the city to dignify him with burial, mourn him at all” (Line 227-8)
As the new king, Creon celebrates new beginnings, as the past is now behind them, yet insists on getting revenge on Polyniece even after his death by forbidding his burial rites. Is revenge, under any circumstance, allowable/justifiable? If so, when?
5) The leader of the elders suggests that Polynieces burial could “possibly be the work of the gods” (Line 316) Yet, Creon discredits this suggestion as “Inconceivable” and asks “When did you last see the gods celebrating traitors?” Even in modern day, do political powers, in the US and abroad, see themselves as a shepherd to their people? Do they justify their wrongful actions under the name of god in vain or simply as a means t ...