Antigone :: essays research papers

Life’s many ups and downs leads to many options There are many decisions you will need to make in life. Decisions such as deciding whether or not to make a sacrifice for someone. Every day there are many sacrifices being made. In fact life requires sacrifices to be made. Sacrifices such as dying for someone or choosing something instead of another. People also make sacrifices for what they believe in such as their beliefs or religion. Many people choose to make sacrifices for the people they love and care for such as family and friends. In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone chose to sacrifice her life so her brother’s soul would be safely put to rest. Antigone was a very loving and caring sister to her brother, Polynices. She had lots of respect for her brother. She refused to let her brother’s soul wander around aimlessly therefore, she wanted to bury him. However, it was against her uncle’s orders to bury Polynices but she refused to listen. Since she had so much respect for her brother, she didn’t care what her uncle’s orders were. Therefore, she was going to do anything she could to bury him, even if it meant that she had to sacrifice her life. She knew it was the right thing to do. As she says here, â€Å"I know my duty, where true duty lies,† (1.1.78). Ismene was the other sister of Antigone and Polynices. She however, did not think that her family was important to her. Antigone told Ismene, â€Å"is he not my brother, and yours, whether you like it or not?, I shall never desert him, never,† (1.1.39) but still Ismene didn’t want to help. Well, maybe she did but she refused to help Antigone bury their brother because she didn’t want to sacrifice her life. She didn’t like the idea of going against her uncle’s orders like as she says here â€Å" you cannot mean....to bury him? Against the order,† (1.1.38). That showed that she didn’t have enough courage to go against the orders. However, towards the ending of the story she wanted to be a part of the burial but she wasn’t so she didn’t get any credit for it. Antigone however, did bury Polynices all by herself and then later committed suicide. Many choose to make sacrifices for their loved ones. Now of course family should be the most important, except for God.