xii
ABSTRACT
DEWA, DENAL SUKMA. The Effect of Religion and Religiousness in Antigone's Decision to Fight Against Creon's Law in Sophocles' Antigone. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2013.
This study deals with one of Sophocles' works Antigone. Antigone is a very interesting play, because it pictures many aspects in human life such as love, loyalty, and pride that can be found throughout the play.
This study focuses on finding the idea of religiousness in the characteristics of the main character Antigone. In order to support the writer finding out the idea of religiousness, the writer uses characterization of the main character. There are three objectives in this study which are the description of Antigone's characteristics, the description of Antigone's religiousness as seen in her characteristics, and the effect of Antigone's religiousness in her decision to fight Creon and his law.
This research is based on the library research by using intrinsic elements. Since this study focuses on the moral matters, moral philosophical approach is used in order to find all of the answer to the problems of this study. Review on some other studies related to this study is also used to support this study. There are some theories used in this study: are theory on character and characterization and theory on religion. Those theories are used to figure out the objectives of the study.
xiii
ABSTRAK
DEWA, DENAL SUKMA. The Effect of Religion and Religiousness in Antigone's Decision to Fight Against Creon's Law in Sophocles' Antigone. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2013.
Penelitian ini berkaitan dengan salah satu karya dari Sophcles yang berjudul Antigone. Antigone merupakan salah satu drama yang menarik karena banyak berkaitan dengan aspek kehidupan manusia seperti cinta, kesetiaan, dan harga diri yang tertuang di dalam ceritanya.
Penelitian ini berfokus untuk menemukan kereligiusan dalam karakteristik tokoh utamanya yaitu Antigone. Untuk melakukan hal tersebut penulis menggunakan penokohan dari karakter itu sendiri. Ada tiga hal yang menjadi tujuan dari penelitian ini yaitu menjelaskan karakteristik dari Antigone, menjelaskan adanya kereligiusan dalam karakteristik dari Antigone, dan menjelaskan akibat dari adanya kereligiusan dalam diri Antigone dalam pengambilan keputusan untuk melawan Creon dan peraturan yang dibuatnya.
Penelitian ini berdasarkan pada penelitian pustaka dengan menggunakan faktor intrinsik dari karya itu sendiri. Dikarenakan penelitian ini berkaitan dengan moral, pendekatan moral digunakan untuk menjawab permasalahan yang ada dalam penelitian ini. Ulasan dari beberapa penelitian lain yang berhubungan dengan penelitian ini juga digunakan sebagai pendukung. Beberapa teori digunakan dalam penelitian ini diantaranya teori tentang karakter dan penokohan lalu juga teori yang berhubungan dengan agama. Teori-teori tersebut digunakan untuk menemukan jawaban-jawaban dari permasalahan dalam penelitian ini.
THE EFFECT OF RELIGION AND RELIGIOUSNESS
IN ANTIGONE'S DECISION TO FIGHT
AGAINST CREON’S
LAW IN SOPHOCLES’
ANTIGONE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
DENAL SUKMA DEWA Student Number: 064214018
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
ii
THE EFFECT OF RELIGION AND RELIGIOUSNESS
IN ANTIGONE'S DECISION TO FIGH
T AGAINST CREON’S
LAW IN SOPHOCLES’
ANTIGONE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
DENAL SUKMA DEWA Student Number: 064214018
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
iii
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
THE EFFECT OF RELIGION AND RELIGIOUSNESS
IN ANTIGONE'S DECISION TO FIGHT AGAINST CREON’S
LAW IN SOPHOC
LES’
ANTIGONE
By
DENAL SUKMA DEWA Student Number: 06 4214 018
Approved by
Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. July 12, 2013
Advisor
Adventina Putranti, S.S., M.Hum. July 12, 2013
iv
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
THE EFFECT OF RELIGION AND RELIGIOUSNESS
IN ANTIGONE'S DECISION TO FIGHT AGAINST CREON’S
LAW IN SOPHOCLES’
ANTIGONE
By
DENAL SUKMA DEWA Student Number: 06 4214 018
Defended before the Board of Examiners on July 26, 2013
and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name Signature
Chairperson : Dr. F.X. Siswadi, M.A. __________________ Secretary : Dra. A.B. Sri Mulyani, Ph.D. __________________ Member : Maria Ananta Tri Suryandari, S.S., M.Ed. __________________ Member : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. __________________ Member : Adventina Putranti, S.S., M.Hum. __________________
Yogyakarta, July 31, 2013 Faculty of Letters Sanata Dharma University Dean
v
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been previously submitted for the award of any other degree at any university, and that, to the best of my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no material previously written by any other person except due reference is made in the text of the undergraduate thesis.
Yogyakarta, July 31, 2013
vi
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK TUJUAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama : Denal Sukma Dewa
Nomor Mahasiswa : 064214018
Demi pengembangan dan kepentingan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
THE EFFECT OF RELIGION AND RELIGIOUSNESS
IN ANTIGONE'S DECISION TO FIGHT AGAINST CREON’S
LAW IN SOPHOCLES’
ANTIGONE
Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk pengembangan dan kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis. Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal 12 Juli 2013
Yang menyatakan
vii
"IT IS NOT WHO I AM
UNDERNEATH, IT IS WHAT I DO
THAT DEFINES ME"
BATMAN - BATMAN BEGINS
viii I proudly present this work for...
ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My very first huge gratitude of course goes to the one and only God of the universe with all of the power God has. I believe that everything which as already happened in my life is all because of God's will to make it happen. The completion of this undergraduate thesis as well is definitely God's will that I can finally manage to complete in a very long time.
Another huge gratitude goes to my advisor Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. for being a great undergraduate thesis advisor for me in about 3 years along the completion of this undergraduate thesis. He has been so patient in giving me a lot of advice and guidance related to my undergraduate thesis. I thank to my co-advisor in doing this undergraduate thesis, Adventina Putranti, S.S., M.Hum. who has been very helpful in guiding me to the final completion of this undergraduate thesis. My next gratitude goes to Anna Fitriati, S.Pd., M.Hum. as my academic advisor. I also express my gratitude to all lecturers of Sanata Dharma University who have given me a lot of valuable knowledge that I am sure it will be very useful for me in the future.
x
Next, I thank all of my friends in the English Letters Department, especially the A class of 2006. They have been great friends for me from the very beginning of my study in the English Letters Department of Sanata Dharma University. Thanks to Megavia Limas for being a very great friend to me. She always accompanies me anywhere, anytime, and her words in many matters are really worthy. Also thanks to Elok Dwi Rahayu and Ngo Maria Christina for being such extraordinary friends of mine in the last couple of years during my study. I believe that there are many others that I cannot mention all of them here, so I thank them very much for such a great stories that we all have during our time being together. I hope we could meet again and spend a little time together someday while also remembering those precious old times.
Finally I would like to thank anyone or anything that have been in connection with the making and completion of my undergraduate thesis from the very beginning till the very end. I believe that every good deed has its own gift. I hope that God give you all goodness and greatness just as you all gives to me. Thank you very much.
xi
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH ... vi
1. Theory of Character and Characterization ... 17
2. Theory on Religion ... 21
A. The Characterization of Antigone ... 33
1. Persistent ... 34
2. Brave ... 38
3. Religious ... 41
4. Loyal ... 43
B. Antigone's Religiousness and Attitude on Religion Seen in Her Characteristics ... 45
C. The Effect of Religion and Religiousness in Antigone's Decision to Fight Against Creon and His Law ... 50
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ... 54
xii
ABSTRACT
DEWA, DENAL SUKMA. The Effect of Religion and Religiousness in Antigone's Decision to Fight Against Creon's Law in Sophocles' Antigone. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2013.
This study deals with one of Sophocles' works Antigone. Antigone is a very interesting play, because it pictures many aspects in human life such as love, loyalty, and pride that can be found throughout the play.
This study focuses on finding the idea of religiousness in the characteristics of the main character Antigone. In order to support the writer finding out the idea of religiousness, the writer uses characterization of the main character. There are three objectives in this study which are the description of Antigone's characteristics, the description of Antigone's religiousness as seen in her characteristics, and the effect of Antigone's religiousness in her decision to fight Creon and his law.
This research is based on the library research by using intrinsic elements. Since this study focuses on the moral matters, moral philosophical approach is used in order to find all of the answer to the problems of this study. Review on some other studies related to this study is also used to support this study. There are some theories used in this study: are theory on character and characterization and theory on religion. Those theories are used to figure out the objectives of the study.
xiii
ABSTRAK
DEWA, DENAL SUKMA. The Effect of Religion and Religiousness in Antigone's Decision to Fight Against Creon's Law in Sophocles' Antigone. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2013.
Penelitian ini berkaitan dengan salah satu karya dari Sophcles yang berjudul Antigone. Antigone merupakan salah satu drama yang menarik karena banyak berkaitan dengan aspek kehidupan manusia seperti cinta, kesetiaan, dan harga diri yang tertuang di dalam ceritanya.
Penelitian ini berfokus untuk menemukan kereligiusan dalam karakteristik tokoh utamanya yaitu Antigone. Untuk melakukan hal tersebut penulis menggunakan penokohan dari karakter itu sendiri. Ada tiga hal yang menjadi tujuan dari penelitian ini yaitu menjelaskan karakteristik dari Antigone, menjelaskan adanya kereligiusan dalam karakteristik dari Antigone, dan menjelaskan akibat dari adanya kereligiusan dalam diri Antigone dalam pengambilan keputusan untuk melawan Creon dan peraturan yang dibuatnya.
Penelitian ini berdasarkan pada penelitian pustaka dengan menggunakan faktor intrinsik dari karya itu sendiri. Dikarenakan penelitian ini berkaitan dengan moral, pendekatan moral digunakan untuk menjawab permasalahan yang ada dalam penelitian ini. Ulasan dari beberapa penelitian lain yang berhubungan dengan penelitian ini juga digunakan sebagai pendukung. Beberapa teori digunakan dalam penelitian ini diantaranya teori tentang karakter dan penokohan lalu juga teori yang berhubungan dengan agama. Teori-teori tersebut digunakan untuk menemukan jawaban-jawaban dari permasalahan dalam penelitian ini.
1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
The world of literature is the image of the real world, what we find in literary works is often can be found in a real world and vice versa. Many authors created their masterpiece based on what happen in a real world. John Dryden in his book entitled Selected Criticism said "literature is lively image of human nature, representing passions and humors, and the changes of fortune to which it is subject, for the delight and instruction of mankind" (1970: 36). Thus what we find on literature is often happen in a real world. Understanding literature from a certain period will definitely help us understand that period of time. Understanding the ideas presented in a literary works will definitely give us understanding of that ideas in real world.
Many people in this world believe in a common fact that there is a power in this universe which is far more powerful than the power that every single human possessed. People realized it when they are not capable of doing things they want to do. Some people think of it as a nature power due to the fact that sometimes we could see that at the time natural disasters occur. When natural disaster occurs, people cannot do anything to stop them since the power of the disaster is too great for people to deal with.
Meanwhile some people think that it is the power of the people that has been passed away. People might be dead and their body might be destroyed but their spirit will remains and stays on some places or things. They will protect a certain area or thing using their power. People who believe this kind of fact usually traditional people for example people of tribes. They often held rituals to make sure that their predecessors will always be with them.
Speaking of religion, there are many religions in the world with very different form from each other. Since the ancient times religion existed, each religion has a central and important figure that they called as God though each religion called it differently. Some examples of religions in the world are Islam, Christianity, Judaism, etc. They have different names for God as well as different way to worship God.
Religions have become an important part of human‟s life and it affects
human‟s life very much. Paloutzian stated about this in his book Invitation to
the Psychology of Religion Second Edition as seen in the following quotation: Globally, we can predict that over 3 billion people out of the world's 5,5 billion total population are religious or have their lives affected by religion in important ways. (Paloutzian, 1996:3)
From the statement made by Paloutzian above thus we can say that many people in the world know religion and have what so called as religiousness.
be very hard to handle. In the real world, we can always find this kind of conflict worldwide.
People have their own opinion and reason to believe in such religion. One person believes that there is only a single God while other person believes that there are many Gods. Some people ignore this difference. They don‟t care
with such difference because people have their own rights to believe in something. Unfortunately some others concern about this difference. It often creates conflicts between people who have different belief. Some people often forced other to have the same belief with them. It happens worldwide and a very usual cause of a chaos. It is the reason that even in a single religion there are some different types. For example the Islam in Indonesia has NU, Muhammadyah, Ahmadyah, etc.
An example of religious society is of course the ancient Greek. This can be seen through a lot of sources such as movies, videogames, and work of literatures. Greek people worshiped many Gods and Goddesses. Some examples are Zeus as the leader of all Gods, Hades who rules the underworld, Ares as the God of war, Poseidon rule the sea, etc. It affects the people‟s life
very much. Looking at the history of the Greek society, we might be able to find out that religion is very important to the life of people. This interests the writer to discover the power of religion, in this case religiousness to be more precise, in human‟s life. Whether religiousness could make any difference on
someone's life or not is very interesting to find out.
In this study the writer tries to analyze the religiousness of a character named Antigone seen in a play written by Sophocles' entitled Antigone. The writer chooses Antigone as the object of the study because the setting of place and time are in the ancient Greek which is very famous as religious society. The main conflict is between Antigone and Creon in the story. Creon stated a public law that should be obeyed by people, in the other hand Antigone disagree with that law and decide to go against it. It is important to find out the influence of religiousness towards someone‟s attitude especially in a religious
society. Whether Antigone is affected by religiousness or not would be very interesting to find out through this study.
Antigone. She is the daughter of a former king of Thebes named Oedipus. After the death of Oedipus, his two sons quarreled and killed each other in a battle. Creon as the closest relatives then becomes a king. She rebels against the new king of Thebes who due to the king‟s decision that is not suits her very well. The king decides not to burry Antigone‟s brother named Polineices due to
the fact that he is considered as a traitor while her other brother get a very proper burial. Antigone dares to fight against king‟s law which is very powerful. What actually makes Antigone dare to fight against the powerful law of the king is the next thing that interests the writer. Furthermore the writer tries to see such a phenomenon that religion and also religiousness could affect people's behavior very much. It will be done by looking at the characteristics of the main character of the play named Antigone throughout the story Sophocles‟
Antigone.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the topic and title of the study stated previously, there are three problems that are going to be answered throughout this study. The problems are:
1. What are the characteristics of Antigone?
2. How do Antigone's characteristics reveal her religiousness and attitude toward religion?
C. Objectives of the Study
Mainly this study aims to find out the power of religion in Antigone‟s
decision to fight against Creon‟s law as described in Sophocles‟ Antigone.
Specifically, there are three problems to be answered in order to reach the conclusion for the main objective of the study. The first one is to find out the characterization of Antigone. Looking at the characterization of a certain character will surely helpful to find out everything about the character itself. This characterization then will be used to find character's perspective of religion. Second is to find out the description of Antigone‟s religiousness in her
characterization. One of many aspects that can be found through a characterization is character‟s belief, including religion. The last and the most
important one is to find out the influence of Antigone‟s religiousness towards
her decision to fight against Creon‟s law. The description of religion seen
through the characterization of Antigone will be very useful to find out its influence towards Antigone‟s decision to fight against Creon and his law.
D. Definition of Terms 1. Religion
In the International Encyclopedia of Government and Politics, religion is described as “people‟s understanding and practice regarding God, the gods, or transcendent reality” (Hall, 1996: 1157). Religion is not merely a thing that every person could simply believe or possess but it requires a deep understanding and then the practices out of that understanding.
Another explanation of religion was stated by Kenneth Pargament as quoted by Paloutzian on his book. Here Pargament emphasizing on the idea that religion can be understood both at personal and social levels of analysis. Religion can be found in every dimension of personal and social life. We can speak of religion as a way of feeling, a way of thinking, a way of acting, and a way of relating (Paloutzian, 1996: 8)
Pargament stated above that religion could be feeling, thinking, acting and relating. Again, here religion is not merely a single thing that could be easily stated and understood by many people.
2. Religiousness
Another term that is also important on this study is religiousness. Paloutzian quoted a definition of religiousness stated by Tamminen on his book The Invitation to the Psychology of Religion second edition as seen in the following quotation:
10 CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
Greek Tragedies are very well known in the world of literature. Sophocles‟ Antigone is one of many well-known and great Greek Tragedies. Sophocles‟ Antigone is the last story in the trilogy of Oedipus which told a complete story of a king named Oedipus. The other two stories are Oedipus The King and Oedipus at Colonus. All of these stories were written by Sophocles many years ago, as a result there are so many reviews and studies related to all of these plays that have been done before.
Sophocles itself is a very famous writer at that time. Richard Goldstone in his book Contexts of the Drama mentioned about Sophocles as seen in the following quotation:
Sophocles served Athens as both military leader and public official. His lifework, however, was that of playwright; he competed for the drama prizes awarded at the festival of Dionysius and won first prize nearly twenty times. after his death, thenians venerated Sophocles as a hero of the state. (Goldstone, 1960:14)
Moreover Richard Goldstone still in Contexts of the Drama also stated that the only one who could challenge Shakespeare is Sophocles. This statement can be seen in the following quotation:
If any dramatist could challenge the supremacy of Shakespeare, it would surely be Sophocles. But of the approximately one hundred and twenty five plays attributed to Sophocles, all but seven have been lost. The extant seven include Ajax, Antigone, Electra, The Maidens of Trachis, Oedipus at Colonus, Oedipus Rex and Philoctetes. (Goldstone, 1960: 14) Shakespeare is the symbol of the Elizabethan era while here Sophocles with his greatness is the symbol of Greek tragedies.
In this chapter the writer will review some of the studies, reviews, or comments on Sophocles‟ Antigone or other works that has similar topic with this study. The reviews will be very useful in order to show the topic that the writer will discuss in this study.
Common topic that often be discussed in the study of Sophocles‟
Sophocles’ Antigonestated the factors of feminist ideas in Sophocles‟ Antigone
as in the following quotation:
There are four factors that bring about feminist ideas in Antigone: patriarchal society in the ancient Greece, the oppression against the females, female inferiority, the existence of oracle in Antigone‟s royal family. (Setyarini, 2002: 78)
Here she clearly stated that in ancient Greece the life of females were not equal with males. Males dominated the society. The females were oppressed so that they have no freedom. In the other hand, Antigone was trying to break through this pattern of society by fighting agains Creon‟s law. That is the only
way to show that women also have strength.
Another study about Sophocles‟ Antigone still can be found with differrent topic. Yudha, in his undergraduate thesis entitled The Moral Lesson
of Antigone’s Struggle Against Tyranny in Sophocles’ Antigone find out that there is an idea of one man rule in Sophocles‟ Antigone. It is Creon who rules as a king that people should obey whatever he said no matter right or wrong. He uses the power as a king not in a right way. It can be seen in the following quotation:
He acts so arrogance toward other people. As a king, he thinks that he should be respected no matter that he has made a mistake or not. His law also should be obeyed and there is punishment for someone who disobeys his law. (Yudha, 2005: 52)
have a very deep consideration before deciding to create rules or laws. In Sophocles‟ Antigone, Creon punishes Antigone who burry Polyneices while actually there is nothing wrong in burying a dead body. Although people of Thebes do not agree with that decision they remain silence because they are afraid of Creon. They are afraid of the punishment if they broke the law that is already stated by the king. Through his study Yudha wants to reveal the male domination in the story.
The next study that discussed Sophocles‟ Antigone was done by Lira Dewi. In her undergraduate thesis entitled Representation of Creon’s Tragic
Hero in Sophocles’ Antigone she discussed the possibility of Creon to be the tragic hero of the story. Creon as the king looks very powerful at the beginning of the story, though at the end he got hit by his own attitude towards people. Her statement can be seen in the following quotation:
But if observed more, the writer finds that Creon himself is actually the „victim‟ of the system which drives him to be an authoritarian king so that he does oppression. And then, the oppression causes his downfall which is signified by the death of his beloved people (Haemon, Eurydice, and Antigone). (Lira Dewi, 2007: 98)
people will obey him under any circumstances. Creon created a new law with a strict punishment to follow that people afraid to break the law. At the end of the story, it turns out that his decision lead to his own downfall after his wife and his son died in a single day.
Moreover, in Types of Drama: Plays and Contexts (8th edition), Sylvan Barnett, William Burto, Lesley Ferris, and Gerald Rabkin commented about Sophocles‟ Antigone. They stated that most of the readers see that Antigone is more sympathetic than Creon because she bravely fights against Creon and his law alone. It makes them consider that Antigone is the tragic hero. On the other hand there are very few of the readers see that both Antigone and Creon are equally right and equally wrong (2001).
According to Rouse, as quoted by Kitto in Form and Meaning in Drama
there was a double burial in Sophocles‟ Antigone. The first one was done by Ismene in purpose to protect Antigone from the punishment of burying Polyneices. Meanwhile, Antigone did the second which is actually a trap. It can be seen clearly in the following quotation:
First she recoiled from Antigone‟s proposal; but she has second thought, and in the hope of saving her sister she goes out quickly and does it herself. But the guard removes Ismene‟s dust, so that, Antigone, not knowing that the rite has been performed, does it again and is caught. When the sisters meet again, before Creon, Ismene realizes that she has failed to save Antigone, and Antigone has no idea that Ismene has done anything. (Kitto, 1960: 141),
know anything and the dust have been removed by the guards so that anyone could be caught in doing the burial, then she does the burial again. She did not know that the guards have been waiting for her to capture her at the time she is doing it. This also explains why Ismene want to share Antigone's punishment.
Another critic named Edith Hamilton gives different opinion about Sophocles‟ Antigone. In his book entitled The Greek Way to Western Civilization he commented about Antigone as the one who actually really makes the story as a tragedy. His opinion is as quoted in the following:
The conflicting claims of the law of God and the law of man are not the basic one that make the tragedy in the Antigone. It is Antigone herself, so great, so tortured. She is the high souled maiden who goes with open eyes to her death than leave her brother‟s body unburried. (Hamilton, 1958: 167)
According to Hamilton, Antigone is a very great and brave woman. She chooses to cross the path of her death by herself instead of staying alive with a feeling of guilty not to bury her beloved brother.
Guth in his book entitled The Literary Heritage state his opinion towards Sophocles‟ Antigone. According to him the conflict in Sophocles‟ Antigone is more on the psychological conflict than of physical conflict. The characters were linked by their feeling towards each other that make it difficult for them to decide what to do. Antigone is the sister of Polyneices, she loves him very much, and therefore she decides to give a proper burial although it means breaking the law of the king. His opinion as quoted in the following:
the decisions, motifs, and feeling of the major characters. (Guth, 1981: 472)
Those all above were some studies on Sophocles‟ Antigone that have been done by many people before this study. They were all focusing on a different points and topics of the play.
Moreover, there is one more study that has similar topics with this study which is about religion. The study was done by Lusi Kusumasari in 2005 with the title Nawal El-Saadawi's Woman at Point Zero: The Influence of Religion and Politics on Woman's Life in Egypt. Her statement that religion influences someone's life can be seen in "religion gives influences on woman's life related to the family law, marriage, inheritance, education and physical appearance" (2005:50). Looking at this statement, now it is clear that religion really influence people's life.
From those studies, the writer basically has the same perception with all of them. Unfortunately there is none of the studies above that discuss about the power of religion possessed by Antigone in relation with her decision to rebel against Creon and his law. As a result, the topic that is going to be discussed by the writer is totally different from all the studies reviewed above.
B. Review of Related Theories
been mentioned before. This study is related with characterization and religion, so first there will be some theories on character and characterization and then the theory on religion to follow.
1. Theories on Character and Characterization
Character has an important part in a literary work. Therefore, many experts in the world of literature have their own opinion and theory about character in the literary works. One expert that has a theory about character is E.M. Foster. According to him there are two types of character, flat character and round character. His explanation can be found in Abrams‟
Glossary of Literary Terms as quoted in the following
A flat character (also called a type or “two dimensional”) is built around “a single idea or quality” and is presented without much individualizing detail and therefore can be fairly adequately described in a single phrase or sentence. A round character is complex in temperament and motivation and is represented with subtle particularity: such a character therefore is as difficult to describe with any adequacy as a person in real life and like real person, is capable of surprising us. (Abrams, 1981: 101)
Furthermore, Stanton in An Introduction to Fiction gives two possible definitions of a character. First is the person and second is the personality. It can be seen in the following quotation
Character can be defined in two ways. First, this term defines a person or an individual that appears or is created by an author in a story. Second, it refers to a mixture of all the mental or moral qualities such as principles, values, emotions, interests, etc that build each of an individual‟s personality. (Stanton, 1965: 17)
To sum up, according to Stanton, what so called as a character could mean two ways, the first, a person that is inside the story is called a character. Secondly, the personality of that person itself is also called a character.
Moreover, Abrams in Glossary of Literary Terms stated that character is “the person presented in narrative work, which is interpreted by the reader
as being endowed by moved and dispositions qualities that are expressed in their dialogue and their action” (1981: 20). Here Abrams stated that
character could be interpreted by readers by looking and understanding their dialogue and actions throughout the whole story.
Meanwhile, still talking about character, M. J. Murphy in his book entitled Understanding Unseens explained that there are several ways to describe the characters (1972: 161-172). There are nine ways characters could be described as seen in the following quotation
a. Personal Description
characters' appearance, such as: the skin, face, eyes, hair, body, or his or her clothes. By analyzing physical appearance of the character, the author can describe the personalities of the character.
b. Characters as seen by another character
The description is gain from the eyes and opinions of other character. the author gives description of the character by showing other characters' opinion toward the character, which the author wants to describe.
c. Speech
The author describes the character through what the character says. the readers can observe the character's personality by observing his or her speech.
d. Past Life
The author describes the character's personality through the events in past life. The readers can analyze by paying attention on the direct comments, the character's thoughts, and his or her conversation.
e. Conversation of Others
To find the personality of a character, the author can give the readers a clue to a person's character through the conversations with other characters and the things they say about the character.
f. Reactions
g. Direct Comment
The author also can describe the character's personality directly. h. Thoughts
The author describes the character's personality through the character's inner mind or thoughts, or the way they think.
i. Mannerism
By identifying the character's manners or behavior, the readers can identify their characteristics.
Beside character, characterization also plays an important role in the works of art. In the work of art, characterization not just described as a personality of all characters inside the story but it is more on the way characters are presented by the author. The reader need to know the characterization of every character in order to understand the character and its personalities. Furthermore, personalities will lead to the development of the character itself and also the development of the story. That is the reason that understanding the characterization of characters is very important.
understanding of the character inside a story. Second is indirect presentation. In this method, there will be no clear explanation about the character in the story as the direct presentation. The reader should be able to conclude and understand the character through its actions in the whole story; what they say, thinks, or does. The reader will have to read the story very carefully in order to understand the characterization. Thus indirect presentation of characters will lead to different perception of the character by different reader.
2. Theory on Religion
Religion is related with supernatural or mystical power which is clearly not owned or possessed by human. This power is even beyond human's logical understanding. In the field of religion, humans have a relationship with God. God is the one who has unbelievably great power to control the whole universe. This power is believed to be owned only by God.
limited power, human search for power that more powerful than what they have. The power they search is the power that they got by having a relationship with God or believing in a religion. By believing in religion, people will have more strength and courage to face everything on their life. Thus many people finally will come to the fact that they actually need the power of God.
Many people think that what so called as a religion is only one single thing. According to Paloutzian, religion is not just one single thing though. Religion is constructed by five important factors which support each other to form one unity. Those five important factors are belief, practice, feeling, knowledge, and effect (Paloutzian, 1996: 14).
a. Religious Belief (Ideological Dimension)
This first factor in a religion refers to what people believed as a part of a religion. As in traditional religion for example, it refers to the belief that spirits stay in certain objects.
b. Religious Practice (Ritualistic Dimension)
This second factor refers to what people do as a part of a religion. This could be a particular ceremony or praying activity which are determined by the rules of each religion.
c. Religious Feeling (Experiential Dimension)
d. Religious Knowledge (Intellectual Dimension)
This fourth factor refers to the information or knowledge about the religion that each person knows.
e. Religious Effects (Consequential Dimension)
This last factor refers to a certain behavior of each person which is guided by the person‟s belief of certain religion. This behavior is usually
not a part of the religion.
Moreover, religion is not just a belief but refers to a thinking, a feeling and also an action of a person. A religion consists of conscious ideas, hopes, enthusiasm, and object of worship. Religion promises to deliver human soul into an eternal better condition (Santayana, 1962: 38-57).
The fact is undeniable that religion plays a very important role in individual's life or society. It has a function in individual's life or society to takes part properly in the effort to achieve the goal of physical and spiritual wealth. Here are some of the functions in supporting the goals (Hendropuspito, 1982: 38-57).
a. Education
b. Salvation
Everybody wishes for salvation in both this world and the next world. Religion provides the salvation. It teaches to achieve the salvation especially in the next world which is beyond human's thought.
c. Social Control
Religion has responsibility to maintain good norms from the destructive attacks. It retains good forms even from government's system that violates human living. It selects norms in a society then strengthens the good one and rejects the bad one. It also conducts a very tight control in the norm of implementations.
d. Enrich Brotherhood
In religion a man does not only involve partly but a whole of his personality in a deep intimacy with God. A man then encounters a collective belief in which individual, collectively dedicates themselves to the highest. Then in this togetherness of faith they experience the highest happiness.
e. Transformation
C. Theoretical Framework
Sophocles‟ Antigone tells the story of a woman who has huge courage to face her own death in order to bury her brother in a proper way. The story takes place in the ancient Greece. Many people worldwide are aware that Greece is a religious society because they worshipped many Gods and Goddesses. Therefore through this study the writer tries to find out the effect of religion and religiousness in Antigone‟s decision to fight against Creon and his law.
In order to understand Antigone‟s personalities better the theories on
character and characterization are used. Looking at how she acts, talks, and thinks will give the writer Antigone's characterization. Moreover, by looking at the other characters feeling and thoughts related to Antigone will also reveal Antigone's characterization. The expected result after using the theories on character and characterization is that there will be a description of Antigone‟s
attitude related to religion and also her religiousness. After understanding the characterization of Antigone, the writer will find out the revelation of Antigone's attitude towards religion and also her religiousness.
The last problem formulation which is related to Antigone's religiousness and Antigone‟s decision to rebel against Creon and his public law will be
26 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of this study is the play entitled Antigone which is written by Sophocles, one of many great writers in the world of literature. Antigone is the last play in the trilogy of Oedipus which is famously called as Oedipus Rex. The first play is Oedipus the King, the second play is Oedipus at Colonus, and the last play is Antigone. The first and the second play focus more on the tragic story of the king Oedipus, Antigone's father. This play was written by Sophocles on around 442/441 BC. Sophocles was born in Colonus about 496 BC. He is a great writer as stated by Richard Goldstone in his book entitled
Contexts of the Drama.
Sophocles served Athens as both military leader and public official. his lifework, however, was that of playwright; he competed for the drama prizes awarded at the festival of Dionysius and won first prize nearly twenty times. after his death, thenians venerated Sophocles as a hero of the state. (Goldstone, 1960:14)
We can see clearly from the quotation above that Sophocles is famous as tragedy playwright and he had won many contests because of the plays he wrote. He is an outstanding writer among other writers on that era. He is as famous as Shakespeare at the Elizabethan era.
The play used by the writer in this study is the English version of
Robert Fitzgerald. There are all five scenes and approximately 1353 words on this text. Eight characters were named throughout the play.
Greek tragedies are very well known in the world of literature. It also has great influence in society worldwide. Antigone as the object of this study is one of many famous Greek tragedies. Sylvan Barnett, William Burto, Lesley Ferris, and Gerald Rabkin in their book Types of Drama: Plays and Contexts (8th edition) stated that Antigone has great influence in the twentieth century. It influenced a Roman version of the play a lot (2001: 106-107).
Antigone tells a story of a woman named Antigone, a daughter of the old king of Thebes named Oedipus. Antigone decide to face the king of Thebes, Creon and his law in order to give his brother Polyneices a proper burial who died in a war against his own brother Etheocles. Creon decided to leave Polyneices unburied because he fights against his own homeland and country. He called him traitor and told people traitor does not deserve any proper burial. He will punish anyone who dare to burry Polyneices. The punishment that will be given is stoned to death in public. Antigone who disagrees with Creon‟s
decision decides to bury his brother in a proper way. He asks her sister Ismene to help but she refuses because Ismene is afraid of Creon's punishment so she attempts to do it all alone by herself. At last she was captured when she tries to burry Polyneices.
Haemon, Creon‟s son who is Antigone‟s fiancée try to ask Creon to
Antigone has hanged herself. Soon when Creon comes, Haemon strikes him with a sword but he misses and the sword strikes his own body. Creon filled with sadness, return home with the dead body of Haemon. His sadness become bigger when he found his wife has committed suicide after hearing Haemon‟s
death. In the name of dignity, Creon loses his wife and his son at the same time. Just the same as Antigone who lose her two brothers at the same time.
B. Approach of the Study
In this part the writer explain the approach that is used in this study. An approach is needed in a study in order to specify what ideas that the writer want to reveal throughout the study. There is more than one approach known in the study of literary works such as Gender Approach, Socio-Cultural Approach, Psychological Approach, etc. In this study the writer uses moral/philosophical approach because the main idea of this study is religion and religiousness, while those two things can be clasified as moral matter.
According to Edgar V Roberts, who called this approach moral/intellectual approach instead of moral/philosophical approach, explain about this approach in his book Writing About Literature as stated in the following quotation.
This approach, as seen in the quotation, tries to figure out the moral lesson of a literary work. Every work has lessons on it, by using this approach then the moral lesson of certain work can be revealed and understood.
This study discuss about religion and religiousness which can be classified as moral matters. Religion is closely related to people‟s life very
much. This study focused in finding out the power given by a strong religiousness and strong attitude towards religion that will affect its believer very much. Therefore this approach is the most suitable approach to use in this study. This approach will find out the effect of strong religiousness and attitude towards religion in someone‟s life, in this case Antigone from the play.
C. Method of the Study
This study is focused on a literary work; therefore library research is done by the writer to do the research. The primary and secondary data were all collected from the library.
The primary data of this study is the English version of the play Antigone
which was translated into English by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. The play is originally a Greek play. Besides the primary data, some secondary data are also needed in this study. Those data were taken from several books, such as Types of Drama: Plays and Contexts (8th edition), Writing About Literature, Invitation to the Psychology of religion (2nd edition), Form and Meaning in
There were several steps conducted to complete the study. First step was reading the play carefully and thoroughly. It is important to understand the story deeply so the reading was not only done once but several times so that the writer really understands the context of the play and all of its elements. In reading the text, the writer tries to figure out the characteristics of Antigone as the main character.
After reading the play then the writer found that there was an idea of religiousness presented in the play especially in the character Antigone. From this point then the writer creates the problem formulations to be answered in this study in relation to the idea of religiousness.
The next step was finding out any secondary resources needed to complete and support the study. This was done by looking for some books related to the topic of the study in the library and then read them out to find the ideas that might help the writer in conducting the research and answering the problem formulations of this study. After the additional sources were collected enough, then the last and the most important step are writing the analysis of the study. Mainly, the writer's basic understanding of the work combined with the additional sources used by the writer to find out the answer of the three problem formulations of the study.
32 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
In this chapter the writer tries to answer all of the three problem formulations which have been mentioned in chapter I of this study. Mainly the purpose of this study is to find out the effect of a strong religiousness and also strong attitude on religion of the character Antigone as seen in Antigone‟s
decision to fight against Creon as the King of Thebes and his new proclaimed public law as described in the play Antigone written by Sophocles.
There are three parts discussed in this chapter overall. In the first part, the writer tries to explain about the characteristics of Antigone as the main character of the play, throughout the whole story which is the first problem mentioned before. Some theories of character and characterization as explained in chapter II will be used in order to achieve the whole characteristics of Antigone. Next, in the second part the writer tries to explain about Antigone's religiousness as revealed by her characteristics throughout the whole story, which is the second problem to be answered by the writer in this study. Here the theory on religion stated by Roman Paloutzian will be used to answer the problem.
Chapter II to support the analysis of the characters in this study. Some quotation of the play itself will also be included in the explanation to follow. The quotation is functioned as evidence to support the explanation of the writer.
A. The Characterization of Antigone
Character is an important element in a story such as play and novel. Character will lead the reader or audience to go to the inside of the story very deeply. There are many ways a character of a story is described by the author. Sometimes, the characters are described throughout the story by describing their physical appearance and their conversation with the other characters. Some other times the character is described by the explanation made by other character in the story. The writer thinks that Antigone is the main character of the story since it is also the title of the play itself. The main conflict of the story is created by her also makes her as the main character of the story. Therefore her characterization of course is very important in affecting the whole storyline.
those who broke the law. That she is religious is shown by her reason in fighting Creon and his law. That she is loyal is shown by her will to stay and help to do the right thing for her brother Polyneices in the name of the family. All of these will be explained by the writer one by one in the following explanations.
1. Persistent
The writer thinks that the main conflict of this story stands between Antigone and the king of Thebes, Creon, with his new proclaimed public law that he has just proclaimed. Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus, who was the former king of Thebes. After Oedipus died, his two sons, Polyneices and Eteocles are fighting each other for the throne. Unfortunately both of them were killed in a battle. Creon, as the closest relatives, the uncle of Antigone then becomes the new King of Thebes. He gives Eteocles a proper burial with military honor because he died defending his own homeland, Thebes. In the other hand, he proclaimed a new law that forbids anyone to burry Polyneices in a proper way because he fights against Thebes. Creon said that a traitor should never be honored. Antigone, as Polyneices sister wants to bury him in a proper way although that means to go against Creon and his public law.
her will to burry Polyneices in a proper way since he is also a family member. Family has to help each other under any circumstances. Antigone asks Ismene to join her and help her giving proper burial to Polyneices dead body which is left unburied to be eaten by dogs and birds. Instead of alone. This can be seen in the following quotation.
ISMENE. Antigone, you are mad! What could I possibly do? ANTIGONE. You must decide whether you will help me or not. ISMENE. I do not understand you. Help you in what?
ANTIGONE. Ismene. I am going to bury him. Will you come? ISMENE. Bury him! You have just said the new law forbids it. ANTIGONE. He is my brother. And he is your brother, too. ISMENE. But think of the danger! Think what Creon will do! ANTIGONE. Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way. (Prologue: 90)
From the quotation above, the writer knows that Antigone is a persistent woman. Antigone told Ismene that she wants to bury Polyneices properly although she clearly understands that Creon forbids it. Ismene warn her but Antigone says “He is my brother. And he is your brother, too”, this
is Antigone‟s excuse towards Ismene that she will still bury Polyneices even
Antigone wants to emphasize that even Creon cannot stop her to do the proper burial to Polyneices although this means to broke Creon's law. Once she said so, she will not change her mind; therefore Antigone is a persistent woman.
There is more evidence from the text showing that Antigone is a persistent woman. The following quotation was taken from the last part of the conversation between Antigone and Ismene at the beginning of the story. Finally Antigone gives up on Ismene. Ismene refuses to help her from the beginning with all of her excuses. Antigone decided not to involve Ismene anymore.
ANTIGONE. If that is what you think, I should not want you, even if you asked to come. You have made your choice, you can be what you want to be. But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down with him in death, and I shall be as dear to him as he to me…
(Prologue: 91)
From the quotation above, Antigone clearly stated that she will bury Polyneices no matter what. She doesn‟t care about Ismene decision and
There are more evidences from the text that shows Antigone is a persistent woman. Right after the guards captured her of burying Polyneices, she is taken to the palace in order to be interrogated, questioned, and then punished by Creon right away. Then Creon orders the guards to take Ismene in front of him as well because he thinks that both of them are equally guilty. Creon believes that those two girls, Ismene and Antigone, plot a plan to take the throne. At the time Antigone is going to be punished, Ismene want to be with her, Ismene want to be punished as Antigone, but Antigone refuses. Here, Ismene shows that she did not have exact decision. First she refuses to help, but now she wants to help because she wants to share in this crime, or deny it? Answer me.
ISMENE. Yes, if she will let me say so, I am guilty.
ANTIGONE. (coldly) No, Ismene. You have no right to say so. You would not help me, and I will not have you help me.
ISMENE. But now I know what you meant; and I am here to join you, to take my share of punishment.
ANTIGONE. The dead man and the gods who rule the dead know whose act this was. Words are not friends.
(Scene 2: 96)
doing what is accused to Antigone. Although Ismene is her sister and that she willingly wants to share the punishment together, Antigone refused her clearly. The act of burying Polyneices is done by herself alone, so she does not want anyone else to be punished. She does not want Ismene to be in such a miserable condition because of her because Ismene deserve to be in a better situation.
2. Brave
The first characterization of Antigone, which is a persistent woman, has been clearly explained by the writer previously. The explanation includes evidences from the text showing that Antigone is a persistent woman who would not easily change her mind under any circumstances. Aside of the fact that Antigone is a persistent woman as mentioned in the beginning of this chapter; Antigone is also a brave woman. Thus the bravery of Antigone is one important factor that creates the main conflict of the entire story between Antigone and the king Creon.
The first evidence from the text showing that Antigone is a brave woman is taken from the opening conversation between Antigone and Ismene. The conversation can be seen in the following quotation.
From the conversation above, Antigone shows that she is clearly not afraid of Creon although he is the King. By saying “I am going to bury him”
she shows Ismene that she is not afraid of the law that created by Creon. Before Antigone said that, she told Ismene about the law, which will give a death punishment for anyone who breaks the law, but still she said she want to bury him. Break the law means facing death by her. This is what Antigone wants to do. Clearly it is the evidence that Antigone is a brave woman.
Still from the previous quotation, when Antigone says “Creon is not
strong enough to stand in my way” it also shows her bravery. Although
Creon is a King, whom most people are afraid of, Antigone is not afraid of him. Previously Ismene warn her about the danger of breaking the law by saying “But think of the danger1 Think what Creon will do!” This warning
does not make Antigone afraid of Creon. Therefore Antigone is a brave woman.
The next quotation taken from the text still shows that Antigone is a brave woman. This evidence is taken from the closing part of the conversation between Antigone and Ismene at the beginning of the story.
ANTIGONE. Go away Ismene: I shall be hating you soon, and the dead will too, for your words are hateful. Leave me my foolish plan: I am not afraid of the danger; if it means death, it will not be the worst of deaths---death without honor.
(Prologue: 91)
terrible the punishment would be. Therefore she said that she might hate Ismene later on because of the words she said. Here by saying “I am not
afraid of the danger…” shows that Antigone is a brave woman. She is not afraid even if what she has to face is death and she has to face it alone.
Still talking about Antigone‟s bravery shown in the story, one more of
the evidence is found by the writer on the text. The next quotation is taken from the conversation between Antigone and Creon after she was captured by the guards. She was captured while she is doing the ritual to give a proper burial to her brother Polyneices. The guards took her to Creon and the conversation between them can be seen in the following quotations:
CREON. Tell me, tell me briefly: Had you heard my proclamation touching this matter?
ANTIGONE. It was public. Could I help hearing it? CREON. And yet you dared defy the law?
ANTIGONE. I dared. It was not God‟s proclamation. That final justice that rules the world below makes no such laws.
(Scene 2: 95)
she has done and the reason of her doing that. No denial of the crime that she has done in front of Creon.
Evidence showing that Antigone is a brave woman can also be found in the next quotation. It is still in the same conversation between Creon and Antigone right after she was captured by Guards. Besides Antigone denies nothing on what she has done, she even shows that she is not afraid of death. This can be seen in the following quotation:
ANTIGONE. Creon, what more do you want than my death? CREON. Nothing. That gives me everything.
ANTIGONE. Then I beg you kill me. This talking is a great weariness: your words are distasteful to me, and I am sure that mine seems to you. And yet they should not seem so: I should have praise and honor for hat I have done. All these men here would praise me were their lips not frozen shut with fear of you. (bitterly) Ah the good fortune of kings, licensed to say and do whatever they please!
(Scene 2: 95)
Through her statement at the quotation above, Antigone tries to tell Creon that all of the people in Thebes will have the same opinions with her if they are not afraid of Creon and his law. Meanwhile, Antigone is not afraid of that. Therefore she dared to break the law and even ask for the punishment. This clearly shows that Antigone is a brave woman.
3. Religious
named Sophocles with the setting of the ancient Greek. Therefore the writer thinks that the main character, Antigone must be religious or at least have a strong attitude in relation to religious matters.
There are some evidences from the text showing that Antigone is a religious woman. This first quotation is taken from the beginning of the story when Antigone talks to Ismene. Antigone uses her understanding of God and its law to tell Ismene that Creons law is not the right one.
ANTIGONE. If that is what you think, I should not want you, even if you asked to come. You have made your choice, you can be what you want to be. But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down with him in death, and I shall be as dear to him as he to me. It is the dead, not the living, who make the longest demands: we die forever… You may do as you like. Since apparently the laws of the Gods mean nothing to you.
(Prologue: 91)
The quotation above is Antigone‟s answer of Ismene‟s advice about her plan to break breon‟s law. At the beginning, Antigone says “But I will
bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy”. This sentence
shows that Antigone is religious. Although by breaking the law she commits a crime, that‟s only in front of Creon, not in Gods‟ eyes. Antigone believes
that burying someone who is dead is not a crime or a sin in front of Gods. Still from the previous quotation, at the end of the statement, Antigone says “Since apparently the laws of Gods mean nothing to you” to Ismene.
The following quotation will also show that Antigone is religious. It was taken from the conversation between Antigone and Creon after she was captured by the Guards.
CREON. And yet you dare defy the law?
ANTIGONE. I dared. It was not God‟s proclamation. That final justice that rules the world below makes no such laws. Your edict, King, was strong. But all your strength is weakness itself against the immortal unrecorded laws of God. They are not merely now: they were, and shall be, operative forever, beyond man utterly…
(Scene 2: 95)
It is clear from the quotation above that Antigone is religious. She says to Creon that his law is not Gods law. Creon‟s law is nothing compared
to Gods law. Law created by man will only last for a while but Gods law will lasts forever. Therefore she decides to obey the law of God instead the law of men. Simply by put the matters of God before any other matters like Antigone, a person is religious.
4. Loyal
There is a statement from the text that can prove the idea that Antigone is a loyal woman especially to the family where she belongs. It can be seen in the statement made by Ismene "Go then, if you feel that you must. You are unwise, but a loyal friend indeed to those who love you." This statement by Ismene implies that Antigone is loyal to anyone she loves, in this case to her brother Polyneices. She wants to give him a proper burial because he is her brother and she loves him so much. In this case, a character is explained through statement made by another character as stated by M. J. Murphy (1972: 161-172).
There is one more of the evidence from the text that shows Antigone is a loyal person to the family. Antigone made a statement in the beginning of the story when she asked Ismene to help her.
ANTIGONE. Listen, Ismene: Creon buried our brother Eteocles with military honors, gave him a soldier's funeral, and it was right that he should; but Polyneices, who fought as bravely and died as miserably, --- They say that Creon has sworn no one shall bury him, no one mourn for him, but his body must lie in the fields, a sweet treasure for carrion birds to find as they search for food. That is what they say, and our good Creon is coming here to announce it publicly; and the penalty stoning to death in the public square! There it is, and now you can prove what you are: a true sister, or a traitor to your family.
(Prologue: 90)
person who left another family member who needs help is no longer a family. Although Polyneices is dead, Antigone still cares about him so much because he is a family member.
B. Antigone's Religiousness and Attitude on Religion Seen in Her Characteristics
The writer has explained the characteristics of Antigone at the beginning of this chapter. There are four characteristics of Antigone which are persistent, brave, religious, and loyal. In this part, the writer tries to explain about the revelation of Antigone's religiousness and her attitude towards religion based on her characteristics. Each characteristic of Antigone shows the point that Antigone has a deep understanding of God. This fact supports the idea that Antigone has a strong religiousness.
