Ismene's Morality

Malcolm Galligan

Ms. Peifer

English 10 IB 5th  Hour

November 26th 2008

In Sophocles' great tragedy Antigone the playwright uses the protagonist Antigone and her timid, fearful sister Ismene to pose an intriguing question: is it better to be born perfect, or to realize one's shortcomings and fix them? Antigone changes very little from the play's beginning to its devastating end. She remains steadfast in that her brother Polyneices must be buried knowing full well that Creon, the new king of Thebes, would gladly kill her for much less. Whereas Ismene changes drastically from a spineless and weak character to a valiant young woman ready to die along with her sister for what she knows is right. While she may not have originally had the courage her sister possessed, she did eventually find it and in doing so became as virtuous or even more so than her brave sister. Any penalty or reward suitable for Antigone is suitable for her as well.

In the opening scene of the play, Ismene after hearing her sister's daring plan replies, "A hopeless quest should not be made at all". This shows her lack of courage, because even though she loved her dead brother dearly, she could not bring herself to defy Creon for fear of what he would do. To begin there is little evidence of an internal struggle in Ismene, but we see later that she must clearly have been fighting with her decision not to aid Antigone.

Inevitably, Antigone goes and gives her brother, a "traitor" to Thebes proper burial rites against her uncle and reigning ruler's wishes. She is then caught and brought before him and it is here that Sophocles unveils the character development within Ismene. In front of an enraged Creon and her solemn sister Ismene declares to her sister, "let me die with thee, and duly honor the dead". She boldly defies the very thing she had "no strength for" in front of the man she was simply terrified of just a few days before. This brave act is magnified by the initial fear that consumed Ismene but never phased her sister. 

Whether Antigone is guilty or not, her fate should be shared with that of her sister. It does not matter that Antigone alone committed the act that would end her life, for Ismene would gladly have taken her own had Antigone let her. Sophocles uses this metaphor of sorts to encourage his audience to question their own morality, and perhaps to acquire the very qualities they hold so dearly but don't necessarily possess at the moment. Constantly striving to improve one's self is perhaps the greatest aspect of character anyone can have, because who among us can truly say they have always been perfect?

Works Cited

Jebb, R.C. "Antigone". Internet Classics Archive. November 26th 2008. .

Polyneices: Neice to know him?

Yesterday, Creon son of Menoeceus, took the Theban crown from our fallen hero Eteocles. To the citizens of Thebes this should bring an end to all the controversy and with it cause for celebration right? One would think so but as his first act as reigning King, Creon may have inadvertently brought only more trouble still to this once renowned and prosperous city. He declared that Polyneices, oldest son who many seem to believe was the rightful heir to the Theban crown, is not to be given proper burial for his betrayal against the metropolis that birthed him. Sources tell us that Creon went so far as to say that his body will be devoured by "carrion" and "wild dogs". How did such noble birth come to such a fall? Little is known about Antigone and sister Ismene's reaction to their brother's defilement, but this reporter would bet all the drachma's in Greece that there will be more news to follow.

Random Findings

Well since all you kids in 5th hour are totally kicking my butt at this blogging thing (Alejandro), I figured I should step my game up a little. Basically I thought it'd be fun to make a list of some quandaries/findings that I've accumulated over the years. It'd be great if you guys could tell me what you think as well.

-The 3rd movie in a trilogy almost always sucks, and even though everyone knows this to be true, they see it anyways.

-I'm positive that chap stick companies just bank on the fact that they're product will be lost before it's been used up.

-Why doesn't anybody make a #2 mechanical pencil? Seems to me like it wouldn't be that hard and I'm sick of taking tests with the regular lead ones.

-Why doesn't airplane food ever taste good? I'm pretty sure every comedian for that past 1000 years has been complaining about it, time for a change?

-Why don't tele-marketers use a person's first name? If somebody did that to me I'd be so impressed I'd actually wait to see what they were selling before I hung up.

-On a related note, does anybody buy things from tele-marketers?

-Why is it that whenever there is an infomercial for some new set of kitchen supplies, I always feel it would make my life 20 times better? I don't even cook.

-Everything sounds cooler in a foreign language.

-I feel like broccoli gets a really bad reputation undeservedly. Has anybody actually given it a fair chance? It's probably delicious and I just can't get over the stigma.

Well that's about it guys, it'd be cool if you had any you might want to add?

Welcome to the Future

If any of you out there are like me, you might just be a little disappointed with the technological world we live in today. Come on now guys, it's 2008. Where is my jet-pack? Why isn't a robot tending to my every need? Fortunately, we do have the internet. I'm a product of a supposedly mechanical generation and I'm doing my best to live up to the title. Hopefully the little knowledge I have on this crazy thing called technology will expand in this new digital environment and my blog will grow as a result. Wish me luck.

-Mac