Antigone Bonus Journal

Bonus:  Cultural significance of the following passages

"We are of the tribe that asks questions, and we ask them to the bitter end.  Until no tiniest chance of hope remains to be strangled by our hands. We are of the tribe that hates your filthy hope, your docile, female hope, hope, your whore -" (43)

"Kings, my girl, have other things to do than to surrender themselves to their private feelings" (31).

The tribe represents the civilians of France who are questioning the actions of the puppet Vichy government. The bitter end refers to either the Holocaust or the Vichy government attacking them. The civilians will keep being critical of the government as long as the government keeps doing wrong things. Hope is the possibility of a new future for the French civilians.

Kings is referring to the Nazi’s and by not surrendering themselves to their “private feeling”, they are ignoring the French people’s society and views of life. The Nazi’s take over because they believe it is the right thing to do. They have no sympathy for any destruction or harm they cause because they feel it is a necessary cost they must pay.

Antigone Journal 4

Thomas Woodward

page 44 Antigone, line 11-16

The contrast between “life” and “death” shows the absurdities and stubbornness of Antigone. The passage is significant because it shows Antigone’s views on loyalty. Based on Antigone’s condescending tone, Anouilh suggests Antigone thinks that people should make their own decisions and follow them through to the end. When Ismene wants to die with Antigone, Antigone denies her and Ismene starts crying. Because Antigone tells Ismene to stop “blubbering” the reader discovers the lack of sympathy Antigone has for Ismene’s decision (Anouilh, line 12). When Antigone refuses Ismene, Antigone says Ismene had her chance to die. By repeating the word “chance” and the phrase “I did” Antigone is belittling Ismene’s decision to choose life and not come with her to try to bury her brother (Anouilh, line 12-15). Antigone is emphasizing how only she had enough courage to die and took the opportunity whereas Ismene did not. When Antigone describes the conditions she had to face when she buried her brother she suggests she deserves to die. She things she has earned it. Also, “creeping, hands and knees” suggests that she is hiding from authority because they have power over her. This makes her obedient to the king’s power but the fact that she wants to die transfers the power back to her. The king wants her to live. The imagery of Antigone clawing at the earth with her nails makes her sound like an animal. She is portrayed as primitive and primal, like an animal. Its as if a force of nature is forcing her to do what she’s doing. Nails describe the animal properties that she has. This animal imagery shows that wild animals (Antigone) and domesticated kings (Creon) cannot exist together at the same time because the domesticated king will see the wild beast as a threat to the domestication of his empire.  The king is afraid of the lack of control he has over Antigone’s wildness.

Antigone Journal 3

Thomas Woodward

Pages 20-44

Anouilh use of yes and no creates tension. Antigone and Creon’s different motives create tension. Antigone is very stubborn about dieing. She won’t agree with Creon to stay alive. She is ignorant and young. She wants to die for her cause. Antigone’s stubbornness is Anuilh’s way of showing how young people can be foolish. Antigone didn’t know the true story of her brothers. Creon said her brothers were bad men but Antigone doesn’t believe him. Ismene also is like Antigone but she is less adamant about dieing for her cause. Antigone feels that if she agrees to live, she would be giving her freedom as a human to Creon. By agreeing to him, she would succumb to his control. Antigone is trying to be a martyr for her brothers and for the old way of life society used to have. Creon was surprised that Antigone still believed in the old Greek burial system where the dead had to be buried to avoid eternal purgatory.

            Anouilh creates this struggle between the powerful (Antigone) and the powerless (Creon) because of the time period he was living in. Creon represents the French government. A greater force was controlling them both. For the French it was the Nazis and for Creon it was politics. Antigone represents the French citizens being controlled by the French puppet government. The French government and Creon were force to do things that oppressed the citizens and Antigone. This is Anouilh’s way of documenting the Nazi’s cruelty.

Antigone Journal 2

Time line of Antigone

1. Antigone slipped out of the house early in the morning.

2. She walked down a road.

3. She went into a field.

4. Antigone buries her brother Polynices.

5. She comes back and is discovered by Nanny.

6. She tells nanny to not worry about what she was up to.

7. Ismene comes in and starts talking with Antigone.

8. Antigone tells nanny to make breakfast and nanny leaves.

9. Ismene and Antigone talk about how they have thought of death and pain and how they are outmatched by the king, Creon. They say how they are afraid of death.

10. Ismene leaves to go sleep.

11. Nanny brings breakfast but Antigone says she isn’t hungry.

12. Antigone makes Nanny promise to take care of Antigone’s dog.

13. Nurse exits and Haemon enters and Antigone apologizes for a quarrel they had last night.

14. Antigone tells Haemon that she loves him but will never be able to marry him.

15. Antigone tells Ismene she buried Polynices.

Antigone Journal 1

I would stage the beginning of the play Antigone with everyone frozen until the Chorus describes their role in the play. The Chorus would consist of one person and they would walk around the stage, stopping to talk about the given character. The Chorus is one person because it is easier for the person to walk around the stage when they aren’t in a big group also the stage directions say “He points at the messenger” signifying that the Chorus is singular (Antigone, 5). I would have Antigone sitting in the middle of the stage on some concrete steps outside a house. In the top story of the house Eurydice would be seen through a window knitting. Leaning on the outside side of the house would be the Messenger thinking about the premonitions of a catastrophe. The tree red-faced card players are on the opposite side of the building as the Messenger. Haemon and Ismene are in the corner of the stage talking to each other and Creon and his page would be in the other corner.

1984 Journal 3

The Structure of Society

The book 1984 by George Orwell is about the effects of an Oligarchy in a hierarchal society. The society of Oceania is split up into three parts. The first part is the Proletariat class or Proles for short. They are the lowest of the low. The government doesn’t respect them at all. The government doesn’t even regard them as human. The Proles have no thought regulation because they don’t think about anything and their class has the most people in it (85% of the population). The second part is the Outer Party. They are the middle class of Oceania. The government regulates their thoughts closely and it requires their complete allegiance to the country. The government watches each member with telescreens, submits the people to 24 hours of propaganda everyday and makes sure that no one shows any signs of rebellion. Anyone that disagrees with the government will be vaporized or killed by the government. The government makes the Outer Party work for the government all day to prevent them from having independent thoughts and becoming dissatisfied with the government. The Outer Party is the main group of people the government focuses on. The government gives them food and shelter but it is not good quality. The last group is the Inner Party. The Inner Party are the wealthy people in our modern day society. They control the government and regulate the people. The Inner Party are allowed luxuries that the other classes are not allowed like good coffee and chocolate. The Inner Party is comprised of two percent of Oceania’s population. The Inner Party members’ goal is to keep the government in power, which is why they keep the Outer Party and the Proles ignorant. The Inner Party knows that hierarchal society would not be possible if the masses were intelligent. In order to keep the government the way it is, the masses must be ignorant and blindly acceptant to the policies of the party.

1984 Journal 2

1984 Journal 2

Pg. 52

            My passage is about Winston Smith beginning to question the way of life the party is subjecting him to. He is looking around the cafeteria and criticizing all of the poor conditions the government is forcing him to live with. He starts to realize all of the governments short comings and begins to feel cheated by the government. He wonders if life had been different.

            This passage is significant to the novel because Winston is beginning to resent the government. He is starting to think for himself and is becoming independent from the government: significant. The critical thinking he displays demonstrates shows that he is separating himself from the party. He is no longer blindly accepting the government’s propaganda. He is not completely against the government yet but some cracks of disloyalty are forming in his mind about the party. Winston’s repetition of the government’s bad conditions further emphasizes how he is not satisfied with the life the government is giving him. He is seeing the government’s cafeteria and the poor living conditions people are being subjected to: significant. Winston describes his unsatisfactory surroundings in a dejected light. This characterization of Winston lets the reader know what is going on in Winston’s mind. This passage also describes how people need different experiences to make decisions and to be independent: significant. The word choice of “ancestral memory” describes how the government has eradicated the past because the only way to know if life was different required a memory from long ago. This shows the ruthlessness of the government’s attempt to try and control how people think.