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.