Men, Morals, and the Law

When I first read Antigonê, I did not find any moral conflicts among the characters. I thought Antigonê was right and Creon was wrong. I thought, and still think, she had a right and moral obligation to properly honor her dead brother that no law could overrule. However, as we discussed the play in class I began to look at the situation from Creon’s view. Polyneicês was a traitor and fought against Creon’s kingdom, so why should he give him a proper burial? So for a while I was caught between the two sides. Which law held preference, family law or state law? Although not as mind-boggling as the chicken or the egg question, it is still a real brain buster. I feel that the opening scene between Antigonê and Ismenê represents this moral dilemma,
Antigonê: You may do as you like, since apparently the laws of the gods mean nothing to you.
Ismenê: They mean a great deal to me; but I have no strength to break the laws that were made for the public good (60).

I still feel Antigonê was correct in wanting a proper funeral for her brother even though he was a traitor. All she wanted was to bury him. No elaborate funeral plans or anything like that, just the opportunity to honor the brother she lost. I feel like Creon should have been able to get off his high horse and grant her that single request. Yes Polyneicês betrayed him, but the kingdom is still standing. Even though I understand where Creon is coming from in his reluctant to grant Antigonê’s request, I still feel he is in the wrong. Apparently I was not the only one, since as the play progresses we find Antigonê’s case silently gaining support from others.

One question that remained in the back of my mind during this play was how would the situation play out if Antigonê were a man? Would she have been put to death instead of being locked in a box? Would the majority still have agreed with her? Would Creon still have reconsidered the punishment? Many people in the play felt that because Antigonê was a woman, she was weak in character, “For they are women, and even brave men run when they see Death coming” (160). There are countless examples from the text that support the chauvinistic view many of the men hold, “If we must lose, let’s lose to a man at least! Is a woman stronger than we?” (45). When Creon first hears of the attempted burial of Polyneicês, he and those around him immediately assume it is a man who committed the act. Throughout the play though Antigonê proves to be no shrinking violet. It takes a great amount of courage to stand up to a higher authority, especially when that authority is family. She is willing to die for her cause and boldly defends herself in front of Creon during a time where most would be shaking in fear. Her bravery and sense of morality in the play easily standout and make her the memorable character she is.

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A Bug's Life

Franz Kalfka’s Metamorphosis is by far one of the weirdest stories I have ever read. However, I found it quite refreshing to start a story with such a frank, “When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous insect.” (1) Short, sweet, and to the point, just my kind of sentence. What boggled my mind the most throughout the entire story though was how never once did Gregor stop and think “Whoa, I’m a giant bug, I wonder how that happened”. I even got slightly annoyed at one point because this man woke up as a giant bug and all he could worry about was getting to work on time. I guess this goes back to what we were talking about in class with Gregor having bug-like qualities. Now I cannot speak for all bugs, but I feel like Gregor shares the same one-track mind characteristic many insects possess. Frankly, I just found it frustrating how the story went on for roughly thirty pages and not once does anyone stop to think how Gregor turned into a giant bug. Why is it that no one was extremely confused by the fact that instead of a person there was a large insect in its place? I personally found it quite mind-boggling. Maybe Gregor did not question his new physical state because his mindset was already so bug-like it was only a matter of time before the rest of him caught up.


Another thing we talked about in class I was able to pull from the story was how even though Gregor turning into this monster and his eventual death was this awful event, some good did come from it. Maybe it was my inner optimist trying to find some silver lining in the situation. Gregor’s inability to work was the push his father needed to get out of his armchair and join the rest of working society. Also, I think it gives his father a bit of an ego boost because it seems he is so proud of himself once he starts working again, “ . . . he refused to take off his messenger’s uniform even in the apartment . . . as of he were always ready for duty and waiting even here for the voice of his superior”. (64) It just seems unfair that one person, in this case Gregor, had to lose their life in order for those around him, his family, to regain theirs.

(422)

Excerpts from Letters to a Young Poet

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

How could we forget those ancient myths that stand at the beginning of all races,
the myths about dragons that at the last moment are transformed into princesses?
Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act,
just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is,
in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.
So you mustn't be frightened, if a sadness rises in front of you,
larger than any you have ever seen; if an anxiety, like light and cloud-shadows,
moves over your hands and over everything you do.
You must realize that something is happening to you, that life has not forgotten you,
that it holds you in its hand and will not let you fall.






"When I was one-and-twenty..." By A. E. Housman

When I was one-and-twenty
I heard a wise man say,
"Give crowns and pounds and guineas
But not your heart away;
"Give pearls away and rubies
But keep your fancy free."
But I was one-and-twenty,
No use to talk to me.
When I was one-and-twenty
I heard him say again,
"The heart out of the bosom
Was never given in vain;
Tis paid with sighs a plenty
And sold for endless rue."
And I am two-and-twenty,
and oh, 'tis true, 'tis true.

It's just a little too late.

Recently I was working on my essay for the Loyola Marymount application and I couldn’t help but notice a connection between the prompt and the story The Death of Ivan Ilych. The question asked why the journey to be oneself seems the riskiest of all journeys. My response was it seems to frightening because we run the risk of discovering who we really are too late, like Ivan Ilych. I, and I feel many will agree with me, do not want to realize on my deathbed that the life I had lived was unhappy and unfulfilling. However, I find it hard to believe that there was not one day where Ivan looked at his life and questioned if it was what he really wanted. Maybe it was his overwhelming sense of propriety or his obsession to climb the social totem pole that blinded him from his true desires. At least there was some silver lining in the storm cloud that was Ivan’s death. His death caused Ivan to finally come to terms with his life and help him gain closure. Also, it forced many of his associates to face the realities of life. It seems everyone in the story was taking the “if I don’t think about it, then it’ll go away” approach to every little problem they faced, whether it be health, work, or family issues. Yet Ivan’s death forces those around him to open their eyes and stop avoiding their problems. Many of these characters have built up these internal walls to prevent them from getting involved with messy, emotional situations. For what reason though? Why are these people afraid to show any kind of unhappy emotion? Is it a fear of appearing weak? Ivan and his fellow power players spend their lives working their way to the top, and perhaps in that kind of dog-eat-dog environment, the best offense is a good defense. However, does that mean these men face an ultimatum, either live a happy and fulfilling life or a life spent atop the social ladder. If Ivan were able to go back and do it again, I believe he would choose the former.

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