Antigone/Julius Caesar ELA Project
TV talk show - Casual couch scene or something
David Cheung - Antigone
SANJAY - Ceaser
Eric Phammy - Interviewer
Connecting Themes:
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Not listening to warnings leads to destruction
Power can mentally corrupt your mind and cause one to display hubris
People hold the most power, Kings and rulers won't have as much power
Antigone:
In the story, Antigone, king Creon is seen as a stubborn, hard-headed, arrogant king. He
believes as king, he holds all power and say to any matter that occurs in the land. This role as
king clouds his vision and causes him to become ignorant to other people’s thoughts and
opinions. By being king, Creon believes he is always right and even puts himself over the gods
at one point. The power caused him to lose sight of loved ones and the power in numbers and
eventually led to his downfall. The power that Creon had as King of Thebes made him think that
he had the final say in everything and thought that the law was the law and essentially became
a dictator not only to the city of thebes but also to his kin. His stubborn pride led to the death of
Antigone which released a chain of events that killed his wife and son which was his downfall.
Caesar:
In Julius Caesar, Caesar has grown greatly in power since the fall of Pompey and it clearly has
gotten to his head. He overestimates his prowess and even comments that he is more
dangerous that danger itself. However, in the end his power ultimately led to his fall just like how
Creon’s power got into his head and led to the fall of those he loved the most. Julius becomes
pompous and arrogant and ignores all others including the soothsayer, his wife and his friends
because his mind was intoxicated by the fame and the power he enjoyed as a king which was
clearly demonstrated when he struggled to put even a fake crown down. His downfall is clearly
the point when his hubris grew so much that his closest allies decided to betray him.
MOTIFS:
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Loyalty to family
Omen/Fate
Betrayal
Miscommunication
Antigone:
Near the end of Antigone, king Creon speaks with Teiresias and Teiresias states that the animal
sacrifice to the gods leaked disgusting grease instead of the usual strong flame that usually
forms during a normal offering. This occurs after Creon has Antigone locked away and is a bad
omen that symbolizes the consequences of having too much hubris. The omen symbolizes how
badly the hubris of the character has grown and allows the reader to grasp and understand that
the character is deliberately choosing to ignore it. Overall, it symbolizes the warnings the
character has had. Creon had omens that would have warned him not to continue his path of
persecuting Antigone, although he did realize his mistake, it was too late.
Caesar:
Caesar receives multiple omens that tell him to “beware the ides of March”. First the soothsayer
explicitly tells him and afterwards when it is actually march 15th, Caesar's Wife Calpurnia also
tells him that she had a dream about people dancing in Caesar' blood. It represents the dangers
of having too much Hubris and how fate will deal out it’s punishment. Caesar's Hubris has
bloated to the point where he ignores multiple instances of hubris. It is almost identical to
antigone in that it represents and highlights how bad the character’s hubris is.
ARCHETYPES● Backstabber/Betrayer
● Wise future teller
● Initiation
● Tragedy
Antigone:
The Backstabbing character is an Example of a character archetype in the play. Haemon plays
the character when he turns against creon’s words and pulls out his sword and attacks him. It
also lead to Haemon's death in the end as well. The backstabber in this play is one of the
beginning events in the downfall of Creon and it’s main purpose is to signify the point of where
the character’s hubris has persisted for too long.
Caesar:
There’s also a backstabbing archetype in Caesar. It’s a significant plot of the play since betrayal
is the cause of the main conflict. The main betrayer is Brutus who stabbed Caesar along with
the other members. Betrayal is something that shows up in both Caesar and Antigone. The
betrayal in Caesar is much more pronounced and is the climax of the story. The backstabbing in
Caesar represents the fall of Caesar due to the intoxication of power and his lust for fame. His
friends betrayed him because his hubris was that bad. It is similar to Antigone in that they signify
the consequences of hubris.