Antigone - Novel to Film Essay

Antigone is very brave when she is determined to bury her brother Polyneices and

disobey the king’s orders. ​Antigone’s brothers Polyneices and Eteocles die in battle over

the throne while Creon is next in blood. ​Creon, the next king, is determined to bury

Eteocles because he believes that he should receive a military burial, ​ ​however he thinks

Polyneices should lie on the ground unburied and let the birds and dogs scavenge his dead

body because he sold his own people into slavery, fought against father gods and fought

against his native city. ​Determination is a key factor when comparing and contrasting the

Antigone play and film. While comparing the film and play there are many similarities and

differences that relate to determination. During both the play and film similarities are

Antigone being determined to bury her brother Polyneices so she can respect him and

when Antigone committed the crime she admits that she disobeyed his law.​ ​One difference

that occurs in the play and the film is that in the film Creon wants to kill Antigone for the

crime she committed and her gender but in the play Creon wants to kill her just for her

crime.

The first similarity between the book and the film is when Antigone is determined to

bury her brother Polyneices so she can respect him. Antigone feels that it is unfair that

Polyneices would be left alone eaten by dogs and birds while Eteocles will receive a military

burial. ​The play states, “ The must be your excuse, I suppose. But as for me, I will bury the

brother I Love.”(Lines 65-66) ​This shows that Antigone is so determined that she is going

to risk her life and bury the brother that she loves so much while her sister Ismene is selfish

and only wants to follow the law.​ ​The author also states in the film, “ I intend to bury my
brother and if I die in the attempt I die with knowledge that I have acted justly.”​ ​This

shows how determined Antigone is and how much she loves her brother dearly and she is

willing to do anything so that he can be respected. This shows that the similarities in the

play and film are related to determination because Antigone is determined to bury her

brother no matter what the consequence.

The second similarity between the Antigone play and film is when Antigone is

caught for burying Polyneices she admits to the crime because she is so determined to

respect her brother.​ ​The author states in the play, “Living as I live, with evil all about me,

Think Death less than a friend? This death of mine is of no importance; but if I had left my

brother lying in death unburied, I should have suffered. Now I do not. You smile at me. Ah

Creon, Think me a fool, if you like; but it may well be that fool convicts me of folly.” (Lines

268-274)​ This shows that Antigone thinks that if she would not have buried her brother

and left him unburied that she would be guilty and would have suffered but since she

buried him she feels that she respected him in the right manner.​ The author also states in

the film,”Yes, I’m guilty, I don’t pretend otherwise.”​ ​This shows that Antigone admits to

burying her brother Polyneices and she will take full responsibility and take the

punishment as long as her brother is respected as she thinks he deserves. This also shows

that the similarities in the play and film involve determination because she is determined to

respect her brother no matter the consequence.

One difference In the play and the film that is related to determination is that in the

film Creon is determined to kill Antigone because of the crime she committed and her

gender but in the play Creon just wants to kill her because of the crime she committed. ​The
author states in the play, “ I will carry her far away out there in the wilderness, and lock

her living in a vault of stone. She shall have food, as the custom is,to absolve the state of her

death.” ​This shows that Creon will take her far away and leave her in a stone vault with

food and water but in the play he never says anything about killing Antigone because of

her gender. ​The author states in the film, “ This boy of mine is on the women side!”

According to the quote, that Creon thinks that Haemon is on the bad side because he is

supporting Antigone and she should be buried because of her gender. These two pieces of

evidence show the difference between the play and the film because in the film Creon is

determined to kill Antigone because of her gender and the crime she committed while in

the play Creon wanted to kill Antigone just for the crime she committed.

Overall, the Antigone play and film have many similarities and differences that are

related to determination.​ ​During both the play and film, some similarities include Antigone

being determined to bury her brother Polyneices so she can respect him and when Creon

catches Antigone for committing the crime she admits they she disobeyed his law. One

difference that occurs in the play and the film is that in the film Creon wants to kill

Antigone for the crime she committed and her gender but in the play Creon wants to kill

her just for her crime. Determination is a central theme when comparing both the play and

film.

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 Antigone is very brave when she is determined to bury her brother Polyneices and

disobey the king’s orders. Antigone’s brothers Polyneices and Eteocles die in battle over

the throne while Creon is next in blood. Creon, the next king, is determined to bury

Eteocles because he believes that he should receive a military burial, however he thinks

Polyneices should lie on the ground unburied and let the birds and dogs scavenge his dead

body because he sold his own people into slavery, fought against father gods and fought

against his native city. Determination is a key factor when comparing and contrasting the

Antigone play and film. While comparing the film and play there are many similarities and

differences that relate to determination. During both the play and film similarities are

Antigone being determined to bury her brother Polyneices so she can respect him and

when Antigone committed the crime she admits that she disobeyed his law. One difference

that occurs in the play and the film is that in the film Creon wants to kill Antigone for the

crime she committed and her gender but in the play Creon wants to kill her just for her

crime.

The first similarity between the book and the film is when Antigone is determined to

bury her brother Polyneices so she can respect him. Antigone feels that it is unfair that

Polyneices would be left alone eaten by dogs and birds while Eteocles will receive a military

burial. The play states, “ The must be your excuse, I suppose. But as for me, I will bury the

brother I Love.”(Lines 65-66) This shows that Antigone is so determined that she is going

to risk her life and bury the brother that she loves so much while her sister Ismene is selfish

and only wants to follow the law. The author also states in the film, “ I intend to bury my

brother and if I die in the attempt I die with knowledge that I have acted justly.” This
shows how determined Antigone is and how much she loves her brother dearly and she is

willing to do anything so that he can be respected. This shows that the similarities in the

play and film are related to determination because Antigone is determined to bury her

brother no matter what the consequence.

The second similarity between the Antigone play and film is when Antigone is

caught for burying Polyneices she admits to the crime because she is so determined to

respect her brother. The author states in the play, “Living as I live, with evil all about me,

Think Death less than a friend? This death of mine is of no importance; but if I had left my

brother lying in death unburied, I should have suffered. Now I do not. You smile at me. Ah

Creon, Think me a fool, if you like; but it may well be that fool convicts me of folly.” (Lines

268-274) This shows that Antigone thinks that if she would not have buried her brother

and left him unburied that she would be guilty and would have suffered but since she

buried him she feels that she respected him in the right manner. The author also states in

the film,”Yes, I’m guilty, I don’t pretend otherwise.” This shows that Antigone admits to

burying her brother Polyneices and she will take full responsibility and take the

punishment as long as her brother is respected as she thinks he deserves. This also shows

that the similarities in the play and film involve determination because she is determined to

respect her brother no matter the consequence.

One difference In the play and the film that is related to determination is that in the

film Creon is determined to kill Antigone because of the crime she committed and her

gender but in the play Creon just wants to kill her because of the crime she committed. The

author states in the play, “ I will carry her far away out there in the wilderness, and lock
her living in a vault of stone. She shall have food, as the custom is,to absolve the state of her

death.” This shows that Creon will take her far away and leave her in a stone vault with

food and water but in the play he never says anything about killing Antigone because of

her gender. The author states in the film, “ This boy of mine is on the women side!”

According to the quote, that Creon thinks that Haemon is on the bad side because he is

supporting Antigone and she should be buried because of her gender. These two pieces of

evidence show the difference between the play and the film because in the film Creon is

determined to kill Antigone because of her gender and the crime she committed while in

the play Creon wanted to kill Antigone just for the crime she committed.

Overall, the Antigone play and film have many similarities and differences that are

related to determination. During both the play and film, some similarities include Antigone

being determined to bury her brother Polyneices so she can respect him and when Creon

catches Antigone for committing the crime she admits they she disobeyed his law. One

difference that occurs in the play and the film is that in the film Creon wants to kill

Antigone for the crime she committed and her gender but in the play Creon wants to kill

her just for her crime. Determination is a central theme when comparing both the play and

film.