Task 1:

Character: Creon

Creon is a quite unhappy man of power. However, he was not always like that; I agree with the
given text when it comes to the context of him holding a happy quite artistic life before he took the
throne, and that when he took the throne he took his job extremely seriously which lead the
responsibilities the throne and politics to bring misery to his life, and that is based on what he expresses
to his niece halfway through the play. Overall he does express a sense of simplicity all throughout his
actions and simplicity and stands far from the Oedipus drama that supposedly runs in the family (as
stated in the given text). That shows in his straight forward and disciplined decisions which he does not
tend to make exceptions to even when it comes to his family members. The co-tragic hero of the play
expresses dislike of his authoritarian position when in dialogue with Antigone as he tries to provoke a
sense of pity in her. This causes the audience (and the given text in this case) to assume that he is
unhappy with his position and that he unwillingly took it just to fulfill the job. However, I disagree with
that point due to the ending of the play where he expresses indifference to the death of his wife and son
and niece and decides to continue with his agenda and daily duties in a jolly vibe instead of mourning for
the loss of his loved ones; indicating that he does not mind his authority after all.

Task 2:

Symbol: Ismene’s goods

In her days leading to her death, Antigone is concerned onto being Haemon’s wife before
marrying him (because she knows that she won’t ever marry him). In attempting to do so, Antigone
borrows her sister’s Lipstick, perfume etc. Since Ismene is portrayed as the obedient beautiful women,
her goods are symbolizing what the man wants to see in the woman. Which explains why Antigone is
interested in borrowing them when it comes to driving Haemon’s interest in seducing her.

Task 3:

Quote: “You’re mad, be quite.”

The statement that Creon makes after Antigone expresses her “unhappiness” and her failure to
find something to feel happy for, unravels the point of view of not only authoritarian men towards
woman but also general 20th century men towards women. The statement not only aims to silent
Antigone, due to her not changing her point of view into what suits him, but also hints to the
shallowness of the character that doesn’t exactly understand why a woman would be unhappy; which
then contributes into the dehumanization of the character. The term “mad” highlights the Oedipus
dramatic style in Antigone’s dialogue; whereas the term “be quite” highlights the authoritarian
characteristics Creon has adopted.

Task 4:

If Antigone was written right now in Lebanon, Antigone would represent the iconic Lebanese
women leading the revolution due to her determinism and stand to what she believes is right and
rebellious attitude. Similarly, Creon would be symbolizing the men in power who believe that their
presence is what brings good to the state and insists on applying the laws they have created for their
own political stands. The guards would be the part of the society who is very poor, however express
ultimate loyalty to whichever leader pays the most, and so on.

Task 5:

Essay Question: Consider Anouilh's use of humor. You may want to isolate one or two scenes for
discussion. Examples include the dictation of Antigone's letter and Creon's caricature of Oedipus.

When you first hear the term tragedy, the first thing that comes to your mind is depressing,
unhappy, and contains a negative connotation. Bluntly, one would expect a tragedy to be solely a series
of unfortunate events. However, it is of great importance that we acknowledge the garnishes and side-
dishes of a tragedy. If you look well, the overall satisfactory effect and beauty of a tragedy are not only
provoked by the classic tragic manner of unraveling events that have already happened, but it’s the little
surprises the playwright provides you along the way that makes the play worth watching and different
from other tragedies. In Jean Anouilh’s 1942 version of Antigone, the Greek tragedy; the playwright
offers the audience a subtle sense of humor or comedy in order to not only lift up the mood but also
convey undertoned messages of fear, envy, selfishness, and misery found in different areas of the
society whether in power or in poverty (in relevance with France 1942). Such connotations can be
widely found in the dictation of Antigone's letter and Creon's caricature of Oedipus.

A couple lines ahead of the dictation of Antigone’s letter, the heroin is making small-talk with
the guard. After he responds to her questions about life as a guard, she decides to change the topic and
say “I’m going to die soon.” in respond to that, the guard gives no attention to what she is trying to tell
him and continues by saying, “But having said that, guards get more respect than ordinary soldiers.
Okay, a guard’s a soldier to I grant you. God but he’s more than that. Up to a point he’s sort of a civil
servant.” This is a comic moment, it’s a weird answer to her statement and both of their statements are
quite a bit off topic in the scene since they aren’t communicating well. However, this reveals a lot of
what it was like between the industrial revolution and WWII. Anouilh in this scene conveys how society
is starting to get more and more detached by portraying the scene where each character is having their
own conversation with each other, for the princess replies to the guard with “Do you think it hurts,
dying?”.

Moving on with the scene, Antigone asks the guard to give someone a letter from her when she
is dead, the guard strictly refuses and describes how he thinks that she has gone too far as he says that
he is not payed enough to do such a job. However, soon enough he changes his mind swiftly and almost
instantly once she proposes her ring in return for the deed. His change in mind and attitude is a comic
sense that relates to another aspect of the soldiers during WWII that would do anything and be traitors
to their countries in return for money due to poverty which is highly portrayed through the characters of
the guards all throughout the play and later appears in the scene when the guard is dictating Antigone’s
letter and he struggles to write things down fast, the comic scene portrays lack of education to wars and
poverty that took place in Europe and France 1942.

One can take an hour and a half and read any play or tragedy for time efficiency, but if one
wanted to truly make use of their time and give the piece they are reading, the playwright and
themselves all the deserved respect, on would pay attention to the details and different attributes that
where carefully placed into the artwork. In Antigone Jean Anouilh uses subtle humor to dilute the sad
aspects of the 20th century and WWII into fun jokes that one may unravel the sad reality to them if taken
the time to analyze the truthfulness within.