Antigone Essay Introduction Your introduction must have the

Antigone Essay

Introduction • Your introduction must have the following components: – Hook – Introduce title and author of the play – Thesis

Sample Introduction John Ruskin once said, “It is better to lose your pride with someone you love rather than to lose that someone you love with your useless pride. ” In Sophocles’ play, Antigone, the antagonist, Creon, learns a valuable lesson about pride. He begins as a king and ends as a lonely man. Pride is the reason for Creon’s downfall.

Introduction Analysis • Hook: John Ruskin once said, “It is better to lose your pride with someone you love rather than to lose that someone you love with your useless pride. ” • Title/Author: In Sophocles’ play, Antigone, the antagonist, Creon, learns a valuable lesson about pride. • Thesis: Pride is the reason for Creon’s downfall.

Your Turn • Write an introduction that contains the essential components: – Hook – Author and Title Introduction – Thesis

Body Paragraphs • Your body paragraphs prove your thesis. They provide the reasoning behind your argument. • Each body paragraph must be about one topic/reason. • DO NOT SUMMARIZE the play in your body paragraphs. – Focus on WHY events happened, and not what events happened.

Body Paragraphs • In your body paragraphs, you are making “claims” about why things happened. • You must use quotations from Antigone to support your claims. – On the next slides, we will look at one body paragraph that does not contain support, and then the same paragraph that contains support.

Sample Body Paragraph without Support Antigone believes that the gods’ laws are the highest law in the land. Because of this belief, she is willing to go against the law of Creon. Even though she dies, she succeeds because she does not give in to the wishes of her uncle, but instead, she stays true to what she believes in.

Sample Body Paragraph WITH Support Antigone believes that the gods’ laws are the highest laws in the land. Because of this belief, she is willing to go against the law of Creon. She tells Creon, “All your strength is weakness itself against the immortal unrecorded laws of God. They are not merely now: they were, and shall be, operative forever, beyond man” (Scene 2, Lines 69 -72). Even though she dies, she succeeds because she does not give in to the wishes of her uncle, but instead, she stays true to what she believes in. She admits this when she says, “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” (Lines 78 -81). She feels no remorse for her crime, because according to Antigone, she was following the laws of the gods and thus succeeds.

Body Paragraph Analysis • Both of the quotations are set up in a way that gives context to the play, and they are used to support the arguments. – Antigone believes in the laws of the gods – Antigone succeeds because she would rather die than not follow the laws of the gods

Look at the worksheet provided Example Evidence Explanation Creon’s tragic flaw is pride and that is the reason for his downfall. Creon: “You consider it right for a man of my years and experience [t]o go to school to a boy? ” (Scene 3, 98 -99) Creon feels that his son, Haimon, is not old enough and does not have enough experience to give his father advice. Therefore, Creon does not believe that it is right for him to take advice from his son.

Your Turn • On the worksheet provided, find evidence to support your claims in your essay. – Example column: state your claim/reason – Evidence column: find a quotation to support your claim/reason (be sure to include scene and line numbers). – Explanation column: explain how the quotation supports your claim/reason and therefore your thesis.

Use the worksheet for your Body Paragraphs Example Evidence Explanation Creon’s tragic flaw is pride and that is the reason for his downfall. Creon: “You consider it right for a man of my years and experience [t]o go to school to a boy? ” (Scene 3, 98 -99) Creon feels that his son, Haimon, is not old enough and does not have enough experience to give his father advice. Therefore, Creon does not believe that it is right for him to take advice from his son.

Sample Body Paragraph Creon’s tragic flaw is pride and that is the reason for his downfall. While arguing with his son, Creon demonstrates his pride when he feels he does not need advice. Creon says, “You consider it right for a man of my years and experience [t]o go to school to a boy? ” (Scene 3, 98 -99) Creon feels that his son, Haimon, is not old enough and does not have enough experience to give his father advice. Therefore, Creon does not believe that it is right for him to take advice from his son.

Your Turn • Write a body paragraph of your own using the Example, Evidence, Explanation worksheet provided. – Be sure to properly set-up your quotation.

Conclusions • Your conclusion for a Literary Analysis essay should do the following: – Sum up your points – Give a final thought/lesson learned • All conclusions must: – Restate the Title and Author – Restate thesis and points • Conclusions do not: – – Make new claims Say: “In conclusion…” Say: “This is why I think that…” Say: “Now I’ve told you why…”

Sample Conclusion Everyone should have some degree of pride; however, too much pride can be harmful. In the play, Antigone, by Sophocles, the antagonist, Creon, suffers because of his pride. He is a man who refuses to give in because he is afraid of looking weak. His pride causes his downfall. From Antigone, a reader learns the importance of considering others when making decisions and sometimes swallowing one’s pride.

Your Turn • Write your own conclusion. – Remember the following: • • • Restate the title and author Restate your thesis and claims Give a final comment/lesson learned Avoid saying, “In conclusion…” Avoid saying, “This is why I think that…”