Antigone

            What is the first thing that comes to mind when the word family is said? Is it memories of laughter and bright eyes and smiles? Or is it moments of silence under deep blue skies and glistening stars, where no words are exchanged yet no words are needed? Families deal with exchanges of the heart as well as health, happiness and safety. Families have no rules to abide by, therefore family responsibility is more important than abiding by the law. In the tragic story of Antigone, she picks family over the law because she knows deep down inside that it is morally right. Antigone is a very smart young woman, and she realizes that her faith says death is the truly the beginning and by burying Polyneices she is giving herself and her brother everlasting life. Another admirable decision of Antigone is that although her sister did not agree to help, she pursued on. Antigone's goal of bringing her family together also helped other people learn valuable lessons. Creon learned that because of his poor judgement, his innocent family suffered and he is completely at fault. The beauty of family is that in either life or death we are all connected through the power of love, and no law could ever change that.
             In the words of Antigone, "It is the dead, not the living, who make the longest demands. We die forever- With this, Antigone proved that her mind was made up and her heart was telling her that the burial of her brother was a necessity. The Greek belief was that if you did not give a person the proper burial then their soul would wander ceaselessly, never finding peace. Antigone knew that by giving Polyneices a life in the after world she would never have to spend sleepless nights feeling that a decree had kept her dear brother from eternal resting. By openly acknowledging that she was breaking the law Antigone proved that family obligation is much more important. Born into the family of Cadmus, Antigone fate was doomed to end in tragedy, and as those who had passed before her she fought each moment for what she believed in-the unity of relatives.