Journal # 3 - Antigone II

Theme I - The first theme I will discuss is the theme throughout Antigone by Anouilh is the theme that death is final. This theme is brought up many times in his version of the play. However, it is much different from the beliefs and themes presented in the other three plays we have read thus far. The beliefs in the other plays are that death is not the end, that after death, there is another life of some sort, either good or bad. But Anouilh's Antigone comes from a less spiritual, more chaotic viewpoint, and therefore states the exact opposite.

Theme 2 - The second theme is that of happiness being impossible to reach. It often refers to happiness as a thing that is unreachable, at least by the tragic hero/heroes of the play. This is very similar to themes presented in the other plays in the fact that it makes it seem impossible, either by fate or choice, for the heroes to attain happiness on this Earth or ever. These tragedies, though dark and gloomy, open up all new possibilities for the heights that humanity can reach in happiness, and sadness.

Journal # 2 - Antigone II

1. Metaphor - "It's like a post card, all pink and green and yellow!" (Anouilh, 6)
Anouilh uses this metaphor to show us how beautiful the world can be to such a young mind as that of Antigone's . We envision the beauty of the early morning light touching all the images that Antigone sees. It must be even more beautiful for her this morning as well, knowing how the day will end.

2. Foreshadowing - "Creon will have us put to death!" (Anouilh, 10)
Anouilh shows the foreshadowing of Antigone's death here to make us feel suspense and pity for Antigone. We fear for her and the inevitable end that she will meet tonight. He uses the foreshadowing to make us fear for Antigone.

3. Alliteration - "Willful, wicked girl" (Anouilh, 11)
Anouilh uses alliteration here to reiterate what she says Creon thinks about herself. The repitition of the "w" sound accents how "wicked and willful" she is. She says those words exactly to prove to Ismene and the readers that that really is how Creon feels about her.

4. Personification- "Terrible noonday sun." (Anouilh, 17)
Anouilh uses this personification of the sun in Antigone as a force of nature. He uses her personification as a way of shifting the blame from the tangible action that Antigone takes against Creon, to the forces of fate for her future death.

Journal # 1 - Antigone II

I think that this Antigone will be more uncaring and less emotional than Sophocles' Antigone. I believe that instead of an emotional battle, it will be a battle of ideals. It will be the idea that her brother should be buried, not the respect she has for the gods, that is the idea behind her battle for justice. The basic plot will be the same as far as who lives and dies, but i think the emotions will not be as high strung. I think this because of the existentialist view that most philosophers had surrounding the early stages of World War II. The rise of evil politicians like Hitler will greatly affect the writers views of the story and the book will be much more depressing than the first Antigone, using less elements of tragedy.

Journal # 2 - Antigone

Antigone - Angelina Jolie - With red hair dye.
I picked Angelina because of her excellent acting abilities to seem on edge. She would fit the part of Antigone very well.

Ismene - Zooey Deschanel - Tall, dark haired girl who is rather reserved and unconfrontational.
I picked Zooey because she would play the passive Ismene very well. She is very similar to how I would imagine Ismene's personality to be like.

Creon - Sean Connery - His voice and facial hair is perfect for Creon
I picked Sean because his intense acting skills would be great at portraying how I picture Creons voice and personality.

Haemon - Gerard Butler - He seems like how I would imagine Haemon to look like.
He is a good actor who would play the part of Haemon well. Plus, he dies in every movie I've seen him in. So that would work out well too.

Journal # 1 - Antigone

Knowledge - What did Antigone do to her brother's body?
What did Creon decide her punishment would be?
Comprehension - To what extent was Creon's reaction rational?
How was Antigone's refusal to allow Ismene to die with her indicative of her inner feelings?
Application -What character do you most relate to?
Predict what will happen to Antigone at the end of the book.
Analysis - How does Antigone's foil with Ismene show what will happen later in the play?
Explain why Haemon begins his conversation with Creon as a supplicant?
Synthesis - Compare Antigone with Oedipus, her father.
What similarities can you find between Creon and Oedipus?
Evaluation - Would you have done what Antigone did?
Is Creon's death sentence the right way to punish this crime?

Journal # 3 - Medea

Both Medea and Oedipus use catharsis, however they show it differently in the two plays. In Medea, the catharsis of pity starts in the beginning with our pity for Medea's situation. However we also fear her because of her past brutality and the foreshadowing near the beginning. Oedipus, on the other hand uses a different kind of catharsis. Instead of making us feel pity for him in the beginning, we wish that we were in his position, everything seems pretty good in the beginning. However, as we learn of his fate, we begin to pity and fear him, however it's not because we pity his situation, it's because we pity the presence of fate in his downfall, instead of his own actions. In Medea, we fear Medea herself, whereas in Oedipus, we fear the use of fate against us from "the gods". This is the primary difference. The pity and fear are also purged in different ways in the plays. In Oedipus, the ending and his leaving are what purges the fear, while in Medea, our hatred for Medea's character purges the pity and fear. Because of the disgusting views of her actions, the pity is purged, whereas in Oedipus, we know that he would not do those things on purpose, and the pity is pured that way.

Journal # 2 - Medea

Medea often uses the gods Themis, the goddess of justice, and Artemis, the protector of women. These gods are often evoked in her long speeches, "O mighty Themis and Artemis..." (Euripides 38) Medea is very pissed off in this passage about her husband leaving her, so she evokes these gods, asking them why they have allowed her to suffer so much in the name of men. This is one example of how Medea uses the gods, she uses them when she is trying to make a point to others, trying to manipulate others, like when she talks about "Hecate, no: the goddess who abides in my inner heart" (Euripides 45), she is trying to persuade Creon to let her stay one more day, she uses the gods a a way to manipulate others into her own way of thinking, and to get them to let her weave her plots.

She also speaks of the god Helios often, this is usually when she tries to frighten people of her, she warns them that she is his granddaughter. This is why she is sucha powerful sorceress and why people fear her so often. So she also uses the gods to instigate fear of her into others.

Jason is rather different from Medea in the way he uses the gods. He uses the gods when he is truly asking for help or was helped from a situation, like in his conversation with Medea, stating that "Aphrodite and no one else on Heaven or Earth who saved me from my death", in this instance, he uses the god as a "replacement" helper for Medea, trying to convince her that she acted not on her own power, but on the power of Aphrodite. He calls out to help from the gods often in the end of the play too, once he finds out the horrors that Medea has commited, his asking for help and retribution from the gods becomes much more desperate and continuous.