Monday, January 12, 2015

How does the sentinel seem to feel about his arrest of Antigone?

The sentinel demonstrates several attitudes as he brings Antigone to Creon.


1. He is defiant.  He had told Creon that he would not bring in the person who tried to bury the body, in part because Creon was so insulting to him. But, when he discovers that Antigone attempted the burial, he brings her in and tells Creon,



"You take her, / as you wish, and question and sentence her. I've justly freed myself from these troubles" (lines 406-408).



His defiance stems from the fact that he does not agree with Creon and does not particularly like the king, but he brings in Antigone just to prove Creon wrong.  Even as he turns her over to her uncle, he assumes a Pontius Pilate attitude that the situation is now out of his hands, and he wants no more to do with it.


2. He is reluctant, because he knows that Antigone's sentence must be death, and obviously he, like most of the people of the city, would empathize with Antigone's decision to bury her brother's remains because it is in keeping with his culture and beliefs. He has also felt Creon's wrath and realizes that Antigone will have to endure much more than a tongue-lashing such as he received.


3.  Finally, he is pained. As he finishes describing the burial scene that he and his men witnessed, he tells Creon that



"[Antigone] stood in / denial of nothing, something for me / both sweet and painful all at once" (443-445).



As a military man, he admires Antigone's risk for her brother's honor and appreciates that she stands strong as they arrest her and sure of action. It pains him to know that he is turning over someone such as she to someone such as Creon, whom he disdains.

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