• Fragale - English II Pre-AP Research Essay

     

    Overview 

    The following databases and links to specific topics will help guide your research.  
     

    Full Assignment
     
     

    1. Antigone as a feminist play: women vs. patriarchal power

    • Database - Literary Resources: Search results
    • Literature Criticism - Simone de Beauvoir and Antigone: feminism and the conflict between ethics and politics,
      Amy E. Story, Mosaic: A journal for the interdisciplinary study of literature. 41.3 (Sept. 2008)

    2. Polarization: You’re either with us or you’re with the terrorists mentality (research current
    political rhetoric)

    3. Desecration vs. Burial: (see research concerning religious/spirituals beliefs about death and the dead). Research the value of burial ceremonies for the grieving family and for society.

    • Viewpoint - The Dead Should Be Buried, Disposal of the Dead, 2009

    4. The Plague of Thebes: Punishing the city to punish the King (discuss how it operates in Oedipus and perhaps in the Bible or in our lives as citizens today)

    • Reference Book - The Theban Plays, Play, 429 B.C., Despina Korovessis, Greek Playwright ( 496 B.C. - c. 406 B.C. ) World Literature and Its Times: Profiles of Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events That Influenced Them.
     

    5. Creon says to his son Haemon, “If we must lose, / Let’s lose to a man, at least! Is a woman stronger than we?” How do you think this idea is dealt with throughout the play? What does the play seem to say about a woman’s place in society? What ideas about this topic does the play seem to call into question or not to call into question? How do the two sisters, Antigone and Ismene, offer up different comparison points throughout the play? Be sure to use cite specific quotes from the play and use your own explanations to support your answers.

    •  Reference - Antigone, Play, 1874, Greek Playwright ( 496 B.C. - c. 406 B.C. ) Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events that Influenced Them
     

    6. Compare Oedipus and Creon as leaders. How do their “tragic flaws” compare? How do the flaws of both rulers affect their state and their abilities as leaders? What is their downfall? Remembering that these plays were an important part of societal discussion in Sophocles’ time, think of a thesis that deals with what their personal flaws said about which qualities are needed or not needed in a ruler. Be sure to use cite specific quotes from the play and use your own explanations to support your answers.

    • Literature Criticism - The Love That Divides: Sophocles's Antigone, David H. Porter, Only Connect: Three Studies in Greek Tragedy. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1987. p45-84. Rpt. in Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 80. Detroit: Gale, 2006. From Literature Resource Center.
     

    7. What connection between injustice, tyranny, and civil disobedience can be found in Antigone? To uphold the moral law, Antigone breaks the civil law. Down through the ages and into modern times, citizens have used this theme to guide them in redressing their grievances. Can you think of an example? How does it relate to the ideas on this issue expressed in Antigone?

    • Overview - Antigone, Play, 1874, Greek Playwright ( 496 B.C. - c. 406 B.C. ), Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 80. Detroit: Gale, 2006. From Literature Resource Center. 
    • Database - Opposing Viewpoints: Civil Disobedience Search Results
     

    8. After more than two thousand years, Antigone continues to impart relevant themes upon modern audiences. In a well-organized, unified essay, identify a theme from the play and analyze its relevance to today’s readers.