Literature Assignment: Themes Created Through Ismene (Research Paper Sample)

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Ismene
Family cohesion is often the goal of every parent, child, or sibling to the extent that huge personal sacrifices are made to achieve this effect. Stability in the family requires trustworthiness, transparency, and harmony based on shared goals, ambitions, and ties of blood and flesh. In the play “Antigone,” Ismene is one of the characters, although not the protagonist, who has been used by the playwright to demonstrate the limits with which a family can stand together as one (Sophocles 7). Ismene portrays different qualities in the play, which the playwright has used to highlight certain themes, especially in the family matters. Ismene is a loyal and caring character, but to a limit when she disagrees with her sibling and state, resulting into catastrophic incidences to her immediate family. The conflict between the two sisters is highlighted through different themes, thoughts, actions and utterances, which reflect the entire family matters in general.
About Ismene
Ismene is portrayed in the play as the good family girl, very loyal and submissive to the family orders and assignments as seen when she bows to Creon’s edict (Sophocles 21). She is rational and objective in her arguments and behavior as she tries to dissuade her sister Antigone from rebellion. Physically, Ismene is blonde, beautiful, full-figured and a character with immense intelligence and understanding of her place and family matters. She wants to join Antigone in death as well as to allow her to bury her brother. Moreover,he is full of pity for her sister as she said, “My poor, fond sister, how I fear for thee” (Sophocles 83).
Themes Created through Ismene
Righteousness. Ismene values the laws of gods more than those of man. She is a righteous character who believes in strong family ties and has a solid religious belief, which are the tenets of her rationale character in the play. During Creon’s onslaughts on Oedipus’ daughters, Ismene thought it was honorable thing to die with her sister Antigone. Their arrest highlighted the consciousness with which Ismene handles the societal matters and her belief in morality and religion above all other laws on the land. She sticks to her belief and does not welcome the taunts from her sister during the arrest. She said, “Why taunt me? Find'st thou pleasure in these gibes?” (Sophocles 55). Righteousness is a virtue that is preserved and would enable the society to prosper even in difficult times (Graff 36). At the family level, the belief in self-worth and respect to the religion and laws enables people to make rational arguments and stand their grounds even in the hardest of times.
In the play, Antigone and Ismene have contrasting virtues, one is the righteousness. Antigone’s hardline character caused three suicides in her immediate family, leading to more sorrows. On her part, Ismene does not believe in more sorrows as the family has suffered enough stigmas from Oedipus ill deeds. For the sake of the society and the family, the playwright wants to portray the effects of mistrust and ill deeds to the family and the lineage at large. Being righteous comes with its share of humiliation. The father’s perceived ill deeds in the past have come to haunt his daughters, who live in fear due to the sins of their father. They are arrested and only escape the scare of execution when Chorus begs Creon to relent on the move. Furthermore, the death of family members in the play is facilitated by Antigone’s misdeeds and subjective antics (Sourvinou-Inwood 141). Therefore, in a society, righteousness is paramount for the success of the morality and observation of laws, peace, and order. Family also needs righteous people, to avoid stigma from the public.
Wrong Judgment. The society often outrageously passes its judgment on people, based on superficial evidence, perceptions, and beliefs. Through the play, Ismene has been portrayed as a rebel, a hardliner, and a trouble-maker, based on her staunch belief in religion and the prevalence of peace. She did not attach any reason as to why people, especially in her family would not afford to live in peace. Not even her sister Antigone understands her. She is wrongly perceived by people whose trust she needs.
At the beginning of the play, Ismene acknowledges that the family has suffered enough in the past and that it is time for peace. No more suffering should be inflicted on her siblings. Ismene loves peace. More miseries go against her wish when her two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, kill themselves. She is perceived by the society to be a bad girl just because she wants peace to prevail. In the end, she gets her life, but her self-worth is battered by the society’s misjudgments, which roots into the family as well (Sourvinou-Inwood 147). The society and the family have perfected the art of misjudgment of people, based on their strong beliefs on certain virtues and values in life. These people are considered rebels and trouble makers, but later the entire society and family realize that they were wrong all this time.
Sibling Rivalry. The rivalry between Antigone and Ismene is not about material things, which are popular with contemporary sibling wrangles. Each of them have own mindset and beliefs about family and life. This is what brings the conflict, which shreds the relationship in the family. While Ismene believes in mercy, the rule of gods, and need for peace through reasoning and authority, her sister Antigone is a loyal girl full of emotions and ambitions that threaten and ruin the family.
The need to achieve personal desires and goals, driven by the beliefs and traits, has created a serious sibling rivalry in the Oedipus’ family, which is only survived by the two girls in the end. The same case applies to the societal sources of conflicts, especially due to clash of opinions and ambitions. Politically, most civil wars in the world today have been caused by the strong stance on beliefs and opinions and perceiving people with varied ideas as rivals (Scott 11). When people individually pursue their interests, without consideration of the rest’s needs, the society is likely to plunge into unhealthy competition, rivalry, and political instability. Ismene’s beliefs, thoughts, and actions served to contradict that of her sister, whom she presumably loved (as she wanted to die with her...