Emma's AP Lit Blog

"But great and terrible is the fall, Teiresias, of mortal men who seek their own advantage by uttering evil in the guise of good" (154). This quote is ironic as Creon is the one who says it, and yet this is exactly what happens to Creon. Why would Sophocles have Creon say this quote to Teiresias when he is clearly the one who needs to hear this quote? Does Creon understand that he is judging himself, or is he too stubbornly prideful to see that?

"That order did not come from God. Justice, that dwells with the gods below, knows no such law. I did not think your edicts strong enough to overrule the unwritten, unalterable laws" (138). This quote illustrates a major conflict in Antigone ; the conflict between the law of human rulers and the 'unwritten, unalterable' laws of the gods. Does Antigone's belief that Creon's law contradicts a higher law justify her rebellious act of burial?

George Orwell's 1984  sets up an atmosphere of darkness and fear immediately. The first image of the book is of Winston's apartment, which has a poster on every floor with the phrase "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU". Immediately, there is a sense that something is not right with this society: the idea of Hate Week, the telescreen that watches constantly and cannot be shut off, and the threat of the Thought Police all give that feeling within the first two pages. The world, Oceania, is clearly a dystopia, as "You had to live- did live, from habit that became instinct- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinised" (5). Freedom is not even a viable idea in Oceania; an entirely new language called Newspeak is being phased in to prevent any discussion of ideas that the Party does not endorse. Winston, the protagonist, is a member of the Party, and technically is an oppressor in this society, but it ...