Eissa Fitaihi

Antigone Empathic Response

2nd Draft
605 words

Since my brothers Eteocles and Polyneices were killed in a battle over the throne of Thebes,
nothing has been the same. Creon, my uncle, has ascended to the throne. I was filled with rage
when I learned that Creon had issued a decree that anyone who buries Polyneices would be
executed. I thought to myself how could Creon allow his nephew’s bloody corpse to lay
exposed to the merciless sun, free to be consumed by insects. I couldn't believe a man of honor
and power could do anything so treasonous. I don't worry about the consequences because I
know the gods are on my side, and my brother's love will answer mine even in death. Even
though Polyneices betrayed his own country, he still deserved a proper burial like his brother
Eteocles. I concentrate my strives on what is right, and refusing to bury my brother is wrong. I
believe we all have a say in what happens in Thebes, and this inequality cannot continue. I will
not stand for it!

I could hear Ismene's worry in her voice during our conversation. She refused to help me bury
Polyneices because of her fear in disobeying the law. I was furious with her. I saw her as a
coward, she was always afraid. Not even she could convince me that burying him is not the
right thing to do. After all he is our brother, our kin. I didn’t believe in the law unlike my weak
sister. I must now face the consequences of this crime due to the inequality of Creon. I was
heart struck when Ismene told Creon that she was involved in burying our brother. I can't let
my beloved sister bear the burden of my brilliant plan, and I'll just deny her any involvement in
it. She will be spared a worse fate than the one that awaits me. Oh, the world's inequity and
cruelty, persecuting me for doing good. This is my fight, and the only person who can put an
end to it is me. Those who interfere will pay the price along with me. I stand by my principles
even when the future is uncertain.
I was to marry my beloved Haemon and become Creon's daughter in law, but I knew that death
was the only thing that awaited me. Any love Creon and I have is broken as a result of this
situation. Being Creon's daughter in law seemed like a fantasy come true before everything that
has happened. Looking back, it all seems like a silly and idiotic fantasy; the Creon I've come to
know has been overcome by power. Oh, gods look down on men with pitiful eyes for they have
prioritized law over family.

I'm sitting in this very prison, second-guessing all of my judgments and actions. I tend to
question if it was all worth it, and then my mind wanders to my precious Haemon, and I wonder
what kind of suffering he would experience if his future wife suddenly vanished. I weep whilst I
look down at the tightly wound robe all over my shoulders. Now at this precise moment,
everything in me shattered, all faith was gone, and I was searching for someone to hold my
side. I was lonely, and to make it worse, I couldn't stop thinking about my love. I slowly rose to
my feet and started to loop the rope around my neck, tying it to the ceiling and standing on the
stool. I leapt away after saying my last goodbye to Thebes. The only thing that was on my mind
at that moment was…injustice.