Successful Fairy Tales

A fairy tale has to have many different components to be a successful one. The hero of a fairy tale must be someone who someone (a young child) could relate to. The hero is usually an outsider. They are someone who is different and they are often looked down upon. Often, the hero has lost a parent or parental figure, thus making them even more of an outsider to other people.

A fairy tale almost always takes place in a made-up world (a land far, far away). This is because in a land that is very far away, anything is possible. If this land isn't like your home, then it is certainly plausible for there to be fairies and gnomes and magic.

A fairy tale must also contain an element of something extraordinary. Most fairy tales contain fairies or other magical creatures. There is usually a person who can do magic. Or, there is a regular magical occurrence caused by nature (for example, the sky could rain food). This adds a sense of wonder to the story.

In addition to the hero, a good fairy tale contains a sidekick. It is rare that the hero undergoes the entire adventure completely alone. There is also a fairy godmother, or someone who is helping the hero from afar. This person is likely to have magical abilities. There is a wicked witch, who is after the hero. And there is often a prince charming, who is either someone the hero wishes to be with, or an idea that they have, like freedom.

What are the major elements of a fairy tale?

Let me ask you this: what elements need to be in place for a successful fairy tale? Who is the hero(ine)? Where does it take place? Who else is involved?

Antigone or Creon

Who is more correct in their actions or words, Antigone or Creon? Who is more fair or rational? Argue one or the other while referencing specific parts.

I think that neither Antigone nor Creon were entirely correct in their actions or words and i would argue that Antigone was more correct in her words, while Creon was more correct in his actions. Antigone knew what she wanted to say and said it well, while Creon let hubris take over what he said. Creon's actions on the other hand are more correct, because they represent the good of his city rather than only his own wishes, instead Antigone's actions are selfish and have many repercussions which she is fully aware of.

I feel that Creon is more rational in the beginning of the book. He isn't distracted in his decisions like Antigone. He makes the decisions he makes after careful considerations of how it will effect others both in the short term and the long term. Antigone on the other hand, is blinded by her love for her brother and her grief at her brothers death. Her actions are based solo on her determination to honor her brother in any way she can. She doesn't considered the consequences of her actions.

At the end of the book Antigone is more rational. She isn't swept up in her own pride like Creon. She stays calm and argues logically. On the other hand Creon, knowing he has lost the argument doesn't swallow his pride. instead he makes the argument personal which further proves Antigone's point. Antigone's solid purpose makes her more rational, where Creon who doesn't care as much as Antigone can't swallow his pride and act like a man.

Antigone v.s. Creon

From each person's point of view I could see why their decisions would be ethical to them, but since I'm not, I would side with Antigone. Even though Antigone went against Creon's wishes, her decisions seemed the most moral. The reason why I side with Antigone, is because she did not just think short term, but she was smart and thought long term. She did not fear the punishment of Creon, but the punishment of the gods, and in doing that, she went with her best option, which was burying her own brother. She clearly knew that if she were to burry her brother, the punishment was death. Creon did not hesitate to oppose death on Antigone, and her sister. Creon went a little to far with the punishment when he also sentenced Ismene to death. Although at the time this seemed best to him, I think this was not the smartest idea. He may have struck fear into peoples heart, but he definitely did not win their hearts.

Creon and Antigone

In the play Antigone, both Antigone and Creon make important decisions that lead to the tragic end. I think that in the beginning of the story, Creon's actions and choices were more rational than Antigone's. He was trying to protect his city against civil war by not allowing Polyneices to be buried. While Antigone loves her brother, she was going against Creon's order by burying him, and he was therefor just in punishing her. She knew the consequences, and she did it anyway. However, when Creon decides to kill Ismene in addition to Antigone even though she didn't do anything, his actions are no longer rational. He is trying to get revenge on Antigone, and he is planning to kill an innocent person to make her sister suffer. This is not a logical or moral in any sense. At this point, Antigone's actions become more sensible than Creon's. Creon eventually comes to his senses and pardons Ismene.

Overall, I find Creon's actions more correct, in that they are more logical and have the good of the most people at heart.

Antigone

In my opinion, Antigone has the winning argument. This took me a while to decide, but imagine, what if your father, brother, or other close relation was dead. Suddenly an authority that you did not really take seriously, declared that that your relative was worthless, and deserved no honor or respect. If I really loved my relative, I might accept the chance of dying, if I knew that morally, I had done the right thing. As Antigone said, I would rather die knowing I had done a noble thing, "the right thing to do", than live a long life feeling guilty as well as un-loyal to a bond that is stronger than almost any other in the world. Family is the close-knit group of people that we spend a substantial amount of our life with. Besides non-blood family such as spouses, and another exception being parents, I think that the tie between siblings is one of the strongest bonds there is. Antigone decided to honer that tie, no mater what her brother had done to anger people. She is the honorable one, because she chose her blood-brother over law. She put her family first.

Antigone and Creon

The difference between Creon's and Antigone's actions is the difference between acting ethically and acting morally. When acting ethically you base your choices on the effect it would have on other people, when acting morally you consider you own personal morals and make your choice based on what your own conscience tells you to do. Morals and ethics sometimes coincide, but often, as is the case in the play Antigone, moral and ethical choices yield very different results. Creon made his choice to forbid anyone from burying his nephew because he wanted to use this attacker of Thebes as an example. Creon made the ethical choice, a choice for the good of his common man. However, this doesn't necessarily make it right. By burying he brother Antigone made the moral choice. She knows that her own conscience will not rest until she does. I think that Antigone made a more correct choice that Creon did. Antigone looked past the demands of her uncle and decided to do what she knew was right. Antigone acted because she loved her brother and she also believed in the gods and she believes that her loyalty should belong with them.

Antigone and Creon

Who is more correct in their actions or words, Antigone or Creon? Who is more fair or rational? Argue one or the other while referencing specific parts of the play (paraphrasing is fine). Remember: Tragedy may make you feel, but you need to think in your response.

I believe that when it comes to the matter of who is more fair and rational it would be Antigone. I believe this because even though Creon ordered the body of Polyneices to lay unburied because he knew that if he buried his nephew, an enemy, soon the whole kingdom would be in chaos. So he refrained from honoring his nephew and instead honoured his kingdom, because this is for the greater good. But he then let his ego get in the way, and his good intentions wavered. He then wanted to execute Antigone not for putting the good of her family ahead of the good of the kingdom, but because she insulted his pride. He then ordered the execution of Isemene as well, just for the reason she is Antigone's sister. While Antigone's belief never wavered, she believed that when it came down to ethics or morals, she believed that morals were more important. Antigone wanted to honour her brother's death, he did not deserve to lay unburied in a battlefield. Antigone is more fair and rational because she believed in heaven's laws over man's, she loved her brother more than her own life. Creon stopped being the fair and rational one when he let his pride come before his ethics and morals.

Antigone vs Creon

I beleive that While Creon is doing what is right for his people, what he does is not a good idea. When he left the brothers corpse out to rot, he must have realised that someone would protest. The fact that the brother failed and was killed was a good enough example for the people and Creon should have givin him the right of a decent burial. Antigone is the person who is more correct on this one because she is doing what is moraly right. She may have gone too far in her protection of the corpse, but she was a better person than Creon.

Antigone Question: Answer by Friday

Who is more correct in their actions or words, Antigone or Creon? Who is more fair or rational? Argue one or the other while referencing specific parts of the play (paraphrasing is fine). Remember: Tragedy may make you feel, but you need to think in your response.