PASSAGE 39

Antigone was one of the daughters of Oedipus, that tragic figure of male power who had been cursed by gods for mistakenly killing his father and subsequently marrying his mother and assuming the throne of Thebes. After the death of Oedipus, civil war broke out and a battle was waged in front of the seventh gate of Thebes – his two sons led opposing factions and at the height of the battle fought and killed each other. Oedipus’ brother Creon, uncle of Antigone, was now undisputed master of the city. Creon resolved to make an example of the brother who had fought against him, Polynices, by refusing the right of honorable burial. The penalty of death was promulgated against any who should defy this order.

Antigone was distraught, Polynices had been left unburied, unwept, a feast of flesh for keen eyed carrion birds. Antigone asks her sister Ismene for it was a challenge to her royal blood. “Now it is time to show whether or not you are worthy of your royal blood. Is he not my brother and yours? Whether you like it or not? I shall never desert him – never!” But Ismene responds, “How could you dare, when Creon has expressly forbidden it? Antigone, we are women. It is not for us to fight against men.” With a touch of bitterness, Antigone releases her sister from the obligation to help her, but argues she cannot shrug off the burden. ”If I die for it, what happiness! Live, if you will live and defy the holiest of laws of heaven.”

1. Why did Antigone decide to defy the orders of Creon?
A) She felt she was bound by her heavenly obligation
B) To teach Creon a lesson
C) she loved her brother
D) She was to give an honorable burial to her brother

2. What in your opinion would have been the logical end of the story?
A) Antigone might have defied the order of Creon but forgiven by him.
B) Antigone might have been executed for defying the order of the king.
C) Antigone might have agreed with her sister and refrained from giving a burial to Polynices.
D) Antigone might have been allowed by Creon to give a decent burial to her brother.

3. What was the status of women in the contemporary society?
A) considered themselves inferior and subordinate to men
B) claimed equality with men
C) were liberated
D) could have taken their own decisions

4. The civil war in Thebes broke out because
A) there was a fight among the sons of Oedipus for the inheritance of the kingdom
B) there was a conflict between the sons of Oedipus and Creon
C) of the curse of the Gods
D) the brothers of Antigone were greedy

5. A carrion bird is a bird
A) which eats only grain
B) of prey
C) which eats human flesh
D) which eats dead bodies

6. What is the main theme of the story of Antigone?
A) One must be true to one’s kin.
B) War is an evil.
C) One must be truthful and honest.
D) There is a confect between the laws of men and heavenly laws.

7. Does the story approve the principle of vicarious liability? If so, How?
A) Yes, it does, because his father was killed by Oedipus.
B) Yes, it does, because he married his mother.
C) No, it does not.
D) Yes it does, because of the acts of Oedipus his children suffered.

8. Why did Creon deny a decent burial to Polynices? He did so because
A) Polynices was disobedient to Creon.
B) Polynices did not show bravery.
C) He did not love polynices.
D) Polynices fought against Creon.

9. Why did Ismene not support Antigone?
A) She did not think it fit to defy her uncle especially after the death of her father.
B) She did not believe that polynices deserved a better treatment.
C) She was weak and did not have the courage to defy the orders of the powerful king.
D) She did not consider it right to defy the king.

10. Why did the gods curse Oedipus? Because Oedipus
A) married his mother
B) committed an unknown sin
C) killed his father and married his mother
D) killed his father

Answer Key

Solution with explanation

1. Option ‘A’. Words of Antigone – If I die for it, what happiness! Live, if you will live and defy the holiest of laws of heaven. – show that she decided to defy the orders of Creon because she felt she was bound by her heavenly obligation as Creon had refused the right of honorable burial of his brother Polynices.

DEFY = to refuse to obey or to do something in the usual or expected way

2. Option ‘B’. LOGICAL = using reason. Reason is this that one should not defy orders of a king.

3. Option ‘A’. Contemporary = existing or happening now; e.g.

Although the play was written hundreds of years ago, it still has a contemporary (= modern) feel to it. Here CONTEMPORARY means of the time of Creon’s rule.

4. Option ‘A’. Read the second sentence of the passage to get your answer.

5. Option ‘D’. DISTRAUGHT = extremely worried, nervous, or upset. The first sentence of the second paragraph tells us that Antigone was very upset because her brother Polynices had been left unburied because of Creon’ orders, and therefore she was thinking that carrion birds now will eat his body (a feast of flesh for keen eyed carrion birds).

6. Option ‘A’. KIN = family; e.g.

They’re not any kin of mine.

7. Option ‘D’. VICARIOUS = experienced as a result of watching, listening to, or reading about the activities of other people, rather than by doing the activities yourself; e.g. She took a vicarious  pleasure in her friend’s achievements. Antigone was a daughter of Oedipus, and of course she had to suffer only because of the acts of Oedipus.

9. Option ‘C’. Extract of the passage ‘We are women. It is not for us to fight against men’ shows she was weak and did not have the courage to defy the orders of the powerful king.

10. Option ‘C’. Extract of the passage ‘Cursed by gods for mistakenly killing his father and subsequently marrying his mother’ is clear to understand that our answer should be option ‘C’.

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