Mr

Antigone and The Scarlet Ibis Comparison

"Numberless wonders terrible wonders walk the world but none the match for man", said the chorus in the play Antigone (Sophocles 366-367). The common theme of man is shown in the books Antigone by Sophocles in Creon and The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst in Doodle's older brother through the values of normalcy and obedience from others.

First, in Sophocles's Antigone and Hurst's The Scarlet Ibis, Creon and Doodle's older brother differ in the value of normalcy. Creon seems to value normalcy in order to maintain the kingdom when he says, "My countrymen, the ship of state is safe. The gods who rocked her, after a long, merciless pounding in the storm, have righted her once more" (Sophocles 179-182). When Creon says "righted her once more" about the city state, one can infer that Creon is content that the city state is no longer "in the storm". He continues to say that "Only while she voyages true on course can we establish friendship... They make our city great" (Sophocles 212-214). Here, Creon implies that if his city is normal, then they will "make" our "city great". In contrast, Doodle's older brother seems to value normalcy toward his brother only for his pride's sake. He's ashamed and "It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possible was not there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow" (Hurst). Later he also thinks to himself "that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother" (Hurst). For him, having a deformed brother was embarrassing and "unbearable", especially if he was seen with him. As it is visible in Creon in Sophocles's Antigone and Doodle's older brother in Hurst's The Scarlet Ibis, both these characters value normalcy in different ways, unlike in the value of obedience form others.

Second, also Sophocles's Antigone and Hurst's The Scarlet Ibis, Creon and Doodle's older brother differ in the value obedience from others. Creon goes to the extent of saying "that the man the city places in authority must be obeyed, large and small,