Antigone Journal 3

            The comparison of Antigone to the First Guard allows the reader to understand the acceptance that Antigone has for her death. Antigone is motivated to continue to try to bury her brother, even though she knows she will die if she does, because she believes it is fate. The Guard hurts Antigone and is motivated to bring her into the room because it is “[his] business to bring [her] in” (47). Immediately after being taken into a room by the Guard, “Antigone moves to stool and sits” (47) showing her calmness of the situation compared to the nervous Guard who “paces” (47) continually. Antigone attempts to calm the Guard, even though she should be the one pacing because she’s “going to die soon” (48), by asking him questions about his life and occupation. The Guard babbles nervously while Antigone’s responses are “barely audible” (48) because she is calmly absorbed in thought of a way to communicate to others, rather than think of a way to avoid death, because she has accepted her fate of the consequences of her actions. The indirect and direct characterization of Antigone and the Guard through movement and speech show the acceptance Antigone has for her death. Without the comparison to the Guard, Antigone’s actions could have been portrayed as depressed and uncaring of her fate; with the aid of the Guard’s nervous characterization it is clear that Antigone has accepted that her death is inevitable.