Analysis Of Antigone , The Symposium, And Paul s Letter

My sense of self and my understanding of the power of voice constantly shift as I continue to educate myself and learn more about the world and the many cultures that exist within it. Even before I entered the Honors College, I put effort into defining my sense of self differently as my comprehension of the world expanded. When I was young, I defined my sense of self as a member of my family. As I continued to grow, I began to recognize my voice as a member of a larger community. However, Culture Expression creates a focused, intentional setting in which analyzation and adaptation of self and voice is encouraged. Because of our reading of Antigone, The Symposium, and Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, I persisted in deepening and, at some points, changing my understanding of self and voice. Antigone affected my understanding of selfhood by creating a conflict that is centered on two different ideas of self, Antigone’s importance on family and Creon’s importance on the state, which are two of the most common foundations for the finite self. The play tries to force the reader to fully conform to the one foundation that they believe is right by creating such an inescapable conflict. However, Sophocles’ attempts to make the reader choose one side is a trick. The power of Antigone is to show the unbreakable connection between balance and the self. For example, selfhood is to have relationships with a family or an awareness of a lack of those important relationships. The self is