Essay on Antigone vs. Pai - 890 Words

Some Things Never Change There are many examples of past ideas and controversies that have arose once again in modern day situations. Although a lot of controversies get resolved, many do not and end up arising again. A great example of this comes from the play Antigone by Sophocles and the film Whale Rider by Niki Caro. In both the film and the play, a woman of royal decent is going against a leader for what she feels is right. Although Antigone dies in the end of Antigone, Pai from Whale Rider convinces the leader and lives a happy life. Pai and Antigone were very similar characters because of the problems they faced. First, Pai and Antigone were both women who stood up to a male-led society. Second, they were both listened to by the†¦show more content†¦In Antigone, the leader tries crying to god by saying, â€Å"O God, I am sick with fear. Are there no swords here? Has no one a blow for me?† (807) The leader has just lost his wife, niece, and son and is overwhelme d by the deaths. Although he asks god to take his life to, they do not respond. In Whale Rider, the leader has just found out that none of the boys that he was training to be leader were the one and Pai said, â€Å"He was calling to the ancient ones, asking them to help him...but they werent listening. So i tried...and they heard me.† (38) The leader was trying to ask the gods for help but as Pai said, they did not respond. Instead, Pai tried calling to the gods and they did respond by shoring all of the whales. Since Pai and Antigone were listened to while the leaders were not, they had a great advantage. Although they had a great advantage, they were both still willing to die for what they believed in. In Antigone, Antigone is talking to her sister about what she feels she should do and says, â€Å"But I will bury him: and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy...† (774) Antigone is telling her sister that although she will most likely be killed as a result of doing what she feels is right, she is willing to take the chance and do it anyways. Pai does something very similar when she says, â€Å"I wasnt scared to die.† (45) Pai was riding the largest whale back into the water in order to save it and ends up being pulled