Common_People

Common People Common Values It is relatively easy, when analyzing a play or novel, to understand the relevance and significance of the major characters. Antigone and Creon loom larger than life in their pride and defiance, challenging kings and gods in language ringing with their epic stance. Even less obtrusive characters, such as Ismene, have their “big scene,” revealing dominant character traits and, if nothing else, acting as a foil for the main character. What, however, does one do with a truly minor character, such as the sentry' He has only a few lines and doesn’t contribute much to the action. Nevertheless, while he may seem relatively unimportant, the sentry does not lack significance. Within the play, Sophocles uses the sentry not just as comic relief, but also as a moral barometer of the common man, against which to judge Creon. When we first see the messenger, his humorous babbling provides relief from the tension growing between Creon and the Choragos. His informal diction contrasts with the formality of Creon’s speech as his thoughts tumble out, headlong. “...[I]f you let someone else get the news to Creon first, it will be [bad] for you!” creon, sentry, common, antigone, play, just, first, creon’s, sentry’s, sense, out, much, crime, antigone’s, while, tell, suggesting, story, say, own, over, nothing, news, must, man, judge, happen, else, death, chorus, character, audience, actually, yet, without