Ismene and Isma
After reading the beginning of Antigone and after finishing Home Fire, I noticed many similarities and differences between the parallel characters in both pieces of work. There is a direct connection between Isma and Ismene, Antigone and Aneeka, Creon and Karamat, Parvaiz and Polyneices, and Haemon and Eamonn. The names of these characters are fairly similar, but the similarities and differences I found to be compelling was the parallelism between Isma and Ismene. To state the obvious similarity, Isma and Ismene both have a brother who is shameful and is deemed as a traitor. They both also have a sister that is very headstrong and passionate, which differs from Isma and Ismene’s personality. Isma and Ismene are both very careful with following rules, and they tend to stay safe rather than go against the law. Both of the characters are also willing to suffer the consequences as well. One minor difference is that Isma is more sensible than Ismene and although Ismene is very careful and tries to follow the rules, Ismene is willing to back up her sister no matter what, even though she did not help bury her brother. Additionally, Ismene and Isma have a close connection with their sisters for the most part which is very similar. In Home Fire, Aneeka and Isma have more of a rocky relationship later in the novel, but so far in Antigone, there is not a class between Antigone and Ismene. Another similarity between Ismene and Isma is that they are both religious. As we know, Isma is Muslim and always wore her Hijab. In Antigone, Ismene turns to prayer for assistance when she finds out that her sister plans on burying her dead brother which is forbidden and can get her into a lot of trouble. So far, these are some of the similarities and differences, but as I read more into Antigone, more will be uncovered.
Great picture! Now that you mention it, I notice another similarity between Ismene and Isma, in that they are both loyal to the law even if the law is not in their favor. Both characters are accused by the law but they still make the choice to follow it and only rebel when they deem it appropriate.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point! I hadn't thought about that. Especially with the airport scene at the beginning of Home Fire, we consistently see Isma/Ismene respecting the law even at the expense of themselves and the ones they love. Definitely makes for interesting conversation about how much we allow ourselves to sacrifice to uphold values that kill us in the end.
DeleteTotally agree! Ismene and Isma still have love for their families, but does their respect for the law come first?
ReplyDeleteReally like what you had to say! I really view both Isma and Ismene as the people stuck in between. Karamat and Aneeka or Creon and Antigone, for example, are polar opposites. It seems as though Isma and Ismene both are always caught between the law and their family. They are the ones actively trying to find middle ground the everyone else stay closed to one perspective.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the opening discourse between Ismene and Antigone concerning Creon's decree preventing Polyneices' burial served as the "clash" between the sisters, which mirrors when Aneeka found out Isma reported Parvaiz to the authorities, causing the falling out.
ReplyDeleteAnother similarity that I noticed between the two is how they changed their minds in the end. When she went to talk to Karamat, Isma wanted to go to Pakistan. Similarly, Ismene wanted to die by her sister. Both believed that her sister was in the wrong, but their devotion to family overcame that.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even notice the religious resemblance between the two, it's cool now to see how Shamsie translated that!
ReplyDeleteSo many great observations about similarities between the two that aren't immediately obvious in this discussion.
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