Antigone and her Sentence: Q&A

Why does the sentry bring Antigone to Creon despite knowing she will be executed? Is the death penalty a fitting punishment for Antigone's crime? Explain. How does she defend herself?

The messenger brings Antigone to Creon because he thinks she will be spared because Antigone is Creon's niece; the sentry thinks that no one could be so cruel as to kill his own niece. Personally, I do not think the death penalty is an accommodating punishment for Antigone's crime. She was merely trying to defend the reputation of her family by giving her brother a proper burial. Since burial was a very important ceremony in Antigone's time, it was very degrading to be related to someone who did not receive a proper burial ceremony. Antigone defends herself by saying that she does not care to die, she just does not want any more shame to be brought upon her family.