Question 8 • CMS 2026-2027 English II CREDIT RECOVERY
Read the excerpt from "The Royal House of Thebes." Some hours later, Creon in the palace was startled by a shout, "Against your orders Polyneices has been buried." He hurried out to be confronted with the guards he had set on the dead body and with Antigone. "This girl buried him," they cried. "We saw her. A thick dust-storm gave her her chance. When it cleared, the body had been buried and the girl was making an offering to the dead." "You knew my edict?" Creon asked. "Yes," Antigone replied. "And you transgressed the law?" "Your law, but not the law of Justice who dwells with the gods," Antigone said. "The unwritten laws of heaven are not of today nor yesterday, but from all time." Which universal theme is best represented in the excerpt?
Answer
A
Children make sacrifices for their parents.
B
Parents make sacrifices for their children.
C
Morality outweighs human laws.
D
Women can be capable leaders.
Explanation
Antigone knowingly disobeys Creon’s edict because she believes it conflicts with a higher moral law, which she describes as the justice of the gods. The excerpt therefore presents the theme that morality can outweigh human laws. It does not focus on sacrifices between parents and children or on women’s leadership.
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