In Sophocles’ Antigone we read the story of Antigone who defies the ruling of king Kreon to forbid from burying her brother who he has been labeled as a traitor. Antigone wants to privately bury her brother Polyneices who died, but even though Polynecies attacked Kreon’s kingdom, the laws still stipulate that the process the gods dictate should be followed. Kreon wants to uphold and follow these rules only to look like a good king to be respected and feared by the people. And in another scenario, we have On Becoming a Guinea Fowl. The story started with Shula leaving a costume party just to find out in the middle of Kullu Road, Zambia, the body of her Uncle Fred. The camera showed a wide shot when she was walking to the body without any expression of sadness or worry, she was selfless to the situation until she approached closer to the body and the film showed Shula as a little girl. Both scenarios have the main topic of grief, family traditions, personal moral duty, and loyalty. 

I’ll start with Antigone, the meaning of this name in the etymology of ancient Greek is against, opposite, birth, and generation. Antigone was a brave character that came from a tragic family story where almost all her family was dead but not her sister Ismene. She was determined to accomplish her personal moral duty to give this brother a proper, private funeral and place where he can feel the peace and love that Antigone seeks. When she said, “And I never was loved, I never nursed a child; and with those I love gone, I go alone and desolate”, I analyze this quote to mean Antigone felt abandoned, as facing death without the experience of being in love, marriage or having children (Antigone, p. 56). The words that stood out to me are “alone and desolate,” emphasizing her sadness and loneliness, showing that she is not only losing her life but also the chance to have the family and happiness she wanted. 

While On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, Shula faced death, but she wasn’t comfortable with the traditions and in a form of “protest” she was quiet and cold and refused to follow what her family was doing. When I kept watching the movie I understood her indifference not only about the traditions but the trauma that she had since childhood because of what Uncle Fred did to her, taking advantage of her innocence and she had to keep quiet since then just to not divide the family. When they were doing all the funeral, they were having some traditions where I closely noticed that it wasn’t for the dead Uncle Fred but for the family, for them to become united in processing their grief. Even with all the family united, Shula stayed away respecting them but trying to avoid the reality of what the uncle did not only to her but her cousin too. When Shula went to visit her cousin, she found out that she was trying to commit suicide took her to the hospital and left a video of herself saying the truth of what happened to her. Her mom saw the video and said to Shula, “Don’t tell anyone. Don’t think about it or talk about it. Just keep quiet” (0:43:25). Analyzing just this part of the film showed how fear can make someone stay silent, even when they know something was wrong. Their traditions dictated to be followed no matter what. The words, “Don’t tell anyone” and “keep quiet,” emphasize the pressure to hide the truth and suggest that if they speak up the truth could ruin their family. Shula wasn’t comfortable because of what happened to her, she tried to be far away from her family to be as a Guinea Fowl, giving a warning call when a predator is trying to approach its prey. 

Both Antigone and On Becoming a Guinea Fowl showed how family traditions can conflict with their personal belief and sense of responsibility of doing what the traditions / government dictates or follow their personal moral duty and sense of responsibility. Antigone followed her moral duty to honor her brother, while Shula struggled with the pressure to stay silent about the abuse she experienced. I analyzed their stories in different topics but for me it stood out how being loyal to family can cause suffering when traditions and the fear of feeling shame become more important than doing what is right for yourself.