The Broken Mirror of Loyalty Antigone, a classical Greek tragedy by Sophocles. One of the most common ideas expressed by the play is loyalty and dedication, primarily pertaining to the characters Antigone, Creon, and Haimon. Loyalty is conveyed by Sophocles as twisted and abstract. Creon’s pride clashes with his self-proclaimed devotion to the state, while Antigone’s ideology of honoring her family conflicts with her sister. Haimon’s loyalty is broken between obeying his father and his lover. Creon is obsessed with his loyalty to the state; he is too stubborn and proud to listen to the people of said state. This leads to his misconception that he as king is the entirety of the state.”I’ll have no dealings with law-breakers, critics of the government: Whoever is chosen to govern should be obeyed-- Must be obeyed, in all things, great or small, Just or Unjust!” (Sophocles, Lines 525-529). Creon does not hold democratic ideals, and thus the state that which he is loyal to is solely the government, which he is the embodiment of. Creon, oblivious to his own self-centered ideologies, does not believe that his loyalty is directed incorrectly. Although Creon pledges himself to the state, his actions in the story are driven by his …show more content…
It is contradictory, confusing, wrong, and sometimes fake. Creon claims his ideas and makes it clear that the state is his first priority; however, his pride clouds the true definition of state to him. Antigone rambles on about her faith to her dead family and the gods, but does not appreciate her sister as much as her dead relatives. Haimon makes it obvious that he is obedient of his father, but he truthfully is devoted to his love for Antigone. Not everything that makes itself obvious is true in life, and this goes the same for something as simple as the concept of loyalty, faith, and
Creon is blind from the prejudice he is spelling out in the land he governs, and he is extremely stubborn to change his views in any
Above all else, Creon values the health of the state. Creon, having gained the throne after the recent deaths of the only two heirs, declares, “No one values friendship more highly that I; but we must remember that friends made at the risk of wrecking our ship[Kingdom] are not real friends at all” (Sophocles 945). To him, the bond between friends is inferior to the well-being of the state. Relationships that risk “wrecking our [country]” are completely meaningless. Creon’s own nephew, Polyneices, was shown not even the slightest shred of respect due to the fact that he was a traitor.
In the short story titled “Antigone,” the author portrays Creon as a tragic hero by displaying flaws in Creon's character shown throughout the story. Creon’s character contains many flaws which lead to many problems. His decisions end up deciding the fates of his son, his wife, and Antigone. Creon finally realizes that what he has done is sinful to the gods. He has put his own pride over the appreciation of the gods.
Creon Sophocle’s play Antigone suggests that a good leader should provide loyalty and trust, and through actions Creon, shows many reasons to be a loyal character in the play, Creon has good rational reasons for his laws and punishments that he believes that will help him as a king. Even though Creon has a hard time listening to anyone, which makes him stubborn and his pride to increase he is actually doing something that can help his people, Creon and the citizens of Thebes respect the law, which shows loyalty to the state. In the play Creon states “ For me, a man who rules the entire state and does not take the best advise there is, but through fear keeps his mouth forever shut, such man is the worst of men- and always
In the play “Antigone” by Sophocles, the question of whether loyalties to family or loyalties to authority are more significant is brought up when personal matters are intertwined with legal affairs. Antigone is persecuted and punished severely by King Creon because she buried her brother, Polyneices, whom the king believes to be a traitor to the city and outlawed any burials or honor for the fallen man. In this situation, Antigone is right in going against the king’s law because in burying her dear brother, she honors the promise she made to him before he died, she pays respect to the laws of God and not the laws of mere mortals, and she shows her commitment to family by displaying her unwavering loyalty towards them, even in death. Antigone is right in crusading against Creon because in essence, he is unjustly punishing her in trying to punish her brother, Polyneices.
Creon then replies to this saying, “The State is the King!” (221). Haimon tries to point out to Creon that a well run state needs to let other people have a say in what goes on, not just the king. Creon believes he is the only one making the decisions, and that his orders should not be questioned. This shows how Creon believes his is above all
Because of this, it shows the audience Creon's pride in his decision making. Comparing Antigone's reverential faith and Creon's pride and self-assurance, a clear contrast can be made, Antigone’s faith leads her to do things against Creon ’s rule due to her beliefs, while Creon implements and enforces these rules due to his self-assurance. In conclusion, Antigone is a major foil in the Greek tragedy of Antigone against Creon due to her unyielding religious faith, causing her to go against Creon, and Creon’s exceptional self-assurance, causing these rules to be made and punishments to be carried
As long as I am King, no traitor is going to be honored with the loyal man. But whoever shows by word and deed that he is on the side of the State,––he shall have my respect while he is living and my reverence when he is dead ( Scene 1). Creon’s regards towards his own laws cause him to withdraw from all other beliefs or opinions that others have to offer him. He believes that the people of Thebes should obey his rules if they want his support.
This is especially true in the way Ismene reacts to the laws Creon puts in place. Under Creons authority, she refused to help even her sister bury her own brother. She was so obedient to Creon she wouldn’t even help her own family. Even when Antigone tries to tell her about how they were family and her brother deserved a proper burial, Ismene said: “They mean a great deal to me; but I have no strength. To break laws that were made for the public good.”
This contributed to the fact that he was mentally lost. He had clouded judgment because of his idea of what is right for the city is the only way he would rule. As Burt describes “Creon remains adamant, and his judgment on Antigone and Ismene, along with his subsequent argument with his son, Haemon, reveals that Creon's principles are self-centered, contradictory, and compromised by his own pride, fears, and anxieties. ”(Burt). Creon can only think in his mindset and any other view to him is impossible to understand.
(Antigone 8). This quote shows that he wants everyone to obey him and anyone who disobeys him will get in trouble. The last support can be found when Creon said, “But he who crosses law, or forces it, or hopes to bring the ruler under him, shall never have a word of praise from me.” (Antigone 23). This means that Creon is “madly in love” with his power and thinks that he can do anything because he is the king.
“A city which belongs to just one man is no true city.” (lines 838-39) Throughout the play, Antigone, written by Sophocles, the character Haemon constantly tries to persuade his father, Creon, to listen to the people of his city and to become a more humble leader. Haemon’s words, actions, and ideas contrast with Creon’s character. Which results in the two characters having continual conflicting motivations.
After the exile of Oedipus, Creon became the king of Thebes, which placed a lot of power in his hands. With this sudden shift in authority, Creon's tragic flaw becomes more noticeable. When in an argument with Haemon, Creon's son, he states his position on the opposite sex, “If we must fall from power, let that come at some man’s hand—at least, we won’t be called inferior to any women” (353). This reveals his excessive pride, hubris, because he worries that his image would be tarnished if ever doing something imposed by a women. With this condescending perspective, he is led to believe that he is above all others, which leads to his free choice.
Antigone felt that Creon’s laws were prejudiced against her belief in God's proclamation and her personal morals or core values. She put her family first the whole time,
Love is a powerful motivation it can even drive you into hating someone, love drives you to do even what you wouldn’t normally do. Creon makes a law that forbids anyone from burying Antigone’s brother. When she finds out she goes against the king and buries her brother. When he is informed about what happened he punishes her. Antigone kills herself and then his son kills himself when he finds out that his love had died.