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