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Character Foils In Antigone

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Embedded Assessment: The Foil of Tragic Hero Creon
Foils are characters that contrast with one another to highlight particular qualities of those specific characters. Tiresias, the blind prophet of Thebes, functions as a foil throughout Sophocles’s Antigone, by telling Creon he is doomed and will not be able to escape fate. In the Oedipus the King along with Antigone , Tiresias reveals unwanted truths about Creon and Oedipus. Although he is the blind prophet, his ability to “see” beyond the present, Tiresias first accuses Oedipus of killing his father in Oedipus Rex and proceeds to tell Creon in Antigone that his laws will cause more harm to his land and death to his family. However, instead of learning from Oedipus’s mistakes, Creon rejects …show more content…

Creon cares extremely about his country of Thebes and creates his own laws. He mentions that, “There's been a group of grumblers in this town: men who can hardly abide by my rule, who nod and whisper, chafing beneath my law, who are not in love with it at all,” (Sophocles, 203). He speaks these words with anger towards whoever disobeys him. His extreme love for his country shows his noble stature which causes him to punish those who do not love Thebes as passionately as he does. Creon has the appearance of good, but when he chooses to not bury Polyneices, which goes against the beliefs of the Gods by not honoring him, he shows his tragic flaw. He says, “But Polyneices, killed as piteously, an interdict forbids that anyone should bury him or even mourn.” (192). Through disobeying the Gods, Creon implies that his laws are more important than the Gods. Creon’s disregard towards the Gods, explains why he dismisses Tiresias’s power. Creon’s overall power grants him his free will. He says, “I know. You point the horns of my dilemma. It's hard to eat my words, but harder still to court catastrophe through overriding pride.” (240). Creon tells the Leader that even though Tiresias has shown the truth of his actions, he cannot admit them or change them because he has no power left, no free will. The amount of chaos that Creon has caused forces such a harsh punishment upon him. Tiresias warns him to

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When Creon is first introduced, he does not hold any major responsibilities. He is considerate, rational, and respectful toward Oedipus. When Oedipus first starts to search for Laius’s killer, Creon personally recommends that he seek out Tiresias, which,

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In Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex, Oedipus’ impulsive behavior and stubbornness leads to his catastrophic downfall. Oedipus “levels terrible charges” (574) at Creon because he believes that Creon conspired with Tiresias to kill King Laius. Instead of proceeding “calmly” and “rationally” (652), Oedipus accuses Creon of “scheming to steal [his] crown and power” (598). Oedipus refuses to let Creon defend himself. Moreover, Oedipus does not have evidence to prove his accusations against Creon.

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Creon shows an extraordinary amount of stubbornness throughout the story. An example is seen when Antigone wishes to give her brother, Polyneices a proper burial so he can have a pleasant afterlife with the Gods. Creon, as king wishes to have him rot in the fields because he turned his back on the state in which the events occurred.

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He is trying to be just but his vision and actions are clouded. Creon explains that he will not allow the burial of Polyneices because of what he did to his people which was betrayal. In Sophocles, Antigone it says “whose one idea was to spill the blood of his blood and sell his own people into slavery—Polyneices”. This shows that Creon is doing this for his people and to respect the fact that they deserve justice. Creon is just trying to help his empire and he believes it is fair for Polyneices to not get buried because of his actions against his people.

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His pride keeps him from admitting that his actions against Antigone and her brother went against the customs of the gods and were wrong. Upon hearing about the death of his son and wife, he mourns by taking responsibility for their deaths, explaining himself as “the frantic man who killed my son, against my meaning, and you too, my wife”(Ant.1340-1). Through all of his grief and suffering, not once does he acknowledge or make it known that this was all brought about because of his refusal to lay aside his pride and follow the laws of the gods. Creon is in denial about the underlying consequences of his prideful

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The first reason Creon is foolish is because he is Ruthless in killing Antigone for trying to give her brother a burial. It shows that he is careless of his son Haemons

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He had ruled that Eteocles would receive a decorated military funeral, while Polyneices would not be buried at all. It is true to say that his law violated our custom of honoring the deceased, especially during wartime. However, he considered Polyneices a traitor for attacking Thebes and putting the kingdom at unnecessary risk. His actions threatened the safety of the kingdom, which Creon must protect, seeing it is his duty as king. When Sentry went to Creon with concerns about the law, Creon stated, “Is it your senile opinion that the gods love to honor bad men?”

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848 Words | 4 Pages

In the play Antigone, Sophocles tells the story of the titular character as she buries her traitorous brother in defiance of a tyrannical despot. Through this action, the play asks the question of whether the laws created by one man “could override the gods, the great unwritten, unshakable traditions,” (504-5). Some may argue that Creon's decree is merely one of necessity, an unavoidable evil to allow the city of Thebes to heal and unite. He is a patriot holding his city together in times of strife. While Creon may believe this, saying "our country is our safety" (211), it is actually his lack of love that causes him to deny Polynices his burial.

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As the king of Thebes, and the uncle and father-in-law-to-be of Antigone, it would be an understatement to say that he has a conflict of interest. Because of these confusing relationships as a family member, Creon does not truly want to kill his niece, as evident by his hands-off approach to her attempted murder. This presents the argument that Creon’s family obligations muddle his duties as the king. Creon, faced with doing what is best for his family or what is best for himself, contributes to his internal conflict of following the rules that he enacted in contrast with justice. This gives purpose to Antigone by expressing one of Sophocles’s overarching ideas prevalent in his works.

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Creon believes that whatever he says or decide is true, he has so much of self-righteousness. The word that Creon said “Am I to rule by other mind than mine?” (Antigone, page 26). He thinks that he should rule everything because he is a king, he believes that people should obey him and the law he sets because he thinks that it is the right thing to do. Creon does not want other people to tell him what to do.

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1092 Words | 5 Pages

The reader feels pity for Creon for his lack of time to grieve and his tragic mistake that led to the loss of his family, this demonstrates his goodness. Creon, recently succeeded to take the throne of Eteocles, making him king. Therefore, giving him the title of royalty and showing superiority. His power and control over Thebes makes him important, and this power and importance leads to a lack of mercy for criminals.. CREON. I have summoned you here this morning because I know that I can depend on you: your devotion to King Laius was absolute; you never hesitated in your duty to our late ruler Oedipus; and

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Creon has many admirable qualities but within them a tragic flaw that causes great misfortune. Creon as a newly instated king of Thebes, makes a decree that Eteocles will

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Jaanvi Shah Mr. Eyre English 9 March, 2015 Literary Analysis of Antigone John Foster says, “pride comes before fall.” As the action of the Sophocles 's Antigone unfolds, it is clear that the protagonist Creon has all the six characteristics of a tragic hero. Teiresias interactions with Creon help to demonstrate three of those typical traits: Creon’s noble stature, his tragic flaw of having pride and arrogance, and his free choice that makes his downfall his own fault. Creon, the King of Thebes, accords with Aristotle’s theory of a tragic hero beginning as powerful distinguished and important person.

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Countless times, Creon was implored to change his mind to preserve the safety of others. However, due to his uncompromising and egocentric nature, he repeatedly denied this aid, and therefore caused the tragedies of the deaths of his niece and his son. The events that occurred in the play Antigone accurately represent the characteristics of a tragic flaw and subsequent suffering that define a

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He expresses this by stating,”Unfortunately... the prince Eteocles and Polyneices, have killed each other... I, as next blood, have… full power of… throne... no traitor is honored...whoever shows by word or deed...shall have...my reverence when he is dead.” Creon is informing the people of Thebes not only that he has been crown king fairly but also that whoever goes against the law that was enforced will suffer the consequences.

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