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Creon, Tool Of Despair In Sophocles Antigone

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Creon, Tool of Despair Of the one hundred and twenty plays and tales Sophocles had written during his time, only seven have survived to today and Antigone a tale of the constant turmoil of the royal family of Thebes is one of those few ancient tales. Creon, the new king of the city of Thebes, strives for justice and absolute loyalty to the crown, however, after he discovered that an unidentified citizen had defied one of his recently announced laws, he inflicted his fury on himself and those around him. Creon is the tragic figure that functions as an instrument of the suffering of others and contributes to the tragic vision of the story, Antigone by Sophocles, as a whole by threatening his subjects and family with death, ignoring the thoughts of his elders and peers, and bringing the feeling of death to himself and also death itself to those around him. …show more content…

Despite Creon’s past successful leadership, it often appeared as though Creon’s common choice of decisions and following threats led to his loss as his actions caused his people enough fear to want to either escape his rule. Such examples are seen with the guard who says “you won’t see me coming here again.”(Sophocles, 286) which clearly showed his loss of loyalty to Creon after he and the other guards had been threatened under false accusations, or Antigone whose main purpose in the story was to cause to incite conflict by defying Creon’s laws. The worst example of his ignorance to other’s opinions was when Creon’s own son Haemon one of the few people who would be in his favor, enraged Creon into a blind fury simply by stating that he disagreed with his choice in “No, not when I see you making a mistake and being unjust” (Sophocles,847/848). Unfortunately for all involved, no matter their intentions or actions, it always seems as though Creon’s judgements were precisely incorrect and poorly

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Creon is a very stubborn man because he was the king of Thebes,Antigone challenged his decree,by burying Polynices. Creon is a stubborn man because he refused to bury his own nephew, he thought his nephew was a traitor. “They say that has sworn,no one shall bury him,no one mourn for him,but his body must lie in the fields,a sweet treasure,for carrion birds to find as they search for food”(line 19-23 page 970),By saying no one shall bury him and no one mourn for him Creon is showing how stubborn he is, He’s not only saying that he won’t do it, but other people can’t do it either. Creon’s law is an example of how stubborn he is because he doesn't care of what other people think,only what he thinks matter.

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He is the center of the play, which causes events to happen. The first tragic fall that leads Creon to his downfall is his power madness. His power madness fall can be supported by Antigone’s dialogue, “Further: he has the matter so it that anyone who dares attempt the act will die by stoning in the town.” (Antigone 2).

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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.

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Creon is portrayed as a leader by Sophocles, and in technical terms he is because he served as king. Creon's decisions, his pride, and his desire for leadership hold him back from being a successful ruler. Creon is the tragic hero is the play Antigone. After hearing of the passing of Oedipus, Creon took matters into his own hands and side with nephew, Eteocles, as he and brother Polyneices must battle for the throne.

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“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.

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For example, In the argument between Creon and Haemon, Creon states “You consider it right for a man of my years and experience to go to school to a boy?” (Sophocles Scene 3, Lines 95-96), as a rebuttal to Choragus’s statement. Creon’s refusal to listen to reason due to the fact that he is in a higher position of power can be a testament to his tragic flaw of pride which in turn prompts him to make a lot of rash decisions. Additionally, Creon experiences enlightenment in the dialogue between him and Choragus, In the text, Creon states “It troubles me. Oh, it is hard to give in!

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If only Creon could have known that listening to people around could prevent the deaths of many and leaving his life in sorrow. Creon is a King of Thebes and is considered a very good ruler early in the play. As the play progresses the downfall of Creon is described as tragic. Creon has two sons Eteocles and Polynices, they fought on opposing sides during a uprising and killed each other in the process. Eteocles fought on the side of Creon so he had him buried in full honors.

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It’s been proven ever since the dawn of time that humans will always return to similar stories, with similar morals and messages. Look at all the versions of the same fairy tale cropping up millions of miles apart. Cinderella has appeared in Europe and in East Asia, despite the fact the two cultures had not mingled before then. The stories of dragons and sea creatures, of Gods and deities. The Greeks, especially, loved to tell morals and messages through story.

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Almost always, in Greek tragedies a “tragic hero” has a hamartia, or tragic flaw, which will cause their concluding demise. In the Greek playwright, Antigone written by Sophocles, the interesting character, Creon, is a prime example of this. According the Aristotle’s theory, to be a tragic hero you have to have three traits: a flaw, a fall, and acceptance of your current situation. Creon’s flaw is his ego, which blinds him and lures him to do rather profane activities. Due to Creon’s ego, him losing everything caused by that very hamartia, and acceptance of the series of unfortunate events that occurred; Creon is the tragic hero in Antigone

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In Sophocles’ play Antigone, Creon, the king of Thebes, best represents a tragic hero. Creon demonstrates goodness in his intentions for Thebes as well as his fragile state due to the fact that he recently lost several family members. Creon, newly named king, finds himself as highest ranking official around, showing superiority. Creon often acts stubborn and prideful, his tragic flaw. And lastly, he must come to terms with the fact that he caused the death of his wife, son, and niece.

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Creon is the protagonist in Antigone, because his motivation throughout Antigone is the stability and wellbeing of Thebes. Moreover, Antigone is the antagonist in Antigone, because her motivation is selfish and deceiving. In Antigone the setting is Thebes post the death of both airs to the throne. Eteocles dies defending his country from his brother Polynieces which died attempting to reclaim his right to the throne. The conflict throughout Antigone is Antigone’s responsibility to bury her brother Polynices and the law created by Creon, the new king of Thebes, which states that “No one shall bury him, no one mourn for him.”

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“ Mistakes made by a foolish mind, cruel mistakes that bring on death.” (1406 to 1407.) In this quote, King Creon of Thebes is acknowledging that he has made tragic mistakes, because he wanted to the laws of his state, that he put in place, instead of preserving the safety of his family, which consequently lead to suffering for many. In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, the character Creon makes decisions based on what he feels is right, and refuses to pay attention to other’s advice. His stubbornness and selfishness prove fatal, and as a consequence of his moral deficiency, he kills an innocent woman, and loses his son in the aftermath.

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Creon realizes it’s too late his mistakes, and now that he lost his family, he realizes he should of listened. All his family dead, he is now alone because he was blinded by his pride that he didn't listen. He realized too late of all the consequences that his ignorance brought upon him. Throughout the play Antigone by Sophocles Creon is seen as a tragic hero, due to the fact that he is rude to others when they try to talk to him and acts childish when insulting others.

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