More handpicked essays just for you.
The character traits for creon in antigone
The character traits for creon in antigone
The character traits for creon in antigone
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
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.
Many kings rule under divine right, however, when a king falls from grace, is that a matter of divine providence? Throughout the story you will see a king rise to power and a rebel tear him down. Antigone ,the niece of Creon, breaks one of Creon’s laws and Creon sentences her to death. When a visit from a prophet ,Tiresias, reverses Creon’s thoughts, Creon leaves to release Antigone only to find her dead. Haemon ,Creon’s son and Antigone’s fiance, becomes aware of this he kills himself and Creon’s wife does the same.
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.
Relating to his self-centered attitude, Creon always thought he was in the right, not matter what he did. Creon blurted many words without any thought before or after speaking them. He thought whatever he did and said was absolutely correct. Antigone blurts “The Good Fortune of Kings,Licensed to say and do whatever they please!”(Sophocles 1.2 116-117). Antigone described Creon’s attitude towards ruling pretty accurately.
Creon and Antigone both show how pride leads to Destruction; Creon’s pride blinds him to the lack of proper justice he commits against Antigone, Creon has a lot of pride that he would allow Antigone to kill herself before he admit he is wrong, Antigone’s pride has no choice but to be killed because of her
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
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.
The play Antigone features a deep struggle of power for King Creon. Creon faced several insecurities, during his rule, as king of Thebes. These insecurities, which stemmed from an internal power struggle, went on to, not only affect his rule as king, but his personal relationships, and emotions as well. Other reasons for his actions stem from family matters that have hindered Creon's ability to successfully control and rule by himself.
Courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery. In the Greek tragedy Antigone, continues to fight for her for her family’s name although it has been slandered because of mistakes her ancestors made in the past. When Creon creates a law that forbids anyone to her brother, Polynices, Antigone heroically attempts to save her brother’s honor her brother even though she knows the harsh consequences that may follow. Although Creon is always loyal to the state based on what he believes, Antigone’s courage to her family can't be matched by any other character. Antigone is the courageous character of this play because she would accept any consequences for her brother, she would die for him, and let her dream of being a mother and wife vanish.
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
Creon does not keep an open mind, and refuses to see her point of view. Antigone said she buried the body because of God’s law, but Creon puts his law above the God’s. This shows an extreme amount of pride and confidence. Another example of Creon showing hubris is when Haimon says. “It is no City if it takes orders from one voice,” (221).
He is stubborn, and his pride is so great, he cannot bring himself to acknowledge that he could ever wrong. King Creon also possessed the character trait of being very strict and inflexible, even though his character may have brought protection, or a sense of safety among the Theban people, even when his. When Creon is talking to Teiresias, he thinks that he is being paid off. He does not want to believe he could be wrong about Antigone. Creon even says, “Whatever you say, you will not change my will.”
Creon endures one of the worst feelings possible; losing his family from his own actions. All of Creon’s foolish and prideful actions literally caused the death of his family. Creon himself even acknowledges what he has done. Creon states, “It is right that it should be.
Just like how all of the details in the previous paragraph demonstrated bad leader qualities, Creon happens to have the qualities of a bad leader as well. His ultimate trait which basically makes him an antagonist in “Antigone” is his self-confidence—excessive pride. For example, even though Creon loves his niece Antigone to death, he refused to let Antigone bury Polyneices because he was a traitor to Thebes, and due to his excessive pride, Creon handled the situation by arresting his own daughter including Ismene who did not even do anything but because he is so self-confident he did not listen to anyone. Another example that proves Creon’s excessive pride is when the blind prophet Teiresias lets him know that he cannot escape fate and that he is doomed, and Creon handled the tight situation by not listening. Eventually Creon discovered that Antigone, Haemon, and Creon’s wife have committed suicide (Ismene’s fate is not directly stated in the play), and finally realized that this was all due to the fact that he didn’t use his brain to solve conflicts and in the end goes into exile.
Through the entirety of the play Creon didn’t acknowledge his wrongdoings. Until his encounter with justice, he never took into account that there could’ve been a different approach than his own. Without his lesson from the gods, Creon would have never realized his fatal
