Examples Of Foil In Antigone

Zachary Chaffin

Mrs. Pastor

English 10

15 May. 2023

Antigone Foil Writing Assignment

In the story, Antigone, a famous and one of the last remaining Greek tragedies written by Sophocles, the audience will experience a heartfelt story, complete with a vast array of characters intertwining together for a tragic ending. In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Antigone, Creon’s self-assurance is highlighted through his interactions with Antigone, which establishes his self-assurance and develops his character as it leads to his downfall as a tragic hero.

Creon’s main and most reoccurring foil is the main character, Antigone. Creon is demonstrated consistently in the story as being a self-assuring person who is confident in his own rule, this conflicts

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

In the play, Creon makes many decisions based on his intuition, and it is these choices that develop him as a tragic hero. An example of an event that contributes to his eventual downfall is when Creon declares his proclamation regarding the fate of Antigone's brother: "Polyneices, who returned from exile, eager to wipe out in all-consuming fire his ancestral city and its native gods, keen to seize upon his family’s blood and lead men into slavery—for him, the proclamation in the state declares he’ll have no burial mound, no funeral rites, and no lament. He’ll be left unburied, " (Sophocles, lines 227-234). In this passage, Creon shows his self-assurance in his authority as a ruler. His belief in his own judgments and unwavering commitment to punishing those he deems traitors based on his own assumptions demonstrates his trait of being self-assured. However, this self-assurance becomes a tragic flaw as it blinds him to alternative perspectives, which eventually leads to his downfall. Creon makes many mistakes in Antigone, while still being oblivious to the fact that they may have serious consequences in the future, some of which are very detrimental to Creon, further developing him as a tragic hero. An additional example of an outcome that develops