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Creon as a tragic character in antigone
Character analysis essay on antigone
Creon as a tragic character in antigone
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How does a tragic hero create flaws and difficulties for people? In the story Antigone, Creon has many series of different tragic flaws. He makes a lot of judgement that lead to the destruction of loved one. As a leader, you have a lot of stress but you should always make the best decision for family and others who you are incharge of.
In the past prideful rulers have caused more destruction and downfall than anything. Having pride may be good, but having to much can be the downfall of man. In the play Antigone, King Creon being overyly prideful ultimately leads to the death of himself emotionally. Creon shows a couple of occasions when he has way to much pride; when Antigone and he sister are condemned to death for trying to give burial rights to their brother, but Creon has them arrested and does not care even though he is related to them.
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.
However, in order to hide his insecurity about whether or not he is favored by his people, he portrays himself as a powerful, monarch who will stop at nothing to show his eminent power. He comes off as arrogant and merciless, demanding the respect of the people in his kingdom without actually giving them as genuine reason as to why they should give their devotion to him. The king, instead of cooperating with the people, illustrates his absolute power with demands which can be identified in the following quote: “This is my command, and you can see the wisdom behind it” (I, l. 48-49). Using the stated quote as a source, Creon's unyielding personality comes into light, and due to his lack of concern for the people's opinion, Creon begins his descent from an egotistic ruler to someone who will lose everything that is dear to
Creon Sophocle’s play Antigone suggests that a good leader should provide loyalty and trust, and through actions Creon, shows many reasons to be a loyal character in the play, Creon has good rational reasons for his laws and punishments that he believes that will help him as a king. Even though Creon has a hard time listening to anyone, which makes him stubborn and his pride to increase he is actually doing something that can help his people, Creon and the citizens of Thebes respect the law, which shows loyalty to the state. In the play Creon states “ For me, a man who rules the entire state and does not take the best advise there is, but through fear keeps his mouth forever shut, such man is the worst of men- and always
Fate has brought all my pride to a thought of dust”(Sophocles 1.5 142-146). Creon’s destruction resulted because of his misdeeds in having too much pride. His pride and his personal instability were the worst combination of possible qualities he could have. Creon’s past sins have built up and eventually burst and gave this man the worst punishment of all the characters in the play. In Antigone by Sophocles, Creon displayed many failing qualities as a king; most notably having displayed a giant ego by not accepting help from others, which warns the audience of the dangers
Ironically, he states that “the mind that is most rigid stumbles soonest,” which would lead one to assume that his leadership style would be flexible (473-474). Creon has the correct intentions by attempting to follow the established law, yet contradicts his statement on a rigid mindset by allowing no exception in Antigone’s case. Creon is in a difficult position
“Persuasion is often more powerful than force” once stated by great greek fabulist Aesop, Many of the characters follow this advice throughout the story (“Aesop Quotes”.). As Creon gives a speech to his city he uses ethical appeals in hope to assert his power and make himself look like a trustworthy leader.. Antigone does not listen to this and decides to disobey her uncle, sister Ismene tries to plant logic into her head not to disobey in fear that her sister may end up dying in result. Haemon being both the son of Creon and the fiance of Antigone he should have a hard decision to make but he cannot get behind his father in putting his future wife to death. Ismene, Creon, and Haemon all use the rhetorical appeals of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to be persuasive towards their goals.
These characters show unshakable willpower in different ways, but all end up with devastating results. Antigone’s ambition shows her passion for what she believes in, but still ends up committing suicide. Creon uses his unshakable willpower in a selfish, non heroic way and ends up alone. Haemon, a loyal and confident man, speaks his voice to save Antigone and lead Creon into making the right decision for Thebes, but also ends up committing suicide after seeing Antigone dead. Antigone and Haemon are honorable for their actions, but still did not get the positive turn out that they are searching for.
Against the warning of others, Creon goes on with his plan to essentially sentence Antigone to her death. Creon continually ignores what others counsel him to do because he believes that just because he is king, everything he does is right. It is this thinking that ultimately leads to the death of not only Antigone, but also Creon’s son and wife as well. All tragic heroes suffer from a tragic flaw that leads to their downfall. Creon suffers from two tragic flaws, pride and stubbornness.
Once humbled when Oedipus was king, Creon became the king and hubris became his fatal flaw. Throughout Creon’s reign, he constantly ignored others and put himself first. Creon shows an example of Hubris when he doesn’t listen to Antigone’s argument by saying, “Go join them, then; if you must have your love, Find it in hell!” (211). This came after Antigone pleaded that all bodies deserve to be honored and buried.
As demonstrated throughout the Greek tragedy Antigone, Creon’s tragic flaw is hubris which causes his downfall . The downfall begins when Creon refuses to give Polyneices, the son of Oedipus and the brother of Antigone, a burial. Creon believes that Polyneices did not die an honorable death as he broke exile and raised the sword against his home city, Thebes, so in return he will not receive a burial. Creon’s pride takes over and so he believes he is a man not only superior to women , but a king superior to the gods. He claims, Go out of your heads entirely?
Power is present in all role of the story and the character who symbolises it is Créon. But power of goods are omnipresent as well, represented by Antigone, and there is a confrontation between both of them. Following examples of passages of the book are presented to evince the presence of the authority and power in the play. Starting from the beginning, even if is not represented in the play, the first power conflict was between two brothers. Polynice betrayed his brother Eteocle when he did not want to cede the throne of Tebas, they died fighting each other and Creón became king of Tebas.
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.”
In Sophocles's epic play Antigone, Creon is a leader who is too prideful and his hubris is the reason of his downfall. Creon’s fatal flaw is his hubris. Creon’s downfall includes the loss of his family and losing the trust from the people of Thebes. Pride will always be a problem.
