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In the short story titled “Antigone,” the author portrays Creon as a tragic hero by displaying flaws in Creon's character shown throughout the story. Creon’s character contains many flaws which lead to many problems. His decisions end up deciding the fates of his son, his wife, and Antigone. Creon finally realizes that what he has done is sinful to the gods. He has put his own pride over the appreciation of the gods.
In the play “Antigone” by Sophocles, the question of whether loyalties to family or loyalties to authority are more significant is brought up when personal matters are intertwined with legal affairs. Antigone is persecuted and punished severely by King Creon because she buried her brother, Polyneices, whom the king believes to be a traitor to the city and outlawed any burials or honor for the fallen man. In this situation, Antigone is right in going against the king’s law because in burying her dear brother, she honors the promise she made to him before he died, she pays respect to the laws of God and not the laws of mere mortals, and she shows her commitment to family by displaying her unwavering loyalty towards them, even in death. Antigone is right in crusading against Creon because in essence, he is unjustly punishing her in trying to punish her brother, Polyneices.
In his essay, Holt argues that Creon, according to Greek eyes is not as evil as many modern readers assume (660). He is most likely to follow the law passed by his father to protect his regime and expects the same from his son. Creon asserts, “[t]hat’s the way to behave: subordinate Everything else, my son, to your father’s will. This is what a man prays for, that he may get Sons attentive and dutiful in his house,” (Sophocles 505). Creon tries to justify his kingship as he says “no one is so foolish that he is eager to die” (Sophocles 220 cited by Holt 676), he could have ordered to kill people who went against his law.
In Antigone, it is evident that both Creon and Antigone made mistakes in spite of the fact that they had right intentions. Creon attempts to uphold the law in order to maintain structure and be what he considers to be a just leader, however, Creon’s mindset remains too rigid and his actions don’t adapt in light of the circumstances. Antigone wants to stay loyal to her family and save her brother’s soul, yet she isolates herself and shows disrespect for the law. Creon does not allow Antigone any grace for her actions because he explicitly adheres to the laws of the city.
Creon thought he had the most power over everybody but it turns out that the Gods were the ones with the power. In the play Antigone, Creon is a tragic hero which advances the play when he interacts with Antigone by acts of injustice, free choice and weakness. To begin with, Creon was unjust when he Punished Antigone for burying her own brother. “So she [Antigone] must die- that
Near the end of the play, after he lost his immediate family, Creon has a conversation with the messenger. Creon begs someone to kill him, for he has lost his entire family due to his actions. The messenger implies that he has a curse upon him for the death of his niece, which he caused. He replies, “It is right that it should be.” (Antigone Exodos.
Creon probably wouldn’t have had anybody die in his own hands if he had did what the gods wanted and not what he wanted for his own pleasure. Another reason why Antigone is correct is because she did what the whole city would have
and she kills herself. Meanwhile, not realizing Antigone’s death, the blind prophetTiresias, Haemon (Creon’s son) and the Chorus pleaded with Creon to release Antigone and change his laws. Creon finally agrees, but in an untimely manner, finds Antigone dead in the cave. Out of despair, Haemon and Creon’s wife killed themselves, and Creon is left destress and miserable. Kings four nonviolent direct action steps to change unjust laws can be used to analyze Antigone 's actions against Creon 's laws in Sophocles play,
However a few people around the world still realize the importance of choices. The list starts from Eleanor roosevelt all the way back to one of the three Greek tragedians, Sophocles. His play “Antigone” focuses on the consequences of a brave choice that the main character, Antigone, had made. This writer, who had lived in the earlier ages, is a great symbol of wisdom that people might have lost nowadays. Antigone’s choice itself had changed her whole life.
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.
Subsequently, King Creon finally becomes aware of the disclosure that state law has displaced him from his own son, to which he springs to action. His efforts are inspired, yet meaningless when he finds that “Haimon is dead, and the hand that killed him is his own” (Sophocles 49). Creon’s dejected reaction to the death of his son reveals that even though the fatality was due punishment for the treason Haimon committed against the state, Creon’s individual conscience diminished the hubris he formerly had. The death and relationship of Haimon and Antigone, Antigone’s pursuit of God’s authority over that of Creon’s, and her burying Polynices display the theme of individual conscience vs. state law.
In the play, Antigone, Sophocles reveals a story of a character who responds significantly to an injustice. After a war between brothers’ Eteocles and Polyneices, both brothers are slain, but Creon, Antigone’s uncle, refused to bury Polyneices due to him fighting against the city. Antigone, the main character, decides to bury her brother against Creon’s orders, resulting in a conflict between the already cursed family. With the unjust refusal from Creon to not bury Polyneices, Antigone decides to stand up against this injustice, even if it means losing her life. Sophocles writes about a stubborn Antigone who believes she is following God’s law, in order to create justice between the cursed family and solve the unjust created by Creon, to
The tragic hero is a character in a book that comes from a noble background that has a tragic flaw which brings the character the greatest suffering which results in their downfall. In “Antigone”, there are two characters who can be considered the tragic hero of the story: Creon and Antigone. Antigone is a brave and fearless women who dies for a noble cause, while Creon is a controlling and powerful king of Thebes. Both Creon and Antigone have qualities to make them the tragic hero, but Creon is the true “tragic hero” because his hamartia causes his downfall. Creon is the tragic hero of “Antigone” because his hubris muddles his judgment and makes him cause his own undoing.
English Literature Ms. Jackson The tragedy of right vs. right in the play “Antigone” In the play “Antigone” by Sophocles both Creon and Antigone are equally justified in their actions, however because they place different values first (Creon with law, and Antigone with emotion), conflict is created between them, creating a tragedy of right vs. right rather than right vs. wrong. The idea that neither of the main characters are going directly against each other proves this play is a tragedy of right vs. right. Creon himself says “Anarchy- Show me a greater crime in all the earth.
“ 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.