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Recommended: Antigone's actions
In the play "Antigone", there are distinct conflicts between Creon and Antigone. Antigone beliefs of the gods in high reverence. She feels that the laws of the gods should be obeyed above all others, especially when it comes to respect to a family. Creon, on the other hand, feels that all should obey the laws set forth by him, even if other beliefs, or religious, stated otherwise. Regarding for the laws of the city this causes Creon to abandon all other beliefs.
Creon vs. Antigone The tragic hero from “Antigone,” written by Sophocles is Creon. A tragic hero is a character that has a downfall caused by his/her tragic flaw. The tragic flaw is usually having an excessive amount of pride, or being arrogant.
But of who you are, you can’t perceive all the things men say or do or their complaints. ”Even the people have discussed how Creon may be wrong and that Antigone should be rewarded for her courageous act to bury her brother who was left by creon for the dogs. Haemon believes that his father Creon should give Antigone the right to be free. “They say of all the women here she least deserves the worst of deaths for her most glorious act. When in the slaughter of her own brother died, she did not just leave him unburied, to be ripped apart by carrion dogs or birds.
Creon’s son Haemon after learning about Antigone’s fate tries to reason with his father as to why he should let her go but every point he makes only causes Antigone more trouble, rather than helping. During Haemons conversation with his father he tries to reason with his father that he is not always right and that he needs to learn to bend his own rules in order for his leadership to work. He tries to convince Creon that “for a man to learn, even a wise man, is nothing shameful, nor to learn to bend or give way”(Sophocles 39). He tries to convince his father that if he needs to learn to bend his rules or his city will snap under their pressure. He is trying to show Creon that by releasing Antigone he is not going to lose control of the city
Where There Is Pride There Is Pain “ All men make mistakes… But when they do, they’re no longer foolish… If they try to fix the evil into which they’ve fallen… Men who put their stubbornness on show invite accusations.” (lines 1140-1147) Antigone’s words, actions, and ideas, contrast with Creon’s character to the point of these two characters having conflicting motivations.
Antigone follows the gods but now that Creon is king he doesn’t think the gods are powerful. In Antigone, the play Antigone says “I did not think anything which you proclaimed strong enough to let a mortal override the gods and their unwritten and unchanging laws. ”(lines 510-513) and also Creon says “No one can tolerate what you’ve just said, when you claim god’s might care about this corpse. ”(lines 327- 328) This shows that both of them think differently about the gods and what is most powerful in the world. In Creon’s case he believes money is the most powerful thing in the world, but he soon realizes it’s
Many of the characters in the story have a unique way of developing the theme of the story. Antigone, the daughter of King Oedipus and Jocasta, words and actions contributes to Creon’s development as a tragic hero. Antigone will do anything to properly put her brother to rest even if that means she has to die, Creon feels that it is right to punish her with death even if that means she will not get the chance to marry his son (Haemon). “You’ll never marry her while she’s alive,” (858).
The epitome of one who is hubris is Creon. Creon has some much pride and self-confidence that is causes him to be defiant towards the gods. In the beginning of the play, “Antigone”, Sophocles portrays Creon as a decent king. He makes rational decision and seem to rule like a king who knows what he’s doing. Then, a twist in the play occurs where Creon becomes more of a tyrant instead of a king.
In the third scene of the play Antigone, Creon makes a stronger argument about the killing of Antigone than Haemon because he more effectively plays on Haemons emotions and uses reasoning to try to persuade Haemon on his ideas. While Haemon had a very good argument with lots of pathos and logos, I feel that his argument comes more out of childish emotions instead of persuasive emotion and logic. And on the other hand Creon more effectively uses his emotions as a persuasive method not as childish thoughts. Also using reason and logic to show Haemon how his childish emotions are unreasonable and blinded from reason. In the scene Creon uses his logic to try to persuade Haemon to see that Creon is doing this to Antigone for a reason and that it is best for this to happen: “If a man can keep his home in hand,/ he proves his competence to keep the state./ But one who breaks the law and flounts authority,/ I never will allow.”
Haemon’s misuse of words and actions, Creon’s development of a tragic hero, and the interactions between Haemon and Creon brings the reader to Creon’s eventual downfall. Fore he was to late, Antigone had hung herself, causing Haemon to follow through with his suicide out of love for his Antigone, in which causes Creon’s wife to kill herself as well. Making Creon realize how he destroyed everything he loved. Leaving him with nothing except a crumbling
n Antigone, Sophocles alludes to many Greek myths in order to accentuate how Antigone views the situation of her being punished by Creon for giving her brother the proper burial he deserved by the law of the gods and the importance of her words. Creon has decided to sentence Antigone to death for going against his words and following the laws of the gods by burying her beloved brother Polyneices. Creon’s tragic flaw is recognized when Antigone says, “How often I have heard the story of Niobe, / Tantalus’ wretched daughter, how the stone / Clung fast about her, ivy-close; and they say / The rain falls endlessly / And sifting soft snow; her tears are never done” (Sophocles 994). Niobe, queen of Thebes, was turned to stone for her belief
Loyalty or Love “Father, the gods instill good sense in men—the greatest of all the things which we possess.” (lines 776-777) In Sophocles’ play, Antigone, Haemon’s actions and ideas cause conflicting motivations between he and his father, Creon. As Haemon is faced with choosing loyalty or love his motivations accentuate Creon’s arrogance, power, and foolishness. Ultimately, the conflicting motivations establish Creon as a tragic hero by making him realize his selfishness is what caused his downfall.
In the play "Antigone" by Sophocles, Antigone rightfully decides to bury her brother, Polynices, but when the king, Creon, finds out, she does not repent for her actions. She is a woman that stands for what she thinks is right, which in this case is that Creon is wrong for condemning the burial of her brother. She shows braveness with her actions because not all people have the courage to risk their own lives so that their brother can rest in peace. For instance, Ismene states "What? You 'd bury him – when a law forbids the city?"
“You may do as you like, Since apparently the laws of the gods mean nothing to you.” (Sophocles, et al. 192). This argument, though quite passive aggressive, is more ethical. The religion of the people of Ancient Greece was held to the utmost of importance, which is why such epics are written about them when someone dares to defy them. In this case, Antigone calls out Ismene for choosing to obey the rule of Creon rather than the rule of the gods.
This essay will discuss and explore the conflict between Antigone and Creon in Sophocles’ Antigone while taking into consideration G.W.F. Hegel’s philosophical ideas put forward in his seminal work Phenomenology of Spirit. An attempt will be made to show that Creon represents the political, democratic principle which serves as a foundation for the creation of the modern state with all of its freedoms and rights, while Antigone, on the other hand, whose principles are as equally legitimate as Creon’s, is doomed to perish from the very beginning because she symbolizes the pre-state principle of natural law. Sophocles’ Antigone was written in the 5th century BC and it still presents us with significant interpretive challenges, its universality