ipl-logo

Sophocles Oedipus: Creon Character Analysis

1051 Words5 Pages

It always seems that in today’s time, in history, or in works of literature that leaders are classified in two ways: good or bad. In other words, leaders handle conflicts and problematic situations in a variety of ways. This can include effective methods in which it is essentially reasonable and justly resolves an issue, yet on the other hand, they can be ineffective methods in which they are irrational, arbitrary, and overall could either exacerbate an issue or resolve an issue but cause more issues afterwards. Leaders always have conflicts to handle; however though, every leader tends to handle them differently. In a sense of considering the characteristics of a leader, one type of leader that consists of moral qualities and executes …show more content…

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. Ultimately, all of the mistakes that Creon had made as a leader and his downfall was due to his excessive pride, which proves that he was a bad leader and that other leaders should not

Show More
Related
647 Words | 3 Pages

His flaws lead to Antigone killing herself and his own son who killed himself. In Antigone, by Sophocles, Creon creates more and more flaws that cause the downfall of many different events that lead to horrible situations. One of the first reasons Creon had a flaw was because of his arrogance and proud pride. Throughout the play, Creon has too much pride in himself that he stops listening to people

Read More
244 Words | 1 Pages

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.

Read More
694 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More
1391 Words | 6 Pages

This contributed to the fact that he was mentally lost. He had clouded judgment because of his idea of what is right for the city is the only way he would rule. As Burt describes “Creon remains adamant, and his judgment on Antigone and Ismene, along with his subsequent argument with his son, Haemon, reveals that Creon's principles are self-centered, contradictory, and compromised by his own pride, fears, and anxieties. ”(Burt). Creon can only think in his mindset and any other view to him is impossible to understand.

Read More
1037 Words | 5 Pages

Within the recent events of the overturning of Roe V Wade the opinions on abortion have been at the forefront of political conversations. Especially among the people who are pro-life and pro-choice. Pro-life believes that an unborn fetus is a life and killing it is killing a person, meanwhile pro-choice is the belief that someone who is carrying the fetus has the right to choose whether they keep it or not. The article “3 Compelling Reasons I am Pro-life” by Tim Counts on the website erlc is about the reasoning behind this man’s point of view. The article uses three points religion, science, and “human flourishing and love”.

Read More
660 Words | 3 Pages

With Creon having too much ego, it initiated all the conflicts that arose. He won 't listen to anyone, even when Teiresias tells him his truthful prophecy he thinks that he is being paid off. Creon has a certain cockiness that no one in their right mind would bare. Soon Creon suffers a peripeteia, which he was warned about from many. A king, with a kingdoms submission, is easily above others; but they still suffer.

Read More
900 Words | 4 Pages

Again letting his untrusting self get in the way he hurt an old friend by accusing him of seeking money in exchange for his wisdom. Creon often let his untrusting nature get the better of him, and this caused him to make choices that would weaken relationships between some of his closest allies. To conclude, in the play Antigone Creon, the ruler of Thebes, had his core values impact his choices which led to his entire family's fatalities. Creon's hatred for traitors played a bug role in these choices. Also impacting Creon's choices greatly was his valuing his beloved city more than he valued his

Read More
809 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
894 Words | 4 Pages

After reading the tragedy of Antigone by Sophocles, one is left to wonder who the protagonist of this play is. Is it Creon or is it Antigone? To answer this question, one must define what a protagonist is. By definition, a protagonist is a leading actor or a character. Creon fits this description because not only do his actions lead into the whole tragedy, but his character shows a great development and the values he teaches to the readers.

Read More
1092 Words | 5 Pages

In Sophocles’ play Antigone, Creon, the king of Thebes, best represents a tragic hero. Creon demonstrates goodness in his intentions for Thebes as well as his fragile state due to the fact that he recently lost several family members. Creon, newly named king, finds himself as highest ranking official around, showing superiority. Creon often acts stubborn and prideful, his tragic flaw. And lastly, he must come to terms with the fact that he caused the death of his wife, son, and niece.

Read More
1097 Words | 5 Pages

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?

Read More
760 Words | 4 Pages

Leadership Thought Prior to 1900 The earliest study of leadership thought would be the “Great Man Theory. This theory conceptualized leaders as a single “Great Man” who knew everything and influenced others to follow him. In leadership discourse, the Great Man theory—an assertion that certain individuals, certain men, are gifts from God placed on earth to provide the lightening needed to uplift human existence—is associated mainly with Thomas Carlyle (Spector, 2015, p.250). The focal-point of this theory is that leaders’ skills are inherent and set that them apart from those around them and that these traits enable them to assume roles of power and authority.

Read More
1136 Words | 5 Pages

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.”

Read More
489 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
703 Words | 3 Pages

In Antigone by Sophocles, the purpose of Creon’s speech is to explain his new leadership. First, Creon wants to gain the loyalty from the citizens of Thebes. A great king would first need the trust of his state in order to rule effectively. Especially, Creon would need trust from his state after the tragic events that happened beforehand, which was Polyneices and Eteocles dying. He state this fact in his speech: “I am aware, of course, that no ruler can expect complete loyalty from his subjects until he has been tested in office.”

Read More

More about Sophocles Oedipus: Creon Character Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document