Antigone Essay In my opinion, Antigone is a brave, confident and independent woman who accepts consequences, shows great love for her family and respects the gods. But she also has some negative personalities like being aggressive, a rule breaker, overdramatic, a risk taker and having a bad reputation in her family. Over all Antigone made much better decisions than Creon did by having a less serious tragic flaw, being a determined young women and not letting her curse on her family affect her decision making. Antigone’s tragic flaw is being an aggressive risk taker. She proved that she will do whatever it takes to get what she wants and she won’t stop until she gets it. Her risk was going against the law and burying her beloved brother in honor of his death. She knew the consequence of this action was going to be death, making it her tragic flaw. She states, “Then I beg you: kill me.” Now that she's gotten her wish by burying her brother, she is accepting her punishment of death. This flaw has affected Creon greatly because Antigone is now his enemy and an enemy that will never give up is indomitable. In Ancient Greece, women were meant to be treated like slaves and men were always meant to boss them around. Antigone proved she was a strong and an independent woman by standing up to Creon for what she did. She says, “I do. I deny nothing.” This proves that Antigone is not ashamed for claiming her guilt to Creon. I feel like Creon should of taken consideration that it was
As the tragedy concludes, the chorus issues its final words: "Pray for no more at all. For what is destined for us, men mortal, there is no escape," demonstrating how justice remains impartial to the prejudice of men; those who make imprudent judgments will ultimately suffer from the consequences of their actions. In Sophocles' Antigone, these prejudices notably surface in the form of paternalism as demonstrated through Creon's government, highlighting the importance of gender roles throughout the play. Therefore, analyzing the motif of gender roles and its effect on the definition of justice through the perspectives of Ismene, Antigone, and Creon enables the audience to understand how Sophocles' macroscopic analogy to humanity's
Full of drama and tragedy, Antigone can be used to relate to current conflicts. One such conflict is that between Haemon and his father Creon. Haemon looks up to Creon with honor and pride, but as conflict arises, that relation is disassociated and new feelings grow. The first conversation between them is what initiates the downfall of their bond. While it seems that Creon is the most important person in Haemon’s life, Antigone is in fact the one that has won Haemon over.
First, Creon plays a significant role in the plot of Antigone. He, of course, is the center of the plot. It develops mostly around his actions. For example, Creon could have had the chance to live “happily ever
Antigone 's tragic flaw does not lead to her downfall, because of this Antigone does not meet the characteristic of reversal in fate otherwise known as a downfall. Creon’s pride is what causes Antigone 's death. For example when Teiresias tells Creon to let Antigone go and to give Polyneices a proper burial because the gods are upset he does not listen. Instead he says to Teiresias, "doddering fortune tellers...if your birds-if the great eagles of God himself- should carry him bit by bit to heaven, I would not yield"( 44- 47). Creon is insulting Teiresias, a respected prophet, and says that he wouldn 't do as Teiresias says even if the birds carried Polyneices body bit by bit to heaven. It is obvious that Creon is prideful because he has a high opinion of his superiority. This is shown when he refers to Teiresias, a highly respected prophet who has never been wrong, as
A tragic hero is a character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw, which combined with fate, results into a tragedy. The tragic hero must fall from good luck and well being to misery and misfortune. The tragic hero causes a sense of pity through the tragic downfall that weakens the character. In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone follows her own beliefs by giving her brother a proper burial, even if she has to break the law of King Creon. Because of her innocent actions, Antigone is punished unjustly and unfairly. Through her risky and unselfish actions, ability to follow her own beliefs, and perseverance Antigone is the tragic hero of this play.
Her blatant disrespect and sarcasm toward Creon shows how she really feels toward him. Antigone does not respect Creon as the king of Thebes. This gets further proved when Antigone says, “It wasn’t Zeus, not in the least, who made this proclamation–not to me” (Sophocles Antigone, 499-500). This is a very telling moment for the reader, Antigone is saying she did not listen to Creon’s decree not only because she does not respect him, but also she will only listen to the gods rules. This moment tells Creon that Antigone will never respect him as a ruler. Antigone is very stubborn, and when she is very passionate she will speak her mind, “And if my present actions strike you as foolish, let's just say I’ve been accused of folly by a fool” (Sophocles Antigone, 523-5). In these few lines she is talking to Creon about how she does not regret burying her brother. She tells Creon, the person who holds her fate in his hands, that he is a fool. Antigone’s hubris finally comes back to ruin her, “We took his orders, went and searched, and there in the deepest, dark recesses of the tomb we found her… hanged by the neck in a fine linen noose” (Sophocles Antigone, 1344-7). The ‘her’ the messenger is speaking of is Antigone. Antigone is so prideful and spiteful her last act on Earth was a smug reminder to Creon that if she was going to die it would be on her own terms, by her own hand. Antigone is one character that perfectly showcases how hubris can lead to ultimate demise.
Even though Antigone exhibits a blamable pride and a hunger for glory, her disobedience is less serious than those of Creon. It is evident that Antigone’s actions are driven by a love for her brother, and a desire to please the gods. While Creon’s actions are
The tragic hero of a story has to have his/her tragic flaw. Creon and Antigone both shared the beliefs of freedom and the protection of personal dignity; those must be their tragic flaws. Creon believed that if he made a direct command he would carry it out all the way and not bend the rules for anyone. That shows how stubborn he was and how heartless and vile he was. Those are the traits of his tragic flaw. Antigone believed that everyone has their equal rights no matter whom they are fighting for, especially if they are part of her family. She would be stubborn and would not bend her ideals for anyone like Creon. She would go as far as it would take for her to get her point across. A tragic hero must realize that he/she has a tragic flaw and must then try to change themselves.
In the story there was a lot of conflicts and many differences, Antigone believed in family honor and divinity of the gods. She believed that anybody that dies in their family should be buried or their whole family would be cursed by the gods. Meanwhile in the story, Creon only believes in himself, and upholding the good for the city. He also believes that he is well above the gods, and that they are a threat to his ruling. Not only did Antigone believe in honoring
The large issue behind the behavior of Creon and Antigone is that Creon is following Human laws, while Antigone is doing her best to follow God’s laws. In my opinion Creon was wrong because he was trying to break a law that was there before he was born. Although, Creon is the king he has no right to create new laws or to break old ones. I think Antigone just wanted a proper funeral for her family member. She was just doing things the right way by respecting laws that come from her creator.
Antigone's strong beliefs eventually led her to her death by the hand of Creon. Never, though, did she stop defending what she thought was right. As Creon ordered her to her death, Antigone exclaimed, "I go, his prisoner, because I honored those things in which honor truly belongs" (Sophocles page #). She is directly humiliating Creon by calling his opinions and decisions weak and unjust. She also emphasizes "his prisoner," which tells us that Creon's decision to capture Antigone was his own, and was not backed up by the majority of the people. She feels that Creon is abusing his power as king and dealing with her task to a personal level.
Antigone has a possible flaw in that she is too stubborn and persistent to obey Creon’s order; “I know my duty, where true duty lies” (Antigone, 128). Her punishment then encourages feelings of pity from the audience because her deed was honorable and respectful towards her brother Polynices. The chorus supports this view by bidding her a respectful farewell when she is taken away, “But glory and praise go with you lady” (Antigone, 148). Antigone is also very proud, and this may have contributed to her death. Even when she is caught she remains strong and defends herself by claiming that the chorus thinks that her act was honorable, “All these would say that what I did was honorable” (Antigone, 139). This causes Creon to remain angry with Antigone, “you are wrong, none of my subjects think as you do” (Antigone, 140). If she had been more patient and less defensive, Creon may not have been as harsh in the punishment he set for her.
even if I die in the act, that death will be a glory” (Sophocles 926). At this moment, Antigone was willing to risk her own life by putting her respect for her family member first. Creon, on the other hand, seems to hold more interest in Thebes and his own image in front of its people. He would put his own niece to death for disobeying him and his laws over allowing her act of defiance to slide.
In the play, Haemon is brought to his father to be informed off the news of his soon to be wife. In the discussion between Creon and Haemon, they speak of Haemon's obedience and Antigone's disobedience to Creon. Creon says, "So I must guard the men who yield to order, not let myself be beaten by a woman. Better, if it must happen that a man should overset me. I won't be called weaker than womankind" (Sophocles 211). Creon makes it clear that his reasoning relies on sexism and not what is truly just. Women are often downgraded to the status of a secondary role as shown in the story.
In the Greek tragedy of Antigone, Creon, the king of Thebes, truly learns the effects of his actions. Creon punishes Antigone for burying her brother, which he had made illegal. He viewed Polyneices, Antigone’s brother, as evil and trying to bring down the state, so Creon deemed him unjust for burial. Meanwhile, Antigone believes that burying her brother is worth breaking the law that could cost her life. Creon abides by the law and is a vast supporter for regulations while Antigone is morally driven causing significant contrasts between the two, making Antigone a foil to Creon that results in the development of Creon as a tragic hero.