Antigone And Creon Essay

     Finally, Creon is a dynamic character. He undergoes changes in emotion throughout the work. He realizes his mistakes when Tiresias forecasts the future. Thus, Creon attempts to correct himself by releasing Antigone. But he is too late. He is forced to live, knowing that three people are dead as a result of his actions. This punishment is worse than death. Although Creon’s self-righteousness and inflexibility did not change until the end of the play, his motivations traveled from patriotic ones to personal ones. This created a major portion of the

Creon orders the guards to take Antigone away not caring for his son's feelings, since she is his fiancée. Creon feels the law should stand despite the fact that Antigone was his niece or how moral her act was. "Bring her [Antigone] out! Let her die before his eyes..." (Scene 3, 130). This quotes shows that Creon took his position as king seriously to the point where in he was willing to sacrifice the feelings of his own son. He was willing to be the cause of son's destruction just to prove that he is the king and always right. "I will go... I buried her, I will set her free" (scene 5, 102,104). Not only does this quote show leadership but also stubbornness he was risking his relationship with his son to prove that he was the leader of Thebes. Creon says another quote which shows his loyalty to his kingdom, "I call to God to witness that if I saw my country headed for ruin, I should not be afraid to speak out plainly," (Sophocles, scene 1,24-26). It shows his strong sense of leadership which catches up with him in the end causing destruction.

     Creon and Antigone also demonstrated a similarity in their loyalty to their own views. They both had different views, but they both remained loyal to them throughout the entire play. Creon and Antigone did not give in to others’ views, but relied on their own for survival. Creon was extremely loyal to his laws that he had made, and Antigone was loyal to her beliefs. Nothing was going to change either of them. When Antigone was brought in by the sentry, Creon was disturbed to find out Antigone was the person burying Polynices. He was extremely upset

Moreover, Antigone’s ability to follow her own beliefs results into the heroicness and tragic death of Antigone. Antigone is from a royal family and has the power to do what she believes in. She believes in following traditions and exercises that power when she says, “I will bury him, and if I must die, I say that the crime is holy: I shall lie down With him in death, and I shall be as dear To him as he to me” (694). Antigone follows her beliefs in following tradition and by doing what she feels is best. Antigone does this because she knows she is doing the right thing and knows that she will be repaid in some way. Furthermore, Antigone justifies her actions by telling the reasons that motivated her to do it to King Creon. She refuses to give in to the beliefs of King Creon and continues to think her own separate way. Antigone takes a stand to Creon when she says, “ Think Death less than a friend? This death of mine Is of no importance, but if I had left my brother Lying in death unburied, I should have suffered. Now I do not. You smile at me. Ah Creon , Think me a fool, if you like, but it may well be That a fool convicts me of folly” (709). Antigone believes what she is doing is correct and proves that to Creon , but he is still not convinced. It is important for Antigone to do what she believes is so that she will be pleased and satisfied with the outcome. Antigone’s ability to pursue her goals and to what she wants

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.

She does what she thinks. The relationship between Creon and Antigone in the play written by Sophocles was that they were uncle and niece to each other. They both had some similarities and some differences. The similarities that they shared would be that they both were stubborn with what they thought and would not change anything they would like. Their beliefs and values are almost the same. Creon believes that he should obey only the king’s law but not the God’s law in some cases. But Antigone thinks that God’s Law comes first then King’s Law. This might have been a flaw that might have not should happened. Antigone and Creon’s character and personality traits are almost the same, but with some differences.

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

As King of Thebes, Creon is forced to make difficult decisions. As a new ruler, he feels it is necessary to prove himself to his citizens, therefore he rules his state with a firm hand. He believes that Polyneices should not be buried because he was a traitor to his country and family. Creon knew this decision would be hard on some

Due to his unwavering pride and refusal to see through the eyes of others, Creon falls from his position of immense power and wealth which in the end doesn’t matter because all his loved ones and family are now dead.

Pride acts as another major theme; it is what got Creon in this situation in the first place. Creon has too much pride to admit to anyone that maybe he was wrong. Even when he has Antigone he has too much pride to let her go. Creon's own son questions him and he replies, "Am I to stand here and be lectured to by a kid? A man of my experience"(1063)!Creon shows that here he is too proud to change his decision for his own son even if he made the wrong choice. The king's friend the Leader tries to convince Creon to change his mind by telling him "My king, ever since he began I've been debuting in my mind, could this possibly be the work of the gods"(1050). The Leader was trying to tell

Creon said, ?...And whoever places a friend above the good of his own county, he is nothing: I have no use for him.? (203-205). Again, his high standards and honor for his country are shown in great detail: ?I could never stand by silent, watching destruction march against our city, putting safety to rout? (207-208). Creon shows a high sense of morality when he properly buried Eteocles, and then is showing his noble character by not burying Polyneices, who attacked Creon?s country; again his value of his country is shown. Creon is a good ruler because he like any king would punish evil and reward good. Creon is seen by the chorus to have ?goodness? and leadership. (Lines 691). The chorus praises Creon for his loyalty to the country after the great war, they look forward to his kingly rule and nobility in the future by saying, ?. . . Creon, the new man for the great new day?(Lines 173). Love of his country and his punishment of Polyneices show this great nobility and loyalty talked about by the chorus. Clearly Creon qualifies under the first criterion of being a tragic hero.

Unfortunately, Creon does not always make the correct decision because of personality traits that he possesses. When Creon sentences Antigone to death, he is wrong. This decision is based on Creon’s downfalls. He has hamartia and he judges wrong, and he also suffers from hubris. He is excessively prideful and believes that his choice is the only correct one. Creon also has an inaccurate view of his place in relation to the Gods. He believes he is in a position to know what They want and know what They feel is best. No mortal truly knows what the Gods want, but Creon believes he does because he cannot imagine that what he believes is wrong, even to the Gods. Antigone’s death is a bad decision that Creon makes based on his beliefs that the Gods view Polyneices as a traitor and would not want him honored in death.

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.

Creon is characterized as an authoritarian tyrannical ruler. He created the law stating that nobody was to bury the body of Polynices because he betrayed the city of Thebes. Creon was right to make his law because Polynices was a turncoat and died on Theban soil. Although his law was harsh, he believed that he was in the right because a villain such as Polynices did not deserve a proper burial. Creon was especially enraged when Antigone disregarded his law because Polynices was her brother, “Oh but I hate it more / when a traitor, caught red-handed, / tries to glorify his crimes (Creon 552-554).”