Antigone Character Analysis

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.

Haemon shows his love to Antigone by revolting his father 's authority and committing suicide. Haemon is the son of Creon and Eurydice and is engaged to Antigone. He always respects and obeys Creon, taking Creon for a model. However, the decree of killing Antigone causes his violent controversy with his father because he is afraid of losing his fiancé—Antigone. Haemon defends the moral behavior of Antigone and reasons with Creon to change

Humanity is often faced with ambivalence towards law; at once, we find it a necessity in attempting to deal with a world which is constantly in some type of chaotic turmoil, and also as a glaring flaw in our society, which can at times result in more chaos than was originally had. This conflict is no more obvious than in Sophocles’ Antigone. Antigone, the character, represents half of the struggle between what the law says is just and what we inherently deem to be morally upstanding – Creon represents the opposing side which views law and power as the ultimate dictator of life’s unraveling. Though Antigone is ultimately thwarted, she is on the side of justice rather than blindly following the law. Antigone’s empathy while breaking the law

and set of values. She dies with pride and no regret for she died because she acted doing what

One has the capability to determine from right and wrong and having the determination to stand up for what one believes in, no matter what the price is. In Sophocles’ Antigone, a written dramatic play, Sophocles portrays the theme that at times of one’s life, it is necessary to follow moral law and ignore political law. In the play, a determined and courageous woman named Antigone is loyal to her beloved brother by granting him a proper burial and having to suffer the consequences for revolting. Throughout Antigone, several incidents occurred where the political law was of no importance to the individual. Conflicts between Antigone and Ismene and then with Creon and Antigone are examples of the theme. The theme also ties with the

Creon talks to his son about his obstinate bride. His son, Haemon, tries to sway his father, but it is no use. Creon tells him that, “No evil is worse than disobedience. This one thing destroys cities, turns homes upside down, it leads to the rout of allied armies;” (684-686). Turning houses upside down is exactly what it did. Antigone's actions turn Haemon against his father and puts Creon’s household to be at odds. Creon further explains Antigone’s disobedience when he says, “You see how, in the winter storms, the trees yield that save even their twigs, but those who oppose it are destroyed root and branch” (724-726). If Antigone had been flexible like a tree and gone with his orders, she would have been saved, but instead she chose to go against him and will now be punished for her actions. Antigone is also the main reason for Haemon’s demise. Creon is made aware of this when one of his guards tells him, “Haemon is lost. His blood was spilled by a familiar hand” (1181-1182). The conversation continues and the guard says that the familiar hand was, “Himself, angry with his father for the murder” (1184). Creon loses his son and later his wife, angry over Haemon’s death. If Antigone had followed the law, she would have prevented the deaths of Haemon, Eurydice, and herself. Due to her stubbornness, Creon loses his family and she loses her own

“Am I to rule this land at someone else’s whim or by myself?” (Lines 836-837) says Creon, angrily to his son Haemon, who is attempting to reason with him about the execution of his fiance, Antigone. This causes an uproar between the two and brings out Creon's selfish intentions. Throughout the story the conflict with the ideals and motivations between the two change the theme of the story from love and loyalty to hatred and betrayal. This not only contributes to Creon’s characteristics of a tragic hero, but also to the suicide of both, Antigone and Haemon.

Antigone was a Greek tragedy that ended in Antigone’s death along with her brother’s. In the beginning of the of the tragedy we learn of her brother’s death “Creon buried our brother Eteocles with military honors, gave him a soldier’s funeral, and it was right that he should; but Polyneices, they fought as bravely and died as miserably, they say that Creon has sworn No one shall bury him,” (LN 15-20). King Creon’s decision for not giving Polyneices a proper burial is because he was a traitor. However, that was Antigone’s brother and she felt besides Polyneices actions, he still deserved a burial. Antigone has lost her parents and just has her sister Ismene left so, despite the order handed down by Creon, Antigone feels that it’s still appropriate to give her brother a proper burial.

Family, an important theme of life, gets expressed throughout many ways in society. Family may take precedence over many things, including authority and the law. Within the tragic play, Antigone, the author Sophocles presents situations where the characters have to choose between their family and the law. The characters must choose what is more important to them, their family or obeying the laws of Thebes. Throughout the play, Sophocles presents a strong theme of family values and the importance of it through the actions of Antigone, Creon and Haimon.

The play “Antigone” is a tragedy by Sophocles. One main theme of the play is Religion vs. the state. This theme is seen throughout the play. Antigone is the supporter of religion and following the laws of the gods and the king of Thebes, Creon, is the state. In the play Creon has made it against the law to bury Antigone’s brother, something that goes against the laws of the gods, this is the cause of most conflict in the story. This struggle helps to develop the tragic form by giving the reader parts of the form through different characters.

Haemon insists he is trying to prevent his father from pursuing an injustice while Creon accuses his son of siding with a reckless traitorous woman over his own father, to whom he owes obedience. In fact, Creon is more devoted to his laws than he is to even his own son Haemon’s happiness, refusing to pardon Antigone for burying Polynices even though she is Haemon’s fiancée. Antigone, on the other hand, places long held traditions and loyalty to her family above obedience to the city or to its ruler. In doing so, she makes the case that there are loyalties to both the gods and one’s own family that outweigh one’s loyalty to a

Creon says “Eteocles who died as a man is to be buried with full military honors, his brother Polynecies is to have no burial, no man is to touch or say a prayer for him. He shall lie on the plain unburied so the birds and dogs can do as they want. ”His niece (sister of both the brothers) decides he should be buried and Creon can kill her if he needed, she did not care. Creon decided to put her in a hole to starve to death for breaking his law. So it makes Creon the tragic hero because he was too late to save Antigone, she hanged herself, his son found out so he stabbed himself, and Creon’s wife found out about the son so, she also killed herself. Just to think he could’ve saved everyone he loved.

He then states he (Creon) alone can’t be right and “other men who can reason, too; and their opinions might be helpful. You are not in a position to know everything” (Sophocles 218). By jogging Creon’s memory that he can’t have an overview of everything, Haemon is endeavoring to help Creon reason and to be open mind. In haemon’s next assertion he describes how, “she kept him from dogs and vultures. Is this a crime? Death- she should have all the honor that we can give her!” this tells the readers that if she would have died it would be unjust to die in shame for what was an act of glory, justice and that she should deserve a crown of gold and glory(218). At the end Haemon uses a plan to make threats against his father, after his father says Antigone must die, Haemon responded with an ultimatum answer “then she must die, but her death will cause another” (222). As Haemon dashing off in anger, Creon knows that if Antigone were to be executed, so will his son. Having no choose but Creon didn’t want Haemon to save Antigone so he carried Antigone into a living tomb (the cave) all locked up and supplied her with food just enough food to clear of its guilt of

Unlike most Greek tragedies, Antigone is not essentially about the opposing powers of good and evil. Instead, the play demonstrates the conflict between one’s duty towards their family and their country and social expectations. “Antigone presents a conflict between family loyalty and loyalty to the state, between demands of the state and the will of the individual” (MacKay, 166). The king

Creon views the father-son relationship as one of submission. This view is evident when Creon says to Haemon, “stand behind fatherly advice on all counts/Keep [the son] at home, and have him listen to what he’s told” (Antigone 640/42). This view makes it blatant that Creon believes that a son should stand behind his father and not interfere with the father’s actions. Similarly, the son should obey the father under any circumstances. Obedience under any circumstance connotes a sense of submissiveness on the part of the son because the son has to obey his father's actions whether the actions are ethical or unethical. Creon expects Haemon’s submission, on all circumstances, especially when he subjects Haemon’s bride-to-be, Antigone, to her death. However, Haemon believes that her death sentence is unethical and harsh. Therefore, he attempts to sway