Character Development Of Creon

In the play Antigone by Sophocles Creon is the king of Thebes. In this piece Creon becomes overwhelmed with the power given to him as king. The result is Creon turning into a corrupt king. He orders laws that must be followed with consequences of death. He uses the body of his nephew, Polyneices, as a way of frightening the people into submission. And finally Creon walls up his niece, Antigone, to die because she disobeyed him. Such actions can not be justified and ultimately makes Creon a bad ruler.

The first specification for the tragic hero is one of the few that both Antigone and Creon exhibit; both characters are between the extremes of perfect morality and pure villainy. Antigone’s moral neutrality is illustrated through her noble intentions and the unorthodox way she acts upon them. When she is confronted by Creon and demanded to give an explanation for her disobedience, Antigone says, “For me it was not Zeus who made that order. Nor did that Justice who lives with the gods below mark out such laws to hold among mankind” (Sophocles 207 ll. 450-2). Along with love and loyalty to her brother, Antigone is largely motivated by her desire for justice and appeasement of the gods. While her intentions are noble, Antigone’s actions in the

     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 came into power when Oedipus was exiled and died. Throughout the play, Antigone, Creon exemplifies many characteristics. Some are selfishness, stubbornness, and pride. He is selfish because he does only want he wants to do and listens to no one else. He shows his stubbornness when he is unwilling to let Antigone live even

“Tell me briefly—not in some lengthy speech— were you aware there was a proclamation forbidding what you did?” (503-505). The actions, context of Antigone’s words, and also the ideas she proposed, very indepthly contrasted with Creon’s character. Thus resulting in there being a verbal confrontation between the two characters. The conflict between the two caused conflicting motivations such as stubbornness, disrespect, and anger to be projected with Creon’s character. Ultimately, these conflicting motivations develop Creon as a tragic hero by portraying that he knew, the decisions he made were of error, and the character interactions advance the plot by causing conflict throughout the play. Creon had also begun to change throughout the play,

Throughout the play, Creon shows many examples of how he is imperfect. One example would be how he believes that the state is primary to his family and relationships, “If this is your pleasure, Creon, treating our city’s enemy and our friend this way … the power is yours, I suppose, to enforce it with the laws, both for the dead and all of us, the living,” this quotation said by the leader of the chorus describes how the elder people of Thebes respect their family more than the state, but they held back on their opinions, knowing of what Creon, the leader, wanted to hear (235-240). Another example of how Creon shows the audience of how he is imperfect is when, Creon meets with Haemon. Creon argues with Haemon about how people should act towards the country which they reside in, “But whoever steps out of line, violates the laws or presumes to hand out orders to his superiors, he’ll win no praise from me. But that man the city places in authority, his orders must be obeyed, large and small, right and wrong,” Creon believes since he has the highest throne in his country, that he should be obeyed whether the circumstance (745-751). Lastly, Creon demonstrates to the audience that he is imperfect by wanting to protect his country too much. This is visible when Creon sentences Antigone to a slow death, because of burying her brother, who was outcasted as a traitor. Creon put the state over his family which will lead to the complete

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

Creon is first portrayed as a leader with rational laws and consequences for breaking them. But by the end of the play, Creon is a completely different character; he has let his excessive pride and hubris take over him. He doesn’t realize his change in character until it is brought to him through the prophecy of Teiresias, when it is already too late. Creon can be identified as a tragic hero because he shows great signs of stubbornness and pride. Considering he is the King of Thebes, he follows his rules and laws without listening to his citizen’s concerns, nor does he care about the gods wishes. His role as a hubris influences many of his choices, he believes in only his own thoughts and wishes. Creon abuses his power just because he can, without thinking of the consequences.

Even if he believes he is right and his son should obey him, he doesn’t show an ounce of sympathy for Haemon, who loves Antigone. Creon details his thoughts on the importance of the rule of law over other loyalties, and his belief that to allow any anarchy or, seemingly, freedom would threaten the state. Creon’s method of executing Antigone is interesting. By entombing a living person, Antigone, and denying burial to a dead person, Polynices, Creon’s laws seem to go against common sense, tradition, and nature itself. Creon does not keep a cool head, as a wise leader should, or look for a way to compromise. He is as stubborn as Antigone, as if this were a street fight, he feels he could never back down.

“Then why delay? There’s nothing in your words that I enjoy—may that always be the case! And what I say displeases you as much. But where could I gain greater glory than setting my own brother in his grave? All those here would confirm this pleases them if their lips weren’t sealed by fear—being king, which offers all sorts of various benefits, means you can talk and act just as you wish.” (567-575) The way Antigone acts, what she says and what she thinks contrasts with Creon to the point where they had a major conflict. These conflicting motivations cause Creon to show a different side of himself, the new characteristics that were highlighted in Creon were anger, violence, and self-importance.

Creon’s bad decision leads to his eventual downfall and demise. Creon realizes his hubris and his wrong decision a little too late. Antigone is already dead, and he cannot correct his wrong-doing. This makes the audience feel pity for him, for he

Soon after his decision of the fate of Antigone, Creon’s tragic flaw blooms the greatest. This Hubris focuses on the Creon’s relentless, uncompromising, and egotistical attitude. Many try to convince Creon to reconsider on his misguided decision, however, Creon does not yield. It is at this point when one realizes the Hubris of Antigone. Creon possesses a false sense of pride and/or confidence in his intelligence. He believes he cannot be wrong, therefore his uncompromising and egotistical attitude shines brightest. It portrays him as “superficial, pigheaded, self-important man.” (Porter) This is Hamartia, his relentless,

All in all, Creon started out as a stereotypical, mean and power hungry ruler. Pitching two brothers against each other so he could have the throne, then making an unpopular and unnecessary law, he was not liked by the people. Breaking his sons heart by sentencing his fiance to death, and in turn breaking his wife's heart, he ended up alone. For the first time we see him lost. This makes him a better leader as he is now able to empathize with his people. His vulnerability helps him stay in his spot of

Creon, like all main characters in Greek drama, suffers many losses and undergoes emotional pain and anguish. A target of the curse on the House of Oedipus by relation, Creon was already a

Tyranny and immorality are key notions presented in Antigone when referring to justice. In this play, Creon is presented to be a tyrannical and irrational ruler, while Antigone rejects this system and ultimate dies because of it. Creon views leadership in a selfish, immoral manner. When speaking to his son about his rule, he states, “The state is his who rules it, so ‘tis held”