Compare And Contrast Antigone And Creon

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

In Antigone, Sophocles introduces the struggle between loyalty to civil law versus familial loyalty and divine law, which is a central conflict in the play. Antigone has a firm belief in upholding family values and honoring the gods and deceased by burying her brother. In contrast, Creon wants to do what is best for the city which is, in his opinion, forbidding the burial of Polynices. Both Antigone and Creon believe that their point of view is more important, and neither is willing to change perspective, causing the chain of destructive events in the plot. Loyalty causes the deadly dispute between Antigone and Creon because of their conflicting perspectives about precedence.

As the play is read and the rolls of Antigone become under stood to the reader it is easy to understand how the play itself favors Creon. The play is meant to realistically resemble the Greek way of life, which makes Creon

     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

First off, Ismene, Antigone’s sister, actually was the one that incited Antigone's actions that led to everything else that happened in the story. Without Ismene, there would not be a plot. In lines 52-59, Ismene said to Antigone “What? You'd bury him— when a law forbids the city?” Antigone replied “Yes! He is my brother and—deny it as you will—your brother too. No one will ever convict me for a traitor.” Ismene said “So desperate, and Creon has expressly—” and Antigone interrupted with “He has no right to keep me from my own.” Here Ismene is telling Antigone that her actions are not something that are legal and that comply with Creon’s laws. Antigone, being hard-headed, decides that she is not going to let a law determine what she does for

The first article I read was “Sophocles’ Antigone and the Self-Isolation of the Tragic Hero” by Elizabeth Bobrick. After reading this article I have gained more information on how Antigone and Creon were similar. For example, in the article the author talks about how Antigone and Creon both isolate themselves from their family. It is also mentioned in the article how both Creon and Antigone accuse each other of being wrong which I find ironic because both characters always believed to be right due to their high egos. It is also mentioned that Antigone immediately identifies herself as a hero girl giving more reasons to why she is so egocentric. Creon tries to destroy his Philoi meaning family because he felt dishonored by Antigone who was wanting

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

Sophocles symbolizes family over authority by using Antigone and Creon to conflict each other's core beliefs, showing that Antigone is willing to die to honor the love for her family, while Creon is willing to kill to honor and enforce his own authority at any cost. As we see in the story, when Antigone's brothers die, she chooses to bury Polyneices even though she knows this will cost her her life. In the play when Antigone tells her sister what she’s going to do, ismene says, ”But think of the danger! Think what Creon will do! ANTIGONE: Creon is not enough to stand in my way” This shows Antigone represents family for the great lengths she will go to to honor her brother. By contrast, Sophocles paints Creon to symbolize authority through murder of his own bloodline. In the play he plans to kill Antigone for choosing her love for her brother over his rule, and so he plans out her execution although she is family to Creon. The Choragos asks Creon “Do you really intend to steal this girl from your son?,” which then he responds by saying “No; Death will do that for me.” Which shows the reader that Creon is unsympathetic to who Antigone is in relation to him. He disregards the importance of family to uphold his authoritative values. By the end of the play the author has shown us Creon has come to realize his ways have cost him his family, and he regrets his decisions.

Like Creon, Antigone also never falters in standing up for what she believes in. Although Creon fights for stubborn pride, Antigone is trying to promote what is right and shows her higher reverence for God’s law rather than for Creon’s laws. In the eyes of the townspeople, Chorus, Choragos, and Haimon, Antigone is sacrificing herself to give her brother Polyneices the rightful honors due to the dead. Many side with this brave, honorable girl because she would rather suffer persecution and even death rather than give into Creon’s illogical demands. In the play, the chorus says about her, “You have made your choice, Your death is the doing of your conscious hand”. Antigone knew of the consequences before she acted and in doing so she chose her fate. At the time, she pleaded her sister Ismene to help her bury Polyneices but was rejected. Despite being alone in trying to rebel and perhaps she may have been afraid, Antigone goes out of her way and puts her life on the line to bring her brother respect.

This play is ultimately concerned with one person defying another person and paying the price. Antigone went against the law of the land, set by the newly crowned King Creon. Antigone was passionate about doing right by her brother and burying him according to her religious beliefs even though Creon deemed him a traitor and ordered him to be left for the animals to devour. Creon was passionate about being king and making his mark from his new throne. Although they differed in their views, the passion Creon and Antigone shared for those opinions was the same, they were equally passionate about their opposing views. Creon would have found it very difficult to see that he had anything in common with Antigone however as he appears to be

The play Antigone by Sophocles is a play like no other. There are three major themes or ideas which have a very important role in the play. The first major theme is fate, on how the play comes about and the turn of events that come about throughout it. Another main theme or idea is the pride the characters have and their unwillingness they have to change their minds once they are set on something. The last major theme is loyalty and the practical problem of conduct involving which is a higher law between the divine laws and those of the humans. It is an issue of which law is the "right" law, and if Creon and Antigone's acts are justifiable or not. The issues that Antigone and Creon have between them

Family is very important and is shown through the many ways in society. That family will often be more important than the authority or law. The tragic Greek play, Antigone written by Sophocles. Within Antigone, Sophocles presents many situations where characters are forced to face their feelings of law or family. Throughout Antigone, Sophocles proves his strong devotion to family, even more. Sophocles presents these through the actions of Antigone, Creon, and Haemon with the choices that they make throughout the play. For instance, Antigone had many chances to obey the law or her own familial bonds. Antigone chooses to obey family, and bury Polynices even though burying breaks Creon's law. Antigone pleads with her sister to help, but when she says no, Antigone responds, “But as for me/ I will bury the brother I love” (Prologue. 192). Antigone was willing to break Creon's authority as a family means much more to her, this presents her as selfless. Along with breaking the law, Antigone also risks execution for that crime. When Antigone learns of her punishment, after Creon discovers, Antigone decides if entombing her brother was worth it. Following Creon's warning, she says, “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” (Scene II. 208). Antigone shows the courage that even death won't scare her from her goals. Antigone chooses family, when in the face of the capital punishment.

In the play Creon rejects the burial of Polyneices but still seems to value family heavily. When Creon speaks with Haemon he expresses that he should listen to his father’s choice over anything else “Stand by your father’s ideas in all things.” (Page 37), showing that Creon values family honor. Sophocles shows moments of family love throughout the play, Creon knows letting Antigone go after burying her brother is the right thing to do so he makes the decision to let her go free for the action she performed “I myself, since my judgement has turned and seen better ways, I bound her up and I will go and release her.” (Page 54), this shows that Creon truly loves Antigone and chose family over authority by freeing her. As Haemon finds out Antigone has hanged herself, in

In Antigone, by Sophocles, there is conflict between the characters Antigone and Creon. Antigone is characterized as a rebellious girl, who turns into a martyr, and just lost both her brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, in a war between the city-states of Thebes and Argos. Eteocles was fighting the war on Thebes’s side, Thebes is where they live, but Polynices was fighting for the Argos army. Creon, the king of Thebes as well as Antigone’s uncle, has made a law that Polynices may not be

Creon meant to clarify to his son that anyone who commits a crime should be punished - even if the criminal is a member of one's family. Creon's doctrine says that once the state decides something, the law applies to everybody. Therefore, he sees no alternative other than to leave the body unburied for the state. Creon would do anything for the sake of the community whereas Antigone is devoted to her family. The situations mentioned above create tensions in the play because Antigone and Creon are bi-polar in their beliefs.