Wrong Way Emotions play a huge role in people’s life directing them on decisions to make, actions to perform, etc. Sometimes in a tough situation people act on their emotions when they should be thinking twice about what they are about to do and act on reason instead. In the plays Antigone and Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles, the protagonists don’t think twice about their actions therefore causing huge problems that will affect their whole life such as deaths, isolations, and suicides. In the play Oedipus Rex, Oedipus kills a man on his journey which later will cause all sorts of issues that lead to his downfall. In the play Antigone, the character Creon does not make good decisions because he is too caught up in his kingdom and tends to …show more content…
Creon makes a rule about forbidding the burial of Polynices which therefore upsets Antigone. Creon, although he is Antigone’s brother, made “A proclamation forbid[ing] the city/ to dignify him with burial, mourn him at all./ no he must be left unburied, his corpse/ carrion for the birds and dogs to tear” (Ant 227-230). Even though Polynices defied his country and fought against it, Creon should still have respect for his own blood. Creon tends to only think of himself and does whatever he wants without thinking twice about or what harm it could cause others. Haimon heard that Creon was being rude and unfair and proclaimed, “Now Don’t please,/ be so single-minded, self-involved,/ or assume the world is wrong and you are right” (Ant 789-791). Haimon sticks up for himself allowing him to stop being controlled by his powerful father. Creon then decides to lock Antigone away for good. Creon says “True. Not a word of hope--- your doom is sealed” and decides to give Antigone a much slower less public death and lock her in a secluded cave. (Ant 1027). Creon’s overreaction and selfishness shows what kind of ruler he is and how little family means to him. Although Creon is considered the tragic hero of the play, he shows no emotion or morals for his family and should not be considered a strong
He does not allow Polynices to be buried and even though Creon thinks it is right to leave the traitor unburied, it leads to more problems and later, mistakes. Another one of Creon’s mistakes is that he punished Antigone for burying Polynices. If it weren’t family, the punishment would be okay, but punishing someone for burying their family is never okay. Creon also makes a tragic flaw. He doesn’t listen to any of the countless people that attempt to give him advice on sending Antigone off to be killed. He is a weak, afraid leader and the mere thought of admitting he was wrong scares
during their argument over the burial. Creon still annoyed at Antigone decides her punishment and says “I’ll take her to a deserted spot / And bury her alive in a trench. She’ll have enough food to avoid the curse,---The people mustn’t suffer because of her (Sophocles 20).” which Creon felt that with this punishment Antigone would be able to choose whether if she lives or dies in her tomb. All of Creon’s arguments including the one with Antigone started showing the people around Creon that he was not up for taking much advice from others which led to more people trying to convince Creon that he was in the
Creon is so grieved by this that he sees no comfort, crying “I look for comfort; my comfort lies here dead…Fate has brought all my pride to a thought of dust” (245). Though he did commit a terrible action, he didn’t deserve to lose all of his family. Creon received a punishment much worse than what he deserved, while Antigone received punishment when she deserved none. Her death was an honorable one. For this reason, the audience feels more pity for Creon.
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.
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.
Sophocles, a famous and renowned Greek dramatist, is the playwright to both the play Oedipus the King and Antigone. Along with Antigone and Oedipus Sophocles had also wrote Electra and Fete. Sophocles wrote many Greek tragedies which are plays in which the main character in the play suffers a tragedy due to some flaw of theirs. An example would be how Oedipus (thinking he is defying a prophecy) murders his father and weds his mother. His flaw was him trying to defy fate if he had not just stayed where he was he would’ve been fine. His works are referred to and taught all over the world in many schools along with colleges; this should give light to how will written his plays are and how
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).”
By the end of the play, Antigone was already dead and Creon was doomed to a life of hatred and sorrow. It was to late for Antigone when she was in the cell for her to try
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
The opening events of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, quickly establish the central conflict between Antigone and Creon. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices, who tried to burn down the temple of gods in Thebes, must not be given proper burial. Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and insists on the sacredness of family and a symbolic burial for her brother. Whereas Antigone sees no validity in a law that disregards the duty family members owe one another, Creon's point of view is exactly opposite. He has no use for anyone who places private ties above the common good, as he proclaims firmly to the Chorus and the audience as he revels in his victory over Polynices. He sees Polynices as an enemy to
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.
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
Many lessons can be learned from Sophocles plays Oedipus the King and Antigone. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus caused his fate to become real by running from it. He killed his father and made love to his mother even though he had no idea who they were he was still punished. He passed the punishment of his sins to the rest of his family when he gouged out his eyeballs and banished himself from the city. In Antigone Oedipus’s sons killed each other in battle over the throne and helped Creon take over the throne. He made a law that no one could bury Polynices but Antigone, Polynices sister, tried to bury him anyway. The king sentence her to death when he found out and his son, Antigone's fiance, killed himself making Creon realize what a
Creon has no toleration for people who place personal beliefs over the common good. He believes that government and law is the supreme authority, and civil disobedience is worst form of sin. The problem with Creon’s argument is he approaches He approaches every dilemma that requires judgement through descriptive generalizations. In contrast to the morality defined by Aristotle in his Nicomachaean Ethics, Creon shows that he is deaf to the knowledge of particulars--of place, time, manner, and persons, which is essential for moral reasoning. In short, he does not effectively bring together general principles and specific situations Creon does not acknowledge that emotion, and perception are as critical to proper moral consideration as reason. This explains why he does not respond accordingly with the reasoning of the guard, Tiresias the prophet, Antigone, her sister Ismene, or even his own son Haemon. Throughout the whole play, Creon emphasizes the importance of practical judgement over a sick, illogical mind, when in fact it is him who has the sick, illogical mind. He too exhibits pride in his argument. To Antigone and most of the Athenians, possessing a wise and logical mind means acknowledging human limitations and behaving piously towards the gods. Humans must take a humble attitude towards fate and the power of the gods, yet Creon mocks death throughout the play. He doest not learn his lesson until the end of the play when he speaks respectfully of
The opening events of the play quickly establish the central conflict. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices must not be given proper burial, and Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and insist on the sacredness of family. Whereas Antigone sees no validity in a law that disregards the duty family members owe one another, Creon’s point of view is exactly opposite. He has no use for anyone who places private ties above the common good, as he proclaims firmly to the Chorus and the audience as he revels in his victory over Polynices. Creon’s first speech, which is dominated by words such as “principle,” “law,” “policy,” and “decree,” shows the extent to which Creon fixates on government and law as the