Is Creon truly a bad, cold hearted person or is it his position and desire for manhood that causes his actions to defeat him? In Antigone, written by Sophocles, Creon is the tragic hero, given that his tragic flaw causes his downfall. He constantly is letting his pride get in the way of doing what is right. After being told time and time again that he should reverse the mistakes he has made, he gives up on standing his ground. Creon learns fate cannot be escaped and he will suffer many sorrowful consequences. One could argue that Antigone is the tragic hero of the play. Creon creates a strict law that Polyneices should not be …show more content…
Creon's self-confidence overrides doing what is right, and causes him to make poor choices. Creon refuses to hear and consider the opinions and ideas of others. He is stubborn and convinced that he is doing what is right by killing Antigone and not burying Polyneices. He does not want to "show [himself] weak before the people or to break [his]sworn word" (iii.26). Creon cares more about his control and power over the people than his character. Creon refuses to lose the loyalty and respect of his people. He wants to be in control. Haemon tells his father, King Creon, "There are other men who can reason, too;and their opinions might be helpful. [He is] not in a position to know everything" (iii.55). Creon is creating an anarchy rather than a democracy. He will not listen to others because of his fear of losing his masculinity. The people of Thebes do not believe killing Antigone is right, and they lose respect for the King. Teiresias gets a sign from the gods that a terrible fate is coming, making Creon aware that he may suffer some dreadful consequences.
His tragic flaw of excessive pride and arrogance prevents him from being able to logically access circumstances. He goes through a sudden reversal of fortune where he suffers from catastrophic losses, and he realizes that his misfortunes are caused by his own doings. Creon, being the brother of the late queen Jocasta, uncle and brother-in-law to the banished King Oedipus, and uncle to the former King Eteocles has extremely high noble stature (Doc C). Also, he comes from a position of extreme power, as shown by his three separate crowning as King of Thebes. Because of this, Creon as a tragic hero, has much to lose and will “fall from tremendous good fortune” (Doc C), causing the audience to feel a sense of “pity and fear” (Doc C) for Creon. His loss of his family and status due to his tragic flaw makes the audience pity him because his “punishment exceeds the crime” (Doc C) while making them subconsciously fear for themselves because “the hero is better than we are, and still failed” (Doc C). If the hero who is better than we are failed, then how will we compare? Sophocles creates the epitome of a tragic hero in his tragedy, Antigone, by capturing all five traits of a tragic hero into one character:
Through his actions Creon causes himself from being in complete control to losing everything, in Antigone, by Sophocles. Creon’s flaw of being arrogant causes him to lose everyone he loves because he chose not to listen to the advice of other people, causing him to lose complete control. Creon believes that since he is in charge he does not have to listen to other people and he is always right, his arrogance overtook him.
Creon, A Tragic Hero In the play, “Antigone” we are shown a character named “Creon” and how he became such a tragic hero in the play. He shown about who he was and how big he was in the play. So much flaws he had, and hubris that caused his ultimate downfall. Creon does not listen to anyone, he’s also very stubborn.
Antigone, written by Sophocles is a tale of a tragic hero who suffers with the recognition and realization of his tragic flaw. Although this short story is titled after Antigone, Creon is the main character and he provides the moral significance in the play. First, Creon withholds the respect of his citizens but it is clear to them he is not perfect through his pride (tragic flaw). Secondly, his radical reversal of fortune is made clear after he struggles with the recognition of his fatal flaw. Thirdly and lastly, his pity and fear flowers into an understanding of his prideful and destructive nature leading to his redemption. Nevertheless he is left with the burden of the deaths of
In the play Antigone the reader's lower the tragic hero down to antigone and creon. This essay will explain who it is and why. This play was written by Sophocles in the 5th century B.C. as part of the dionysus tribute ceremony. It was the third part of the oedipus cycle trilogy. My claim is that creon is the tragic hero.
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
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
A tragic hero is a character in a play that is known for being dignified but has a flaw that assists in his or her downfall. Antigone is a Greek tragic piece written by Sophocles. In the theatrical production the use of power and morality versus law is evident. The promotion to the conflict was that Creon created a law in which enabled Polynieces, Antigone’s brother, to be buried in the proper way. As it is the way of the gods Antigone found it fit to bury her brother causing her to disobey the law of Thebes. Both Antigone and Creon, the main characters, could represent a tragic hero. However Creon is more eligible for being the tragic hero because he fits the definition. Aristotle’s idea of a tragic hero was that the character was of
In the play Antigone, Creon starts off as the loyal king of Thebes. He is loyal to the gods and loyal to the welfare of Thebes. However, over the course of the play, Creon degenerates into a tyrant. His degeneration is showing his character development. Creon’s pride about the human law also develops throughout the play, creating conflict with the divine law. When Antigone rebels against his law, he becomes stubborn, and makes myopic decisions and grows into his hamartia. Besides his hamartia, Creon’s position as the king makes him a power hungry man. His power madness degenerates him into becoming a ruthless and vindictive man, even to his family. However, over the course of the play, Creon begins to see that because of the laws of men, he was being blinded of what’s
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.
Of the many characteristics that can describe Creon, prideful is one of the strongest descriptions of him. Throughout the tragedy, Creon reveals indirectly that he has a major tragic flaw: Self-pride. Antigone is considered to have the tragic flaw of excess ambition, exemplar by this quote: “…Is less of importance; but if I had left my brother lying in death unburied, I should have suffered. Now I do not.” (Sophocles 2. 79-81) Her ambition lies in this quote because she is defying the King Creon. However, many characters in stories have the ability to obtain the trait of ambition; whereas self-pride is a more unique trait. Creon’s pride may have gotten him into a bad situation and his trait may have caused him to pay for his own consequences, but a tragic hero has the ability to learn from their own actions. Creon learned
Every Greek tragedy must have a tragic hero. In Sophocle’s play, Antigone, the most tragic hero is Creon. He is an essentially good man of high position who takes pride in his role as king. He possesses the tragic flaws of excessive pride and an oversized ego. This causes the tragic reversal that leads to his emotional ruin and eventual remorse and repentance.
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.
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
He is too proud and arrogant to change his ways like when Teiresias warns him of his fate yet he refuses and says, “Whatever you say, you will not change my will.” Due to Creon’s unchallenged law and sentence, Antigone yearns for justice to be enforced on him. There is a very good example where she states, “But if the guilt lies upon Creon who judged me, then, I pray, may his punishment equal my own.” With all of these themes in the story, it further complicates the role of an individual on society.