Flaws Of Creon In Antigone

Creon is a man who has just become the king of Thebes and has a flaw of having too much pride. He can’t control the power of being over other people and he lets the power go to his head. “ I now possess the throne and all its powers. No, he must be left unburied, his corpse carrion for the birds and dogs

     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 has a “fatal flaw” that contributes to his fate and it is his arrogance. Creon feels powerful and important because he thinks he is an essential part of everyone’s life. He upholds what he thinks is the right position for himself in power and he is so determined for control. This flaw leads to his own tragic fate because without his arrogance, no one would take him seriously or follow him and he would not take himself seriously, so therefor his life would settle for less than it did.

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

This quote explains the main conflict of the play. Creon has ordered that Polynices, Antigone’s brother, cannot receive a proper burial because in Creon’s eyes he is a traitor. Polynices fought against his brother to claim the throne of Thebes, the pair ended up killing each other. Tiresias tries to tell Creon that he is wrong to do this because it is angering the gods that he is denying them a body. Tiresias even warns Creon not to be stubborn, “Stubborness/ brands you for stupidity-pride is a crime.” (1137-1138). Pride in Greek tragedies is most often the cause of a characters downfall and Creon is no exception.

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.

Due to his unwavering pride and refusal to see through the eyes of others, Creon falls from his position of immense power and wealth which in the end doesn’t matter because all his loved ones and family are now dead.

The qualifications of a tragic hero vary between Aristotle and Shakespeare. Aristotle thinks of a tragic hero as someone who is a noble character by choice and makes his/her own destiny, while Shakespeare sees a tragic hero as someone who is born of nobility and born to be important. Although both tragic hero's end in a tragic death that effects many people, not all tragic hero's fit perfectly into both categories. In Sophocles’ Antigone, Creon is considered a tragic hero. Creon follows Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero by being a noble character by choice, having important potential, and falls due to "miscalculations" with circumstances that are beyond control.

Creon’s tragedy was being king and having to show a good example to the citizens of Thebes in order to help it stay together after the war. This lead to a struggle between moral beliefs and the maintaining law which was more clearly explored in the film. Antigone felt that it was more important to keep her promise to her brother than following the law that was placed that would endanger her life. Even with many opportunities to save her life she decided to continue in her goal of burying her brother. The ideas expressed by the chorus reveal the characters like Creon and Antigone lead themselves to their own fates through their

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

His actions that he takes to things are not right and is not the just thing to do. All though, Haemon is the son of Creon he is not shy to tell his dad what's wrong and says “Because of who you are, you can’t perceive all the things men say or do- or their complaints” (Antigone 781). This quote shows how Creon is being too cruel to the town and inflicts fear to the whole town. From Creon’s ruling, he has brought forward the wrong image that he intended to the city and ends in his downfall. Even though, Creon is the King Haemon tells his father “Your gaze makes citizens afraid -they can’t say anything to you would not like to hear” (Antigone 784). This quote shows Creon’s ruling isn’t going as he wanted to but doesn’t see that till it's too late. Creon doesn’t get that the whole town is afraid of him and continues to make mistakes in his ruling. Even though Creon is the overall ruler he is very cruel to his town and also very arrogant at the same

Lastly, Creon shows that he can be really disrespectful towards his family and his people. “And men my age—are we then going to school to learn what’s wise from men as young as him?” (lines 824-825) Creon making judgment on his son based on his age and his authority shows how Creon can disrespect someone who is arguing reasonably. He began to compare his son Haemon to a child, because age. Disrespecting the intelligence that Haemon holds as son of Creon.

From the beginning, Creon’s inability to look at the bigger picture costs him his relationship with his family. Afraid of losing his newly appointed role as king, he wants to lead the citizens by example, which

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

Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from ancient Greece. Antigone is a play written by the famous playwright Sophocles around 400BC. The play revolves around Creon, the ruler of Thebes, and Antigone, the daughter of the former ruler of Thebes. Creon demands that Antigone’s brother, Polyneices, will not have a proper burial, since he betrayed the city. Committing to her religion, Antigone decides to go against Creon’s will and buries her brother. Once caught, the only certainty Antigone is going to face is death. Stuck between civil and divine law, both characters try to justify their actions, only to find themselves shift from one to another.