Haemon By Creon Character Analysis

Creon’s son Haemon does not want his wife to be to be put to death and pleads with his father. “ I see my father offending justice wrong. That she’ll die but her death will kill another.”(1287) Haemon reveals to the his father that if he continues with killing his wife to be he will flee his presence and kill himself for his love Antigone. In the end Creon realizes that his pride has lead to the destruction of his life and his kingdom. “ I know it myself- I’m shaken, torn. It’s a dreadful thing to yield…but resist now? Lay my pride bare to the blows of ruin? That’s dreadful too.” (1296) King Creon realizes to little to late and because of his pride he loses his son, wife, and daughter in law. “And the guilt is all mine- can never be fixed on another man, no escape for me.

Full of drama and tragedy, Antigone can be used to relate to current conflicts. One such conflict is that between Haemon and his father Creon. Haemon looks up to Creon with honor and pride, but as conflict arises, that relation is disassociated and new feelings grow. The first conversation between them is what initiates the downfall of their bond. While it seems that Creon is the most important person in Haemon’s life, Antigone is in fact the one that has won Haemon over.

Haemon shows his love to Antigone by revolting his father 's authority and committing suicide. Haemon is the son of Creon and Eurydice and is engaged to Antigone. He always respects and obeys Creon, taking Creon for a model. However, the decree of killing Antigone causes his violent controversy with his father because he is afraid of losing his fiancé—Antigone. Haemon defends the moral behavior of Antigone and reasons with Creon to change

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

Creon orders the guards to take Antigone away not caring for his son's feelings, since she is his fiancée. Creon feels the law should stand despite the fact that Antigone was his niece or how moral her act was. "Bring her [Antigone] out! Let her die before his eyes..." (Scene 3, 130). This quotes shows that Creon took his position as king seriously to the point where in he was willing to sacrifice the feelings of his own son. He was willing to be the cause of son's destruction just to prove that he is the king and always right. "I will go... I buried her, I will set her free" (scene 5, 102,104). Not only does this quote show leadership but also stubbornness he was risking his relationship with his son to prove that he was the leader of Thebes. Creon says another quote which shows his loyalty to his kingdom, "I call to God to witness that if I saw my country headed for ruin, I should not be afraid to speak out plainly," (Sophocles, scene 1,24-26). It shows his strong sense of leadership which catches up with him in the end causing destruction.

Creon blatantly refuses to listen to other’s advice or criticism of his rule. His son, Haemon, argues for Antigone’s life, for she had committed an act of love and the people are in her favor. He tries to persuade his father by saying, “Those sailors who keep their sails stretched tight, never easing off, make their ship capsize—and from that point on sail with their rowing benches all submerged” (Lines

Haemon asks Creon to let Antigone go, because he said he heard that “the city

By doing so Haemon hopes to help his father realize his mistake.- Throughout his argument Haemon uses strong sources and his father's insecurities to build his argument. These sources include the people of Thebes “But I, at any rate, can listen; and I have heard them Muttering and whispering in the dark about this girl” (Sophocles line 11-12). By using these sources Haemon emotionally manipulates his father by using his insincerities against him. He uses logical reason to support his claim and also uses personal examples “What could be closer? Must not any son value his father’s fortune as his father does his?” (Sophocles line 21-22). Haemon is showing that he has a personal stake in the matter and that he is in a way trying to protect his father and his bride. Adding on to his emotional appeals haemon uses parallelism to repeatedly grab creon’s attention and get his point across. The entire point of his argument is for creon to admit the he was in the wrong for going against divine law and punishing antigone. Haemon's statement supports his main cause for setting his bride to be, antigone, free. The details and emotional appeals are meant to impress upon creon that this is a problem worth

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 becomes so prideful to the point where he will not listen to anyone, and will not acknowledge he is wrong. During a conversation with Haemon, Creon tells him, “No. I am king, and only

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.

“Am I to rule this land at someone else’s whim or by myself?” (Lines 836-837). Creon truly does not see what he is doing wrong in his ruling. He believes that because he has been made king and given all power, it is the job of all other people to accept and follow every decision he makes. Haemon says “A city which belongs to just one man is no true city” (Lines 838-839), which must’ve really made Creon had to think.

Creon was close-minded and unreceptive of anything Haemon had to say, despite the fact that he presented such a strong argument, displaying both a wise and well thought-out case. Creon overlooked Haemon’s advice and chose to focus on the insignificant detail that he was simply too young lacking life experience, rather than concentrating on what he was actually saying. Truth

They don’t agree with what I have decreed.”(Sophocles). When Haemon defied him, it was like a rude awakening, like ‘wow, not everyone is blindly faithful’. This showed how oblivious Creon was. He was so greedy and blinded by power that he didn’t think of how his decisions affected his people.

He then states he (Creon) alone can’t be right and “other men who can reason, too; and their opinions might be helpful. You are not in a position to know everything” (Sophocles 218). By jogging Creon’s memory that he can’t have an overview of everything, Haemon is endeavoring to help Creon reason and to be open mind. In haemon’s next assertion he describes how, “she kept him from dogs and vultures. Is this a crime? Death- she should have all the honor that we can give her!” this tells the readers that if she would have died it would be unjust to die in shame for what was an act of glory, justice and that she should deserve a crown of gold and glory(218). At the end Haemon uses a plan to make threats against his father, after his father says Antigone must die, Haemon responded with an ultimatum answer “then she must die, but her death will cause another” (222). As Haemon dashing off in anger, Creon knows that if Antigone were to be executed, so will his son. Having no choose but Creon didn’t want Haemon to save Antigone so he carried Antigone into a living tomb (the cave) all locked up and supplied her with food just enough food to clear of its guilt of