Haemon and Creon's Relationship Essay

The conditionality of burying the dead shows that gods’ law is less sacred for Antigone than she claims to be. Neither does she care about her living families. She humiliates Ismene publicly, causing Creon’s death indirectly and set her uncle Creon in a dilemma where he needs to punish his daughter-in-law. Her real incentive is individual reputation, for she excludes Ismene from standing by her and asks Ismene to spread the news about her defiant act. She seems to use religion and family as elegant reasons to achieve honor. On the contrary, Creon, as a king, weights the interest of the overall state more than his own family. After experiencing the civil war caused by Polyneices, he understands the great need of the polis for order and thus enacts harsh laws to punish people causing riots. Unanimous obedience to law would also encourage his people to fight bravely in the war by being “loyal and dauntless at his comrades’s side”. Creon has to retain the validity and effectiveness of the law, because if every citizen can pursue any personal interest without fear for grave consequences, the entire social operation mechanism would break down. Punishing Antigone is necessary to retain the order of the polis.

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.

     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

How does a king rule with a narrow mind? In Sophocles’s ancient tragedy, Antigone, the young woman, Antigone, had buried her brother, which was declared illegal by King Creon. Once Creon discovers her deed, he immediately sentenced her to a slow death, trapped in a cave. Haemon, Creon’s son and Antigone’s fiancé, pleads his father to change his mind and consider the people’s thoughts in contrast to his own. Haemon serves as a foil for Creon’s development as a tragic hero by highlighting Creon’s narrow mindedness, harsh nature, and boastful pride.

“Am I to rule this land at someone else’s whim or by myself?” (Lines 836-837) says Creon, angrily to his son Haemon, who is attempting to reason with him about the execution of his fiance, Antigone. This causes an uproar between the two and brings out Creon's selfish intentions. Throughout the story the conflict with the ideals and motivations between the two change the theme of the story from love and loyalty to hatred and betrayal. This not only contributes to Creon’s characteristics of a tragic hero, but also to the suicide of both, Antigone and Haemon.

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

In addition, Creon also has an inaccurate view of his place in relation to the gods. He believes that man’s laws are more important than the laws of the gods. Antigone tries to defend her decision to bury her brother by proclaiming, “I do not think your edicts have such power that they can override the laws of heaven…If I transgressed these laws because I feared the arrogance of man, how to the god’s could I make satisfaction” (line 408)? Creon’s hubris causes him to think that he must put Antigone to death because she chooses to follow the god’s laws over his.

However, Haemon speculates otherwise by stating relevant inferences that Creon tends to be blinded from. For instance, after Creon declares his cruel opinions, Haemon suggests, “You are not in position to know everything / That people say or do, or what they feel: / Your temper terrifies them­­everyone” (990). This reveals how Haemon is trying to advise his father about his improper regulations toward the people and how most are too afraid to overcome him. He also offers the idea of everybody having diverse viewpoints can result beneficially. Another example that displays his eagerness to change Creon’s mindset is when he states, “In flood time you can see how some trees bend, / And because they bend, even their twigs are safe, / While stubborn trees are torn up, roots and all” (991). In this passage, Haemon uses figurative language toward his father in order avoid further controversy. So, Haemon finds a softer tone of voice and uses this metaphor to state his position. The metaphor reveals how Haemon believes Antigone should have the right to bury her brother, since this is what the Gods wanted her to do. Creon

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.

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.

Two of the contrasting principles in the conflict between Creon and Antigone is the rights of citizens as opposed to the sovereign power of leaders. On page 83, Antigone states, “Nor did I think your edict had such force that you, a mortal, could override the gods, the great unwritten, unshakable traditions”. She values her religious freedom over the laws of political leaders, such as Creon. Unlike man-made laws, her religion was eternal. In addition, Haemon says on page 95, “But it’s for me to catch the murmurs in the dark, the way the city mourns for this young girl. ‘No woman,’ they say, ‘ever deserved death less, and such a brutal death for such a glorious action.” While no other citizen of Thebes had ever disobeyed Creon, they were all

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

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

Creon's priority on the polis is asserted when he tells Haemon, "If anyone offends, or violates the laws,/ No word of praise shall he ever have from me./ Whoever the state appoints must be obeyed,/ In little things or great things, right or wrong"(646-650). Creon says that when anyone goes against state rules, that person should be punished, even if he is one's own son. Very strict on this issue, he will not honor anything less than respecting the state's rules, for "Such is my policy; foul play shall never / Triumph over honest merit, if I can help it, / But the man who loves his city shall receive / Honor from me, in his life and in his death" (201-205). However, Antigone feels differently and thus clashes with Creon throughout the play. She thinks nothing is more important than performing the last rites over