A hero is typically an individual that does unordinary and brave actions, and others tend look up to them because of their heroism. In Antigone and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, there are multiple characters that embody the characteristics of a hero. Antigone is a Greek writing that exemplifies what it means to stand for what you believe in as well as having a tragic downfall due to one's own fault. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a Middle English work that precisely goes through the Hero’s Journey. The two characters in Antigone that demonstrate their heroism is Antigone and Creon. Both Antigone and Creon show their stubborness throughout the story, but one more so than the other. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight are also both heros …show more content…
Creon, also in Antigone, exemplifies a true tragic hero. In the beginning of Creon’s leadership, he was convinced that he was the best King ever, and that everyone had to abide by his law and his law only. He was born into a high social class and thought everything revolved around him. “See that you never side with those who break my orders” (Sophocles 245) demonstrates Creon’s overconfidence because he believes that the laws of the god are below the importance of the laws of men. A mistake of Creon was how he determined Antigone’s punishment because he was more concerned about his public reputation, and he didn’t want a woman to rise above him. Creon was blinded by his own pride and dignity which ultimately caused his downfall. Tiresias had a prophecy and even tried to warn Creon that his pride was being frowned upon by the gods. “Stubbornness/brands you for stupidity---pride is a crime”(Sophocles 1136-1137). An epiphany occurred, “I know it myself—-I’m shaken, torn/ it’s a dreadful thing to yield.../lay my pride bare to the blows of ruin?/ that’s dreadful too” (Sophocles 1218-1221), in which he realized his hubris affected his place in the world and how he dealt with challenges. A journey occurred as his flaws came to light in his eyes. He felt guilty about his actions and at the end of the play he stated that, “I killed you, I, god help me, I admit it all!”(Sophocles 1443-1444), even though it was too late for him to be taught wisdom.
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
Heroes come in many forms. The construction of "the heroic" has taken many forms, yet traits such as: courage, honor, and loyalty, reappear as themes throughout the "hero" personality. The characters of Beowulf and Sir Gawain each represent a version of a hero, yet each comes across quite differently in their story. A hero can be said to truly win if he remains constant to his noble values when put in any situation that crosses his way. When measured by that criterion, Sir Gawain stands out above Beowulf as a true hero, due to his command of both personal and spiritual power through the use of thought, as well as valiant deeds.
Hero. Hero comes from the greek word heros meaning “A person who faces adversity, or demonstrates courage, in the face of danger.” Growing up we have always read stories about heroes coming to save the day; for instance, Captain America. Being that our whole lives we were mostly exposed to heroism, have you ever asked yourself what is the opposite of a hero? A villain is the opposite of a hero, but their is another opposite form of a hero; a tragic hero. A Tragic hero is “A literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction” (“Tragic hero as defined by Aristotle”). For instance, in the play written by Sophocles Antigone, the tragic hero is Creon. Creon who is Antigone’s
“Tell me briefly—not in some lengthy speech— were you aware there was a proclamation forbidding what you did?” (503-505). The actions, context of Antigone’s words, and also the ideas she proposed, very indepthly contrasted with Creon’s character. Thus resulting in there being a verbal confrontation between the two characters. The conflict between the two caused conflicting motivations such as stubbornness, disrespect, and anger to be projected with Creon’s character. Ultimately, these conflicting motivations develop Creon as a tragic hero by portraying that he knew, the decisions he made were of error, and the character interactions advance the plot by causing conflict throughout the play. Creon had also begun to change throughout the play,
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
Even though Antigone exhibits a blamable pride and a hunger for glory, her disobedience is less serious than those of Creon. It is evident that Antigone’s actions are driven by a love for her brother, and a desire to please the gods. While Creon’s actions are
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.
Showing hubris and having a fate greater than deserved are two characteristics of a tragic hero like Creon. Creon is extremely prideful throughout the play, and his fate is exceedingly tragic, even for someone seen as as the antagonist. Creon tried his hardest to mend his mistakes, and yet still ended up alone and mourning. He learned what he did wrong and attempted to free Antigone, but still ended up in a rut. The suffering of Creon can be a lesson to people, not to let pride cloud your
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.
Greek plays include the element of the tragic flaw to demonstrate how mistakes can greatly affect one’s life; especially in Greek culture because one wrong mistake and the Gods could be very offended. In the Greek play, Antigone, Creon illustrates a tragic hero because his pride and ego took over his morals of resembling a good ruler. Historically, this would mean Creon’s Hubris, or over-weaning pride, makes him a tragic hero. Creon is a tragic hero because his demise as a ruler is illustrated from the beginning of the play, to the middle, and to the end of it. Creon began his kinghood with promise of being a successful leader, but his Hubris ultimately led up to his tragic flaw.
The definition of “hero” is someone who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Both stories listed below have one man, the hero, using chivalrous attitude to help their town’s people for the better. Although created from two different time periods, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’s journey motif can be easily compared to Beowulf’s, as well as contrasted.
Sophocles, in Antigone, says that in a world where we cannot tell between what is right and what is wrong, we should be aware of our values and act with caution. He says that we should set aside the inherent pride we have in our beliefs as we can never know what is truly right. His message is to not cling onto our values and instead be more open to ideas from the outside, otherwise consequences will arise. Everyone has a set of beliefs which they hold to be their guidelines for life. Everyone has values, things that they believe are “right.”
The poem Inferno and that of Beowulf shows various acts by the character and other participating parties in the two poems. Among the characters, there is a show of modern heroism as depicted by the characters Dante and Beowulf. A hero is one who is endowed with strength and courage with boldly acts and great favor in their acts. Further characteristics of a hero are deeds of nobility and stand-off acts in the sacrifice of oneself with particular achievements in the long run.
Creon shows his self pride obviously when he said, “But whoever shows by word and deed that he is on the side of the State, he shall have my respect while he is living, and my reverence when he is dead” (Sc. 1, lns. 52-55). Antigones’s tragic flaw can be seen as an act of justice to some and just breaking the law to others.
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.