Oedipus The King Creon Character Analysis

Leaders have unique character traits that ultimately determine how he or she act when faced with a difficult situation. Oedipus and Creon are noble leaders in the city of Thebes. Oedipus is the king, and Creon is the queen’s brother. Both of these men care dearly about the city of Thebes. Despite the similarities between Oedipus and Creon, they differ greatly in a number of important ways.

In ‘Antigone”, Ismene says, “To them that walk in power; to exceed is madness, and not wisdom”. Her statement makes it clear, those who “walk in power”, allow it to corrupt them. Throughout the history of humanity there has been a correlation between those who have excessive power and corruption. Webster’s Dictionary defines corruption as, “impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle”. In the story of Antigone the tragic hero Creon, shows all of the common characteristics of corruption. Before one can analysis the character of Creon they would first have to look at the story of Oedipus the King.

     At first glance, Oedipus and Creon are two very different people. But as time progresses their personalities and even their fates grow more and more similar. In Sophocles’s play “Oedipus the King”, Oedipus and Creon are two completely opposite people. Oedipus is brash and thoughtless, whilst Creon is wise and prudent. In “Oedipus the King”, Oedipus effectively portrays the idea of the classic “flawed hero”. He becomes arrogant and brash. He accuses Creon and Tiresias of treachery. Even worse however, Oedipus goes against the gods. This causes them to punish him severely. Creon is the exact antithesis of Oedipus. He thinks before he acts. Creon is wise and loyal. In Sophocles’ other

In his essay, “Introduction to Oedipus the King”, Bernard Knox supports free will by stating that Oedipus’ downfall was not caused by fate. According to Knox there is not a doubt that, “Oedipus is the free agent who, by his own self-willed action, discovers that his own predicted destiny has already been fulfilled” (86). He clearly states that Oedipus is responsible for his free actions during the play. He insists that Oedipus’s made the decisions to discover the truth about himself.

In all works of literature you will find characters that change. From Oedipus the King to Antigone, Creon changes a great deal. In Oedipus the King, Creon has no intention whatsoever of being king. By the end of the play he makes it clear that his intentions have changed and he does want to take Oedipus’s power and become King of Thebes. When we see Creon in Antigone he has become king and he begins to make his mistakes.

The theme of sight and blindness is undoubtedly important to notice while reading Oedipus the King. The number of times the words “see” or “blind” are in the play make it make it undeniably obvious that they are significant. The theme is developed throughout the dialogue, through characters such as Tiresias and Oedipus, and also directly in the irony of the play. It is important in a play about the truth because almost every character was “blind” to the truth. All of the characters, except one, can physically see, but mentally cannot see the truth.

He thinks everything through with intelligence and reason. For example, as Oedipus rants, Creon stays calm and collected instead of firing back. When Oedipus says Creon is plotting against him, he tells Oedipus “No. Reason it out, as I have done. Think of this first: Would any sane man prefer power, with all a king’s anxieties, to that same power and the grace of sleep. Certainly not I.” In Oedipus at Colonus he is much more ambitious. He decides things quickly and irrationally.  For instance, he kidnaps Oedipus’s daughters when Oedipus denies to return to Thebes and when the chorus threatens him he says “Your city will have war if you hurt

It was only after counseling with Teiresias that Creon changes his view on his rule. At first, Creon rejects all of the seer’s insight and views him as wrong and idiotic. Teiresias knows that Creon cannot escape his doomed, predestined fate and later prophecies”...strange noise of birds...harsh and dissonant impetus...murderous talons; for the whirr of wings” (Sophocles 54). Understanding the gods, Tiresias comprehends they are angry and they sense corruption in the city of Thebes and in the leader. Creon reconsiders his foolish actions and obeys the wise seer and sentinel. After he leaves, he gives Eteocles a proper burial and returns to the tomb where he realized his mistakes too late and his son and Antigone commit suicide.

Both Pericles and Creon have strong, yet differing opinions in terms of leadership and honor, however there are some aspects in which they overlap.

There are some things that humans can’t change about themselves. Humans all have impulses at times. Humans have all held some kind of prejudice before. They’re both just human nature. Human nature doesn’t define someone as a person, and there’s nothing wrong with it.

    Temptation is ever present in our society and always has been throughout human history. When a person gives into temptation, this is seen as a sign of weakness. Usually, after a person has given into temptation once, that person will find each successive temptation easier and easier to give in to. Before realizing it, this person has changed into a completely false, morally lacking being. Over the course of Sophocles' three plays Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus, Creon gradually changes from a moral, just king into a morally corrupt and deceptive character.

In the play Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, a man named Oedipus is trying to figure out what is causing a plague in the city. Throughout the play, many people are trying to give him clues that he is the cause for marrying his mother. Realizing this, Oedipus stabs out his eyeballs and leaves the city. In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, Antigone buried Polyneices, and Creon wants to have her killed because of it. Tiresias, the blind prophet, tries to persuade Creon that the gods actually want Polyneices buried. Creon then wants to release Antigone, but she had already hung herself. The rest of the family then commits suicide. In the end of both plays, Creon and Oedipus both suffer due to blindness vs. sight.

Through history, everyone is trying to rise to the top. However, the ones at the top are not always the most suitable. This becomes evident in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, where Oedipus becomes the ruler of Thebes after defeating the Sphinx. Throughout the story, Oedipus fails to meet the characteristics of a good leader, including: humbleness, selflessness and patience.

After a long established rule as king, a plague afflicted the land. Over the years, Oedipus had “delegated much of his authority, in complete reliance on his efficiency and dependa-bility” (Peterkin 265) to Creon. In trying to relieve his subjects suffering, Oedipus sends his valued right hand man, Creon, to consult the oracle. Oedipus was hoping to receive some revelation as to why his kingdom was suffering so. Upon his return, Creon prudently wanted to speak privately with Oedipus. During this exchange, Creon is presented as a cautious, yet matter-of-fact kind of person. The King would not hear of a private conversation as he wanted everything to be in the public’s eye, so as not to hide the truth. Creon reveals, as tactfully as possible, that the Gods were angry that King Laios murder went unpunished. This is what was causing the plague to besiege

Oedipus the King is a Greek tragedy play written by Sophocles, and it made its first debut