Pride And Pride In Sogore, By SophoclesAntigone

On page 737, the last lines of the Choragos are, “There is no happiness where there is no wisdom; No wisdom but in submission to the gods. Big words are always punished, and proud men in old age learn to be wise.” While this quote can seem confusing, but the explanation is really simple. You cannot be happy unless you are intelligent, and arrogant men can only gain this happiness once they are mature enough. This rings true to Creon’s character arc throughout Antigone, he only loses his pride once he learns his lesson and lost everything.

Pride is a quality that all people possess in one way or another. Some people take pride in their appearance, worldly possessions, or position in society. The story of Antigone written by Sophocles has two characters who have a tragic flaw of pride. I will show how Creon’s pride of power leads to his destruction, and how Antigone’s pride makes her an honorable character who should be treated as a hero.

John Lennon said, “Part of me suspects that I’m a loser, and the other part of me thinks I’m God Almighty.” Hubris, or excessive pride, was one of the biggest themes in Ancient Greek culture. It has what killed heroes, and destroyed villains in mythology and even real life. In the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, I share the battle that Creon has regarding a conflict of personal character, which leads to the deaths of others caused by his tremendously large ego.

(C.S. Lewis). Pride can take over the lives of people who have it within them. It is ok to feel proud but if the sense of pride is exaggerated it will lead to arrogance and therefore to problems. In the book Antigone, by Sophocles, pride is displayed as good and bad. Pride can have a big impact on people when it is taken for granted. Sophocles uses such powerful language and gives such great imagery with his words that it is apparent pride is greatly implied in his book. The conflicts and morals being taught to us in his book states that pride is something that

Sophocles’ play “Antigone” illustrates the conflict between obeying human and divine law. The play opens after Oedipus’ two sons Eteocles and Polyneices have killed each other in a civil war for the throne of Thebes. Oedipus’ brother in law Creon then assumes the throne. He dictates that Eteocles shall receive a state funeral and honors, while Polyneices shall be left in the streets to rot away. Creon believes that Polyneices’ body shall be condemned to this because of his civil disobedience and treachery against the city. Polyneices’ sister, Antigone, upon hearing this exclaims that an improper burial for Polyneices would be an insult to the Gods. She vows that Polyneices’ body will be buried, and Creon declares that anyone who

When a child is young, the parents always try to get their children to understand the importance of learning from your mistakes as well as valuing other's opinions. However, it is not always easy to admit you are in the wrong. When finally solving an insanely hard calculus problem, but to be told by the teacher your answer is incorrect is never a good feeling. In an excerpt from Antigone, a playwright by Sophocles, the main character, Teiresais states, "all men make mistakes, But a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong... The only crime is pride". By stating this, Sophocles points out that while some understand where they are wrong, those who do not and are too prideful to do so only hurt themselves and society. Today, pride being

In the story of Antigone several characters made major and, definitive decisions based on their subjective morals and emotions. In almost every scenario a specific character was given the ultimatum of life or death. To the reader’s surprise, the characters chose death in order to remain consistent to their personal beliefs. I concluded that Sophocles intended for this element to convey that, people who are dogmatic in their beliefs often act solely on their emotions and are prone to make unintelligent decisions. This analysis will explore the morals of certain characters in Antigone, in an effort to determine whether remaining steadfast in those morals was worth their respective repercussions.

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

After everyone else has failed to convince Creon that he is wrong about sending Antigone away, and old, fervid Prophet comes to visit him. Teiresias is a blind old prophet who tells Creon that the gods are angry at Thebes and will curse it if Creon does not change his arrogant ways. “All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong… The only crime is pride” (232) At first Creon is stubborn still, and insults the skill of prophets, but Teiresias goes on despite the king’s words. Teiresias eaves with a final warning saying if he does not heed the God’s word, he will be punished. After consulting his chorus and hearing Teiresias’ speech Creon finally recognizes that he was wrong. His moment of recognition is “Oh it is hard to give in! but it is worse to risk everything for stubborn pride.” (235)

Pride acts as another major theme; it is what got Creon in this situation in the first place. Creon has too much pride to admit to anyone that maybe he was wrong. Even when he has Antigone he has too much pride to let her go. Creon's own son questions him and he replies, "Am I to stand here and be lectured to by a kid? A man of my experience"(1063)!Creon shows that here he is too proud to change his decision for his own son even if he made the wrong choice. The king's friend the Leader tries to convince Creon to change his mind by telling him "My king, ever since he began I've been debuting in my mind, could this possibly be the work of the gods"(1050). The Leader was trying to tell

“Oh my children, the new blood of ancient Thebes, why are you here?” said Oedipus when addressing his people during his first appearance (1-2). Flamboyant, yes, well in Oedipus the King, the main character Oedipus is a boastful and pompous character faced with troublesome pasts and future predicaments. In actuality, he is king of Thebes and the rightful ruler, but when a plague strikes he is quickly led into a misfortune of events that ultimately leads him to dig his eyes out in attempt to relieve him from the truth he discovers. It then becomes a revelation to distinguish the characteristic fault which leads Oedipus through such tragedy. Only to become apparent, Oedipus’s excessive pride is the main culprit behind his tragic ending. In

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.

Sophocles was born about 496 BC in Colonus Hippius which is now a part of Athens, Greece, he was to become one of the great playwrights of the golden age. Sophocles was the son of Laius and Jocasta, both wealthy in the city that Sophocles grew up in. Luckily, He was the son of a wealthy merchant, he would enjoy all the perks of a successful Greek empire. Sophocles was provided with the best education which would help him in many ways in the future of his life.

Pride is a natural part of a human being. It has driven us to the good and bad things in life. In Book I and VI of the “The Iliad”, the author, Homer shows the importance and existence of pride in the ancient world. Achilleus and Agamemnon were driven by pride in the decision they made. Pride had led the characters to be arrogant, make selfish decisions and self centered.

In “Antigone” by Sophocles, a famous ancient Greek tragedian, the main character, Antigone, demonstrates a prohibited action in a strict, male-dominated society. Greek civilization upheld strong values and rules that were designed to enforce orderly behavior among its people. There were state laws created by the King, Creon, and divine laws created by the Gods. Divine law was superior to the king laws, and if that rule was disrupted, eternal consequences could ruin an individual. In this society, men were mighty, powerful, and in control of the kingdom. Women were traditionally treated as an underclass with no voice or power. Women were restricted from performing any masculine jobs, holding high civilization positions, and disobeying men. Although Greek civilization had strict standards for women, Antigone challenges the law through her actions in order to satisfy the Gods because it is what she thought was the right decision.