The character King Creon has some strong emotions to be shown out. The three emotions/traits that sticked out the most were his determination, his will to accept his mistakes, and his stubbornness. This will show how his emotions stuck out for me.
King Creon has some big determination for being a king. The places where his determination has stuck out the most in the whole story is in the places where antigone disobeys his decree. He gets so determined when it comes to person he called a traitor get honored by the a one of the people he had betrayed. King Creon goes on to ignore everything to get the person to justice for doing what he believed was wrong. He says he will do for what is good for the state. He goes on to say that no friend will
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Creon accepts his mistakes when he knows he losing everything that he has been telling the people he will protect. On page 64, He ask the priest what he must do and the priest says “Go quickly: free Antigone from her vault and build a tomb for the body of Polyneices.”. Then on page 65, Creon says that “It is hard to deny the heart! But i will do it: I will not fight with destiny”. This shows that Creon is finally accepting his mistake because it is hurting the way of his ruling for the country. Not many people accept their mistakes of their actions but for Creon he had to because he was fearing the end of his ruling. On page 67 All of Creon’s actions that he had caused are going downhill and he says that “Nothing you say can touch me anymore. My own blind heart has brought me from darkness to final darkness. Here you see the father murdering, the murdered son--And all my civic wisdom!”. This is showing that he has no other option but accept his mistakes and move on. The mistakes he had done only left him with one option which was accepting the things that had done wrong. On page 68 Creon goes on to say “It is right that it should be. I alone am guilty. I know it, and I say it.”. This where he accepts his mistakes because he knows that he could have prevented everything by just letting one thing go. All the Mistake that Creon had done were only leaving him with less and less options for escaping the problem. With letting that one thing go Creon could have gone to be a great
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
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
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.
He manifests his selfish, merciless, and vain personality through Haemon in which causes his downfall. His people’s words fall onto his deaf ears. Even though he is their king, he will turn a blind eye and do whatever he pleases. Haemon’s quarrel does no avail either. Antigone’s death is certain and Creon is determined for her to die. He wants her to pay for breaking his law without a second doubt because he will think that her death will bring peace in the city. Overall his leading trait is what kills him- pride. His pride makes him think of himself as the supreme of all. In his eyes everyone should obey his rules even if they disagree with them. He does not tolerate with those who don’t agree with him and just simply dismisses them with an insulting comment. In the end his actions brought the suicides of Antigone, Haemon, and Eurydice. Each of them taking their own life because of eachother’s death. A king cannot rule by being intolerant. His kingdom will fall
Creon came into power when Oedipus was exiled and died. Throughout the play, Antigone, Creon exemplifies many characteristics. Some are selfishness, stubbornness, and pride. He is selfish because he does only want he wants to do and listens to no one else. He shows his stubbornness when he is unwilling to let Antigone live even
perspectives. Creon 's pride causes him to be afraid to admit that he has made a
As tragic heroes, both Beowulf and Creon have certain characteristics that make them stand out in literature: loyalty to their comrades, faith in a higher power, and poisonous pride.
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, unlike Antigone, shows all of the characteristics of a Greek tragic hero. He is an ordinary person, with way to much power. This is one situation as to why the sole ruler form of government was soon diminished. Creon’s actions derived from his human flaws or his fear of loosing his place as king. Creon also ends up facing suffering because due to his prideful attitude, it caused the death of three loved ones, his son, niece, and wife. Even though a tragic hero is nothing like a hero we would hear being describe today, they both teach important lessons. A hero teaches the reader right decisions and the correct course, while a tragic hero
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.
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.
“Then why delay? There’s nothing in your words that I enjoy—may that always be the case! And what I say displeases you as much. But where could I gain greater glory than setting my own brother in his grave? All those here would confirm this pleases them if their lips weren’t sealed by fear—being king, which offers all sorts of various benefits, means you can talk and act just as you wish.” (567-575) The way Antigone acts, what she says and what she thinks contrasts with Creon to the point where they had a major conflict. These conflicting motivations cause Creon to show a different side of himself, the new characteristics that were highlighted in Creon were anger, violence, and self-importance.
Due to his unwavering pride and refusal to see through the eyes of others, Creon falls from his position of immense power and wealth which in the end doesn’t matter because all his loved ones and family are now dead.
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
Creon fits Aristotle’s tragic hero traits as a significant person who is faced with difficult decisions. Creon is significant because he is king. This makes him both renowned and prosperous. Creon is not completely good nor completely bad; he is somewhere in-between, as humans are. The audience can relate to this and they admire his qualities of intelligence in political affairs. They can also relate to his ability to make hard decisions with apparent ease. These hard decisions are