Why Do Creon And Antigone Die

She makes a choice to bury Polyneices, her brother. Knowing all too well that the punishment for her actions is death. In the end Antigone does get caught and dies.This is just another example as to how corrupt Creon has become. He shows no sympathy to even his family. Ruling with an iron grip promotes no forward movement and restrains people from their true potential.

Antigone is an honorable character in this story of love and rebellion. The only thing that she does is disobey an order that is unjust and bury the remains of her

Antigone tells her sister that King Creon has decided that only one of their brothers are getting a proper burial. Outraged, Antigone starts talking about how she was going to get her brothers both a traditional burial because that is what she believes is right. In doing so, Antigone and her sister will be honoring her father by doing this. Her sister is afraid of the repercussions and refuses to have any part of this decision. If you were not to abide by King Creon’s law, you will be stoned to death. The scene continues and Antigone is still trying to convince her sister to help move their brother’s body because he is too heavy

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.

For these reasons, his character is a feared leader. First of all, the fact that he issues that his nephew cannot be buried shows that- one, he demands loyalty, even over loyalty to the gods, and two, he defends his country over his family. He continues displaying his beliefs when he doesn’t revoke the edict even after his wife, and niece clearly disagree with it. Creon’s pride continues to take precedent when he begins falsely accusing

Creon has a “fatal flaw” that contributes to his fate and it is his arrogance. Creon feels powerful and important because he thinks he is an essential part of everyone’s life. He upholds what he thinks is the right position for himself in power and he is so determined for control. This flaw leads to his own tragic fate because without his arrogance, no one would take him seriously or follow him and he would not take himself seriously, so therefor his life would settle for less than it did.

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.

Being noble does not always mean being a ruler, or a member of a royal family. Being noble can mean many other things. In Antigone, Creon becomes a noble character by choice when he slowly and secretly advances himself to the throne. Creon sits back and gives advice while Oedipus is king, and while his two sons were fighting over the crown. Once all of the competition is gone, Creon takes the thrown, " I, as you know, in right of kinship nearest to the dead, poses the throne and take the supreme power"(8). Creon gained the respect of his people and when he says to do something, they do it, "I have given orders to the citizens"(9). Creon is not born into power, he wants it and by his own will, he becomes noble.

Creon shows a great deal of change through the story. He became very aware of what he had done wrong when he decided to punish Antigone. In the beginning of the story, Creon wasn’t willing to let Antigone free as he thought that the right to do was to punish her. When Teiresias advices Creon to let Antigone free, Creon says, “If the great eagles of God himself--... I would not yield” (Scene 5, Lines 46-47), Creon felt like he was doing the right thing which made not want to listen to anyone.

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 said, ?...And whoever places a friend above the good of his own county, he is nothing: I have no use for him.? (203-205). Again, his high standards and honor for his country are shown in great detail: ?I could never stand by silent, watching destruction march against our city, putting safety to rout? (207-208). Creon shows a high sense of morality when he properly buried Eteocles, and then is showing his noble character by not burying Polyneices, who attacked Creon?s country; again his value of his country is shown. Creon is a good ruler because he like any king would punish evil and reward good. Creon is seen by the chorus to have ?goodness? and leadership. (Lines 691). The chorus praises Creon for his loyalty to the country after the great war, they look forward to his kingly rule and nobility in the future by saying, ?. . . Creon, the new man for the great new day?(Lines 173). Love of his country and his punishment of Polyneices show this great nobility and loyalty talked about by the chorus. Clearly Creon qualifies under the first criterion of being a tragic hero.

Creon, Antigone's uncle, acquired the throne after the brothers Polyneices and Eteocles killed one another in a battle against each other. In the disastrous play Antigone written by Sophicles, Creon now king leads Thebes through recovery from the vicious war. As part of his first order of king Creon ruled that Polyneices was not be buried but to decay on the agony of death and that Eteocles be buried in honor. To respect Polyneices death Antigone sneaks into the house where Polyneices body is and covers it in dirt which goes against what Creon had ordered. Creon later finds about this and then the whole matter uncoils within itself. Antigone is put in in jail and a proper burial is put in place for Polyneices.

With this He ordered that one of Antigone’s brothers Eteocles was to be honored and have a proper burial. Her other brother Polynices was to be disgraced and left unburied in shame for killing his brother even though they killed each other. While mourning the death of both her brothers,

All in all, Creon started out as a stereotypical, mean and power hungry ruler. Pitching two brothers against each other so he could have the throne, then making an unpopular and unnecessary law, he was not liked by the people. Breaking his sons heart by sentencing his fiance to death, and in turn breaking his wife's heart, he ended up alone. For the first time we see him lost. This makes him a better leader as he is now able to empathize with his people. His vulnerability helps him stay in his spot of