Role Of Creon In Antigone

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

       In the play Creon makes the key decision to place a decree stating that Polyneices was to be left unburied for betraying his country and anyone that attempted to bury him will face punishment. “As long as I am King, no traitor is going to be honored with the loyal man” (Scene 1, Lines 174-178). This quote displays that Creon is a man of his word and is able to make key decisions. Creon says that a man who does good has his respect and a man that betrays his country will never be respected. Creon demonstrates the protagonist by not only making key decisions, but affecting the circumstances of the story.

Most people encounter heroes on a daily basis. Some of these heroes can be real life heroes such as the firemen who saved the cat, or the teacher helping with a struggling student while others can be found in forms of media or literary works. A specific type of hero that is often found in many Greek tragedies is called a tragic hero. A tragic hero often possesses a tragic flaw, experiences a sudden reversal of fortune, and finally come to a realization that the reversal of misfortune is resulted from his or her own actions. In Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone, written in 5th century BCE, the protagonist Creon is an excellent example of a tragic hero.

Creon's self-confidence overrides doing what is right, and causes him to make poor choices. Creon refuses to hear and consider the opinions and ideas of others. He is stubborn and convinced that he is doing what is right by killing Antigone and not burying Polyneices. He does not want to "show [himself] weak before the people or to break [his]sworn word" (iii.26). Creon cares more about his control and power over the people than his character. Creon refuses to lose the loyalty and respect of his people. He wants to be in control. Haemon tells his father, King Creon, "There are other men who can reason, too;and their opinions might be helpful. [He is] not in a position to know everything" (iii.55). Creon is creating an anarchy rather than a democracy. He will not listen to others because of his fear of losing his masculinity. The people of Thebes do not believe killing Antigone is right, and they lose respect for the King. Teiresias gets a sign from the gods that a terrible fate is coming, making Creon aware that he may suffer some dreadful consequences.

Creon is a very stubborn man like when he said this to the guard “This and more- you sold your life for silver. ”(377).Creon is accusing the guard of burying the body even though it wasn't him. Creon doesn't listen to the guard or even want to hear what he has to say but still accuses him of taking bribe. When Antigone was talking to To Ismene Antigone says “I’ll hate you if you're going to talk that way. And you’ll rightly earn loathing of the dead.

Since he values his country, a noble feature, he holds all those against it in contempt. He "would not count any enemy of [his] country as a friend" (line 206). In this case, the enemy is Polyneices who decided to attack Creon’s beloved country. In just retaliation, Creon decided to punish him, as would any ruler punish an aggressor.

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

A tragedy, as defined by Ms. Tozar, is “the story of a falling from a high place to a lower place by a character.” In other words, a tragedy is a story of an individual who starts in a high position and descends throughout the story to end in a position that is lower than original position. The individual who makes the descent is known as the tragic hero. The tragic hero, as defined by Ms. Tozar, is “the character who falls from grace as a result of fate and/or a weakness. In the drama, Antigone by Sophocles, one could argue that there are many tragic heroes. However, the one who stands above them all is that of the character of Creon. Creon is understood by most as the tragic hero in Antigone as evident in his

What is a tragic hero? A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. In the Greek tragedy Antigone by Sophocles, a king named Creon places a law that makes it illegal to bury Polyneices who is Antigone’s brother. But not being buried in Greek culture is a big deal because it means you don't make it to the afterlife, so then Antigone buries her brother so he can be at peace. The tragedy is about how Antigone and Creon each react to each other's actions, it becomes a battle of law and morality. In the tragedy, there are two possible tragic heroes, Antigone or Creon. I believe that Creon is the tragic hero because his tragic flaw led to the downfall of himself and his loved ones.

Unfortunately, Creon does not always make the correct decision because of personality traits that he possesses. When Creon sentences Antigone to death, he is wrong. This decision is based on Creon’s downfalls. He has hamartia and he judges wrong, and he also suffers from hubris. He is excessively prideful and believes that his choice is the only correct one. Creon also has an inaccurate view of his place in relation to the Gods. He believes he is in a position to know what They want and know what They feel is best. No mortal truly knows what the Gods want, but Creon believes he does because he cannot imagine that what he believes is wrong, even to the Gods. Antigone’s death is a bad decision that Creon makes based on his beliefs that the Gods view Polyneices as a traitor and would not want him honored in death.

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.

In the Greek tragedy Antigone, the characters Antigone and Creon can both be thought of as the tragic hero of the play. Though Antigone does show some of these characteristics of a tragic hero, Creon demonstrates the attributes more clearly and concisely. Creon is the King of Thebes, as well as the uncle of Antigone. Creon took the throne after a tragic quarrel between his two nephews, Eteocles and Polyneices. Despite his harsh governing and his crude ideals, he is not good or bad. Creon is the tragic hero of the play Antigone, because of his superiority in his society, his nobility, and his tragic flaw, self-pride.

In addition, Creon also has an inaccurate view of his place in relation to the gods. He believes that man’s laws are more important than the laws of the gods. Antigone tries to defend her decision to bury her brother by proclaiming, “I do not think your edicts have such power that they can override the laws of heaven…If I transgressed these laws because I feared the arrogance of man, how to the god’s could I make satisfaction” (line 408)? Creon’s hubris causes him to think that he must put Antigone to death because she chooses to follow the god’s laws over his.

     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

When you want to have a play that is a tragedy, a tragic hero is necessary. This tragic hero must be of high social standing. They must have a tragic flaw, something bad in their character, or make a bad decision that ruins a lot of people’s lives. The tragic hero in Antigone is Creon, the king. Creon is of high social standing because he is the king of Thebes. His major tragic flaw is he is arrogant.