The Similarities Between Antigone And Creon

Antigone takes place just after a war between Antigone’s two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices. Eteocles fought on the side of Thebes whereas Polynices resembled an invader. Afterwards, Eteocles is buried and seen as honorable. However, Polynices is denied a proper burial because he is considered a traitor to Thebes. In this play, Sophocles uses Antigone and Creon as foils by characterizing Antigone as a martyr and Creon as a tyrant to urge the reader to realize that one’s own morals are more significant than the decrees of any government.

     In Sophocles’ play Antigone, Creon was engaged in a conflict with Oedipus’ daughter Antigone. Creon and Antigone did not see eye-to-eye the entire play due to extreme differences. Creon and Antigone had many similarities despite their enormous discrepancies. Having as many differences as they did, it made them uniquely similar in numerous ways. The similarities that Antigone and Creon shared were independence, loyalty toward their views, cruelty and arrogance (“The Similarities”). The connection shared by Antigone and Creon showed that as hard as Sophocles tried to make them diverse, he made them unintentionally equivalent at the same time.

The word "hero" is one with various definitions; a hero can be a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities, a person widely regarded as heroic by their actions, or even a sandwich. Popular opinion depicts a hero as the "superman" type, rushing into battle and saving the less fortunate. This is a character that never makes an appearance in Antigone. The story of Antigone does not fall into the lighthearted, family friendly genre of stories as it illustrates a royal tragedy and the downfall of a family. These factors increase the difficulty of finding the story's protagonist or, in this case, its hero.

Creon vs. Antigone In the play Antigone written by Sophocles, Antigone’s decision to override her Uncle, Creon’s edict and bury her brother is rational because Antigone believes that he is too proud and arrogant and he is overstepping his boundaries as a leader. Creon doesn’t want anyone to bury Polyneices’ body because he believes that Antigone’s brother, Polyneices was a traitor, and Creon doesn’t believe that a traitor's soul deserves to be put to rest. Antigone goes against Creon’s law because she knows that Polyneices only made a mistake, and deserves to be buried because making mistakes is a part of life.

In life, humanity has the responsibility to adhere to the rules and regulations imposed upon it by a superior power. For the most part, this obedience breeds peaceful order and mutual understanding; however, when the body in control grows corrupt and enforces unjust laws, the people rightfully turn their thoughts to revolt. This is the case with Antigone, who was correct in her rejection of the inhumane ordinance proclaimed by King Creon. Her means are justified by her desperation to please the gods, her desire to honor her fallen brother, and her compulsion to perform what is morally right.

The notorious Ulysses and Creon (from Antigone) have a few prominent similarities, as well as notable differences. For instance, Ulysses and Creon both, at one point, realize that their regime over the civilians is no longer needed, for they're not for running it or won’t be able to run it effectively. Their reasons for recognizing their incompetence differ, making them two seemingly opposite characters. However, even with their vast differences, they prove similar because they convey the themes that even the smallest shortcomings in people can negatively affect those around them and sometimes what a person wants to do trumps what they should do.

Jason from Medea and Creon from Antigone are both male characters who have limited amounts of power. For instance, although Jason is an ancient Greek hero, he does not have an immense about of power. In fact in Medea, Jason “goes to bed in a royal marriage with the daughter of Creon who governs this land” in hopes of getting more comfort in his life (Medea. 16-18). However, his first wife Medea is grealy maddened by this.

People around Creon have different opinions about him due to the way that he treat them. Antigone is probably the one that shows how she exactly feels about her uncle a guy who has a lot of power use against people in very bad way that could harm people for example not burying Antigone's brother. When Antigone talk to her sister about going to bury her brother body it even though Creo said did not allow that she shows some kind of hate toward her uncle for ruining her life by what he did to her family. Even when Antigone is not scared of what she is believes in even if that would leads to her death the reason for that can be that she always had some hate for her uncle. Creon’s son Haemon respects his dad a lot listens to what his dad tells him Haemon admits that he learned a lot from Creon, but does not agree with the decision that his dad makes.

In both Antigone and Medea, the relationship between the oikos (household) and the polis (city-state) creates tension in the setting of each play. In Antigone, Antigone takes on the position of being responsible for her oikos, in regards to the burials of her brothers. Creon positions himself with the city. Both believe they are right in their decisions due to the positions they hold. Creon does not want his wishes defied as king; Antigone wants to honor tradition and the gods and do what is right as the sister of Polyneices.

This play is ultimately concerned with one person defying another person and paying the price. Antigone went against the law of the land, set by the newly crowned King Creon. Antigone was passionate about doing right by her brother and burying him according to her religious beliefs even though Creon deemed him a traitor and ordered him to be left for the animals to devour. Creon was passionate about being king and making his mark from his new throne. Although they differed in their views, the passion Creon and Antigone shared for those opinions was the same, they were equally passionate about their opposing views. Creon would have found it very difficult to see that he had anything in common with Antigone however as he appears to be

While most of society define heroism as a person who saves lives, people with heroism show bravery and opposition to society or its laws. In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone, King Creon defies his society’s laws for his own self pride while in Voltaire’s novel Candide, a young boy breaks his uncle’s rule to fulfill his desires. Both characters challenge their society’s laws and take a stand against the flawed principles; however, should people consider Creon and Candide as heroes? Individuals do not have an obligation to challenge laws due to the fact that it leads to multiple deaths and the suffering of themselves or of others.

“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance” – Confucius (Brainy Quote.com). In Sophocles’ Antigone and in Anouilh’s version of the play, knowledge is a significant theme that motivates the characters’ actions and behaviors. In both plays, the two protagonists, Antigone and Creon, believe that they are knowledgeable and are fully aware of the state in Thebes. In addition, they believe that they are completely conscious of their intelligence, their influence and their power. While both characters are intelligent and base their decisions on their knowledge of certain situations, the fact is that both of them are unaware of their own weaknesses and their shortcomings.

After reading Antigone by Sophocles, readers may believe that the two main characters, Antigone and Creon, seem like polar opposites. However, after digging a little deeper, readers are able to come to a final conclusion that although both characters may not always see eye to eye, they carry a number of similar traits. The characters seem to be so alike that it results in the two to constantly disagree, leading towards the two to continuously find new differences and flaws within each other. They don’t exactly have the same views, for example, Antigone seems to put family over everything else while Creon’s loyalty is more concerned with the well-being of Thebes. However, the two characters do have many similar internal characteristics. They are independent, confident, and stubborn when they want to be.

John F. Kennedy once said “A man must do what he must in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures...and that is the basis of human morality”. But when someone’s ambition is to do something wrong, how does their actions reflect on their morality? In the play Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone and King Creon’s decisions and choices reflect on their consequences and morality. One of the main characters in play, King Creon, makes some awful decisions that make him reflect on his own moral values. Another character, Antigone has a compulsive motive to bury her brother, Polynices, but she isn’t allowed to transgress the king’s command and despite the consequences she still attempts to bury Polyneices. Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan are two psychologists that created the Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development and Gilligan’s Ethics of Care Theory scales which show where one’s morality may rank depending on one’s actions. Even though Creon and Antigone started with the same circumstances and conditions, their morality causes them to stand on different levels and stages on Lawrence Kohlberg’s and Carol Gilligan’s scales and as well as on other Moral scales.

In the Greek play Antigone writer Sophocles illustrates the clash between the story’s main character Antigone and her powerful uncle, Creon. King Creon of Thebes is an ignorant and oppressive ruler. In the text, there is a prevailing theme of rules and order in which Antigone’s standards of divine justice conflict with Creon’s will as the king. Antigone was not wrong in disobeying Creon, because he was evil and tyrannical. The authors of “Antigone: Kinship, Justice, and the Polis,” and “Assumptions and the Creation of Meaning: Reading Sophocles’ Antigone.” agree with the notion that Antigone performs the role of woman and warrior at once. She does not only what a kinswoman would, but also what a warrior would do.