Antigone is a tragic hero because of her headstrong loyalty to her brother and the morals of the gods, which leads to Creon’s retaliation and her downfall. Early in the play, Ismene asks her sister, “Do you mean to bury him? Against the city’s ordinance?” (44), to which Antigone replies, “But he is mine. And yours. Like it or not, he’s our brother. They’ll never catch me betraying him” (45-46).
In the play Antigone, there is some disagreement on who the tragic hero is. While some claim it to be Antigone, she is merely the title. The real answer is Creon, whose storyline almost perfectly emulates the definition of a tragedy. While he begins high and mighty, ruler of Thebes, his own personality and mistakes bring his downfall. Antigone continues irritating Creon, eventually leading to her death. Even though this is slightly unfortunate for her, it pales in comparison to Creon’s plot. After all, he is the reason that almost everyone in his family he knows and loves dies. Antigone may be Antigone’s story, but she does not encompass every character type.
In the play Antigone, you can understand how Creon is a tragic hero from interacting with Antigone and this interaction advances the story through persistence, ignorance, and arrogance. We have all been very closed minded on topics previously, and some of us are closed minded on many things and don’t want any change they aren’t use to or don’t believe in, and this is the same case between Antigone and Creon in the play Antigone. This describes the play, Antigone by sophocle,s in how Creon, the king of Thebes, does not want the brother of Antigone, Polyneices, to be buried because Polyneices was fighting against him in war. This is the opposite for Antigone who wants Polyneices to be buried because she can’t have another brother and her other brother was buried. I believe that the theme of Antigone is determination as both Creon and Antigone are really determined to have their way and not compromise. In the play Antigone, Creon and Antigone’s interaction develops a theme by showing persistence, ignorance, and arrogance.
The play, Antigone, is a tragedy written by the Greek poet Sophocles. A common theme among tragedies is that they have a tragic hero, and Antigone is no different. The tragic hero of this poem is Creon, the King of Thebes. Creon is faced with the difficult task of punishing his niece, Antigone. She has broken one of his laws stating that no one is to give proper burial rites to Polyneices, Antigone’s brother, because he tried to overthrow Creon. Against the warning of others, Creon goes on with his plan to essentially sentence Antigone to her death. Creon continually ignores what others counsel him to do because he believes that just because he is king, everything he does is right. It is this thinking that ultimately leads to the death of not only Antigone, but also Creon’s son and wife as well. All tragic heroes suffer from a tragic flaw that leads to their downfall. Creon suffers from two tragic flaws, pride and stubbornness. Both of these flaws lead Creon down a path of destruction that he is unable to return from.
They are both adamant about their duties; Antigone’s being to Zeus and her brother, while Creon’s be to Thebes and his people. These principles that seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum, are not as incompatible as they may be perceived. Although Antigone and Creon cannot resolve their conflict civilly, they do have a few characteristics in common. Both Antigone and Creon are convinced that their actions are justifiable. Likewise, both characters show a sense of pride and loyalty to what they have faith in. This loyalty they both face is what conclusively causes the unnecessary conflict, and the death, of both tragic characters. Antigone and Creon both let their pride get in the way, and become stubborn when trying to resolve the issue at hand. This negatively plays a role, and affects both characters similarly. Both Antigone and Creon fight to the death to defend what they believe in. Also, both are afraid of the consequences they might face for not fulfilling what they believe are their duties to obey. Furthermore, neither character attempts to view the other character’s perspective, displaying the inflexibility of both. If Antigone and Creon were slightly less persistent in their beliefs, the undeniable annihilation of both may have been prevented. Although both held their ground to opposing viewpoints, their devotion to their mission is a trait most find
Such as a tragic heroine, Antigone seemingly receives support from the gods, “Throughout the play there are signs in the natural world that the gods are on the side of Antigone… there are no footprints left beside the body when Antigone first puts dust on Polyneices. It's as if the earth itself is attempting to aid Antigone in her "crime”. We also see divine support for Antigone, when the storm rages outside of Thebes” (Shmoop). Antigone also tries to control her own fate, even though she knows that her family is doomed suffer, as exemplified by her father Oedipus. She tries to control what she can, for example, instead of letting her sister join her in the execution, Antigone declines her and sends her off. Antigone’s most important trait is also the fatal flaw that leads to her own demise. Antigone is so loyal ad determined to bury her brother that she would go against the word of the king to do so. It is because of this determination that she antagonizes Creon into sentencing her to death. Sophocles not only portrays Antigone as a tragic hero, but also as a martyr. She believes in something so much that she is willing to go against the law, and in turn die for it. She believes that even though her brothers fought in each of the leading sides of Thebes’ civil war, it should not matter as they are both part of her and Creon’s family. Antigone “sacrifices her own life in the name of it. Her determination is so strong that her character becomes symbolic of family loyalty or blood ties” (Shmoop). Although she is not trying to teach a lesson per se, she does make an impact on those around her. Her fiancé and his mother both follow suit in Antigone’s suicide, leaving Creon alone in the end to reflect on his actions and their consequences. Antigone’s actions are not the only things that link her to her heroic archetypical role, her motivations for
In the classic play by Sophocles, Antigone is a tragic story of the bold Antigone who defied her uncle, King Creonʻs, edict by burying her brother, Polyneices, who died attacking the city of Thebes, trying to take the power away from their brother, Eteocles, who refused to share the throne with Polyneices. Even though Antigone knew that going against Creon and burying her brother would not end well for her, she still choose to risk her life to do what is right. After being caught breaking the law, Antigone is appointed to be locked away, isolated in a cave until she dies, but she hangs herself at the end. At the same time, things for Creon are not looking good, as everyone around him seems to be against him in his decision for punishing Antigone. Everyone Creon cares about kills themselves from a curse that is put on Creon for not following the Godsʻ laws. Creonʻs punishment for Antigone did not only affect her, but also everyone who was involved in the situation, including Creon. Creonʻs punishment for Antigone was not justified for three reasons: Antigoneʻs love for her family being put first, Creon is trying to prove himself, and Antigoneʻs beliefs.
Antigone is one of the greatest tragedies ever written by Sophocles. There is a controversial question about this play: Who is the tragic hero? Could it be Antigone or Creon? Even though the play’s name is Antigone, but as I read the story. A sensible and responsible king, Creon, is a tragic hero because of his power madness, self-righteousness, and ruthlessness. He is the center of the play, which causes events to happen.
Creon is the protagonist in Antigone, because his motivation throughout Antigone is the stability and wellbeing of Thebes. Moreover, Antigone is the antagonist in Antigone, because her motivation is selfish and deceiving. In Antigone the setting is Thebes post the death of both airs to the throne. Eteocles dies defending his country from his brother Polynieces which died attempting to reclaim his right to the throne. The conflict throughout Antigone is Antigone’s responsibility to bury her brother Polynices and the law created by Creon, the new king of Thebes, which states that “No one shall bury him, no one mourn for him.” (Antigone 59) Antigone proceeds to disobey the law and dies in her own hands to ensure her own martyr status. Antigone is not the protagonist because of her selfish motivation and need to
The tragedy, Antigone by Sophocles is a well developed take on the fight between who is applicable to be the protagonist of a story. In most stories, plays, poems, written works in general from the first literary works discovered surrounded the Hero’s Journey. The tragedy of Antigone is the one play that seems to accept Joseph Campbell’s theory but master the ideals of a protagonist but still battle for the position at the same time. It’s more or less a toss up to put it simply, but there are strong events and decisions within the tragedy that unfolds somewhat who the antagonist and protagonist is. Similar to the characters in Finding Nemo, Nemo and his father, Marlin, are a debatable pair in deciding who is the lead in the film. They, as do Creon and Antigone, follow the Hero’s Journey rather fluently making the end choice in who is the reliable protagonist a hard choice to even think about. The thing that must be considered most is a definition, being protagonist. What a protagonist is, is the leading character or one of the major characters
In Sophocles’ Antigone, Antigone and Creon both have qualities of a tragic hero according to Aristotle’s definition. Aristotle believes a tragic hero is a decent human, but falls due to a weakness in one’s character. In the plot, Antigone decides to bury her brother, which defies the laws of Creon, the dictator of Thebes. Antigone believes she must hold her family values and the gods’ beliefs with utmost respect. Antigone refuses to deny her crime, so she is sentenced to be death by Creon. Antigone is the tragic hero because she inspires pity and fear when her devotion to the gods and her morals lead to her downfall.
Sometimes we are not responsible human beings. Sometimes decision are made that we regret - decisions we wish to revert and ones we wish were never made. Who is the tragic hero in “Antigone”? Every character makes some very questionable and admittedly remorseful decisions in this Greek play that has led them to downfall. But who, out of all the possible candidates, is the main tragic hero, and what are the characteristics that make them one? Creon is the tragic hero in the Greek play “Antigone” because of his characteristics and the flaws that he creates as the story progresses.
Antigone is a tragedy play written by Sophocles. In the story, Antigone, a young woman, had requested permission from Creon, the king at the time, to have a proper burial for her brother, Polyneices; even though he was a traitor and the law forbids mourning for him. Creon had denied Antigone's request for the burial of her brother, however, Antigone had still carried out the burial. Unfortunately, she had been caught in her act, by the king’s guard, and brought before Creon. She justified her action, insisting that she was not ashamed of what she had done. As a result, Creon had her thrown in a chamber cell.
The character Antigone is the protagonist in Antigone, the second play out of the Oedipus Rex trilogy. Out of the trilogy she is apart of she is the most tragic figure, though other claims say that Creon is a more tragic figure. A tragic figure in Greek plays, according to Aristotle, is a fictional character in a story or play that has an error in judgment, known as hamartia. This error of judgment causes his or her own misery, known as peripeteia. In Greek plays, such as the one Antigone premiers in, this person is must be of nobility. A tragic figure also has a tragic flaw that incorporates into the story or play. This tragic flaw can be shown through arrogance, stubbornness, love, or any quality that usually causes conflict, this is known as hubris. A tragic figure also must be portrayed as relatable to the
The play, Antigone is an Ancient Greek play mostly about myth written by Sophocles. There are two main characters in this play which are Antigone and Creon. Antigone is a girl who tries to bury her brother, Polyneices who died during the war and she chooses family instead of the government. Creon, is Antigone’s uncle, and also a King of Thebes who didn’t allow the people to bury Polyneices. He doesn’t like people who disobeys the rules of the government.They both are tragic characters because Antigone kills herself and Creon asks for his death to the gods.It can be argued that the tragic hero is Creon because of his excessive pride and his intense suffering at the end of the play.