ipl-logo

Antigone And Creon Essay

575 Words3 Pages

Correspondingly, Creon's bona fide adherence to the laws of man is evident in the defense for his resolute actions. In the conversation aforementioned between Haemon and Creon, the latter defends his decision by declaring it is to "respect his own authority". As in his opinion, a respected ruler who is in the early stages of establishing authority must be uncompromising and resolute in making decisions. Creon rejects using divine laws to rule his people for they are irrational, and trusts that solely following man made laws will he be able to guarantee a peaceful and prosperous existence for his city. Creon says that the laws enacted by the city’s leader "must be obeyed, large and small, / right and wrong." Which is to say, Creon contends state law as the basis for justice, hence there can be no such thing as unjust laws. Undoubtedly, Creon's symbolic values within the play is displayed by his fierce dedication to state law and order, contrary to the symbolism Antigone embodies. As is evident from above, Antigone's values harshly clashes with that of Creon's. The former solely recognizes divine law as cardinal, the latter being in the early days of establishing new rule, concedes state laws as supreme. Antigone possesses a moral and ethical power as an individual, refusing to follow state laws on both grounds of morality and divine law, whereas Creon as the king …show more content…

Antigone's actions consistently display her dedication to the will of the gods, and Creon's behaviour steadily exhibits his fierce devotion to state laws. Thus, this Greek tragedy compellingly establishes and thoroughly explores the intricate and perplexing relationship between the two themes by utilizing the literary device of

Show More
Related
195 Words | 1 Pages

In the short story titled “Antigone,” the author portrays Creon as a tragic hero by displaying flaws in Creon's character shown throughout the story. Creon’s character contains many flaws which lead to many problems. His decisions end up deciding the fates of his son, his wife, and Antigone. Creon finally realizes that what he has done is sinful to the gods. He has put his own pride over the appreciation of the gods.

Read More
323 Words | 2 Pages

Creon’s son Haemon after learning about Antigone’s fate tries to reason with his father as to why he should let her go but every point he makes only causes Antigone more trouble, rather than helping. During Haemons conversation with his father he tries to reason with his father that he is not always right and that he needs to learn to bend his own rules in order for his leadership to work. He tries to convince Creon that “for a man to learn, even a wise man, is nothing shameful, nor to learn to bend or give way”(Sophocles 39). He tries to convince his father that if he needs to learn to bend his rules or his city will snap under their pressure. He is trying to show Creon that by releasing Antigone he is not going to lose control of the city

Read More
623 Words | 3 Pages

Furthermore, Antigone proclaims, “These laws —I was not about to break them, not out of fear of some man's wounded pride, and face the retribution of the gods.” Here, Antigone shows that she is more fearful of divine judgment than of Creon’s punishment. This is significant as it shows that Antigone would much rather face death than eternal punishment by the gods. Finally, Antigone demonstrates

Read More
302 Words | 2 Pages

line 52 scene two antigone is confronted about burying her brother polyneices and says. “I do,i deny nothing.” in the story both Antigone and creon have the same tragic flaw which is their stubbornness which would lead to Antigone's death and creon's downfall. What makes Antigone the tragic hero is that Antigone only tried to follow the laws of the gods and bury polyneices. As the story continues antigone will kill herself as a result of her stubbornness.

Read More
481 Words | 2 Pages

Antigone is a play written by Sophocles that focuses on the consequences of Antigone's decision to defy her uncle the king and bury her brother Polyneices. The play presents Antigone as a brave and noble character who is willing to sacrifice her life to bury her brother, which is a death sentence. Although her uncle, King Creon, sees her decision as treasonous, Antigone's actions are justified when she honors her brother in ways only known. First, it is important to note why King Creon feels guilty about Antigone's actions. Creon makes it clear that the body of Polyneices must not be buried because he is a traitor and an enemy of the state.

Read More
734 Words | 3 Pages

(Antigone 8). This quote shows that he wants everyone to obey him and anyone who disobeys him will get in trouble. The last support can be found when Creon said, “But he who crosses law, or forces it, or hopes to bring the ruler under him, shall never have a word of praise from me.” (Antigone 23). This means that Creon is “madly in love” with his power and thinks that he can do anything because he is the king.

Read More
543 Words | 3 Pages

Suicide is a rather startling concept, the ambiguity in reasons behind taking one’s life subject for discretion amongst many different cultures and religions. In Antigone by Sophocles, Haemon challenges the negative connotations of relinquishing to the temptation of eternal oblivion, ending his life as a final act of valor in attempt to bring his father, King Creon, to see his failure to submit to the will of the Gods. Haemon, while a minor character, exposes Creon as the tragic hero of the work in serving as a catalyst to the inevitable downfall of the bull-headed king. Haemon challenges Creon’s mortal law with that of the Gods, revealing the King’s hamartia to be that of stubbornness in desperate attempt to retain tyrannical power. In

Read More
1234 Words | 5 Pages

Creon believes that whatever he says or decide is true, he has so much of self-righteousness. The word that Creon said “Am I to rule by other mind than mine?” (Antigone, page 26). He thinks that he should rule everything because he is a king, he believes that people should obey him and the law he sets because he thinks that it is the right thing to do. Creon does not want other people to tell him what to do.

Read More
1014 Words | 5 Pages

The play Antigone features a deep struggle of power for King Creon. Creon faced several insecurities, during his rule, as king of Thebes. These insecurities, which stemmed from an internal power struggle, went on to, not only affect his rule as king, but his personal relationships, and emotions as well. Other reasons for his actions stem from family matters that have hindered Creon's ability to successfully control and rule by himself.

Read More
1078 Words | 5 Pages

Everything that makes man's life worthwhile-family, work, education, a place to rear one's children and a place to rest one's head -all this depends on decisions of government; all can be swept away by a government which does not heed the demands of its people.” (Kennedy 379). Citizens must not only speak up; they must also be heard by their government as well. Creon enacted a law that he felt was just however, he did not listen to Antigone when she was explaining why she had broken that law. If Creon would have listened to Antigone and taken into consideration the reasons for her unlawful actions, he would have saved himself and his nation from the wrath of the

Read More
1092 Words | 5 Pages

In Sophocles’ play Antigone, Creon, the king of Thebes, best represents a tragic hero. Creon demonstrates goodness in his intentions for Thebes as well as his fragile state due to the fact that he recently lost several family members. Creon, newly named king, finds himself as highest ranking official around, showing superiority. Creon often acts stubborn and prideful, his tragic flaw. And lastly, he must come to terms with the fact that he caused the death of his wife, son, and niece.

Read More
697 Words | 3 Pages

People in families tend to claim that they would do anything for their family regardless of the circumstances, whether or not they don 't agree with, for example, if two related people departed and one had a funeral, but the other didn’t is unfair, so someone in a family would fight to make sure they both be equal to have a proper rest in peace memorial. The government law is too extreme when the tradition is prohibited leads to anarchy in society because not every citizens agree with the law terms. For this, analysis paper, Antigone was right to justify King Creon about denying the law terms and keep up with the tradition, however Antigone had broke the law so she was forced to make it up for the King. This paper will start out examining the

Read More
1410 Words | 6 Pages

He cleverly links Creon and Antigone together in order to stress the duality between Creon’s laws, and the divine laws; exposing how Creon will abuse his power by any means to ensure his laws are obeyed. He then expresses the severity of Creon’s abuse through his supporters, the chorus and Haemon, for it induces both to desire rebellion. To finalize his play, Sophocles successfully discourages anyone from abusing power by making it Creon’s tragic flaw, for he warns that it will always end “with mighty blows of fate” (Antigone

Read More
90 Words | 1 Pages

The unwillingness to compromise with each other in the play Antigone cost people their lives. In the play Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone argues that the laws of the Greek gods’ are much more important than the laws of man but Creon believes that the laws of man are above the laws of the Greek gods’. Both Creon and Antigone refuses to compromise whether to follow the Greek god’s law or man’s law. The tragic end of Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone comes about because of the actions of Haemon, Creon, and Antigone.

Read More
1019 Words | 5 Pages

It is significant that Antigone immediately states she “will bury [Polyneices]; and if [she] must die…the crime is holy” upon hearing Creon’s ruling because Antigone validates that she isn’t committing this crime for attention or proving a point to the law, but because it is what she believes to be right and moral (60). Antigone later responds to Creon, stating that his ruling is “not Zeus’ proclamation” therefore she would never “transgress the laws of heaven” because of a statement Creon decreed (450). Antigone refuses to abide by political rule and her action serves as a means of justice not only to her brother, but also as an act to uphold the divine law. The reiteration of ancient ideals through the hierarchy of law is emphasized by Antigone’s self-condemning act, asserting that the political law is not what controls her actions, but the divine law she believes is morally correct. The result of Antigone’s act of disobedience is concluded by the Chorus, stating the universal attitude of all ancient Greeks—that there is “no wisdom but in submission to the gods,” affirming that no human is superior to another (1350).

Read More

More about Antigone And Creon Essay

Related Topics

Open Document