Antigone sacrifices her own life, trying to stand up in the horrible society in which she 's imprisoned. Would you do it? Oedipus has just passed away in Colonus, and Antigone and her sister decide to return to Thebes with the intention of helping their brothers. You can look at Antigone 's clash with Creon as symbolic of the larger struggle of a man. Creon relationship with Haemon demonstrate how parents assert their power in relationships with their children, and how children can lose favor with their parents.
At times the one who is trusted the most, is the one who should be the least as Creon has demonstrated to his son, Haemon. In Antigone by Sophocles Creon is a ruler of Thebes and is very serious about his ruling there and won’t let anybody get in the way. Antigone, the main character has gone through so much tragedy in her family; her father, mother, and brothers had died except her only sister, Ismene. One of her brothers wasn’t at peace and Creon wanted it to remain that way, however she was rebellious and defied him and had to suffer the consequences, although she was engaged to his son, Haemon. Haemon respected his father's wishes and stood by him except the fact that he believed that his father was in the wrong and wasn't a great leader
In a certain way, the conflict was generated by the confrontation of two people who believed to be powerful. Creon saw himself as the new ruler of Thebes and he created a new image and became an arrogant and very self-centered person. For example, when Creon was arguing with Haem, he said to his son “will my subjects tell me how to rule” (834) , he also said "And I am guilty, then, Claiming due reverence for my sovereignty?” (852-3). These statements clearly show that Creon believed that being a new ruler gave him a new position over everyone; he thought that nobody could be against him or his rules.
In Sophocles Antigone Haemon,Creon and Antigone's actions can all be justified. Haemons actions can be justified because he is trying to persuade his father
Throughout the beginning of the short story, Antigone shows herself as a stubborn intuitive person towards the separate characters. First, Antigone does not fear King Creon at any point; Antigone only worries about her brother Polyneices. Proud, and strong, Antigone says, “Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way”. (Sophocles, Act 1). Determination basically describes Antigone as she will not let Creon stand in her way as she will bury her brother, Polyneices, even if Creon tries to stop her from doing so.
“Not so self-centered that you never listen to other people” (Hugh Hefner). In the story of Antigone, Creon shows the characteristics of a tragic hero, as he is the king he shows his self-confident and he does not recognize his flaws until the end of the story. All of this leads into his downfall in the tragedy and causes him to realized what he had done. Creon is a tragic hero because of his self-righteousness, his excessive pride, and he does not listen to the opinion of others.
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.
“A city which belongs to just one man is no true city.” (lines 838-39) Throughout the play, Antigone, written by Sophocles, the character Haemon constantly tries to persuade his father, Creon, to listen to the people of his city and to become a more humble leader. Haemon’s words, actions, and ideas contrast with Creon’s character. Which results in the two characters having continual conflicting motivations.
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.
Haemon and his father have several disputes that show, Creon pushing his son away in order to show his dominance. Creon calls his son a “soul of corruption, rotten through” which just reflects how cruel Creon had become, even when talking to his own son (836). This will be the last argument the two have before Haemon kills himself due to neglect and longing for Antigone. The power of the crown causes Creon to act instinctively rather than reasonably when deciding Antigone's fate. His loyalty to his power becomes priority over his family, when he decrees his nephews burial illegal.
How would you feel if you were locked away to rot by one of your own family members because you did something they didn’t approve of? In Sophocles play, Antigone, this is just the case for the niece of Creon, King of Thebes. After getting word that her “own two brothers [...] slaughtered one another and brought about their common doom” (Sophocles 318), Antigone is distraught. What makes her infuriated is when she learns that her uncle, Creon, has decided that one of her brothers, Eteocles, will receive a proper burial and be honored while the other brother, Polyneices, will receive no burial and be remembered as a traitor. Soon after, Antigone takes action and performs a secret burial and ritual on her dead brothers corpse, but she is also
As demonstrated throughout the Greek tragedy Antigone, Creon’s tragic flaw is hubris which causes his downfall . The downfall begins when Creon refuses to give Polyneices, the son of Oedipus and the brother of Antigone, a burial. Creon believes that Polyneices did not die an honorable death as he broke exile and raised the sword against his home city, Thebes, so in return he will not receive a burial. Creon’s pride takes over and so he believes he is a man not only superior to women , but a king superior to the gods. He claims, Go out of your heads entirely?
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.”
In the play "Antigone" by Sophocles, Antigone rightfully decides to bury her brother, Polynices, but when the king, Creon, finds out, she does not repent for her actions. She is a woman that stands for what she thinks is right, which in this case is that Creon is wrong for condemning the burial of her brother. She shows braveness with her actions because not all people have the courage to risk their own lives so that their brother can rest in peace. For instance, Ismene states "What? You 'd bury him – when a law forbids the city?"
After reading the tragedy of Antigone by Sophocles, one is left to wonder who the protagonist of this play is. Is it Creon or is it Antigone? To answer this question, one must define what a protagonist is. By definition, a protagonist is a leading actor or a character. Creon fits this description because not only do his actions lead into the whole tragedy, but his character shows a great development and the values he teaches to the readers.