Creon's Individuality In Sophocles Antigone

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.

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."

Antigone, a complex character indeed-- many have described her as fiercely brave, tragic heroine, or even, a model of strength for women. Although the events of Antigone do lend easily to these characterizations of Antigone, it is also apparently clear that she possessed self-interested motives behind the burial of her brother, Polynices. She sought glory and honor for her actions, rather than having mere satisfaction from the actions themselves. Throughout the play, Antigone displays a sense of hubris regarding her brave and heroic sacrifice for her brother—the hubris is exacerbated with the repetitive diction, especially the words ‘glory’ and ‘honor’ and Antigone’s constant desperation for the world to know about what she has done.

Antigone uses both emotional and logical appeals to persuade her sister, Ismene to go against Creon’s rules and laws, to help honor her brother giving him a proper burial, thus giving him a chance at an afterlife. There brother risked his life for others and Creon allowed one of the men to have a proper burial but not him so while Antigone was trying to get Ismene to help give him what he deserves she said “He is my brother. and he is your brother, too.” (Sophocles et al. 191) This is logically persuasive because it is usually common sense to help your family through everything and to do what 's best for them.

”Lead me away. I have been rash and foolish. I have killed my son and wife. I look for comfort; my comfort lies here dead. Whatever my hands have touched has come to nothing.

Some actions are justifiable, while others are not. Antigone is a tragedy by Sophocles written in 441 B.C. as the third of the three Theban plays. The protagonist, Antigone, defies the law of man, placed by King Creon, by burying her brother Polynices who was decreed a traitor. In the play, most of Antigone's actions are justifiable because the intentions are dedicated to her family and following the law of the gods over the law of man.

Georg Hegel, a very influential philosopher once said that the conflicts in Greek Tragics are not good versus evil but rather two different point of view taking a stand for themselves. The concept of the play is the conflict between Antigone and Creon, the story developed based on their conflict. But the conflict itself seems only to be the result of belief perseverance ──one uphold to one's initial belief even after receiving new points of views. Antigone and Creon both thought they believed they were following the will of the gods and the their own inner moral standard.

Sophocles, with his intelligence and creativity, presented numerous ethically correct and incorrect circumstances in his play Antigone, also consisting of arguable traits. With every character shadows a dilemma that the reader has to interpret for themselves, and this is one of the reasons that it is as intellectually challenging as it is presented. One of these characters within the controversy is Antigone, the daughter of the former king of Thebes. To understand Antigone’s moral controversy, one must know the reasoning behind her actions. In the plot, Antigone is furious over the disrespect Polynices, her dead brother, is given.

Conscience vs. Society Everyone faces difficult choices throughout their life, and many of these choices are due to the pressures of society. Society is cruel and everyone, at some point in their lives, has been at the receiving end of that cruelty and felt the sorrow it brings. In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone finds herself faced with the choice of doing what her heart says is right, and burying her dead sibling or following what society has decreed as the right thing to do and leave him “to be devoured by dogs and fowls of the air.” (Sophocles, page 12) Antigone’s sister, Ismene, faces the same choice though she is less willing to defy society in favor of family obligations.

The Tragedy of Creon “Yes. Zeus did not announce those laws to me. And justice living with the gods below sent no such laws from man. ”(509-510) This quote is from Antigone and she is saying she hasn’t broken any law because the gods didn’t create this law.