Expository Essay On Antigone And King Creon

Sometimes a person 's mistakes can lead them to the right path, others are lead to their own degradation. Sophocles ' play Antigone puts out a dramatic take on Greek tragedy as they tell the story of a dysfunctional family and their fates. Thrown into the throne of the royal family of Thebes, new King Creon waltzed the palace with a large chip on his shoulder. He ruled his kingdom out of fear with an iron fist and a heavy temper. Creon had his chance at a 'Happily Ever After ' if he could only control his obstinacy. Of course, the king 's pride clouds his judgment and leads to his utter downfall and cataclysmic realization of his faults. Through his story, it is evident that Creon is the tragic hero of the story Antigone because he exhibits

Creon:“I killed you, my son, without intending to,/ and you, as well, my wife,” (Lines 1486-1487). Antigone is the story of a girl who defies the king of Thebes in order to honor her dead brother, Polyneices, who is not allowed to be buried. When the king decides to punish her, his inability to listen to reasoning and resistance to change backfires on him in a deadly way. In the play, Antigone, by Sophocles, Creon, the play’s tragic hero, brings suffering to others, such as causing the death of Antigone, his son, Haemon, and his wife, Eurydice, which contributes to the tragic vision of the play as a whole because it shows how stubbornness brings pain for 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.

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.

“Humble yourself or life will do it for you,” is a common quote used by many. This idea of being humble to avoid consequences applies well to the book Antigone by Sophocles. It shows how if one has too much pride, they will be humbled in one way or another. In Antigone, Creon had tunnel vision, not listening to anyone. His fatal flaw was hubris, ultimately leading to the downfall of him.

Creon is obsessed with his loyalty to the state; he is too stubborn and proud to listen to the people of said state. This leads to his misconception that he as king is the entirety of the state.”I’ll have no dealings with law-breakers, critics of the government: Whoever is chosen to govern should be obeyed-- Must be obeyed, in all things, great or small, Just or Unjust!” (Sophocles, Lines 525-529). Creon does not hold democratic ideals, and thus the state that which he is loyal to is solely the government, which he is the embodiment of. Creon, oblivious to his own self-centered ideologies, does not believe that his loyalty is directed incorrectly. Although Creon pledges himself to the state, his actions in the story are driven by his

Pride can be one of man's strongest qualities. In Sophocles' play, Antigone, the Theme of pride becomes the cause for destruction for both Creon and Antigone in the play.. Creon's Pride blinds him to the injustice he commits against Antigone and the gods. Antigone's pride leaves her no choice but to be killed because of her beliefs. They Both automatically surrender to their own hubris and demonstrate how uncontrolled pride leads to personal downfalls and destruction in Antigone. The excessive pride of Creon and Antigone lead to their downfalls in Antigone.

In Antigone by Sophocles, the purpose of Creon’s speech is to explain his new leadership. First, Creon wants to gain the loyalty from the citizens of Thebes. A great king would first need the trust of his state in order to rule effectively. Especially, Creon would need trust from his state after the tragic events that happened beforehand, which was Polyneices and Eteocles dying. He state this fact in his speech: “I am aware, of course, that no ruler can expect complete loyalty from his subjects until he has been tested in office.” Creon is guaranteeing that he can be trusted and how devoted he was to gaining their trust. These words alone shows how much he wants to be king and rule them the correct way which is without betrayal. His tone is sincere to show that he actually means what he says. Creon proves his devotion in his speech by stating,”No one values friendship more highly than I; but we must remember that friends made at the risk of wrecking our ship are not real friends at all.” He is referring to Polyneices and how he betrayed his people. Creon is making sure that his state knows that his people comes before anything else and that they are his prime priority with security of their lives. These are the oaths or promises that Creon shall make as their new leader.

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 story itself, places Antigone determined to carry out the burying of her brother Polyneices with the purpose of honouring him and giving him the importance she thinks he deserves. Considering this an act of love, Antigone is willing to overcome the laws of the state and Creon’s orders by sacrificing her own life in order to distinguish the reputation of her family. This rebellious role that differences her from the other woman during those times, provides her the ability of

Antigone dearly beloved brothers Eteocles and Polyneices has joined their ancestors in the afterlife. Eteocles has been buried with honor There seems to be a problem with Polyneices who has not been buried. Antigone uncle Creon, don 't want to bury his own nephew. Antigone will always stand up for her family so she will go against her own uncle. Antigone is correct for bold rebellion to bury her brother because she loyal to her family and to the gods.

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 the world below perhaps such action are no crime,” (595-596) says Antigone to Creon who overlooks the Gods. The Gods deem burial an act of justice among mankind, Antigone embodies the essence of the Gods. Themes of justice and righteousness are developed in Antigone by the dialogue between Creon and Antigone. Antigone’s reasoning is overshadowed by Creon’s unreasonableness, which highlights Creon’s characteristics. Antigone’s endeavor towards justice, and her eventual hanging, furthermore, advance the plot developing Creon’s character as a tragic hero.

Possibly their biggest distinction is in their ideals. While discussing the issue of Polyneices and Eteocles deaths, Antigone and Creon take a very different stance. For Creon, he believes that Eteocles was the better man, so he deserves a proper burial, whereas he believes Polyneices is traitor, so he deserves no burial rights. On the other hand, Antigone firmly believes that not granting a dead man a burial is immoral and that no matter the person, everyone deserves a proper burial. After Antigone is confronted by the guard and brought to Creon she explains to him what she knows is morally right, “I did not think anything which you proclaimed strong enough to let a mortal override the gods and their unwritten and unchanging laws” (338). In this quote, she is trying to harn Creon that although he thinks very highly of himself, he will never be able to anything to disrupt the gods and their unwritten laws (being that all men deserve burial). Additionally, the word choice and tone used by the characters also differs. When Creon talks he makes it clear that he thinks of himself quite highly and is convinced that he is above everyone else because of his excessive pride and noble stature. This leads to a tone in his speech that is very obnoxious and off-putting. To the contrary, Antigone regards herself quite low and stands for

First of all, Creon fits Aristotle’s definition of tragic hero, which is excessive pride, also known as hubris. Creon is overconfident about himself and he doesn’t listen to others. For example, when the Choragos asked Creon: “I have been wondering, King: can it be that the gods have done this?” (Scene 1, Line 13), Creon says, “Stop! Must you doddering wrecks go out of your heads entirely? “The gods!” Intolerable!” (Scene 1, Line 114-117) in a very vilely way. By this quote, we can know that Creon’s attitude to Choragos shows his fatal flaw. Another example of Creon’s overconfidence is when Haemon and Creon were having a conversation. When Haemon was talking about what Creon did was wrong, Creon says, “And the