The Similarities Between Antigone And Creon

Pride

Pride/a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people. In Sophocles Antigone he depicts the fight against pride. It all starts with Oedipus, Antigone’s father, and the curse he puts on his family through insets with his mother. Then Antigone’s brother dies in battle. Along with many other men who also died in battle, her brother did not get a proper burial because of King Creon’s laws. Because of this, Antigone decides to give her brother a proper burial so he can rest in peace. For her actions, Antigone is sentenced to death by Creon. Because of their selfish pride, Antigone and Creon don’t see how alike they really are. Antigone and Creon are both trying to fight for something they both believe in.

He keeps referring to “the man” (lines 45, 60, 85, 136- 138). When Creon first hears that someone buried Polyneices, he automatically assumes that the person who did it was a man. When the audience already knows from the prologue that it was Antigone, a women, that buries her brother. Not only was it a woman but also his niece. Sophocles shows Creon as being sexist because Creon doesn’t acknowledge the fact that a woman could have buried Polyneices. This scene shows dramatic irony. It creates tension and suspense for the audience as they wait for Creon’s reaction when he finds out it was Antigone. Since the audience already knows Antigone isn’t a man and Creon says how the man who did this will regret it. Sophocles also exposes dramatic irony when Creon says, “when the laws are kept how proudly this city stands, when the laws are broke what of this city then” (Lines 21-22). In this section of the book Creon is going to put Antigone to death because Antigone was trying to keep the laws of the gods, by giving Polyneices a proper burial. Sophocles shows Creon as being selfish as he takes so much pride in his laws and explains through this quote that when laws are keep the city is perfectly fine, but when the laws are broken and people keep breaking the laws then the city is a mess. However, Antigone is fighting for the gods’ laws and respect for her brother, which in turn is breaking Creon’s

In this scene Haimon is trying to explain and get Creon to understand why putting Antigone to death will not be good. There is no happiness in killing your family, niece, and your son’s fiancé. Sophocles shows Haimon as being concerned for his father and fiancé; he does not want to see Antigone die. Haimon also gives a little hint that the death of Antigone can cause more than one death. Through this scene Sophocles illustrates situational irony because in any situation no one would want to kill a friend. Sophocles also expressed situational irony when Antigone says, “I should have praise and honor for what I have done” (line 113). Antigone shows pride in what she has done by following the laws of the gods. Antigone also shows that she feels other people should praise and honor her for what she has done. She defied Creon’s law in order to honor the gods’ laws. Antigone affrims her pride and breaks the law for something she believes is right in the same way Creon breaks the gods’ law to show it is more important for him to stand by the law he has made himself. While he has pride in doing so, he does not realize what it will come to in the end. Sophocles shows situational irony in the scene because instead of being praised Antigone is being punished to death, although in the end Antigone still wins because Creon loses