Cindy Yoon
Mr.Constantini
English 1A
18 September 2015
Real Tragic Hero of Antigone
The play, Antigone is an Ancient Greek play mostly about myth written by Sophocles. There are two main characters in this play which are Antigone and Creon. Antigone is a girl who tries to bury her brother, Polyneices who died during the war and she chooses family instead of the government. Creon, is Antigone’s uncle, and also a King of Thebes who didn’t allow the people to bury Polyneices. He doesn’t like people who disobeys the rules of the government.They both are tragic characters because Antigone kills herself and Creon asks for his death to the gods.It can be argued that the tragic hero is Creon because of his excessive pride and his intense suffering at the end of the play.
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
How does a tragic hero create flaws and difficulties for people? In the story Antigone, Creon has many series of different tragic flaws. He makes a lot of judgement that lead to the destruction of loved one. As a leader, you have a lot of stress but you should always make the best decision for family and others who you are incharge of.
Another scene in the play which demonstrates Creon’s ineffective rule is when Teiresias comes to deliver Creon’s prophecy. Teiresias first addresses Creon by informing him to listen to what the prophet has to say. Here is where it is evident that Creon is often one minded in his thinking. As soon as Creon is asked to listen he snaps back at Teiresias, “I am not aware that I have ever failed to listen.” (Sophocles 835)
Creon’s tragic flaw is his overwhelming ego. The series of events began to occur when Creon denied
But for a living lesson against such infamy, / You shall be racked and tortured till you tell / The whole truth of this outrage; so you may learn / To seek your gain where gain is yours to get, / Not try to grasp it everywhere. / In wickedness you’ll find more loss than profit” (lines 251-261). Most people know that when a king threatens to brutally hurt one of his subjects if they are unable to follow a command or assignment means he is misusing his power. Creon is misusing his power because he states, “You shall be racked and tortured to death”, even though the sentry
Zachary Chaffin Mrs. Pastor English 10 15 May. 2023 Antigone Foil Writing Assignment In the story, Antigone, a famous and one of the last remaining Greek tragedies written by Sophocles, the audience will experience a heartfelt story, complete with a vast array of characters intertwining together for a tragic ending. In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Antigone, Creon’s self-assurance is highlighted through his interactions with Antigone, which establishes his self-assurance and develops his character as it leads to his downfall as a tragic hero.
He expresses this by stating,”Unfortunately... the prince Eteocles and Polyneices, have killed each other... I, as next blood, have… full power of… throne... no traitor is honored...whoever shows by word or deed...shall have...my reverence when he is dead.” Creon is informing the people of Thebes not only that he has been crown king fairly but also that whoever goes against the law that was enforced will suffer the consequences.
Tragic Hero Essay During the times of 500 B.C., the Greek tragedy of Antigone by Sophocles took place in a Palace. Moreover, it had been a classical Greek tragedy which was quite common in ancient times like these. This specific play was about a King, named Creon and a woman named Antigone, who buried her brother and because it was against the king's law, she got sentenced to death. As times have passed, it has been greatly debated among others who the real tragic hero in Antigone is, but it can clearly be argued it is Antigone.
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?
He refuses to hear the counsel of others, even if it came from the gods. This is the last chance Creon had at potentially stopping the ensuing downfall that he will face later on in
(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.
“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.
He can act quite stubborn and overconfident in himself and his ruling, and he needs to see this situation from another point of view in order to prevent anarchy. We find Creon irritated and belligerent when speaking with Teiresias. TEIRESIAS. King, you will drive me to words that - CREON. Say them, say them!
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.”
The play, Antigone written by Sophocles, presents a tragedy that fits the classical definition, but it is the story of Creon, the king of the main character. Creon starts out as the king of Thebes , Creon’s tragic flaw is his pride and his arrogance which caused him reflecting upon his mistakes making him a broken man, recognizing what he did to his niece, he is a character within Antigone, even though he was portrayed as an antagonist he was the main character since he was. Creon’s tragic flaw, hubris, causes his downfall. Creon will not listen to anyone.