Creon Guilt In Antigone Essay

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In the play Antigone by Sophocles, one central idea behind the play is the guilt that punishes Creon for his wrongdoings. In the beginning, Creon is shown to be a horrible, stubborn, and ignorant king to his citizens in Thebes, but over the course of the play one can tell that he’s realizing what he has done is wrong in the world. Antigone, who is a strong, powerful, young women, stands up to someone of a higher power than her and she stands up for what she thinks is right; Creon doesn’t budge but rather only listens to himself, ignoring other’s opinions. By not considering any other point of view, he causes disaster for Antigone, his family, and himself. By the end of the play all of Creon's stubbornness and authoritarian actions no longer matter because the, “guilt of all their deaths [is] on [Creon]” (Line 1437). …show more content…

Creon reflects upon the deaths. He feels remorse and “ shudders with dread!” as he questions, “ Why not kill me too?” (Line 1433). He has ignored the right advise that people have given him. He believes that he would be better off dead because of all the guilt that he must bear if he remains alive. Even in his family, Haemon, Creon's son, doesn’t approve of letting Antigone be buried alive, and now look where it got him. Creon dishonored his son and he knew he couldn't listen to someone younger, let alone his own son, he was the man in power. Now, Haemon is dead because his father would not consider Haemon’s plea for Antigone’s life. Creon didn’t listen to anyone until his son took his life. It was this tragedy that woke him up to his guilt. Just as he is starting to realize his guilt, the messenger comes in and announces, “[Eurydice] drove home to the heart with her own hand” as she killed herself after knowing her son was

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