The play “Antigone” by Sophocles is about how a girl named Antigone who was determined to bury her brother Polynices because the law in Thebes who was ruled by her uncle known as King Creon said that you weren’t allowed to bury or honor people who was a traitor to the city and yet a prophet claimed a very powerful vision that would later hurt Creon for making that type of law. The theme in Antigone was to open your ears and listen to others, take advice from others because if they did, there would have been no chaos and nobody could have died. Despite these differences, Antigone and Creon are still similar in many ways in that they both are loyal, determined, and stubborn. Loyalty is when you have a strong feelings for something , like putting all your devotion and faithfulness into something you truly love. In the play, Antigone and Creon shows they’re both loyal. For example, Antigone is loyal for burying her brother and her mother. It says “Nevertheless, as I go, I nurture the hope that I will come …show more content…
Stubborn is when you are also determined to do a certain issue and to be against to change their decision like to refuse. Antigone showed stubborn when her sister Ismene wanted to take blame for burying Polynices but Antigone refused her to, it said “ No Ismene. You have no right to say so. You would not help me, and I will not have you help me.” This shows that even if Ismene wanted to take blame, Antigone knew she made a decision that was overboard and still went ahead and told Creon that she did all of it and that she was guilty. Creon on the other hand, ignored his son Haemon’s feelings and that he was going to punish Antigone even if they were related, it said “Another? Have you lost your senses? Is this an open threat?” This shows that Creon doesn’t care what the city thinks and what Haemon is even telling him because he wants to punish Antigone for breaking his law and Haemon isn’t saying a smart
Creon's pride is that of a tyrant. He is inflexible and unyielding, unwilling throughout the play to listen to advice or Antigone. Creon’s love for the city-state cause him to abandon all other beliefs. He tries to enforce this upon the people of Thebes. He wants them to think that his laws should be followed before any other personal, moral, or religious belief. This is where the conflict of character occurs between Antigone and Creon. Antigone knows that the sacred laws held by heaven are far more important...
Not understanding or listening to the opinion of others can frequently have unfortunate consequences and even lead to tragedy. In the play, Antigone, written by Sophocles, the two main characters, Antigone and Creon, both failed to listen which led to the death of several people. It was exhibited how important it is to acknowledge the truth and this was the central theme of the play. The conflict between Antigone and Creon started because they had opposing viewpoints of whether or not Antigone’s brother, Polyneices, should have been buried after he died in battle. Antigone strongly believed that Polyneices should have because it was the law of the gods and they are eternal, while man’s laws are not. However, Creon, on the other hand,
In Antigone, translated by Elizabeth Wyckoff, the struggle between Creon and Antigone’s wills lead to their eventual downfalls. Croen believes that his decision to not have a proper burial for Polyneices is defended by the Gods, among other things. However, Antigone believes that her decision to bury Polyneices is also justified. A compromise is unable to be reached because of their inelastic viewpoints, not necessarily the views themselves. These extreme views are shaped by Antigone and Creon’s personalities, families, and social statuses. The rigidity of their viewpoints leads us to wonder about the principles that these characters hold, and why they hold them.
The hubris resonating throughout the play, ‘Antigone’ is seen in the characters of Creon and Antigone. Their pride causes them to act impulsively, resulting in their individual downfalls. In his opening speech, Creon makes his motives clear, that “no man who is his country’s enemy shall call himself my friend.” This part of his declaration was kept to the letter, as he refused burial for his nephew, Polynices. However, when the situation arises where it is crucial that Creon takes advice, he neglects the part of the speech where he says “a king... unwilling to seek advice is damned.” This results in Creon’s tragic undoing.
The plot revolves around a story of Antigone’s struggle to give Polynices, her brother, his final rights by giving him a proper burial, despite the fact that Creon has forbid for anyone to do so as Polynices was a traitor to Thebes and its people. One major struggle throughout the play is the apparent conflict between Antigone and Creon. Creon and Antigone have temperaments that clash with each other. Antigone values passion while Creon values the state. Although they have very different values, Antigone and Creon have very similar personalities. They are both stubborn, independent people who are so similar that they can never see eye to eye on issues. Both Antigone and Creon are filled with pride and passion in their beliefs. These traits can be considered both very advantageous and moral as well as being a negative trait that represents the stubbornness in human beings. Antigone and Creon are incredibly proud, making it impossible for either one to concede defeat once they have taken a stand for what they believe in. As stated by Tiresias “stubbornness brand...
Antigone, as a character, is extremely strong-willed and loyal to her faith. Creon is similarly loyal, but rather to his homeland, the city of Thebes, instead of the gods. Both characters are dedicated to a fault, a certain stubbornness that effectively blinds them from the repercussions of their actions. Preceding the story, Antigone has been left to deal with the burden of her parents’ and both her brothers’ deaths. Merely a young child, intense grief is to be expected; however, Antigone’s emotional state is portrayed as frivolous when it leads her to directly disobey Creon’s orders. She buries her brother Polynices because of her obedience to family and to the gods, claiming to follow “the gods’ unfailing, unwritten laws” (Sophocles 456-457). CONTINUE
In the play Antigone, there are many situations in which loyalty is involved, and in some, conflicts arise. The first example of this is the relationship between Haimon and his father Creon. This unusual relationship between them is incredibly superficial in that Creon is only proud of him because he is kissing up and says what his father wants to hear. It is blatantly obvious during their conversation where Haimon states; “I am your son father. You are my guide. You make things clear for me, and I obey you. No marriage means more to me than you continuing wisdom.” This statement is basically what Creon expects to hear out of his son. His reply of, ”Good. That is the way to behave: subordinate everything else, my son, to your father’s will.” Creon is used to having people do everything he wants them to do. The second example is the relationship between Antigone and her dead brother Polyneices. She is incredibly loyal to him and is willing to risk her life in order to preserve his honor as a warrior and bury her against Creons order. It is evident in her statement of, “But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy: I shall die down with him in death, and I shall be as dear to him as he to me.” She will do whatever it takes, even if it is death, to bury her violated brother. The third example is the relationship between Haimon and Antigone. Although Haimon was loyal to his father, he later broke away from his grasp and went to the aid of his fiancée Antigone. He felt that he betrayed her by siding with his father when he was obviously wrong and being stubborn. He signifies his loyalty to Antigone with the statement of, “But her death will cause another.” He will openly defy his father in order to stand by her side. There are numerous examples of loyalty in the play Antigone.
But throughout the play, his decisions are truly of why he is pertained as a tragic hero. One of which, is his tragic flaw, being his arrogance in the face of the gods, and pertaining his pride to overrule other things more important. For example, “Whatever you say, you will not change my will.”(Creon), this conveys his self-righteousness and his ways of wants. In Creon’s definition as king, he is the only one to have a say, while the people cannot and do not have the chance to speak out their opinion. Creon upholds the laws of the city that when Antigone tries to rebel against, he becomes stubborn. He never wants to believe that he could be wrong, especially to someone younger, especially to a woman. This pride illustrated to the gods, resulted to having himself face the deaths of his son and wife. Creon, then, may have the realisation of his pride taking over him to what he did wrong, “My own blind heart has brought me from darkness to final darkness.”(Creon), but his fate was already decided because of his own self, and failure to recognize his own wrong doings, even when he was
Creon's noble quality is his caring for Antigone and Ismene when their father was persecuted. Creon is a very authoritative person and demands control of others. When talking to the Chorus, Creon does not ask them to agree with the decree but demands that they follow it. Creon expects loyalty from others. It is apparent that Creon is very dominating and wants to be in control. "The man the city sets up in authority must be obeyed in small things and in just but also in their opposites"(717-719). Through this quote the reader realizes that Creon wants obedience in everything he decides even if he is at fault. "There is nothing worse than disobedience to authority" (723-724). Further supporting Creon's belief that everyone shall remain faithful to him even if he rules unfairly. This is proved true when Creon says, "Should the city tell me how I am to rule them?" (790).
Creon's character possesses an infinite number of glitches in his personality, but his excessive pride was the root of his problems. His pride leads him to make accusations, before he considers the wise advice of others. Creon's pride also fills him not just as a king superior to the Gods, but also a man superior to women. The issue of Antigone being condemned to die becomes more than just a person who disobeys Creon; instead, the punishment is given even more eagerly, because it is a woman who disobeys a man. Creon's intelligent son warns Creon the people of Thebes sympathize with Antigone, but Creon accuses Haemon of being a "woman's slave" (line 756). Even though he is suppose to be loyal to the state and her citizens, he defensively questions if "the town [is] to tell [him] how [he] ought to rule?"(Line 734)The Theban king is too prideful to obey even the wisest of prophets, blind Teresias, insisting that "the whole crew of seers are money-mad" (line 1055). Creon finally puts his pride aside and listens to the Chorus' wise advice. It is difficult even then, and he obeys only because he fears the punishment that he might receive. "To yield [for Creon] is terrible" (line 1095) meaning to swallow his pride and admit that he is wrong is a very difficult thing for him to do. When Creon loses his wife and son, Creon's pride disappears, and he admits that he made a terrible mistake by not listening to anyone's advice.
The first characteristic that decides the plot of the play is loyalty. Antigone quickly shows loyalty early on in the play when she first found out about the new law,”Creon buried our brother Eteocles with military honors, gave a soldier’s funeral, and it was right that
In the play, Sophocles examines the nature of Antigone and Creon who have two different views about life, and use those views against one another. Antigone who is depicted as the hero represents the value of family. According to Richard Braun, translator of Sophocles Antigone, Antigone’s public heroism is domestically motivated: “never does [Antigone] give a political explanation of her deed; on the contrary, from the start [Antigone] assumes it is her hereditary duty to bury Polynices, and it is from inherited courage that [Antigone] expects to gain the strength required for the task” (8). Essentially, it is Antigone’s strong perception of family values that drive the instinct to disobey Creon’s orders and to willingly challenge the King’s authority to dictate her role in society.
..., this sense of arrogance angers Creon to a point beyond belief. Antigone’s refusal to cooperate causes Creon to go mad with irritation and frustration. Wanting to show his sense of power, he refuses to back down in fear of losing his position. His stubbornness grows stronger as Antigone continues to disobey his commands. Antigone’s strong and steady foundation helps her show defiance. She is able to overcome the opinions of the people and commit to helping her brother regardless of the after effects. She ignores what everyone says and does only as she wants. She is powerful, both physically and mentally, and is successful in her tasks. Antigone matures into a commendable and respectable character in which she depicts her rebelliousness and bravery, pride and tolerance, and sense of moral righteousness to demonstrate fundamental character development in the play.
“...never let some woman triumph over us. Better to fall from power, if fall we must, at the hands of a man —never be rated inferior to a woman, never.” This quote spoken by Creon, in Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone, adequately represents the opinion on women during the time in which Antigone would have been alive. Women were viewed as lower than men and were expected to be docile and passive. They were expected to never object to a man’s words, no matter if those words were to be unfair or unjust. Despite this, Antigone refuses to follow one of the most fundamental teachings of her culture by burying her brother even though the king, Creon, explicitly forbids the action, since her brother is a traitor. She rebelliously does what she feels is right, which cannot be said for her sister, Ismene. Ismene represents what a woman of her time was viewed as: weak and submissive to men’s
Antigone's loyalty knows no bounds, shes aware that the consequence of her actions is death and yet she commits the crime anyways. Antigone is connected to her brother through more than just simply love, they are connected through blood. Since most of her family has already perished, leaving her with little to no one, she feels that she owes it to Polyneices and to the rest of her family to give him a proper burial, so that they may be together in the afterlife. This is important because through her act of loyalty to her brother, Antigone shows readers that loyalty is good but it must stop at a certain point. Antigone is not only loyal to her brother, but she's also loyal to the Gods. While talking to Creon she says, “I did not think your edicts strong enough/To overrule the unwritten unalterable laws/Of God and heaven, you being only a man” (138). Antigone believes that the Gods law is stronger than Creon's and no matter what the consequences are she’ll always stay true to them. Throughout