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Character analysis of antigone by sophocles
Tragedy antigone characters
Antigone by sophocles essay
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The Sorting Hat of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter The Sorcerer’s Stone sings to the students attending Hogwarts in Harry’s first year, “There’s nothing hidden in our head the Sorting Hat can’t see, so try me on and I will tell you where you ought to be. […] You might belong in Hufflepuff, where they are just and loyal, those patient Hufflepuffs are trues and unafraid of toil” (118). This magical hat looks into each student’s minds, putting him or her into the best fitting house for their own personality. If placed into the alternate universe of Harry Potter, Haimon would be placed into Hufflepuff because each the characteristics of the house are quite evident inside the prince of Thebes. In Sophocles’ tragic play, Antigone, Haimon is a loyal individual, faithful to his commitments and will stick with them, which is portrayed through his loyalty to his father, Creon, justice, and Antigone, his fiancé.
Haimon’s first scene of the play sets the reader perception of his loyalty to his father. Creon discovers that Antigone is indeed the person that buried Polyneices, from his watchman, and engages in a verbal battle. Ismene enters the scene as well, also trying to put blame on herself, but Antigone will not allow it because Ismene did not support her initially. Creon inquiries Haimon if he comes on his side or Antigone’s, to which Haimon replies, “ Your wisdom will always be my guide” (32). Haimon first displays his obedience towards his father and respect for his advice on subject of life. Unwavering in his devotion to his father, he faithfully listens to everything King Creon has to say to him. Haimon continues on to tell his father, “I will not sacrifice that for any marriage” (32). Presenting that despite the fact that he is to be w...
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...mon extends beyond life into death, to a point where he cannot live without Antigone by his side. Haimon is steadfast in his devotions, and no ends stop him from being such.
The most underrated house of the Harry Potter series houses the Prince of Thebes, which is proven by Haimon’s many acts of loyalty. Although many readers may perceive him to be a hotheaded youth that does not have a developed thought process, his act passion truthfully characterizes and differentiates himself from the rest of the cast. The experienced should be listened to, for they acquire more knowledge through the years, which in this case is King Creon. However, adherence to just behavior with suitable punishments, are also a part of the makeup of Haimon’s personality. His loyalty is also represented in this disregard for his own life, in an attempt to preserve his loyalty of to Antigone.
Many great rulers have been tempted by the authority of absolute power. In Antigone, by Sophocles, Creon, the Theban king, will do anything in order to earn this absolute power. Creon’s prideful attitude, disregard of the authority of the gods, and failure to listen cause him to fail as a statesman, demonstrating the nature of kingship in Sophocles’s Antigone.
The opening events of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, quickly establish the central conflict between Antigone and Creon. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices, who tried to burn down the temple of gods in Thebes, must not be given proper burial. Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and insists on the sacredness of family and a symbolic burial for her brother. Whereas Antigone sees no validity in a law that disregards the duty family members owe one another, Creon's point of view is exactly opposite. He has no use for anyone who places private ties above the common good, as he proclaims firmly to the Chorus and the audience as he revels in his victory over Polynices. He sees Polynices as an enemy to the state because he attacked his brother. Creon's first speech, which is dominated by words such as "authority” and "law”, shows the extent to which Creon fixates on government and law as the supreme authority. Between Antigone and Creon there can be no compromise—they both find absolute validity in the respective loyalties they uphold.
This “spark” caused Creon to intensify his punishments towards Antigone, which in turn caused a chain reaction of events and eventually led to his tragic decline. Being portrayed as a menacing villain throughout the play, Creon began as an honorable man; however, overwhelming events and confrontations caused Creon to evolve into this monstrous figure. This play, Antigone, was titled after one of the play’s main characters; however, the title could have been “Creon”, due to Creon’s influence throughout the play. Creon was a major influence to the play’s plot as it involves Creon within a majority of the scenes, from beginning to end. Throughout the play, Creon’s tragic countdown is expressed, beginning with him as king of Thebes to the death of his beloved family.
All of the characters in this plot have to fight for something, and Haimon, Creon's son and Antigone's Fiance falls victim to their determination. Antigone buries her brother, which means Haimon has to face the fatality of his loves execution and Creon is the one to punish Antigone so Haimon feels his father couldn't care about anything but the way he is viewed as King.Haimon has a lot to contest for and uses the three appeals, pathos, logos and ethos to do this.His fiance Antigone breaks the king’s laws and therefore has to face the consequences. She is punished with death by the laws holder.This tragic sister welcomes death, as it is an honor for whom she encounters it for. But Haimon won’t accept this and knows that If anybody were to
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.
After her mother committed suicide, her father died and her brothers fought until they killed each other, Antigone projects her strong character with interesting ways of showing it. As the main character with strong values and a stubborn way, she follows the laws of god, without minding the consequences. Antigone is a strong willed woman who wins the respect of the audience by the inner strength and resistance of manipulation she has, showing the potential of human kind. She becomes a heroine with noble qualities of mind, heart and soul because she is willing to sacrifice her life, doing what she believes it is right. With a sense of family ties, she is an ideal for humanity, the issue is that she must burry her brother Polynices with an appropriate ceremony since she believes it is the last right for every human being.
He writes, “Our own humanity involves having a sense of ourselves, and what this sense of ourselves amounts to is a recognition that “I matter in the world.””(67) If life is a quest of purpose we must realize we actually matter in the world. If someone lives life thinking they do not matter, then they will never find their purpose. By first coming to a realization and saying the words “I matter in the world,” allows us to come to terms with ourselves. The world we live in is a filled with endless possibilities and outcomes, no one should think they are insignificance. Our place on this world is not perfectly defined because we define it ourselves. Antigone realizes that she matters in the world. She is able to find her humanity. Creon on the other hand realizes his own humanity to late. He does realize he matters in the world, but he is unable to find his own humanity. He blinded by power and it ends up killing everyone in his family he
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.
To begin with, an in depth analysis and understanding of Creon's intents and actions must be established in order to evaluate the reactions of Antigone and Ismene. The central conflict of Antigone derives from Polyneices' betrayal to the city of Thebes. As the ruler, Creon naturally feels compelled to exert his authority by refusing Polyneices a proper burial "for the birds that see him, for their feast's delight" (162). The grotesque imagery evoked not only illustrates Creon's endeavor to discourage further rebellion, but also portrays a personal defense to protect his pride; this need to reassert his pride significantly heightens with Antigone's involvement. From Creon's perspective, leniency represents vulnerability within a leader "if he does not reach for the best counsel for [Thebes], but through some fear, keeps his tongue under lock and key"(167). Throughout the play, the symbol of "tongue" frequently recurs, illustrating how society cond...
Loyalty plays a big part in the play with the characters. Antigone’s words, actions, and ideas contrast with Creon’s character to the point of these two characters having conflicting
... for his mistakes in the denouement. Devastated by Antigone’s death, Haimon ends up committing suicide. Creon then realizes how wrong he was, however it is too late. This is not the only karma that Creon receives though. Creon’s beloved wife, Eurydice, also met her death when she was told the fate of her son. Creon finally realizes how blinded he was, and how he was continuously making foolish decisions. Two losses in one day- Creon is filled with great remorse and regret. Like the ‘Sun King’, all the sunlight in Creon’s life has faded. The world no longer revolves around Creon, as all his valued things in life have vanished. If you attain power, use it wisely. Otherwise you will end up heartbroken and repentant, just like Creon.
Creon believes that his laws are absolute and must be followed above all else, even Divine Law. Therefore when Antigone, in accordance with divine law, goes against Creons edict by burying her brother she is forcefully imprisoned and sentenced to death by Creon. In Creons opening speech he says, “Of course you cannot know a man completely, his character, his principles, sense of judgment … Experience, there’s the test” (Sophocles, p. 67). How Creon handles Antigones unlawful actions serves as his first test as the new king of Thebes and ends up showing the Thebans a glimpse of his true nature, that of a tyrannical ruler. This can be seen again when Haemon comes to Creon with the hope of dissuading him from his current course of action. He does this by trying to make Creon understand that the citizens of Thebes don’t agree with his use of power and planned execution of Antigone. Again Creons authoritarian nature comes to light in his response to Haemon, “And is Thebes about to tell me how to rule… Am I to rule this land for others – or myself?” (Sophocles, p. 97). To which Haemon counters by saying that “its no city at all, owned by one man alone” (Sophocles, p. 97). Creon, being the tyrant he is, fails to heed the wisdom of his sons’ words, which ultimately leads to his downfall. Creon, like Machiavelli, believed that it was
In the awe-inspiring play of Antigone, Sophocles introduces two remarkable characters, Antigone and Creon. A conflict between these two obstinate characters leads to fatal consequences for themselves and their kindred. The firm stances of Creon and Antigone stem from two great imperatives: his loyalty to the state and her dedication to her family, her religion but most of all her conscience. The identity of the tragic hero of this play is still heavily debated. This tragedy could have been prevented if it had not been for Creon's pitiful mistakes.
In the Antigone, unlike the Oedipus Tyrannus, paradoxically, the hero who is left in agony at the end of the play is not the title role. Instead King Creon, the newly appointed and tyrannical ruler, is left all alone in his empty palace with his wife's corpse in his hands, having just seen the suicide of his son. However, despite this pitiable fate for the character, his actions and behavior earlier in the play leave the final scene evoking more satisfaction than pity at his torment. The way the martyr Antigone went against the King and the city of Thebes was not entirely honorable or without ulterior motives of fulfilling pious concerns but it is difficult to lose sight of the fact that this passionate and pious young woman was condemned to living imprisonment.
..., 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.