Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
There are many facets of personality of a minor character that authors may utilize to supply contrast to the main character of their work. Some of these contrasts are extremely noticeable and some are not. One such facet is with the use of a neutral character; to not only showcase the main character’s flaws, but so not to detract from the moral of the story. Creon, from the play “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles is used for both of these reasons. Sophocles wished to show that one cannot escape fate, yet did not want to cloud this issue with a possible coupe against his main character Oedipus. He also showed how, at times one character can act completely irrational, while one remains calm in the face of serious accusations.
Creon is the brother of Iocaste, the Queen of Thebes, and was the brother-in-law to both King Laios and King Oedipus. When King Laios was regent he had consulted an oracle concerning possible children. When the oracle revealed there would be a curse upon the child, that he would kill his father and marry his mother, King Laios and Queen Iocaste chose to have the infant slayed. Although no one aware, the child was rescued and taken to a far off land. Years later, Oedipus, unaware of who his biological parents really were, received a similar prophecy from an oracle and chose to leave his homeland forever, so as not to cause his parents harm or shame. In the same timeframe, King Laios decided to make a pilgrimage and the court was uncertain exactly what had transpired, but the King never returned. It was “said that a band of highwaymen attacked them, outnumbered them, and overwhelmed the King” (Sophocles 713). Supposedly one lone survivor got away and this was the tale he imparted. As King Laios and Queen Iocaste h...
... middle of paper ...
...us
the Tyrant." The Journal of Politics 66.3 (2004): 773-99. JSTOR. Web. 20 Apr. 2012.
"Creon." Who's Who in Classical Mythology, Routledge. London: Routledge, 2002. Credo
Reference. Web. 18 April 2012.
Edmunds, Lowell. "Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus 80-81." Harvard Studies in Classical Philology
80 (1976): 41-44. JSTOR. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.
Laughton, Eric. "Two Passages of the Oedipus Tyrannus." The Classical Review 52.6 (Dec.
1938): 210-11. JSTOR. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.
Peterkin, L. Denis. "The Creon of Sophocles." Classical Philology 24.3 (Jul 1929): 263-73.
JSTOR. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
Powell, J. Enoch. "Notes on the Oedipus Tyrannus." Classical Philology 30.1 (Jan 1935): 66-72.
JSTOR. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.
Sidwell, Keith. "The Argument of the Second Stasimon of Oedipus Tyrannus." The Journal of
Hellenic Studies 112 (1992): 106-22. JSTOR. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.
The ancient Greeks were fond believers of Fate. Fate, defined according to Webster’s, is “the principle or determining cause or will by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as the do.” The Greeks take on Fate was slightly modified. They believed that the gods determined Fate: “…fate, to which in a mysterious way the gods themselves were subject, was an impersonal force decreeing ultimate things only, and unconcerned with day by day affairs.” It was thought that these gods worked in subtle ways; this accounts for character flaws (called harmatia in Greek). Ancient Greeks thought the gods would alter a person’s character, in order for that person to suffer (or gain from) the appropriate outcome. Such was the case in Oedipus’s story.
Poet and Scholar Robert Graves wrote in 1995, “Myth has two main functions. The first is to answer the sort of awkward questions that children ask, such as ‘Who made the world? How will it end? Who was the first man? Where do souls go after death?’…The second function of myth is to justify an existing social system and account for traditional rites and customs.” Oedipus the King written by Sophocles in 430 B.C. focuses around the second function that Graves noted. The play has been around for centuries, has evoked psychological theories, and will remain a classic. Sophocles has managed to touch on social, ethical, psychology, and more importantly philosophical issues in one play. Perhaps one of the most popularly known psychologist, Freud, was able to develop the theory that every child has a desire to sleep with their mother and kill their father. This is called the "Oedipus Complex". Oedipus the King tests all psychological boundaries for the reader by evoking self identification through the tragic concept of fate and using the literary tool of the chorus to internalize all of the emotion.
Throughout my lifetime, I have been told to “be yourself” or that “you are the master of your own fate”. Each one of us is told that we are important because we are unique. However, it certainly hasn’t always been that way. The perceived value of individuals has evolved as we have advanced as a society. The progression of global religions over time is evidence of this. During the period from soon after the advent of religion many thousands of years ago until around 1900, humans saw themselves as relatively unimportant compared to the omnipotent gods. However, since 1900, humans, collectively and individually, have been seen as the utmost authority in the universe. The play Oedipus The King, written by Sophocles
tells the priest and the suffering people of Thebes. If Oedipus did not care for
A definition of a “tragic hero” is, “a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering,or defeat.“tragic hero” (Dictionary.com). Another definition of a “tragic hero” and one that Creon fits best is “ a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces brings on a tragedy” (Dictionary.com).
To start off, Creon is of noble birth. For anyone who hasn’t read the play Antigone, or its predecessor Oedipus Rex, Creon is the brother of king Oedipus, thus making
Throughout the Greek play, “Antigone”, we see one of the main character’s, Creon, who recently was named King of Thebes due to his Nephews battling to the death for the throne. Creon by the end of the play would eventually develop a theme known as a “Tragic Hero.” His character's emotion and motivations conflict with another main character, his Niece who the play is named after, Antigone. The characteristics of Creon have conflicting motives such as his hierarchy, greed, and vengefulness are highlighted by Antigone’s opposing ethics. Ultimately these conflicting motivations develop Creon as a tragic hero by making him regret his Decree and rash decisions once he has learned of his fate.
Creon was seen in a different context in Oedipus compared to his character in Antigone.
In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is depicted as a morally ambiguous character; neither purely evil or purely good. Oedipus runs from his fate initially to prevent himself from pursuing what he believed was his fate; however, he is lead straight towards his real fate. He kills his biological father as he is headed to Thebes, where he takes the throne. Once he has taken the throne, he begins to try and save his city from the plague by looking for the murder of king Laius. However, what he does not know is that the prophet has told him who has slew the king; therefore, he presents his ignorance as a leader. Not only does his ignorance create the flawed character inside himself, but it also causes him to run from his fate. The significance of Oedipus being a morally ambiguous character is that he cannot run from his fate
At first glance, Oedipus and Creon are two very different people. But as time progresses their personalities and even their fates grow more and more similar. In Sophocles’s play “Oedipus the King”, Oedipus and Creon are two completely opposite people. Oedipus is brash and thoughtless, whilst Creon is wise and prudent. In “Oedipus the King”, Oedipus effectively portrays the idea of the classic “flawed hero”. He becomes arrogant and brash. He accuses Creon and Tiresias of treachery. Even worse however, Oedipus goes against the gods. This causes them to punish him severely. Creon is the exact antithesis of Oedipus. He thinks before he acts. Creon is wise and loyal. In Sophocles’ other play, “Antigone”, however, he undergoes a drastic personality change. He becomes more and more like Oedipus. Creon commits acts of hubris, kills and humiliates people for no reason whatsoever. Once he realizes the folly of his ways, he punishes himself for going against the gods and destroying all that he loved, This is strikingly similar to the story of Oedipus. At first Oedipus and Creon seem like entirely different people. But through the course of events, they share almost identical personalities and even fates.
The horrible fates of Oedipus and Creon are due to their tragic flaws. Even though both fates of these characters are absolutely terrible, Oedipus experiences the greatest tragedy. Oedipus’s flaw of ignorance might not be directly his fault but it results in horrific actions that no one else can be blamed for. Creon's flaw of pride causes him to make irrational decisions that end up harming the people he loves. Both characters directly cause the deaths of loved family members as a result of their flaws and decisions. Nothing can be worse that this. Oedipus The King and Antigone demonstrate the horrific tragedies of life.
This essay will illustrate the types of characters depicted in Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus Rex, whether static or dynamic, flat or round, and whether protrayed through the showing or telling technique.
Here is a story where Oedipus the King, who has accomplished great things in his life, discovers that the gods were only playing with him. He has everything a man of that time could want; he is king of Thebes, he has a wonderful wife and children, and great fame through out the lands. He has lived a good life, but in the end everything is taken from him.
Oedipus Rex, an ancient Greek tragedy authored by the playwright Sophocles, includes many types of psychological phenomena. Most prominently, the myth is the source of the well-known term Oedipal complex, coined by psychologist Sigmund Freud in the late 1800s. In psychology, “complex” refers to a developmental stage. In this case the stage involves the desire of males, usually ages three to five, to sexually or romantically posses their mother, and the consequential resentment of their fathers. In the play, a prince named Oedipus tries to escape a prophecy that says he will kill his father and marry his mother, and coincidentally saves the Thebes from a monster known as the Sphinx. Having unknowingly killed his true father Laius during his escape, he marries the widowed queen of Thebes, his mother Jocasta. Many events in the story should lead to suspicion of their marriage, but out of pride and ignorance Oedipus stubbornly refuses to accept his fate. Together, these sins represent the highest taboos of Greek society, revealed by Socphocles’s depiction of the already pervasive story. Before the Thebian plays, the myth centered more around Oedipus’s journey of self-awareness; meanwhile, Sophocles shows Oedipus’s struggles with his inevitable desire toward his mother throughout these stages of psychological development.
Other than the obvious roles Creon plays in this story (Jocasta’s brother and Oedipus’ brother-in-law), Creon plays a very big role and is a part of the most significant points in this drama.