Pride in Sophocles' Antigone
Pride is a quality that all people possess in one way or another. Some people take pride in their appearance, worldly possessions, or position in society. The story of Antigone written by Sophocles has two characters who have a tragic flaw of pride. I will show how Creon’s pride of power leads to his destruction, and how Antigone’s pride makes her an honorable character who should be treated as a hero.
Creon is a man who has just become the king of Thebes and has a flaw of having too much pride. He can’t control the power of being over other people and he lets the power go to his head. “ I now possess the throne and all its powers. No, he must be left unburied, his corpse carrion for the birds and dogs to tear, an obscenity for the citizens to behold!”(1272) In getting his new powers Creon decides to make a decree that will not allow the brother of Antigone to be buried, and if someone does bury him then that person will be killed. This goes against the beliefs of most of the people in the town and many feel that it goes against what the gods would see as acceptable. A leader tries to suggest that it could be the work of the gods. “My king, ever since he began I’ve been debating in my mind, could this possibly be the work of the gods?”(1274) This again is a reference that the people are disgusted by what Creon has decreed. They feel like it is gross or disgusting to let a persons body have no burial rights and leave the remains to be agains...
Brad Moore, a famous athlete once said, “Pride would be a lot easier to swallow if it didn’t taste so bad.” In Sophocles’ well known Greek tragedy, Antigone, the main character undergoes immense character development. Antigone transforms from being stubborn and underestimated to courageous and open-minded. In reality, it is Antigone’s insular persistence that leads to her ultimate decline in the play as well as others around her. After the death of her two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, Creon becomes the new ruler of Thebes. With this, he grants Eteocles an honorable funeral service for his brave fighting. Claiming that Polynices was a traitor, he shows complete refusal to grant Polynices a respectable and worthy service. Clearly disagreeing with Creon’s inexcusable demands, Antigone declares she will bury Polynices herself so that his soul can be at peace. Entirely aware of the consequences and dangers of this action, which include death, she goes forward vowing her love for her family. Antigone shows strength and determination towards her brother. However, her growing sense of pride leads to her downfall as she sacrifices everything for her family. Antigone develops into an admirable character in which she portrays her defiance and courage, pride and open mindedness, and sense of moral righteousness to show vital character growth as the play progresses.
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
It is very common for us to ignore a problem or refute the idea of its existence. we certainly can’t solve a problem by pretending that it isn’t there. Once the problem has been acknowledged, we can proceed to explore what the causes are. Shortly after Creon placed himself at odds with the will of the Gods with his new law that forbade burial to Polyneices, he is presented with the issue that someone has disobeyed his law. Choragos, his advisor, in an attempt to make him reason that the Gods do not favor his new establishment of the law, suggests that it may have been the will of the Gods for Polyneices to have been buried by an unknown person. We notice how Creon reacts furiously and orders Choragos to stop. “Must your doddering wrecks. Go out of your head entirely! The Gods! Intolerable! The Gods favor this corpse? Why? How had he served them?” (Sophocles Scene I 236-240). Creon has twisted Choragos’s words by interpreting that the Gods may have favored Polyneices over his rule. He feels as if questioning his final word is a sign of anarchy. He is presented with the problem and yet refuses to acknowledge it. Creon has failed to realize that he has challenged the Gods and once again his pride made him lack perception and overcomes his wisdom.
Steffi Graf stated, “You can have a certain arrogance, and I think that's fine, but what you should never lose is the respect for the others.” This quote helps me prove that there's no point in someone having a high status, if they don’t treat their people right. They'll just get disrespect in return and become a low status in their people’s hearts. In Sophocles tragic play Antigone, King Creon’s self importance and high level of arrogance caused many consequences in the drama such as death itself and miscalculations of choice making. The King of Thebes thinks of himself better than everyone because of his power of the throne. Thinking that the king rules alone and if one to ever disobey the King, they are to bare consequences.
The great Saint Augustine once said, “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels” (Enchiridion of Augustine chap. 27). Hubris “a great or foolish amount of pride or confidence”. This is a very important word in the play and for the characters. It is displayed in the play because it makes it more interesting in so many ways. Many of the conflicts are caused because of hubris. In a way it is good to have pride, but an excessive amount of pride can be harmful. In the play Antigone, Creon is the one that has the most pride.
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.
Sympathy for the Main Character in Sophocles' Antigone Sophocles' play is named after its main character, Antigone, and for
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...
Though both brothers, Polynices and Eteocles, died at the hands of each other at the same time, Creon only paid proper respects for Eteocles because he died protecting the country. However for Polynices, he issued “a proclamation [that forbid] the city to dignify him with burial, morn him at all” and allow “his corpse, carrion for the birds and dogs to tear, an obscenity for the citizens to behold” (lines 227-231). Though it is typical for people of exile to have a different burial than regular Theban citizens, Creon’s barbaric instructions for Polynices burial is beyond immoral. Instead of being buried outside the city, Creon’s order is to not have him buried at all. This is a very torturous ending because when people die they need some type of burial to enter into the underworld, so Creon’s issue of this law meant that Polynices’ soul would be lost and without a home. Creon’s bizarre instructions are rooted in his personality as king and has less to do with Polynices himself. Instead of being a Theban king of honor, Creon let his pride get in the way which spoiled his leadership skills. His arrogance goes so overboard that he mocks the gods more than once. After proclaiming Antigone’s death, he first mocks Zeus by stating “let [Antigone] cry for mercy, sing her hymns to Zeus who defends all bonds of kindred blood” and again when he says “there let her pray to her god she worships” (lines 735-736) (line875). His outrageous mockery here is an example of how obnoxious he is and has no respect for his citizens or the gods they worship. It is safe to assume the Creon thinks he has taken the place of a god because of his position as king. However, in the end Creon finds out that he was wrong for the proclamation and sentencing Antigone for standing up for what was
The failures of Creon leadership represent the limitations of autocratic government and thereby serve to promote democracy. At the play’s opening, Creon is portrayed sympathetically. He presents his decree preventing the burial of Polynices as just retribution for his crimes against Thebes and as an effective way to prevent pollution (Sophocles 62). He feels further vindicated because the chorus, consisting of elder representatives of the populace, supports the decree. Even Antigone’s impassioned defence, which invokes the “unwritten and unfailing” (73) laws of the gods, appears to have no impact on the chorus, who states that “she does not know how to bend amidst her troubles” (74). This perception of Creon begins to shift upon Antigone’s death sentence. Although the punishment seems as cruel and excessive, Creon firmly believes it to be a necessary deed. He is “eager to display his full control of a crisis barely averted...
Since Creon is so insecure he feels that people are conniving against him. When Polyneices was found buried after Creon clearly announced no one was to bury him, Creon completely dismissed the idea that it could have been the gods or a mere woman who buried Polyneices. He said, "There have been those who have whispered together. Stiff-necked anarchists, putting their heads together, scheming against me in alleys."(9) The mention of the word "those" shows that Creon feels many people are out to disobey his laws and make him look bad. Contrary to Creon's belief it was a woman, Antigone, who had gone to bury her brother Polyneices because she felt he deserved a proper burial. Creon's insecurity made him feel that a large group of people were against him when in reality it was only one woman who disobeyed his law.
Tragedy of Antigone The play “Antigone” by Sophocles displays many qualities that make it a great tragedy. A tragedy is defined as a dramatic or literary work in which the principal character engages in a morally significant struggle ending in ruin or profound disappointment. In creating his tragedy “Antigone”, Sophocles uses many techniques to create the feelings of fear and pity in his readers. This, in turn, creates an excellent tragedy.
Antigone, a tragic drama written by Sophocles explores the different ranges of characters: static and dynamic or flat and round. Creon, King of Thebes in the dramatic play Antigone takes on the role that of a static character. Throughout the whole play Creon believed the idea that he was above the law of the Gods and his decrees cannot be disputed. Unknowingly, who would think that Creon’s sense of pride would cause him the life of his wife, son, and niece? However, at the very end of the play Creon returns to the palace, holding his son’s lifeless body, where he finds out that his wife has killed herself as well. Overwhelmed with grief about the death of his loved ones, Creon turns to the Chorus and says, “Lead me away. I have been rash and foolish. I have killed my son and wife. I look for comfort; my comfort lies here dead. Whatever my hands have touched come to nothing. Fate has brought all my pride to thought of dust” (1833). Creon takes responsibility of the death of his son and wife by calling himself a “rash” man and this is where Creon undergoes the changes of a dynamic character by admitting that he was wrong.
In the play Creon goes against the Gods by making it illegal to bury Polyneices, Antigone’s brother because he is deemed a traitor. The burying of a dead body is seen as a necessity by all of Greece as it is an unspoken law of the Gods. Antigone goes to bury her brother so his afterlife will be better. She does it in spite of the law that Creon has made. “It is the dead, not the living, who make the longest demands” (192) She tries to explain to her sister, Ismene, that they must bury Polyneices, but even that close relationship has trouble because of the law. Ismene is unwilling to suffer the consequences of the law, to save her brother’s soul “Forgive me but I am helpless: I must yield to those in authority” (192) Even the two sisters who have just lost both of their brothers have different views on the matter. One will not stray from the law and what is deemed right by their king, while the other will accept any punishment, even death just to do what she believes is right.
Creon states, “Whoever places a friend above the good of his own country, he is nothing.” Therefore, he does not allow the burial of Antigone’s brother because he did not place the good of his country first. He was a traitor. Creon makes this law for the good of his country. The following statements that Creon makes exemplify this: “I could never make that man a friend of mine who menaces our country”, “never will the traitor be honored a...