Creon as the Ideal Tragic Hero of Antigone
Tragedy always involves human suffering, but not everyone who suffers is a Tragic Hero. According to Aristotle, there are five basic criteria that must be met for a character to be considered a Tragic Hero. Aristotle’s ideas about tragedy were recorded in his book of literacy theory titled Poetics. In it he has a great deal to say about the structure, purpose and intended effect of tragedy. His ideas have been adopted, disputed, expanded, and discussed for several centuries. In this essay, I will examine these criteria in regards to Antigone’s Creon, King of Thebes.
The first criterion states that to be a tragic hero, Creon must occupy a "high" status position, but must also embody nobility and virtue as part of his innate character. Creon fits this description quite accurately. We know at the beginning of the play that Creon is King of Thebes. Therefore, he occupies a stature of nobility. Furthermore, Creon’s innate character embodies virtue and nobility. For example, when talking to the Chorus at the beginning of the play, Creon says, "…anyone thinking/another man more a friend than his own country/I rate him nowhere…I would not be silent if I saw ruin, not safety…I would not count any enemy of my country as a friend" (Lines 202-210). His standards are set to the point where he would put his country above all else. He would do anything to protect his country; he would "not be silent if [he] saw ruin, not safety" (line 204).
Also, Creon shows a high sense of morality when he properly buried Eteocles, Antigone’s brother. Antigone herself says this when speaking to her sister, Ismene, "Creon honored the one…Eteocles, they say he has used justly with lawful rites and hid him ...
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...earn from. Finally, his punishment delivered by fate exceeds his crimes. Thus, according to Aristotle, Creon is the prefect tragic hero.
Works Cited and Consulted
Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms, 7th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999.
Segal, Charles Paul. “Sophocles’ Praise of Man and the Conflicts of the Antigone.” In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
Sophocles. Antigone. Translated by R. C. Jebb. The Internet Classic Archive. no pag.
http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/antigone.html
“Sophocles” In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.
Watling, E. F.. Introduction. In Sophocles: The Theban Plays, translated by E. F. Watling. New York: Penguin Books, 1974.
In chapter two, Steinbeck describes the functionality of Mack and the boys, as Lee Chong, a business man, addresses them: “Mack and the boys… the Beauties, the Virtues, [and] the Graces…and the laziness and zest[s] [of Cannery Row] (15). Mack and the boys are not just some “blots-on-the-town, thieves, rascals, and bums” who freeload off of Cannery Row; if one would look in between the lines, he can see that Mack and the boys play a vital role in the town even though they are physically isolated from the ecosystem (14). They run on their own economical system to which greatly contributes to Cannery Row as a whole; they are the bottom feeders, the cleanup crew, and the scavengers of the town; they are considered to be one of Doc’s marine animals such as the crabs and planktons. Although Mack and the boys have no source of income and are physically limited to a certain extent, their psychological mind...
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John Steinbeck is an intriguing and intelligent author native to the grapevine-woven and sun-soaked Salinas, California. Many of his works, including Of Mice and Men, and Cannery Row, have striking similarities such as similar characters, and setting , seeing as they ‘took place’ near each other in real life. As any good book, both of these novels have many ideas that are in fact complete opposites, like the overall story progression and the plot, or absence of one in the case of Cannery Row. To understand these two books clearly, this essay will compare and contrast the setting, characters, plot, and the themes present in both books.
Woodard, Thomas. Introduction. In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
As night falls on Cannery Row actuality and fear overwhelms the souls as they lay awake at night. At this very moment they are alone to think to ponder their existence their importance their meaning. During the day the things the people of Cannery Row use to fill their void. To give them happiness is gone and for those long hours of the night they are truly alone. The cats, the parties, and companions are gone just for a second. But they return in the morning to calm the weary and the broken spirits of the people in Cannery Row. Each of us just like the people in Cannery Row uses something or someone to compensate for the loneliness in our lives. Money, relationships, and personal struggles are evident and bring about loneliness to the people in cannery. They bring about loneliness to everyone not just the people of Cannery Row. Cannery Row is not a fantasy or a dream for we can all learn something from each person in this story. Their lives can be a reflection of our own lives. We may not talk to cats or hang curtains in a room with no windows. But we share something with these people. And if we sympathize with these people it is because we feel we can relate in some kind of way. All of us as human beings on this earth use something to nourish the loneliness in our lives without these certain things we would feel neglected, distressed and misplaced. Cannery Row is filled with misfits people who just do not belong in what you would call a normal society. But they all seem to gather and blend in this one place where they can belong. In Cannery Row people go to the beat of their own drum. They go where they want. Do what they want and they say what needs to be said. The freedom to be different to be eccentric is something the...
The dilemma of identifying the true hero, or heroine, of Sophocles’ Antigone has tortured students for years. It is indeed a difficult decision to make. The basis for this decision is what the reader perceives to be Sophocles’ dramatic issue in this play. The dramatic issue of the play is twofold: Antigone is a fanatic who is driven by her religious fever to bury the body of her criminal brother, Polyneices, against the edict of Creon. In the second part, Sophocles shows how the new King Creon’s refusal to change his decision in the face of adversity is admirable, but at the same time his political morals end up destroying his family. His fall from grace is tragic, whereas Antigone's fall is welcome. In this manner, Sophocles sympathizes with Creon, and thus he becomes the hero of the Antigone.
Sophocles: A collection of critical essays edited by Thomas Woodward: Oedipus at Colonus. Whitman, Cedric H. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 1966.
“Sophocles” In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.
In conclusion, Creon is the tragic character of Antigone because of his pride which caused him never ending agony by the end of this tragedy. Although Antigone’s stubbornness concerning the divine law and her brother’s burial lead her to her misfortune, her suffering was cut short by her death. On the other hand, Creon had to live through having his own son and the citizens of Thebes against his decision. Also, Haimon and Eurydices died as a result of his actions, leaving Creon without a family. Hence, Creon is the tragic character of the tragedy due to eternal distress caused by his judgment.
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.
“Sophocles” In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.
Sophocles. "Antigone." The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Knox and Mack. New York: Norton, 1995.
“The assumption that animals are without rights, and the illusion that their treatment has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality."(Schopenhauer). I always wondered why some people are not so drawn to the consumption of meat and fed up with only one thought about it. Why so many people loathe of blood, and why so few people can easily kill and be slaughter animal, until they just get used to it? This reaction should say something about the most important moments in the code, which was programmed in the human psyche. Realization the necessity of refraining from meat is especially difficult because people consume it for a long time, and in addition, there is a certain attitude to the meat as to the product that is useful, nourishing and even prestigious. On the other hand, the constant consumption of meat has made the vast majority of people completely emotionless towards it. However, there must be some real and strong reasons for refusal of consumption of meat and as I noticed they were always completely different. So, even though vegetarianism has evolved drastically over time, some of its current forms have come back full circle to resemble that of its roots, when vegetarianism was an ethical-philosophical choice, not merely a matter of personal health.
"Sophocles" In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.
Sophocles’ Antigone is a text rich with layers of meaning. In this essay, I intend to uncover some of these layers in order to assert the extent to which Antigone is responsible for her tragic end. I will argue that the protagonist is responsible for her own actions – actions that by her own choice result in her death. The catalyst for said death, however, is the result of other characters and events. I will focus particularly on the edict of Creon and his role in the tragedy, as it is the juxtaposition of their beliefs, which results in both of their tragic endings. Throughout the essay I will analyse scholarly works on the subject, as well as the events in the text itself, in order to weigh the ultimate accountability of Antigone.