Being a Fair Leader.
To be a leader, to control and guide people in the right direction is what most of the people are aiming to do in life. Being the main person in the group certainly means that the individual has a lot of power over the public and is able to influence people as he wishes. It might seem that once the person achieves his goal of being above others and starts controlling other people, his duty becomes straightforward and undemanding. However, the role of a leader is very strenuous and challenging. The person who has authority has to balance his personal desires with the needs of people for whom he is in charge. Even though he is enforcing the law does not mean that he can manipulate it as he wants. Moreover the leader should obey the law, which was established by him more than any one else, otherwise people would not consider it as a strict principle. The play "Antigone" which was written by Sophocles and later adopted by Anouilh shows the lives of people who were affected by each other's decisions, behaviors and feelings. I would like to concentrate on the lifestyle and actions of the person who had the most authority in that play, straightforwardly the "king" of the dramatic piece. Those two plays were written at different periods of time and the message which the authors were trying to pass to the readers differs. After reading those two plays I realized that the behavior and the attitude of the king towards the other characters of the story was changed by Anouilh in order to show the true model of a ruler where as Sophocles tried to show him as a cruel, heartless emperor. The personality and the behavior of the king in Sophocles' play is unsentimental and stubborn which shows the king's "appearance" but in ...
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...e to help Antigone. This play shows how passionately Creon tried to help Antigone overcome her problems. His wise self-controlling behavior lets him deal with this matter reasonably avoiding death and executions. Anouilh's version shows compassionate king who "loved other things in life more than power" (pg. 712) but considered it cowardness to deny the throne. Those qualities make Creon a positive character of the play and Anouilh succeeds in presenting a model king not changing the historical events of the myth.
In conclusion, I think those two plays show two different personalities of the king while not altering the real facts. The Sophocles version painted Creon in dark colors so he would seem cruel and inhuman king while Anouilh version changed his personality and added some positive values making him a real model of a king and positive character of the play.
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.
In Antigone by Sophocles, Creon is portrayed as a character with excessive pride. From the beginning, Creon demonstrates his authority and continues to make use of it throughout the play. At the end of Antigone, it may seem that Creon changed after realizing the consequences of his actions. However, his dialogue indicates that he still possesses a sense of pride. Creon remains a static character through the play. Creon’s arrogance is displayed in his language and behavior; interaction with others; and his reactions to his environment.
" This indicates Creon’s decision to punish Antigone was not taken kindly by the gods, but his ego wouldn't allow him to solve that as shown by Haemon, which, again, contribute to his nemesis. This proves by how Creon’s stubbornness isn't liked by the gods establishing him as a tragic
Sophocles never explicitly explains whose views on leadership are the best although he uses the outcomes of the characters as a way to express how he views leadership. This being said, many of his ideas are transferred into other characters’ opinions which means Sophocles’ ideal leader is a mixture of many characters’ opinions. As Oedipus cannot see his hamartia and is blind from his mistake, it is clear that Sophocles thinks that a successful leader needs to note his own faults. Additionally, as Tiresias makes a point in Antigone that a kind needs to also find a solution to his faults it is clear that Sophocles is expanding on his point by saying that the fault needs to be recognized as well as solved to rule properly. However, through Oedipus, Sophocles shows his opinion towards openness. Sophocles clearly believes that information should be made public and that a rulers heart should be open and empathetic to their people. As Oedipus is loved in the opening of his play it is clear his actions prior to his mistakes are seen as something to mimic. Although, as the play unfolds his character becomes plagued by his hamartia and Sophocles uses this to show what a leader should not do. Since his character becomes increasingly blind to his hamartia so is his blindness towards how to lead; Oedipus’ egotistical approach that emerges shows how Sophocles believes a ruler
In the following paper, I plan to discuss the source of conflict between the title characters of Antigone and Creon in Sophocles’ “Antigone”. I also plan to discuss how each character justifies his or her actions and what arguments they give for their justifications. I will also write about the strengths and weaknesses of these arguments. The final points I try to make are about who Sophocles thinks is right and who I think is right.
Since the play’s inception, there has always existed a contention concerning the true hero of Sophocles’ Antigone. It is a widely held belief that Antigone must be the main character simply because she and the drama share name. This is, of course, a very logical assumption. Certainly Sophocles must have at least meant her to be viewed as the protagonist, else he would not have given her the play’s title. Analytically speaking, however, Creon does seem to more categorically fit the appellation of “Tragic Hero.” There is no doubt as to the nature of the work, that being tragedy. Along with this genre comes certain established prerequisites, and Creon is the only character that satisfactorily fits them all.
Though the audience notices how villainous Creon is, they still express sympathy towards him. They realize that he has brought all of his problems on himself and should have been more open-minded, but think no one should have to go through what he has. They understand how the warrior king Creon felt when he notices his son is love struck. The audience also expresses pity towards him because Antigone is a murderer and understands why he is upset.
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 beginning of the play Creon is portrayed as King and a leader unwilling to bend the rules in order to protect the city. The way Creon responds to Antigone, “While I’m alive, no woman is going to lord over me”, shows he is stubborn and also his pride. (593-594) While the play continues Creon’s pride grows, and he thinks he can never be wrong and punishes Antigone by locking her up in a cave. However, things turn a different way when the Prophet tells Creon that he must free Antigone or face the wrath of Gods. After hearing this Creon changes his mind, “I shackled her, I’ll set her free myself. I am afraid it’s best to keep the established laws…” (1236-1238) But, as Creon tries to set Antigone free, he is faced with suicides of Antigone and Haemon, and followed by the suicide of his wife, Eurydice. This moment in the play serves as the downfall of Creon. But unlike Antigone, Creon reaches anagnorisis, which is the moment in the play when the tragic character realizes his hubris has led to his downfall. “And the guilt is all mine- can never be fixed…god help me, I admit all!”(1441-1445) Ultimately, Creon is more of a proper tragic character than Antigone because of he has an epiphany, a moment when he realizes his hubris has caused conflicts and deaths in the
...se Creon was not yet the king of Thebes during the period of Oedipus’s ruling, and Antigone who was not yet a renowned figure acting independently in her own will without any dilemmas. It is until the story of Antigone when Antoine’s rights are desecrated by the might of Creon’s rule and that it led Antigone to bail and revolt against it. This is the dynamic that Sophocles sees in Antigone within the society of Thebes, and through the perception of Antigone’s heroic deeds, equal to that against the behavior of Creon, Sophocles exemplify to the audience the unbalance nature in society.
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.
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.
Antigone utilizes her moral foundations, her religious roots, and the events of her past to form a sophisticated argument. Despite being unable to convince Creon to reverse her punishment, Antigone is able to convince the people of Thebes that she was right in her actions. After Antigone’s death, and the deaths of several others, Creon reflects on this monologue and realizes the honest truth behind Antigone’s actions and words.
Creon does not learn a lesson from Oedipus' accusatory behavior. Instead he adapts this bad personality trait. Throughout Antigone, he accuses everyone who tries to give him advice of betraying him. Whereas, in Oedipus, he is falsely accused by Oedipus of trying to take over the throne. This paper will compare and contrast his behavior and evaluate if he learned anything from one play to the next.
... as a framework to convey his points. Furthermore, Anouilh changes an extremely well known play. When this happens, humanity tends to see only the differences between the works. And the differences (such as the changes in Antigone?s and Creon?s characters, the gray area between right and wrong, and politics and duty as motivating forces) convey his real political message: criticism of the Vichy regime.