Comparing the Character of Creon in Oedipus and Antigone
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.
Creon was seen in a different context in Oedipus compared to his character in Antigone.
In Oedipus, he wanted nothing more than to help Oedipus rid the city of whatever plague the gods were hurling at them. Creon goes to Apollo's shrine to find out why the gods are angry and then brings Tiresias to help Creon see what has the gods angry. Oedipus does not want to believe the truths Tiresias is telling him and falsely accuses Creon of plotting against him to become king of Thebes. Creon is so hurt by this that he tells the chorus, "This accusation against me by our ruler Oedipus, It's outrageous. (514)" By the end of the play, Creon tells Oedipus that "I'm always as good as my word; I don't speak before I think(1520)."
In Antigone, Creon becomes king of Thebes after Polynices and Eteocles commit fratricide in battle. Antigone commits her ‘crime of reverence(74)' by burying Polynices after a direct order from Creon dictating that everyone leave him on the ground, unburied. Creon first accuses the council of elders of being stupid and old (281) when they suggest that the gods were behind Polynices' burial. After this, he goes on a tirade against men who supposedly were not happy with his leadership and therefore paid off the watchmen to bury the body. Creon blames the watchman of burying the body for money and the watchman tells him that, "It's terrible when false judgment guides the judge (323)."
After the Watchman comes back and tells Creon that they found Antigone burying Polynices' body a second time, Creon accuses Antigone of breaking the law. Antigone does not feel she has broken the law because she is obeying laws passed down from the gods and not Creon's man-made law. Creon is so angry that someone would disobey his edict that he orders Antigone to be buried alive and that Ismene be put to death also. Ismene had nothing to do with the crime but Creon blames her regardlessly.
...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.
Antigone did the right thing by defileing Creon's strict orders on burying Polynices because the unalterable laws of the gods and our morals are higher than the blasphemous laws of man. Creon gave strict orders not to bury Polynices because he lead a rebellion, which turned to rout, in Thebes against Creon, their omnipotent king. Antigone could not bare to watch her brother become consumed by vultures' talons and dogs. Creon finds out that somebody buried Polynices' body and sent people out to get the person who preformed the burial. Antigone is guilty and although she is to be wed to Creon's son, Haemon. He sentences her to be put in a cave with food and water and let the gods decide what to do with her. He was warned by a blind profit not to do this, but he chooses to anyway, leaving him with a dead son, a dead wife, and self-imposed exile.
In all works of literature you will find characters that change. From Oedipus the King to Antigone, Creon changes a great deal. In Oedipus the King, Creon has no intention whatsoever of being king. By the end of the play he makes it clear that his intentions have changed and he does want to take Oedipus’s power and become King of Thebes. When we see Creon in Antigone he has become king and he begins to make his mistakes.
In the play Antigone, created by Sophocles Antigone is a foil to Creon because their personalities contrast. This makes Creon a Tragic Hero because he thinks that he is a god but in reality he is a mortal upsetting the god's and he will eventually meet his demise. At the start of the play the reader is introduced to a character named Creon, who is the king of Thebes, the previous king, Eteocles, was killed by his brother Polyneices. There is a law arranged by Creon, so nobody could bury the body of Polyneices but Antigone, the sister of both Eteocles and Polyneices, wants to bury her brother and is willing to risk her life to bury him. She eventually gets caught and is sentenced to death by Creon.
Creon starts off being reasonable and understanding with the power he holds. For example, when Oedipus accuses him of trying to steal his crown, he said " If you discover I laid any plot together with the seen kill me, I say not only by your vote but my own." (Sophocles 136). This shows his understanding. Creon is comfortable with his power, people always greet Creon with respect, which demonstrates his power amongst the general population, for example, Creon said, “Now every man 's my pleasure; every man greets me." (Sophocles 136). Illustrates his relationship with the people of Thebes. Moreover, Creon is shown to be valuable towards the citizens of Thebes, when he said " I 'll go, you have not known me, but they have, and they have known my innocence." (Sophocles 140). This shows the trust citizens have towards Creon. Creon shows that he does not care for ruling Thebes, he states to Oedipus that "Now those who are your suiters fawn me, - success for them depends upon my favour. Why should I let all this go to win that?"(Sophocles 136). Creon eventually discovers that power is all he wants, leading towards King Oedipus ' exile. An example, is Creon said " Do not seek to be master in everything, for the things you mastered did not follow you throughout your life." (Sophocles 176), which explains that he manipulates with an intent that people mistake for honesty. Furthermore, this shows the end
The Conspirators. You will pay dearly for trying to put the blame on me” (Oedipus Tyrannus, 399-402). This damages his relationship with Creon, which may have something to do with Creon’s poor treatment of Oedipus in Oedipus at Colonus. As Oedipus himself describes it, Creon comes “not to take [Oedipus] home, but to dump me out on the frontier to protect Thebes from fighting a war against Athens” (Oedipus at Colonus, 783-786). Creon seeks not to help Oedipus, as he claims, but to use his divine power with no regard for Oedipus’s peace or happiness.
In Oedipus at Colonus (OC), one sees the beginning of Creon's decline. Creon has now come to occupy the throne that once belonged to Oedipus. It soon becomes apparent that his vision of the proper role of a king has changed to accommodate his new-found position. The emphasis shifts from that of a king who must rule wisely to one who must rule unyieldingly. The kingship becomes a selfserving instrument for Creon in his attempt to secure the return of Oedipus and the good fortune prophesied to accompany him. Creon's notion of justice is severely distorted in OC. He becomes monomaniacal - conducting his affairs with tyranny and belligerence. For example, he threatens to harm Oedipus' daughters if the blind beggar does not return to Thebes. His view of rightness and fairness is no longer in line with that of his subjects.
What Antigone did goes against Creon and this is where his difficult decision comes in. “Creon represents the regal point of view, while Antigone is just the opposite. The primary conflict arises when Creon declares that no one be allowed to bury the body of Polynices, one of Antigone's brothers who was slain in battle. Antigone, who cares for her brother very much, wants to see him properly laid to rest, so that his spirit can find peace. Unf...
Creon, the king and their uncle, issued an edict to the people of Thebes that the rebel Polynices, brother to Ismene and Antigone, should not be buried on pain of death. Antigone explains in what seems to be a rational tone that she and Ismene are bound, as by duty, to bury Polynices and face the execution. She makes it clear to Ismene that there are no two ways about it. "That's the way it is. What do you think we can do to change it?" she says (11). She also tells Ismene that she is not eager to die, but it seems to the audience otherwise throughout the progression of the play.
At the beginning of the play, Antigone is upset about a decree Creon, the king, made (190). The decree states that her brother, Polyneices, was not allowed to be buried, because Creon believes that Polyneices was a “traitor who made war on his country” (211). Antigone has a very strong love for her brother and the gods, therefore she believes Polyneices deserves a proper burial according to the laws of the gods (192). Antigone says to Ismene that she [Antigone] will go against Creon’s decree-which states that if anyone buries Polyneices they will be killed (190). Antigone is extremely angry with Creon for creating the decree, to the point where she decides to make a big deal about the burial, instead of lying low and doing it in secret (192). Antigone even tells Ismene to “Tell everyone!” that she [Antigone] buried Polyneices when everyone finds out, and not keep it a secret-although Ismene doesn’t listen (193). Antigone’s decision not to do the bur...
Creon was warned about a plan to bury Polynices and later found the culprit, Antigone. He issued a death sentence for her defying action. Creon informed his son, Haemon, of his fiancee’s deceit. Haemon, however, defended his beloved fiancée. He told his father that the whole city was on her side, but everybody was afraid to speak out against him.
As Creon holds the limp, dead body of his son, he says, “I was responsible. My actions killed him”(Sophocles 53). Creon realizes that he is responsible for the deaths of Antigone, Haemon, and Eurydice which he expresses to the chorus in the play Antigone by Sophocles. At first Creon does not listen to anyone and goes forward with his decision to kill Antigone for burying the body of Polynices, which he did not want buried. This angers the gods and his son, Haemon. Creon is warned by several people that he must free Antigone and bury Polynices or the gods will punish him. Creon does not take the advice until it is too late, and therefore he is punished. Since Creon does not listen, he brings on his own destruction by an error in judgment.
In Antigone, her brother Polynices, turned against his own city by attacking his own brother just so he could become king. On this day, both brothers died. One, Eteocles, was given funeral honors, but the other, Polynices, was not. This decision was made by Creon, Antigone’s uncle and the current King of Thebes. Creon said “He is to have no grave, no burial, no mourning from anyone; it is forbidden.'; (Pg. 432; l. 165) He also announced that anyone who should attempt to bury him would be put to death. After hearing this decision, Antigone said that Creon couldn’t do that and that the Gods would want Polynices to have a proper burial, therefore Antigone promised to her sister Ismene that she would be the one to defy Creon and bury her brother; and she didn’t care if the whole city knew of her plans. After being caught in the act, she was taken to the palace and when asked by Creon why she did it. Knowing the punishment that would come from it, she replied by saying that she didn’t think Creon had the power to overrule the u...
Sleeping with your mother, killing your father, watching your only son commit suicide, and gouging your own eyes out are only a few results of Oedipus and Creon’s flaws. In the books Oedipus The King and Antigone, written by Sophocles, the characters Creon and Oedipus meet horrific fates. During Oedipus The King, Oedipus becomes the king of Thebes but is ignorant to the fact that he is the son of Laius and Jocasta. In Antigone, Creon refuses to bury the former king Polyneices because he attacked Thebes. During these books Oedipus and Creon’s flaws result in the destruction of their lives.
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.