Creon as the Tragic Hero in Antigone
This essay will compare two of the characters in “Antigone”, Antigone and Creon, in an effort to determine the identity of the tragic hero in this tale.
To identify the tragic hero in Sophocles’ renowned play “Antigone”, we should first consider both the elements present in Greek tragedies and what characteristics define a tragic hero. Aristotle’s definition of tragedy is: “Tragedy is a story taking the hero from happiness to misery because of a fatal flaw or mistake on his part. To be a true tragic hero he must also elicit a strong emotional response of pity and fear from the audience. This is known as catharsis or purging of emotion.” In most cases the tragic hero begins the play with high status, which is often lost in the exodus of the play. For example, in another of Sophocles’ plays, “Oedipus Rex”, in which Oedipus is the undisputed tragic hero, Oedipus begins the play as an illustrious king and ends as a blind beggar. His plight encourages sympathy from the audience because of the curse that had been on him since he was a child.
Antigone, to whom the play owes its name, is daughter of Oedipus, the former king of Thebes. It would seem that she has a relatively high position for a woman, based on the fact that she has a marriage tie to Haemon, son of Creon, the present king of Thebes.
Antigone, rather than being happy at the plays’ beginning, instead makes her entrance in the opening scene very upset with the order given by Creon not to bury her brother Polynices. Antigone is then caught while burying Polynices and seems almost content with being put to death, “I earned the punishment which I now suffer” (Antigone, 152), though...
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...” In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O’Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.
Heidegger, Martin. “The Ode on Man in Sophocles’ Antigone.” In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
Jaeger, Werner. “Sophocles’ Mastery of Character Development.” In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997.
Segal, Charles. Oedipus the King: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993.
Sophocles. Antigone. Exploring Literature: Writing and thinking About Fiction,
Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. Ed. Joseph Terry. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc, 2001.
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Trans. Bernard M. W. Knox. New York: Washi ngton Squ are Books, 1994.
In 1759, the Canadian Court Justice system was brought to Canada by the French. After the battle of Quebec, all of Canada then followed the English common law system except for Quebec 1. Based on my understanding and knowledge of N. Christie’s arguments and the Canadian court system, I believe that Christie’s criticism of modern legal system is fair and it effects our current court system today.
Johnny, after a lot of searching, finally finds a job delivering papers. While delivering papers he meets Rab, who works with him. Rab introduces him to the rebel underground. At that point Johnny agrees to deliver messages between the groups of rebels.
Both quotes above clearly show that the men suffered the effects of racial stereotypes, although, one was to a lesser extent. This also shows based on an intellectual standpoint and how wealthy you are can have an effect on the way people think of you.
Woodard, Thomas. Introduction. In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
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.
As a result, modern capitalism and the industrialization of Europe developed. It created an Atlantic connection between Europeans, West Africans, and the colonial Americans. All in all, the trans-Atlantic slave trade was a cruel and inhumane period of time, where Africans were being taken against their will to perform hard labor. Trans-Atlantic slavery created a new global relationship, and reduced human interaction to a commercial relationship, debasing African individuals. Through the world of trans-Atlantic slave trade, the Americas, Europe and Africa were connected through the triangular trade, known as the relationship between masters, traders, and slaves. As the new global economic relationship formed, an unequal slave society developed that categorized humans to sellers, buyers and
Murray, Robert D. Jr. "Thought and Structure in Sophoclean Tragedy", in Sophocles, A Collection of Critical Essays, Woodward, Thomas, editor,
He went around town to see if anyone would hire him but most people wanted “whole boys” so Johnny was turned down most of the time. Johnny was still very prideful and he didn’t want to do “low life” jobs.”Yes. I wouldn’t mind so much being a clockmaker or instrument maker. But I can’t and I won”t be a butcher nor a soap-boiler.”(Forbes,61) He went to a printing shop and met a boy named Rab. He liked Rab because he was a nice and intelligent young man. He talked with Rab and they became nice friends. Johnny was offered a job but didn’t want to do it. He went out and decided to go to the rich merchants to look for work. He went to John Hancock’s estate to search for a job. He would have been accepted but Johnny couldn’t write with his left hand and was turned down.”Run away, boy, run away. You knew you could not do the work and yet you came and took up my valuable time and...”(Forbes,72) When he left the estate, a slave of John Hancock handed Johnny a bag full of silver coins. Johnny felt so happy that he treated himself to a feast and went to the market to buy Issannah and Cilla gifts. He went back to the Lapham’s household and presented the gifts to the two girls. When Johnny touched Isannah with his burnt hand, she screamed and told Johnny to go away.”Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me with that dreadful hand!” Johnny felt so sad that he ran to his mother’s grave and wept until he fell asleep. When he slept,
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.
Throughout literary history, tragic heroes have been defined as a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. However, philosophers such as Aristotle tried to find connections between tragic heroes in Greek plays. This in-depth analysis of tragic heroes lead Aristotle to create six criteria for a true tragic hero: He or she has to be a Noble figure of royalty and noble in character, has to be imperfect by design, has a flaw or error that is a choice, is punished excessively for this choice flaw, has to undergo a downfall that leads to a realization, and the story of this tragic hero has to make the audience reach a moment of catharsis or purging of emotions. A prime example of a tragic hero that fits all of these criteria is Creon from the play Antigone, written by Sophocles in 441 BC. The story of Antigone is a tragedy that describes a stubborn and proud king named Creon who refuses to allow a burial for the brother of Antigone. Creon’s excessive pride leads to a series of unfortunate events resulting in the death of Antigone, his son Haemon, and his wife Eurydice. Throughout the course of the play, Creon undergoes each standard that is required by Aristotle’s terms to be a tragic hero.
Woodard, Thomas. Introduction. In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
Sophocles. "Oedipus Rex." An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed. Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York: Longman, 1997. 800-836.
The time period of Greek theater’s popularity was a very influential time in our world’s history. Without knowing what Greek theater was all about, how can someone expect to truly understand a tragic play and the history it comes with? The history behind the character of Oedipus, in the play Oedipus the King, is very complicated. His intricate past dealing with prophecies, family members, and murder is the main focus of the story. There are many characteristics that complete Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero; these being the presence of hamartia and peripeteia, a sense of self-awareness, the audience’s pity for the character, and the hero is of noble birth.
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.
A boy named Johnny who saves kids in a burning church and saves them but he is in very bad condition in the hospital. Johnny has had a very rough life ever since he was born. Almost every day they would hit him and beat him but that did not stop him from doing anything. Johnny has brown hair and he is part of the Greasers. He usually wears a jean jacket or some type of jacket with his hair greased back. Johnny is brave, afraid, and compassionate those are some traits. Those are some things that describe him. I chose this character because he was one of the main characters and I liked how he always was nice and stood up for others.