Creon's Principles In Sophocles Antigone

Creon’s Principles analysis

It only takes one word or one thoughtless action to change a person’s life forever. The things that people do and say are based on their principles for how they think life should be lived. This idea of principles shaping lives and actions can be seen in the greek tragedy by Sophocles called “Antigone”. Characters such as Creon and Antigone act on act on their principles which turns a simple decree from the king into a climactic story that ends in the death of several main characters including Antigone(who hanged herself), and Creon’s wife and son (who also committed suicide.) All of this could have been avoided had Creon not been so adamant about leaving his traitor of a nephew to rot without a proper burial,

and had Antigone not been so determined to bury him. As Creon reacted to Antigone’s defiance of his law, he revealed three of his major principles as a character. the first is protection of his personal dignity as he fights to maintain a powerful public image. The second is his absolute lack of obligation or loyalty to is family, and the third and final principle that he acts on is his desire to obey the civil laws. These three fundamental beliefs of Creon’s inevitably led to many of his family members’ deaths.
Because Creon was a proud and haughty king, protection of personal dignity was very important to him. When Antigone disobeyed him he must have felt this very principle being attacked because he said “If we must lose, let’s lose to a man at least. Is a woman stronger than we?” (III, 47-48) This just goes to show that Creon was a strong man and he cared about being manly so he refused to be shown up by a girl. At one point, Creon also retorted “Do you want me to show myself weak before the people? Or to break my sworn word?” ( III, 26-27) More proof of how Creon wants so desperately to uphold his public image is not needed. He obviously holds his dignity in such a high regard that he has become headstrong and obstinate. He wouldn’t dare to show weakness by admitting that he was wrong. After all of this has been considered, one cannot possibly be of any opinion other than that of Creon being overly obsessed with himself and very much worried about his own personal dignity and public image. This makes him a poor leader because a good leader needs to have a mind for the people and not just be concerned with what he looks like or whether he appears strong.
Besides being big headed and trying to protect his dignity, lack of obligation or loyalty to his family was also a major part of Creon’s character.

After Antigone was found to be guilty of burying her brother Polyneices, Creon said “I suppose she’ll plead family ties, well, let her. If I permit my own family to rebel then how shall I earn the world’s obedience?” (III, 29-31) Creon was so egotistic and sententious that he would even look down on his own family. He really did not care at all that he was sentencing his own niece to death. by the end of the play Creon began to realize just how terribly he had treated his family so he said “Lead me away, I have been rash and foolish. I have killed my son and wife.” (Exodos, 134-135) Creon killed his son and wife because he chose to ignore the fact that he was single handedly tearing his family apart. He was conceited and too self-absorbed to notice just how much damage he had been causing. This proves that he was a bad father and husband and that he felt no obligation to his family as long as he was in charge of

Thebes.
Finally, Creon held the civil laws above all else.

This included the enforcement of laws that he wrote himself. The edict he gave saying that Polyneices was not to be buried was very important to him so he said “You will give no support to whoever breaks the law” (I, 54). This shows that Creon was a law abiding man who always tried to obey. This does not mean that he was righteous or virtuous because some of his morals were a little off kilter, but at least he tried to be a good citizen. He also paid no mind to inauspicious signs that Tiresias tried to warn him about because acting on them meant breaking the law. It was no wonder that Creon was furious when Antigone consciously broke the law or that, in an outburst of rage, he said “This girl is guilty of a double insurance; breaking the given law and boasting about it”(II, 80). This shows that he was a very strict man when it came to rule breaking and that the law of the land, at least, was very near and dear to his heart. Upon reflection of all the things Creon said and did as a reaction to someone breaking the law, it becomes obvious that his respect for civil law is very great

indeed.
As a person, Creon would be nobody if not for the principles that defined him. He made protection of his dignity foremost important. in fact, it was so important to him that he puffed himself up and preserved himself above all else, proving him to be hot-headed and self-absorbed. on top of protecting his pride, Creon had no regard for his family until it was too late. Creon was not a good husband, father, or uncle because he totally disregarded his own flesh and blood. The reason that he ignored his family and came off as so cold hearted was that he was too obsessed with upholding the civil law. As king, Creon went on a power trip and used the law to justify smiting his niece. This proved that he was a self-righteous powerhouse who cared more about the law than his own family. Creon’s entire life took a turn for the worst and he wrecked his family, all because he felt the need to adhere to his heart-felt principles.
While living by one’s principles is all well and good, there comes a point where one must make the logical decision not to act on those principles. Creon was cocky and sententious which caused him to focus most of his attention on himself. As a result of this, he acted on his principles without giving a second thought to how it might affect the people around him. When Antigone buried her brother she damaged creon’s sense of pride and dignity, caused him to prove how little he cared for his family and made him furious at her for breaking the law. Creon’s principles may not have been very moral but they meant the world to him. In fact, Creon was so driven by his need to uphold the law that he was blind to everything else. The lessoned to be learned from Creon and Antigone’s tragic story is that a person should stand up for what he believes is right but he should also be aware of other people’s beliefs and how his actions affect everybody around him either positively or negatively. “All things in moderation” is a good way of saying act on what you believe is right but stop once you’ve made your point.