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,

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

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