Who Is Responsible For Creon's Downfall

In “Antigone”,a play written by Sophocles, a girl who wants to properly bury her brother, Polyneices. The only thing in the way is that her uncle Creon, king of Thebes, has placed a law forbidding it because Polyneices had fought against the city; Creon later kills her. Many would say that he over reacted and burying Polyneices was the right thing to do. Throughout the play, he had many chances to change his mind and could have changed his fate but he didnt. Haemon, his son, started to question Creon’s actions which then lead to Creon showing his true personality which later leads to his downfall as a tragic hero.

In the play, Creon is incredibly stubborn. Once he made up his mind about punishing Antigone for her crimes, he isn’t going to change it. “Since I caught her clearly disobeying/ the only culprit in the entire city/ I won’t perjure myself before the state./ No- I’ll kill her.” Creon wanted to save face, he didn’t want people thinking he was going back on his word just because Antigone is related to him. He had already made a big

deal about punishing who ever disobeyed his laws. Haemon enhances that characteristic by being the more easy going. “For any man, even if he’s wise, there’s nothing shameful in learning many things, staying flexible.... So end your anger. Permit yourself to change.” Haemon is trying to say is Creon should change his thinking depending on the situation; if Creon keeps thinking one way, he won’t last very long.
Creon’s dictatorial ways also leads to his downfall. “ We must obey whatever man the city puts in charge, no matter what the issue- great or small, just or unjust. For there’s no greater deal than lack of leadership.” He thinks that without him, the whole city would be destroyed and in chaos. Everybody should obey him because that’s the only way; his way or the highway. Haemon on the other hand says, “A city which belongs to just one man is no true city.” This brought out Creon’s true way of leadership. Haemon shows more of a democratic way of leading. Also stated by Haemon, “They say of all women here she least deserves the worst of deaths for her glorious act.” Haemon steps in as the voice of the people. The people believe what Antigone did wasn’t a bad thing.Creon then states, “So the city now will instruct me how I am to govern?” Creon doesn’t listen to the people because he believes that they are irrelevant, he’s the king so he should be the one that decides what to do with Antigone.
Creon is also ignorant of what is going on around him and to what people are trying to say.

After Haemon’s big speech, the chorus adds, “My lord, if what he’s said is relevant, it seems appropriate to learn from him, and you too, Haemon, listen to the king. The things that both of you said were excellent.” Even with the mention of Haemon is being right, Creon gets all up in a ravel saying, “ And men my age- are we then going to school to learn what’s wise from men as young as him?” Creon believes that age is a measure of wisdom, so just because Creon is older, he is more smarter than Haemon. Also when Haemon says, “Then she’ll die- and in her death kill somebody else.” Creon was too ignorant to realized that Haemon is telling him that Haemon will die with Antigone. Later when Haemon dies, Creon then realizes what he had done and his foolishness had caused all this; he could have listened to Haemon and this wouldn’t have

happened.

Government is a very complicated thing. They are there to keep law and order among the people, but sometimes they can have gray areas. They press people to decide between their own morales and the law. Do what is right or do what the law says. One thing for sure is that dictatorship is frowned upon in many countries. People believe one person should not be in control of a vast amount of people. No matter what, some type of government is present in any civilization and it’s a personal decision to follow them or not.