antigone tragic hero creon
Uploaded by samikinz12 on May 02, 2013
Creon is the tragic hero in Sophocles’ Antigone. In order to be a tragic hero the character must portray two main actions or traits. One is the character must make a decision that they believe is right because of a tragic flaw or tragic flaws and not foresee the consequences. Creon has a tragic flaw and makes the decision to sentence Antigone to death believing he is correct. Creon’s tragic flaws are his stubbornness, the abuse of power and the actions he took to cause the downfall of the Thebes. Creon explains why he makes this decision when he says “I love no human being more than my country” (179-183) this quote shows he believes the law is to be followed even if it disregards moral conduct. One almost always should follow their heart rather than their ruler when the law hurts ones soul.
The other action or trait that the tragic hero must show is realizing the error and show courage and dignity when facing the consequences. Once Creon punishes Antigone everyone convinced him he was wrong. The blind prophet Teiresias tells him that the Gods will take revenge for his actions, his son tells him to “let [his] stubbornness die” (707), and the city said “no pride can escape the anger of the gods” (614).this quote shows only then did Creon try to change everything but he was too late. If someone were to make a law today that goes against ones moral duties riots would most likely brake out across that country. For example if the president of the United States and the United States government created a law prohibiting visiting family members graves and holding funerals for the deceased it would be close to anarchy. There would be protests and riots around the whole country. yea