IXHumanities1/23/03In pieces. When he was unable to light

IXHumanities1/23/03In pieces. When he was unable to light

IXHumanities1/23/03In Sophecles’ Antigone, Creon is not a good person; in fact, he is astubborn, selfish ruler.

Creon rarely listens to an opinion other than hisown. He also turns his back on his own niece, Antigone, because she breaksan unfair law by burying her brother’s body. Throughout the play, Creonignores his son’s pleas to spare his fianc, Antigone, from execution.Creon rarely listens to another opinion other than his own. When theblind prophet Tiresias first brings news of his prophecy, Creon says, “I’ve never wavered from your advice before.” Tiresias then continues totell Creon of how, while practicing augury, he heard the sounds of thebirds ripping each other to pieces.

When he was unable to light thesacrifice, he realized that Creon’s pride had caused misfortune for thiscity. Tiresias explains that is because of Creon’s refusal to buryPolynices. Creon responds, “Old man-all of you, so you shoot your arrows atmy head like archers at the target…You’ll never bury that body in thegrave, not even if Zeus’s eagles rip the corpse and wing their rottenpickings off to the throne of god!” In this scene, once Creon knows thatthe prophecy is not in his favor, he changes his opinion from trusting andfollowing the ideas of Tiresias, to accusing him of plotting against him.We see that once Creon realizes that Tiresias does not agree with hisopinion about the burial of Polynices’ corpse, Creon will not listen towhat the prophet has to say, even if it means causing a “plague” on thecity of Thebes.

In the play, Creon constantly ignores the pleas of his niece,Antigone, and will eventually lead her to her death. From the beginning, wesee that Antigone is willing to do whatever it takes to preserve the honorof her brother, Polynices, even if it means losing her own life. “He is mybrother and -deny it as you will- your brother to.” Antigone would ratherdie than see the honor of her brother and her family sacrificed. When Creonhears that the body of Polynices has been buried against his orders, hesays “Never! Sister’s child or closer in blood then all my family clusteredat my altar worshipping Guardian Zeus – she’ll never escape, she and herblood sister, the most barbaric death”. Creon says this when he discoversthat Antigone and Ismene are plotting against his orders. The statementshows that Creon has no interest in why Antigone proceeds to break the lawto uphold her brother’s honor.

In the play, Creon ignores not only the pleas of his niece, but alsothose of his son, Haemon, who is set to marry Antigone. When Haemon says,”When you trample down the honors of the gods?” To which Creon responds,”You soul of corruption, rotten through, woman’s accomplice”. Creonautomatically accuses Haemon of assisting Antigone in her illegaladventure. Creon even pushes his son to say that ,”Then she will die…

buther death will kill another”. Even when his son has says this, Creoncontinues to argue with his son and even calls him a “woman’s slave”, oneof the worst possible insults. Creon’s lack of understanding and caring forhis son’s opinions shows that while he may think that he is doing a goodthing, he has little understanding of what is best for his son. Creon’sconcern with his own power has caused him to lose sight of what wasoriginally important to him – compassion and love for his only son.Creon is not a good person; in fact, he is a stubborn, selfish ruler.

This thesis is supported by the quotes presented in this paper. If Creonhad more concern about others and less concern about maintaining his ownpower, the final scenes of the play would have turned out quitedifferently. The tragic conclusion of the play is a direct result of theactions caused by Creon’s decisions.