Antigone Character Analysis

Heroes come in many forms. Some heroes are immense in size and strength like Hercules. Some are shunned upon like Harriet Tubman. Some are deaf and blind like Helen Keller. Some are Jewish victims of the Holocaust like Anne Frank. Others stand up for what they believe is right like Rosa Parks. Certain characteristics set them apart from the rest. Antigone is a tragic hero in the Greek play called Antigone. A tragic hero is character who is dignified and superior and whose downfall is caused by a tragic flaw. They usually think that they are in the right mind when the rest of society thinks that they are mad. A tragic flaw is a weakness or error that the tragic hero has. Antigone believes in her heart far stronger than that of the leader’s rule.
She is up against an impossible enemy and is destroyed by her own pride. “It was not God’s proclamation. The final Justice that rules the world below makes no such laws. Your edict, King, was strong but all your strength is weakness itself against the immortal unrecorded laws of God.” (1082). A tragic flaw that Antigone has is that she is loyal to the Gods. Being loyal to the Gods meant she had to break one of Creon’s laws. At the beginning of the play, Creon made a law that made it to where no one could bury Polyneices, Antigone’s brother. If anyone was to bury him they would be sentenced to death. She is determined to be loyal to the Gods and give her brother a proper burial. Her determination to honor the Gods and bury her brother was one tragic flaw that led to her downfall.

Another tragic flaw that Antigone has is that she is stubborn. She fails to see more than one side of the situation. To her, honoring the Gods and giving her brother a proper burial is the most important thing to do. Antigone thinks she is in the right mind when the rest of society thinks she’s mad. “Say that I am mad and let me risk the the worst suffer that I can best.’’ This shows that although she knows that she is doing the right things, she doesn’t care what they think. She doesn’t realize that by doing that it will affect other people like Ismene and Haemon. She is too stubborn to realize that it might be for the good of everyone involved to give into Creon’s orders and let her brother’s body where it lies. Other than being loyal to the Gods and being stubborn, Antigone also has excessive pride.
This can also be called hubris. This excessive pride can be confused with honor. Antigone not only breaks Creon’s law but makes a mockery of it. When Creon asked Antigone about the order he made about Polyneices and in response she said “Of course I knew. Was it not publicly proclaimed?’’ (1082). This line shows that she isn’t ashamed of breaking the law. Antigone shows she doesn’t follow the state’s laws but the laws of the Gods. Antigone feels no regret in what she did and is proud of the fact that she never denied burying her brother, this shows that she has excessive pride. Ultimately, the thing that makes Antigone a tragic hero in this play are the traits that she possesses, which lead to her downfall. She exhibits all characteristic of a tragic hero. Her behavior demonstrates that she is driven by pride and self-confidence, in addition to her loyalty to her family. She is an example of someone who did what she thought was right. She is cast into a pool of danger between what she believes is right and what the state’s law says is right. Antigone died for what she believed in. This is a great characteristic that portrays a tragic
hero.