Creon Tragic Hero Research Paper
Daphne Prodis
Ms. Randinelli
Hrs. English 2
14 Sept. 2015
True Life: Creon is the Tragic Hero A tragic hero is a person of noble birth with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. Because the tragic hero simply cannot accept a diminished view of the self and because of some personality flaw, the hero fails in this epic struggle against fate (csus.edu). In "Antigone" written by the infamous Sophocles, the characters, Antigone and King Creon, can both be deemed as tragic heroes despite of their beliefs differing immensely. Antigone, who is engaged to Creon's son, is a strong-willed woman who wants to bury her deceased brother, Polyneices, with honor despite the fact that he killed their other brother in war. On the other hand, Creon …show more content…
After King Creon honors Polyneices's body, he arrives at the vault of Antigone and his son, Haimon. Creon immediately discovers that Antigone has committed suicide like she said she would while Haimon is right by her side, devastated. In a dazed rage, Haimon takes his own life right in front of his father. "And suddenly drew his sword and lunged. Creon shrank back, the blade missed; and the boy, desperate against himself, drove it half its length into his own side and fell(969-970)." At this point, the king is unimaginably depressed but his morale decreases even more when he comes home to find his wife is also dead after she stabbed herself. Sadly, Creon's change of heart did not reach out to his loved ones, which left him alone and …show more content…
Although it is tragic that Antigone died for her brother's sake, it is predictable and rather painless in the end for her. Creon, on the other hand, has to keep living with the grief that he was the reason for the deaths in his family as well as the hatred that the common people will have for him. The amount of time Creon will have to live with this grief is unknown and that pain is far worse than anything Antigone had to deal with. King Creon possesses all the key aspects of a true tragic hero. He becomes aware of his flaw of hubris and takes action to eliminate it but by then fate has already taken over. A series of unfortunate events including the deaths of his son and his wife fulfill the prophecy bestowed upon Creon by Teiresias, a wise oracle. Creon is forced until the day he dies to live with the grief that he is the reason for the catastrophes in his kingdom of Thebes and that is the epitome of what a true tragic hero
Ms. Randinelli
Hrs. English 2
14 Sept. 2015
True Life: Creon is the Tragic Hero A tragic hero is a person of noble birth with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. Because the tragic hero simply cannot accept a diminished view of the self and because of some personality flaw, the hero fails in this epic struggle against fate (csus.edu). In "Antigone" written by the infamous Sophocles, the characters, Antigone and King Creon, can both be deemed as tragic heroes despite of their beliefs differing immensely. Antigone, who is engaged to Creon's son, is a strong-willed woman who wants to bury her deceased brother, Polyneices, with honor despite the fact that he killed their other brother in war. On the other hand, Creon …show more content…
After King Creon honors Polyneices's body, he arrives at the vault of Antigone and his son, Haimon. Creon immediately discovers that Antigone has committed suicide like she said she would while Haimon is right by her side, devastated. In a dazed rage, Haimon takes his own life right in front of his father. "And suddenly drew his sword and lunged. Creon shrank back, the blade missed; and the boy, desperate against himself, drove it half its length into his own side and fell(969-970)." At this point, the king is unimaginably depressed but his morale decreases even more when he comes home to find his wife is also dead after she stabbed herself. Sadly, Creon's change of heart did not reach out to his loved ones, which left him alone and …show more content…
Although it is tragic that Antigone died for her brother's sake, it is predictable and rather painless in the end for her. Creon, on the other hand, has to keep living with the grief that he was the reason for the deaths in his family as well as the hatred that the common people will have for him. The amount of time Creon will have to live with this grief is unknown and that pain is far worse than anything Antigone had to deal with. King Creon possesses all the key aspects of a true tragic hero. He becomes aware of his flaw of hubris and takes action to eliminate it but by then fate has already taken over. A series of unfortunate events including the deaths of his son and his wife fulfill the prophecy bestowed upon Creon by Teiresias, a wise oracle. Creon is forced until the day he dies to live with the grief that he is the reason for the catastrophes in his kingdom of Thebes and that is the epitome of what a true tragic hero