Haimon's Decision-Making In Sophocles Antigone

Haimon delivers a successful argument urging his father to reconsider his decision to kill Antigone.

When he first approaches his father, Haemon appeals to his father’s sense of morals and values by cautioning him to use reason in his decision-making. He does this by explaining to Creon how he is not capable of ¨knowing everything¨(Sophocles). He says this to try to knock some sense into Creon that no one can make these huge decisions without a little help and advice. It is important to Haimon that he tries his hardest to prove to his father that it is okay to take some advice, and it will not make him out to be a week king. Haimon also tells his father that the only reason his people will agree with him and take his side was because “his temper terrifies everyone¨(Sophocles). This is an attempt to prove that listening to the people and caring for their best interests is his most important job as a king. This was meant to appeal to his
values and moras by bringing it to Creons attention that he needs to start caring for others more if people are afraid to say their opinions to him. Not only did Haimon try to prove his fathers reaction to the crime to be wrong. He also attempted to defend Antigoneś crime. Haimon articulated that Antigone only ¨covered her brothers body. Is this indecent?¨(Sophocles). He was hoping to make Creon really think about what she did and not just act out of anger. He wanted him to realize what she did was just to protect her brother's dead body. His goal was that Creon would realize he is being very harsh think of other less severe ways to handle this situation.

To further encourage his father to be reasonable in his decision-making, Haimon makes use of purposeful diction to make his father fear the consequences of his decision. Haimon picked his words very carefully knowing he was talking to a very stubborn man. He took this into consideration when using the word unchangeable. Haimon told his father to “not be unchangeable¨(Sophocles). He said this instead a word such as stubborn because he knew that would just upset Creon and not get the outcome he was hoping to get. The point of using this word was to express that he really though his father was being very single minded and when someone's life is on the line it is a very bad idea to be so unshakeable. He next continues to tell his father that men that are that unchangeable will end up “empty”(Sophocles). Haimon said this because he wanted to show that he can clearly make decisions like this because he is the king, but in the end of the day he will be be left with nothing. This is because he will not have people's respect and people will be afraid of him.

In a last attempt to connect with his father about the his decision, Haimon relies on the use of an analogy to help his father feel inspired to change his mind.
The analogy he used was comparing trees to his being stubborn. He explained that in a storm, some trees bend and are loose and because of this “even their twigs are safe”(Sophocles). Then he explains how the stubborn trees “are torn up, roots and all”(Sophocles). The reason he used this analogy was to express to his father that allowing yourself to be moved is a good thing and is a much better way to go about things. This is just another way Haimon backed up his opinion that the better way to go about things is to not be so stubborn, and learn to forgive. This analogy shows that a leader's strength is not determined by how stubborn and stiff he or she is. It shows that being able to go with the flow of things is one of the most important qualities in a leader. This is why Haimon thought it was so important for his father to hear it before making his final
decision.