Repercussions of Poor Judgment in Sophocles' Antigone and Frederico Garcia Lorca's Blood Wedding
Zaky/ 1
Decisions comprise an essential part of our lives, as we make many of them on a daily basis. A decision consists of arriving at a conclusion after careful consideration and reflection upon the different aspects involved; these include consequences, drawbacks, people who are involved and how they will be affected. To avoid detrimental consequences, contemplation is imperative; however, the characters of King Creon and the Girl from the plays ‘Antigone’ and ‘Blood Wedding’ fail to do so. They make choices resulting from poor judgement and the flaws of each of these two characters and eventually lead to harsh consequences. As a figure of authority, the King has an arrogance that leads him to make decisions, relying only on his views and beliefs. Also, the Girl and Creon share the flaw of jealousy that causes them to act in search of their own happiness or security. ‘Antigone’ is a play that was written in Ancient Greece by Sophocles prior to 442 B.C. The antagonist in the play ‘Antigone’ is the King Creon, who is the ruler of Thebes and has supreme power. He is in the highest position of authority and thus, has a very proud and arrogant nature. To Creon, his point of view is the only correct one, and other’s opinions and beliefs are insignificant. He is very conceited and this leads him to believe that wisdom only came with old age and his son, Haimon, is not wise enough to make the right choices: “You consider it for a man of my years and experience to go to a schoolboy?” (Sophocles 220). Creon also sees it as unacceptable not to keep his word and this is shown when he decides to punish Antigone; he is criticised by everyone including his own son but he refuses to comply and says, “Do you want me to show myself weak before my people? Or to break my own sword?” (Sophocles 217). To Creon, going back on his word is a sign of weakness and he would rather make a mistake than change his mind. Due to his arrogance, Creon is blinded to the flaws of his
Decisions comprise an essential part of our lives, as we make many of them on a daily basis. A decision consists of arriving at a conclusion after careful consideration and reflection upon the different aspects involved; these include consequences, drawbacks, people who are involved and how they will be affected. To avoid detrimental consequences, contemplation is imperative; however, the characters of King Creon and the Girl from the plays ‘Antigone’ and ‘Blood Wedding’ fail to do so. They make choices resulting from poor judgement and the flaws of each of these two characters and eventually lead to harsh consequences. As a figure of authority, the King has an arrogance that leads him to make decisions, relying only on his views and beliefs. Also, the Girl and Creon share the flaw of jealousy that causes them to act in search of their own happiness or security. ‘Antigone’ is a play that was written in Ancient Greece by Sophocles prior to 442 B.C. The antagonist in the play ‘Antigone’ is the King Creon, who is the ruler of Thebes and has supreme power. He is in the highest position of authority and thus, has a very proud and arrogant nature. To Creon, his point of view is the only correct one, and other’s opinions and beliefs are insignificant. He is very conceited and this leads him to believe that wisdom only came with old age and his son, Haimon, is not wise enough to make the right choices: “You consider it for a man of my years and experience to go to a schoolboy?” (Sophocles 220). Creon also sees it as unacceptable not to keep his word and this is shown when he decides to punish Antigone; he is criticised by everyone including his own son but he refuses to comply and says, “Do you want me to show myself weak before my people? Or to break my own sword?” (Sophocles 217). To Creon, going back on his word is a sign of weakness and he would rather make a mistake than change his mind. Due to his arrogance, Creon is blinded to the flaws of his
Cited: García Lorca, Federico. Blood Wedding and Yerma. Trans. Langston Hughes, W.S. Merwin. Theatre Communications Group. (1994) Sophocles. “Antigone” The Oedipus Cycle. Trans. Dudley Fitts, Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Harvest Books. (2002)