Creon Tragic Hero Essay

Tragic hero as defined by Aristotle is a character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. Antigone by Sophocles is a play about two people trapped in by society’s laws of time. Creon is trapped by the rules and laws of Thebes and his hubris is that many of these are of his own making. Antigone is trapped by her love for her deceased but traitorous brother Polyneices, a deep sense of justice and compassion, and her belief that the Gods would want her brother buried. Aristotle once said that, "A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." Initially, the tragic hero should be neither better or worse morally than normal people, in order to allow the audience to identify with them. If the hero was to be perfect, we would be outraged with their fate or not care especially because of their ideological superiority. Step 2 of Aristotle’s Tragic Hero list says, Though the tragic hero is great, he/she is not perfect. Otherwise, the rest of us would be unable to identify with the tragic hero. We …show more content…
Antigone was born of royalty. Her father was a king and so was her uncle. Since Antigone was born into it, she doesn't have the same responsibility as her uncle, Creon. While on the other hand, Creon has responsibility of his land and people. He must make decisions not only to guarantee his own safety, but to protect and advance the lives of his people. Antigone does not seem to gasp or refuse to accept the idea of law and order as a foundation for civilized society, but on the other hand, Creon does not see the injustice of his own actions that they are contrary to the will of the Gods. Basically, they are both doomed. Antigone to death for her crime and Creon to the self destruction and hubris of his own making. Both may be doomed but Creon’s life was the kinda more tragic than someone