There are many various types of leaders in the world. One aspect that all leaders have is pride. How much pride the leader holds is up to him, and the more pride the leader holds the harder he falls. Sometimes this pride can lead a person to believe that only their own opinion matters and no one else’s. In Antigone, King Creon represents a leader with an excessive levelexcess levels of pride, which causes him to contradict himself. In the beginning of the play when Creon delivered his edict , he mentions that he “‘...would never have any dealings with an enemy of the people”’ (Sophocles 197). This statement poses him as a devoted king, but an enemy of the king is not always an enemy of the people. In Antigone, Sophocles shows how a devoted
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Creon’s first action as king was to declare that Polyneices’ body shall not be buried. This angered his sister Antigone, who was determined to break the law for her brother. Once Creon catches Antigone and her sister Ismene, he orders the guards to “‘...take the away and guard them well: For they are but women and even brave men run When they see Death coming”’ (214). Creon believes that once a person has broken the law, that person is deemed an unethical, unlawful human being. Once confronting Antigone, Creon still does not buy into why Antigone buried her brother -- to give him the respect he deserved. For Creon, everything is black and white--a person can either obey the law and be honored for that or he can question authority and be punished for that. He never stops to think about why a person does what they do or why events happen a certain way. This results in Creon taking oppressive action towards innocent people who did something, not to threaten the city or Creon’s wishes but to honor their own. With Creon’s head-strong decision to let Death handle both Antigone and Ismene, Creon emotionally scars his own son, Haimon--the man who is to marry Antigone. During an argument between Creon and his son, Haimon threatens that Antigone’s “...death will cause another”’(222). This threat implies …show more content…
Since King Creon believes that everyone is obligated to listen to him and no one else, he only hears the opinions that he wants to hear. Haimon makes this clear to his father when he confronts him by saying, “‘ You are not in a position to know everything That people say or do, or what they feel:...everyone will tell you only what you like to hear”’ (218). Haimon’s opinion says a lot about his father’s character like the fact that Creon’s stubbornness has caused uneasiness throughout the city. In front of the king, the people of Thebes will do anything to get on his good side including lying about what they truly believe, which causes Creon to believe that everyone is on the same page. As soon as some has a differing opinion, Creon believes that this person is not only his enemy but everyone’s enemy. As mentioned in Creon’s edict, he will stop at nothing to prevent these enemies, however, these enemies may just be innocent people. Antigone represents one of these so called enemies and her consequences have sparked new opinions that question Creon’s actions. Now, ample of the people living in the city are considered Creon’s enemies. Haimon, again, makes this very clear to his father when he says, “‘ But I, at any rate, can listen: and I have heard them Muttering and whispering in the dark about this this girl. They
Creon’s first action as king was to declare that Polyneices’ body shall not be buried. This angered his sister Antigone, who was determined to break the law for her brother. Once Creon catches Antigone and her sister Ismene, he orders the guards to “‘...take the away and guard them well: For they are but women and even brave men run When they see Death coming”’ (214). Creon believes that once a person has broken the law, that person is deemed an unethical, unlawful human being. Once confronting Antigone, Creon still does not buy into why Antigone buried her brother -- to give him the respect he deserved. For Creon, everything is black and white--a person can either obey the law and be honored for that or he can question authority and be punished for that. He never stops to think about why a person does what they do or why events happen a certain way. This results in Creon taking oppressive action towards innocent people who did something, not to threaten the city or Creon’s wishes but to honor their own. With Creon’s head-strong decision to let Death handle both Antigone and Ismene, Creon emotionally scars his own son, Haimon--the man who is to marry Antigone. During an argument between Creon and his son, Haimon threatens that Antigone’s “...death will cause another”’(222). This threat implies …show more content…
Since King Creon believes that everyone is obligated to listen to him and no one else, he only hears the opinions that he wants to hear. Haimon makes this clear to his father when he confronts him by saying, “‘ You are not in a position to know everything That people say or do, or what they feel:...everyone will tell you only what you like to hear”’ (218). Haimon’s opinion says a lot about his father’s character like the fact that Creon’s stubbornness has caused uneasiness throughout the city. In front of the king, the people of Thebes will do anything to get on his good side including lying about what they truly believe, which causes Creon to believe that everyone is on the same page. As soon as some has a differing opinion, Creon believes that this person is not only his enemy but everyone’s enemy. As mentioned in Creon’s edict, he will stop at nothing to prevent these enemies, however, these enemies may just be innocent people. Antigone represents one of these so called enemies and her consequences have sparked new opinions that question Creon’s actions. Now, ample of the people living in the city are considered Creon’s enemies. Haimon, again, makes this very clear to his father when he says, “‘ But I, at any rate, can listen: and I have heard them Muttering and whispering in the dark about this this girl. They