Pride in Sophocles Antigone Essay - 983 Words

Pride in Sophocles Antigone Pride is a quality that all people possess in one way or another. Some people take pride in their appearance, worldly possessions, or position in society. The story of Antigone written by Sophocles has two characters who have a tragic flaw of pride. I will show how Creon’s pride of power leads to his destruction, and how Antigone’s pride makes her an honorable character who should be treated as a hero. Creon is a man who has just become the king of Thebes and has a flaw of having too much pride. He can’t control the power of being over other people and he lets the power go to his head. â€Å" I now possess the throne and all its powers. No, he must be left unburied, his corpse carrion for the birds and dogs†¦show more content†¦Creon then shows that he has let the power go to his head by refusing advice of an elder. â€Å"Stop- before you make me choke with anger- the gods! You, you’re senile, must you be insane? To prove his final act of power Creon informs his son that the person who buried Polynices is his fiancà © Antigone and that he will kill her to make an example of his power to all the people under his rule that he would not be disobeyed. Creon’s son Haemon does not want his wife to be to be put to death and pleads with his father. â€Å" I see my father offending justice wrong. That she’ll die but her death will kill another.†(1287) Haemon reveals to the his father that if he continues with killing his wife to be he will flee his presence and kill himself for his love Antigone. In the end Creon realizes that his pride has lead to the destruction of his life and his kingdom. â€Å" I know it myself- I’m shaken, torn. It’s a dreadful thing to yield†¦but resist now? Lay my pride bare to the blows of ruin? That’s dreadful too.† (1296) King Creon realizes to little to late and because of his pride he loses his son, wife, and daughter in law. â€Å"And the guilt is all mine- can never be fixed on another man, no escape for me. I killed them, I, god help me, I admit it all!†(1301) Antigone is an honorable character in this story of love and rebellion. The only thing that she does is disobey an order that is unjust and bury the remains of herShow MoreRelatedPride And Stubbornness In Oedipus Rex And Antigone By Sophocles1111 Words   |  5 Pagesonly crime is pride.† As a writer, Sophocles examined the interactions between truth and ignorance. He wrote plays in which the hero has a tragic flaw, many times that being the lack of wisdom caused by many different character flaws. In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and Antigone, pride and stubbornness obstruct the senses of Oedipus and Creon in a classic play about seeing the truth. 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