Antigone Essay

Melissa Johnson

English-E- Mr. George

November 9, 2009

Antigone Essay

Oedipus and Creon, Different yet Very Much the Same

All rulers are faced with their own struggles, but also have their moments to

shine. When being faced with these struggles, there are many ways they can be dealt with that may lay the foundation for how they are viewed throughout their reign. The two infamous men with power that Sophocles writes about, Creon and Oedipus, deal with their own share of obstacles that they overcome in ways that may be viewed as similar, which can cause them to be judged differently than expected. Oedipus and Creon share similar traits, but the differences between the two famous rulers of Thebes seem to outweigh the similarities. Oedipus faces many challenges that are brought upon by his doomed fate while Creon brings most of them upon himself.

The most prominent difference between Oedipus and Creon is that Creon is more to blame for everything that happens to him. This is true because he was never struck with a horrible fate, such as Oedipus’s, and he had an example set before him. If Creon had looked to Oedipus’s mistakes as exactly what not to do as king, he would have put himself in a much better position. Another important difference between the two is that Creon made promises to the people of Thebes, and clearly stated that he would not make the same mistakes that Oedipus did: “I am the kind of man who can’t and never could abide the tongue-tied ruler who through fear backs away from sound advice” (Sophocles, 198). By saying this, Creon puts himself in the position of having to live up to that promise and prove to the people of Thebes that he would not be as ignorant as Oedipus. Ironically, Creon does the exact opposite and struggles to listen to other’s warnings and advice almost as much as Oedipus did.

Both Oedipus and Creon, along with many in power back then, had the misfortune of being consumed with pride. This consumption often led them to being very quick to judge others who were simply trying to display the truth. Their pride led to this extremely judgmental characteristic because they could not handle others questioning their knowledge or innocence. It is clear in both Oedipus Rex and Antigone that both kings tend to immediately threaten those who, in reality, haven’t done anything wrong. In Oedipus Rex, the blind prophet, Tiresias, is straight forward and tells Oedipus he is the one who murdered King Laius. Without even considering the fact that he may be right, Oedipus threatens Tiresias:

TIRESIAS: I say that you and your most dearly loved are wrapped together in a hideous sin, blind to the horror of it.

OEDIPUS: You think you can go on blabbering unscathed?

TIRESIAS: Unscathed indeed, if truth is strength.

OEDIPUS: It is. But not for you, you purblind man: in ears and mind and vision (21).

In Antigone, Creon proves that he shares this trait with Oedipus during his conversation with the sentry. When he states that it is a shame Creon doesn’t have better reasoning, Creon responds by saying, “A logic chopper and a wit! But don’t imagine that will save your skin” (204). Creon especially would have been better off and more able to change the way things played out if his sense of pride didn’t stand in the way of him listening to others. It would have also helped Oedipus, but not as much, because he wasn’t able to prevent most things from happening due to his fate.

Oedipus and Creon were also similar in that they were both extremely stubborn; however, Creon wasn’t quite as ignorant as Oedipus. Unlike Oedipus, Creon came to and realized that he had made some serious mistakes and that he wanted to change things. He attempted to free Antigone in order to allow her to marry his son, but it was too late. Creon found her dead body in the chamber, with his sons’ body alongside. Although by the time he realized what he had done was wrong it was too late to change the outcome, at least he tried. By the time Oedipus had realized his mistakes, it was impossible to even attempt to change things because everything had already taken place. It is clear that Creon felt much more responsible for the situation while it was happening, which proves that he is much less stubborn than Oedipus was during his rule: “It’s hard to eat my words, but harder still to court catastrophe through overriding pride” (240). He was willing to accept that he did not want to cause even more chaos and that he needed to put his pride aside for the time being in order to save his son, Haemon, and his future daughter in law, Antigone, from facing their dreadful ends.

It is important to know that although there are many similarities between Oedipus and Creon and how they ruled Thebes, there is also a multitude of differences. Those differences are important because they could be considered how Oedipus and Creon were seen as both people and as leaders. Although Oedipus was not as responsible for the events that took place during his reign as Creon was, everything evens out because he did not even try to change the outcome. Overall, like any human beings, they shared many weaknesses and had many of the same downfalls, but they were nowhere near being the same person, even in their infamy.

Antigone Quote Discussion 3 11-5-09

"Do not be surprised that heaven-yes, and hell- have set the Furies loose to lie in wait for you, Ready with the punishments you engineered for others." (Sophocles, 239) . By saying this, Tiresias is giving a blatant warning to Creon, similar to how he had previously warned Oedipus of his horrible fate. He is telling Creon that because he is forcing death upon Antigone for burying her brother, he himself will face a horrible future. Although Creon may not necessarily be killed, his afterlife will not be pleasant and the Gods will be ready and waiting in Hades to give him what he deserves. These words end up actually affecting Creon and making him think about his actions. He finally decides that he is not doing the right thing and that he will set Antigone free, but it is too late. Because of him, his son had already committed suicide due to Creon forcing death upon his lover whom he is supposed to marry, leading to the suicide of the queen.

Antigone Quote Discussion 2 11-4-09

"Turning the wise into fools you twist them off their course and now you have stung us to this strife of father fighting son...Oh, Love..." (Sophocles, 227). Stated by Antistrophe I, a great example of foreshadowing. Antistrophe gives insight into how much the concept of love will affect the rest of the play. Falling in love can greatly change how people think and cause them to make decisions that they wouldn't usually come about. By saying this it is telling us that we will see people acting out of character later in the play because their views on certain things, and people, have changed.Basically, Antistrophe is referring to love as a person and blaming them for making people think "irrationally" and causing Haemon to disobey Creon, which he would otherwise never do.

Antigone Quote Discussion 1 11-3-09

"And if this hurries me to death before my time, why, such a death is gain. Yes, surely gain to one whom life so overwhelms" (Sophocles,210). In saying this, Antigone makes it clear that she is proud of doing what her brother asked of her by giving him a proper burial and that she does not regret anything she has done. She is willing to face any consequences that may come her way due to being loyal to her brother. She states that she would rather die than continue to live her "overwhelming" life with regret of not burying him. She specifically says that dying is a "gain to one whom life so overwhelms", meaning that due to the terrible fates that her family has been cursed with in the past, she lives a rough life and would rather end it now. This quote also represents how Antigone is different from most women of her time and she is really willing to step out of the mold of how women should be and stand up for what she believes is right.