Creon and Koro

Throughout history, the tragic hero has virtually not changed at all. The play, Antigone, written by the Greek playwright Sophocles and the book Whale Rider, written by Witi Ihimaera, has extremely comparable characters. Regardless of being written thousands of years apart, both story lines are very similar in relation to the tragic heroes. Antigone is the story of a woman who is trying to bury her brother’s body, despite the king, Creon’s, ruling against. The play tells of Antigone and Creon’s struggle against each other leading to Antigone’s eventual death. Whale Rider portrays the story of a young Maori girl who is trying to become the leader of her tribe. The young girl, Paikea (Pai), is persistently blocked by Koro. Creon and Koro, the two tragic heroes are comparable in their lack of equality towards women, their similar tragic flaw of too much hubris and their elitist views directed toward people around them. Creon and Koro both share a lack of respect towards woman. Creon continually exhibits his contempt towards women in Antigone. When Creon is talking to his son, Haimon, regarding Antigone’s death, he condemns him by saying that, “Your pleasure with her would soon grow cold, Haimon, and then you'd have a hellcat in bed and elsewhere” (716). Creon believes that because Antigone is a woman, she can be easily replaced. Creon makes it known that he does not think Antigone is important at all and neglects to acknowledge that Haimon might have any affection or love for Antigone, which is why he thinks that he can always replace her. Koro too has the identical sexist reaction towards women such as Pai right from when she was born. Koro refuses to even hold Pai because she is a girl, and because she is a girl she cannot become a leader. Throughout the film, Koro has hatred that is clearly directed towards Pai. Koro thinks that because Pai is a girl, she is not strong enough to be a leader, or to do anything practical. When Koro tests the male students at