Haimon's Decision-Making In Sophocles Antigone

Haimon delivers a successful argument urging his father to reconsider his decision to kill Antigone.

When he first approaches his father, Haemon appeals to his father’s sense of morals and values by cautioning him to use reason in his decision-making. He does this by explaining to Creon how he is not capable of ¨knowing everything¨(Sophocles). He says this to try to knock some sense into Creon that no one can make these huge decisions without a little help and advice. It is important to Haimon that he tries his hardest to prove to his father that it is okay to take some advice, and it will not make him out to be a week king. Haimon also tells his father that the only reason his people will agree with him and take his side was because “his temper terrifies everyone¨(Sophocles). This is an attempt to prove that listening to the people and caring for their best interests is his most important job as a king. This was meant to appeal to his
The analogy he used was comparing trees to his being stubborn. He explained that in a storm, some trees bend and are loose and because of this “even their twigs are safe”(Sophocles). Then he explains how the stubborn trees “are torn up, roots and all”(Sophocles). The reason he used this analogy was to express to his father that allowing yourself to be moved is a good thing and is a much better way to go about things. This is just another way Haimon backed up his opinion that the better way to go about things is to not be so stubborn, and learn to forgive. This analogy shows that a leader's strength is not determined by how stubborn and stiff he or she is. It shows that being able to go with the flow of things is one of the most important qualities in a leader. This is why Haimon thought it was so important for his father to hear it before making his final