Really Good Antigone Creon Tragic Hero Essay

In the tragic play "Antigone"� by Sophocles there has commonly been a controversy as to who is the "tragic hero"�. Sophocles clearly portrays the male protagonist, Creon, as the tragic hero through his social status and his actions being good, yet not exceedingly, having an evident tragic flaw that eventually leads to his downfall, and his repentance; these are all in accordance with Aristotle's view of a tragic hero. First, Creon is born into a family situation that fits him for the suit of tragic hero and he is someone that is not entirely good and not entirely evil. Also, Creon has a tragic flaw that causes his downfall and it is excessive pride, or hubris. Finally, Creon takes being a tragic hero one step further and learns from his mistakes. Creon can be characterized many ways, but mainly as the tragic hero of the play.

Creon starts out his life well in the way of becoming a tragic hero. He is born into nobility. Creon becomes King and this meets the first requirement of a tragic hero, by being in the public eye. He is not an evil person and he is not overly good. He is liked, but there is also a healthy fear the people have of him and his rule. He has the ability to alter the lives of many people, including his family. Standing in a position of influence is very much like a hero. He is able to affect the lives of many by using his power and he becomes somewhat arrogant when he receives the throne.

Out of this arrogance, develops his tragic flaw that leads to his inevitable downfall. Creon's tragic flaw is his ego and oversized pride. Now that he is pleased with the control he has over Greek society, he will not let anything come between him and his rule. This includes family and when Antigone breaks the rule he has made, he doesn't show his embarrassment, only his anger that she should do this to him. "This girl was already versed in insolence when she transgressed the laws that had been set forth"� (Act. 2). He punishes family just as everyone else should be punished. There are no "breaks"� for the people who upset his rule. As a result of the punishment of death to Antigone for her crime, she kills herself first. This happens to disturb the life of Creon's son, Haemon, who is planning to wed Antigone. When Haemon finds that Antigone has committed suicide, he then kills himself. Since Creon was too proud to talk rationally to Antigone and decide whether or not she should be punished, he has lost all that he loves. He is left alone because of his hubris. This is the peripeteia, or reversal of fortune, of the play, he started out well and even happy and then he ended in emotional ruin, all at his own hand.

After Creon has realized his mistake of punishing Antigone and putting her in a cave to die, he decides he wants to fix the problem. Before he is able to save Antigone from her untimely death, he hears word that she has taken her own life and his son along with her. Although, he isn't able to absolve it, Creon finally comes to the realization that he has done wrong. "Ah me, I have learned the bitter lesson!"� (Strophe 2) This act classifies him as more of a tragic hero than Antigone because he takes this extra step.

In the tragedy "Antigone"� by Sophocles, Creon is the tragic hero by the Aristotelian definition. Creon is in the public eye, as he is King Creon. Also, he is not an evil person and not an excessively warm or kind person. Creon is the bearer of very much self-pride, which eventually and inevitably causes his peripeteia and downfall. Lastly, at the end Creon is able to repent for his mistakes and this classifies him as a tragic hero. The controversy over whether Creon is or is not a tragic hero has the obvious answer that he is in fact the tragic hero of Sophocles' Antigone because of the traits he exemplifies.