In the play Antigone the two main characters each go through their own hardship and after examining each I believe that I have to sympathize with Kreon the most. I believe this due to the fact that he ends up miserable and alone. Meanwhile Antigone escapes it all with her death before she is let go.
Claim about the Character of Antigone
What is the claim that you will be making about Antigone? Antigone has faced hardship and she truly gets the short end of the stick when she kills herself but she did disobey an order even if it was for the right reasons in her views but I believe she would have gotten another chance.
- She sticks to her beliefs in god and her family. She had strong family values by staying with her father until he passed and watching her brother fight. This leads to her burying her brother even though he wasn’t supposed to be due to his dishonorable actions. By her views are strong for family. Support: Lines 450-470
- She disobeys orders from the king, and even though her heart was in the right place it was still an order from the king that she did disobey. This was her wrong action which in my opinion does deserve an extent of punishment.
- She ends up committing suicide that was quick by hanging, if she had waited then she would have been freed but the guards ended up arriving too late. I believe that she was almost given a way out but she found one first, but this means she was almost given another chance. Support: Line 1270
Claim about the Character of Kreon
I believe that Kreon has the suffering worst than Antigone, he first makes a mistake due to prideful manner but then sees his wrong and does the right thing but it was too late and he must live with it.
- Tries to restore order in Thebes and can be considered a good ruler but he contains the flaw of pride which is excessive and harms him in the long run.
- Kreon is faced with his flaw of pride, which causes him to not listen to anyone. This means he makes accusations. He has to punish Antigone for defying his order due to his position of power, which is understandable even if her reasoning meant her heart was in the right place. Support: Line 1271-1277
- His whole family has committed suicide. He loses his wife and then admits to the mistake he has made, and tries to right his wrong even though it was too late; he still attempted to do so due to Antigone suicide Support: Line 1095, Line 1177, Line 1282, Lines 1339-1346
Conclusion
After I analyzed the two tragic heroes in the play I have found that Kreon would be the true tragic hero who has suffered the most. I believe this because in the end he is truly alone and faced with the misery of all the tragic events that happened throughout the play.
