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IrinaDuh Mr.OwainPhillips English10A 23September2013 Antigone:CreonandhisEvolution In Antigone, Creon is a very dynamic character and Sophocles found a way to make him evolve from one type of person to another. Whilereading,thereadersperspectivechangesabouthim heisagoodking,butishefair?Heisaherobut,ishesavinghispeople? Creon definitelyshowsthathe isagoodking,makinghisdecisionsagreewiththeseverityofthe crime committed. Creon says [...] no traitor is going to be hon/ored withtheloyalman.Butwhoever shows [...] that he is on the side of the State he shall/ have my respect while he is living, and my rever/ence when he is dead(1.5155), which shows he is not scared todowhatisright.Ifanytraitor finds the way togetintohiskingdom,hewillnotgivehimhisblessings,hewillnothonorhimandwill do what he has to do in order to keep the society how it is supposed to be. He follows this when he decides to give aproperburialtooneofthebrotherandnottobothofthem.Hetriestofollowthe laws of men, and that is why when he gives the penalty to Antigone his actions do not reflect how good he would have been if he followed the laws of heaven.Hiswordwasstrongbuthisopinionchangedashe is influenced by his surroundings this shows that Creon is a flexible king, and that he is abletochange thewayhethinks. Creon isindeedatragichero,butrecognizinghimasoneisnotthateasy.Hehasstatuswhenhe succeeded to the full power of the/ throne (1.920) he has a massive flaw,whichisbeingtooproud of himself and he arouses concern from the audience by beingmeaninthebeginningandendingwitha

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tragic event, for causing three deaths (his wife, his son, and his sons wife) and being left alone. This causes the reader to relate to him is that he is a mean king in the beginning and asheevolves,heturns intoasentimentalmanwhosesorrowssinkhimwithregret. For Creon toevolveandbecomeabetterman,severaleventsmodifythewayhethinks,as well as the way he acts. One of thoseeventswasthedeathofhisson:Haimonmyson,soyoung,soyoung to die, / I was the fool, not you and you died for me" (Exodos. 9192). He felt like his death was so tragic because Creon didnottrust himwhenhesaidhelovedAntigone,sohemadehispenaltyapplyto both Haimon and her. This all makes the reader think that Creon has Karma. He was at first a good man, but started judging by his owntemperament,withouthavinganykindofconsiderationforthelaws of Heaven or the townspeople, who also were right about how Antigoneshouldhavebeentreated.As he judged wrongly, his decisions caused the death ofhiswife,Haimon,andAntigone.Attheendofthe play, he is left alone without family or friends, and he has no one to depend on. He suffered the consequences of his actions of pride and selfishness. His negative karma is caused in the beginning, whenhedoesnotconsiderotheropinionsandattheendsuffersallthepainhecausedtoothers. Creon is definitely a character that affects the reader throughout Antigone because he suffers the consequences of his actions, making the reader relate to him.Hechangesthroughtimeandhisown selfish opinions aredebatedinhishead, tofinallymakehimloseallhehadintheendofthestory.Creon hassurelyshownhiswilltobecomeabettermanandtorulehistownfairly.