Ms. Peifer
10 IB Hour 5
26 November 2008
Considering the actions he thought up and carried out, it
is clear that Creon is guilty for the deaths of the many people
close to him. He sentenced Antigone to death, ignored all warnings
of the possible consequences, and was too overconfident in his
judgement that he hardly even thought about his actions. Creon is
clearly responsible for the tragic events that occurred.
Creon's first mistake was when he decided that killing Antigone
would solve everything. He says it himself: when Antigone asks him
what he wants besides killing her, Creon responds "Me? Nothing.
With that I have everything" (Sophocles ln. 566). This quote says
everything: Creon believes that the solution to the whole incident is
sentencing Antigone to death. The very idea is wrong, for Creon
seemed to completely forget about the potential feelings of others
close to both him and Antigone.
Creon also showed bad judgement in his response to Haimon's
warning that mabye the death sentence isn't the best idea. For
example, when Haimon is begging for Antigone's mercy and says,
"Then she'll die–and in her death kill someone else" (859), Creon
mindlessly retorts, "Are you so insolent you threaten me?" (860).
This is not a very tactful or logical thing for a king to say at all.
Creon is so confident that his choice is right that he ignores an
ominous warning, and when his son is begging for him to listen, he
does not listen at all, but retorts a rude comment instead. Finally,
after Teiresias' even darker prophecy, Creon is finally changes his
mind. Unfortunately, it was too late.
Creon was definitely responsible for the deaths of those close to
him. He was not showing good judgement in the first place when
he sentenced a brave woman to death, even though she was only
respecting her brother,whom Creon was depriving of sacred
rituals. Even when his own son hints at something as terrible as
suicide if Creon doesn't change his mind, Creon was so stubborn
he returned the request with insults. The result of these actions
is fitting, in that all the people Creon was close to were so
horrified by the results of his decrees that they killed themselves.
Therefore, Creon is the guilty one.
Works Cited
Sophocles. "Antigone." Sophocles Antigone. Trans. Ian Johnston.
9 Aug. 2008. Vancouver Island University Malaspira.
26 Nov 2008.
http://records.viu.ca/7%Ejohnstoi/index.htm
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