Hero: Antigone Or Creon? Essay, Research Paper

Hero: Antigone or Creon?

In the play of Antigone there are two choices of tragic heroes or figures. By many

of Antigone?s actions I feel that she is the one who fits this description perfectly.

A tragedy is a play in which a central character, called a tragic hero or protagonist

suffers some serious misfortune which isn?t accidental and therefore meaningless, but is

significant in that the misfortune is logically connected with the heroes actions. I feel that

this definition fits Antigone perfect. Antigone made a huge decision, which put her and

her sister Ismene?s life on the line and that was to bury her brother polyneices. It was very

important to Antigone that her brother and any other family members get an honored

burial. However, if this didn?t occur than she would give up her own life in the place of

her brother. Antigone very well knew that this was against the law, yet that didn?t stop

her, she knew what had to be done.

Antigone?s motivation was purely about the honor she wanted for herself and her

family. However, Ismene at first, didn?t want anything to do with this because she knew

the consequences of breaking the law. Although Ismene just wanted to have the credit for

helping Antigone, she didn?t have the courage to complete such a tragic cause.

In many cases Creon could have been the protagonist in this story, yet he himself

didn?t realize this until the end of the story. Creon believed that everything he did was

always right, but he never had anything to back it up with. Despite the fact that Antigone

broke the law, I felt that Creon handled this problem without even thinking what he might

have done. Creon was a very strong king and always stuck to what he said, though he

never thought about others feelings. Until the end, Creon doesn?t recognize that some of

the things he did were wrong and that he should be punished for what he did. When he

does realize it, he feels he should die for his wrong doing.

From both of these characters actions you can tell that they both fit the definition

of a tragic hero, nonetheless it was Antigone who kept her beliefs the same all throughout

this tragic story. Both of these characters are very strong and willful and by sticking to

their beliefs they prove that they are protagonists.