Ignorance Essay, Research Paper

Ignorance

In Sophocle’s ancient Greek tragedy, Antigone, there is a woman who chooses to go with the feeling inside her heart and obey law of the Gods, rather than to obey civil law. Antigone’s bother Eteoles was given a proper burial after a war in their homeland of Thebes. She wants her brother, Polyneices, who was the enemy, also to be given a proper burial, but the king prohibits the burial. Kreon, the king, is the protagonist who displays hubris in his quest for absolute power. Without reason, Kreon accuses the Sentry of greed, Antigone and Ismene of lust for power, and his last son, Haimon, of being a fool in love. Kreon accuses others of crimes and treats them as fools; ironically, however, Kreon himself is the criminal and the fool.

As the Sentry came to tell Kreon about the dust on the corpse, Kreon was so angry that he accuses the Sentry of greed without having any proof. During their conversation Kreon tells the Sentry, “Sold your soul for some silver: that’s all you’ve done” (Scene 1. 153). Kreon thinks that someone could have given the Sentry money for putting dust on the body and lying to the king. The Sentry knows he did nothing wrong but, Kreon was being a fool and would not listen.

Kreon observes Antigone and Ismene whispering and automatically assumes that they are after the throne. The conversation led Kreon to say ” . . . [A] nd all the time I never knew that these two sisters were aiming at my throne” (Scene 2. 125). Kreon thinks that just because they were whispering to each9ther that they were conspiring against him. Antigone and Ismene ate the next in line for the throne and he feels intimidated by the two sisters. Kreon made himself look like a fool by saying such a thing, because the ladies were talking about something different.

As Haimon is telling his father what he feels about the whole situation, Kreon thinks that his son is just a love struck fool and too young to understand. Kreon tells his son “Fool, adolescent fool: Taken by a woman” (Scene 3. 114). Kreon told Haimon this because he thinks that his son is young and immature and is in love with Antigone and wants him to pardon her because of that reason. Haimon is correct in the things he is saying, but Kreon does not think so.

Throughout the entire play Kreon is very contumacious and thinks that he is always right and knows the way things should be done. There are many ways in which Kreon looks like a fool: he accused an innocent man of greed, Antigone and Ismene of trying to get the throne, and he thinks that his son is too young and in love to know what he is talking about. He doesn’t even give any body a chance. The crime that Kreon commits is in the end, when he finally realizes what he had done and killed three innocent people in the process.