Creon Tragic Hero Essay

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Pages: 2

Mia Sanchez Ms. Arthur English 10 May 16th, 2024 Antigone There are many stories with a tragic hero; the definition of a tragic hero by the dictionary is, “the central character of a play, film, etc., depicted as a noble figure who experiences a tragic downfall.” In the play “Antigone,” by Sophocles, the tragic hero is Antigone because she taught Creon how to be a good king and dies as her downfall. Creon is not the tragic hero because he wasn’t heroic. Antigone is the tragic hero because she was willing to go against the new king Creon to follow her beliefs to honor her gods and family. She was heroic because she indirectly taught Creon to listen to his people instead of trying to seem more powerful, “Creon: I know that, too—and it disturbs my mind. …show more content…
Creon: Tell me what to do. Speak up. I’ll do it.” Creon decided to finally listen to the people’s advice and release Antigone from her tomb to become a good king. Every tragic hero has their downfall, otherwise they’re not a tragic hero. Antigone's downfall as a tragic hero was her death at the end of the story. However, after helping Creon to learn to listen to others, her death was the result of Creon not listening quick enough. She honored the gods and her family by burying Polyneices against Creon's order, but they did not help her avoid her death in the end. Creon is not the tragic hero because even though he has a downfall at the end of the story, he is too late to do anything heroic. After Creon learns to take some advice, he heads over to Antigones tomb to release her. However, in the tomb, Creon's son (Antigone's Fiance) kills himself after Antigone has committed suicide. As a result of his son's death, Creon's wife also kills herself because of her son's death, leaving Creon all alone with nothing. Creon is too late to become heroic after Antigone's death and only experiences the downfall of a tragic hero after being left with