Skip to main content

What fatal flaws does Creon show?

Pride


Creon's chief flaw, and ultimately his downfall, lies in his refusal to admit that he is wrong. By the time that he does, it is already too late to save Antigone. He only admits to his pride at the very end, when he decides to free Antigone.



Creon: That is true…. It troubles me. Oh it is hard to give in! but it is worse to risk everything for stubborn pride.



Selfishness


Creon doesn't think of his son, who is engaged to Antigone, or his son's happiness. He justifies his actions to Haimon by telling him that she wouldn't have been good for him in the end.



Creon: So you are right
Not to lose your head over this woman. Your pleasure with her would soon grow cold, Haimon,
And then you’d have a hellcat in bed and elsewhere. Let her find her husband in Hell!



Anger 


During Creon's argument with his son, Haimon, he allows his anger to cloud his reason. He even childishly repeats Haimon's question to make his own point.



Creon: Then she is not a criminal?


Haimon: The City proposes to teach me how to rule?


Creon: And the City proposes to teach me how to rule?


Haimon: Ah. Who is it that’s talking like a boy now?



Hypocrisy


Creon professes to be a leader who is committed to doing the right thing for the people. However, he allows himself to be corrupted by his own biases and desires. He expresses the following value during his initial monologue:



Creon: I say to you at the very outset that I have nothing but contempt for the kind of Governor who is afraid, for whatever reason, to follow the course that he knows is best for the State....



Creon's professed values as a leader contrast with the way he actually led, which caused dissent among his people. His anger and pride blinded him to the reality that he made the wrong choice until it was too late. His selfish behavior ultimately led to the death of Antigone, Haimon, and Euridice.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more