Tragic Hero Speech: Creon

Good Morning to all of Thebes. Today, I am here to prove that Antigone is innocent for the accusations of her wrong doings in the burial process of her brother, Polynices. After both Polynices and Eteocles were killed, Creon, the new king, decided to hold a proper burial for Etoecles, but not Polynices. Now, is that fair? Antigone was only doing what she felt was right, and everyone here can sympathize towards Antigone for her losses, but Creon became power hungry and refused to allow this burial to take place. Personally, I feel that family always comes first.

            Remember that Creon is not a blood relative, but a member related through marriage. After joining the family for personal and selfish reasons, he then decided to sentence one of the only members of the family that were left to die. Antigone did nothing wrong, but bravely suffered the consequences. Creon did not take into consideration the common knowledge that family always comes first.

            Creon’s only true argument is that he wanted to stand his ground and not change it even for family. But how is that going to look after he killed a family member for trying to bury another family member? Remember, family always comes first.

            After Creon lost everything, he realized the madness he caused and everyone he lost. He decided to lock Antigone into the cave and make her starve. He almost kills Ismene, but Antigone stopped that and took all of the blame. His own flesh and blood, Haemon, committed suicide because of Creon’s actions. Now, does Creon seem like an honorable and noble leader to you?

            How would you feel if a family member of yours was killed and you were denied the right to bury that person honorably? Instead, their soul was to be sentenced to an eternity of roaming without the right to rest in peace. This is the situation Antigone was in and she had to make a decision. I feel almost everyone here would agree with her decision and choose family over the word of a selfish king filled with hubris.

With all of these facts laid out, it is clear to me that Creon is guilty and is the tragic hero. Antigone only did what she had to and Creon abruptly stepped in her way and killed her. Because of this, Creon lost everything and was the cause of many deaths. He deserves to be punished for his wrong doings and suffer the consequences similarly to what he put his own family through.