Who is the tragic hero of Antigone?

Who Is the Tragic Hero of Antigone?

The Tragic Hero of a story or play is somebody who was once a great or mighty person but has been brought to a terrible end by a character flaw. That character flaw shows itself in situations where they might have done differently otherwise. The tragic story of Antigone is about the daughter of Oedipus, Antigone.
Antigone tries but fails to stop the war that kills both her brothers so then tries to bury the body of her brother Polyneices even though her uncle Creon forbade it. The importance of burial to the ancient Greeks is that after death your body can reach Hades. So, if somebody goes unburied their souls are doomed to wander about forever. Creon’s reason for not allowing Polyneices to be buried is that Polyneices attacked the city of Thebes, which was one of the greatest cities in Greece at that time containing many temples, leading Creon to believe that the gods did not want somebody like that to find rest even after death. Creon’s intentions however misguided were meant to be noble but even good intentions can lead to disastrous results. Antigone is caught giving Polyneices a decent burial and Creon sentences her to life imprisonment in a cave. Creon’s son Heamon is displeased by his father’s judgment for good reason and goes away from Creon to rescue Antigone. While Antigone is being taken to the cave she wails and whines about how she will never be married to Haemon and after reaching the cave she foolhardily hangs herself just a few hours before Haemon comes to rescue and that is only a few minutes before Creon, after being by the prophet Tireseus that what he did was wrong, comes to acquit her of all charges. Haemon in a fit of rage attacks Creon but fails at killing him so in despair kills himself. All of this news is delivered to Creon’s wife Eurydice who, blaming Creon for all of this, kills herself in heartache. The loss of his niece, son and wife all in one day drives Creon into the depths of despair.
So who is the tragic hero of Antigone? I believe that Creon is the hero of Antigone because while even though he starts off badly he ends the play with more grief and more nobility than Antigone ever had in the play. Creon wanted to do the right thing but he takes that to far when even after being reasoned with by Haemon he refuses to free Antigone. His legalizing is his downfall refusing to let his own nephew to be buried when he let his other nephew, who died in the same battle, be buried with honors. Creon’s legalizing is only broken when the old, blind prophet Tireseus, the same who prophesied concerning Oedipus, predicts the destruction of Creon’s household if he does not do something very quickly. Even though Creon changes his mind right away and buries Polyneices he is to late to prevent what happens to his niece, son and wife.
The reason I believe the tragic hero is Creon and not Antigone is because even though she tried to honor her dead brother’s request to be buried she pulled her innocent sister Ismene into the fray. And instead of waiting to be possibly rescued by Haemon or acquitted by Creon, she commits suicide and ends it right there instead of hoping for something better.
All tragic heroes have a tragic character flaw that will lead them to their demise and Creon has the flaw of legalism that could almost be thought of as pride. Creon’s legalism clouds his judgment when deciding what to do with Polyneices’ body. Legalism blinds Creon’s eyes when talking to Antigone and Ismene, after Antigone is caught in the act of burying Polyneices, about why he should release them and let them bury their brother. Creon lets his flaw get the better of him in the argument with Haemon when Haemon wanted to free Antigone from Creon’s harsh ruling. Creon full of pride, even talked back to the prophet Tireseus when he Prophesied Creon’s fate, but when Creon is able to finally see through his legalism at the end of the conversation with Tireseus he is to late to save Antigone from he pig-headed suicide, which lead to all the destruction that followed. Although Creon started the play badly he is a humble broken man come the end. Creon’s frantic rush to try to save Antigone was a far more heroic act than Antigone trying to bury Plyneices because of the fact that even though she was trying to follow through on her brother’s request, she committed an act that endangered her poor innocent sister Ismene. An act of such blatant disregard for the safety of her sister nullifies all nobility in that act.
The Tragic Hero of a story or play is somebody who was once a great or mighty person but has been brought to a terrible end by a character flaw. That character flaw shows itself in situations where they might have done differently otherwise. The tragic hero of Antigone is Creon who after being blinded by his pride and legalism is unable to prevent the tragedy that occurs because of those tragic character flaws.

This is again before the rough draft so pardon the grammar.