Oedipus versus Creon
At first glance, Oedipus and Creon are two very different people. But as time progresses their personalities and even their fates grow more and more similar. In Sophocles's play "Oedipus the King", Oedipus and Creon are two completely opposite people. Oedipus is brash and thoughtless, whilst Creon is wise and prudent. In "Oedipus the King", Oedipus effectively portrays the idea of the classic "flawed hero". He becomes arrogant and brash. He accuses Creon and Tiresias of treachery. Even worse however, Oedipus goes against the gods. This causes them to punish him severely. Creon is the exact antithesis of Oedipus. He thinks before he acts. Creon is wise and loyal. In Sophocles' other play, "Antigone", however, he undergoes a drastic personality change. He becomes more and more like Oedipus. Creon commits acts of hubris, kills and humiliates people for no reason whatsoever. Once he realizes the folly of his ways, he punishes himself for going against the gods and destroying all that he loved, This is strikingly similar to the story of Oedipus. At first Oedipus and Creon seem like entirely different people. But through the course of events, they share almost identical personalities and even fates.
Because of their acts of hubris, Creon and Oedipus are both punished severely. They lose everything they love and all they value. They eventually see the error of their ways, but by the time they do it is already too late. Oedipus finds out that he is the person who killed his father. He discovers that he is married to his mother and that he has had children with her. Once Oedipus finds out these horrific secrets of his life, he cannot bear to look upon another living soul. He rushes into Jocasta's bedroom and takes two "long gold pins" (237). He then "digs them down into his sockets" (237). This act of self mutilation is Oedipus's punishment. He is turned from an arrogant ruler into a humble blind man in the blink of an eye. This is how the gods punished him. They gave him "all the griefs in the world that you can name" (237) Creon receives a very similar punishment. He too, loses all he deems valuable in the world. Creon will not allow Haemon to marry Antigone. He condemns their marriage and greatly distresses his son, Haemon. As a result of Creon's actions, Haemon commits suicide, "his blood spilled by his very hand" (120). Eurydice, Creons's wife, also kills herself. She is so wracked with anguish by Haemon's suicide, that she "stabbed herself at the altar" (126). Creon "murdered... his son... and his wife." (127). He has nowhere to "lean to for support" (127) and no-one to "look to" (127). The chorus sums up his and Oedipus's fate when they say " The mighty words of the proud are paid in full with mighty blows of fate, and at long last those blows will teach us wisdom" (128) Creon and Oedipus were obviously very similar people. They both rose through chance and circums
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Approximate Word count = 1136
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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