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Essay / Denial of Glory: Batman and Creon
A little boy went to the corner store to buy the latest edition of his favorite comic book; Batman. The boy entered the store and, despite his efforts to contain his excitement, rushed straight to the huge stack of magazines that the store had received at nine in the morning. He looked through comics and magazines until his eyes spotted his target. He slowly removed the comic from its place, careful not to bend any edges. But when he looked closer, his haggard expression changed to one of confusion. The title was not Batman: The Masked Avenger, as announced in the last issue, but rather: Robin: A True Hero! He sighed and, despite his shocking discovery, sat down on the tiles and read the comic strip. As he read, he became more and more disturbed because the character Robin, whose name was proudly branded as the title, was not as much of a main character as Batman. And he was severely shaken when, only halfway through the adventure, Robin was captured by the cunning Joker, and appeared at all only when the child closed the comic, having read. This situation may seem familiar. Throughout Sophocles' Greek play Antigone, there is dispute over who should receive the title character designation. Antigone, the daughter of the cursed king Oedipus, as well as Creon, majestic king of Thebes, both appear as key characters in this historical play. I believe that Creon, king of Thebes, must be considered the main character of this work of Greek theater. Three arguments can be made to justify this argument: Creon suffers greatly, he learns a lesson, and is a tragic hero. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Creon, like all major characters in Greek drama, suffers many losses and experiences emotional pain and anguish. Target of the curse on the House of Oedipus by relationship, Creon was already a victim of fate. His fate is already predetermined by the curse on the house of Oedipus, so he must suffer either suffering or death, or both. He loses his future daughter-in-law, Antigone, by initiating her death, his son by suicide and his wife by suicide as well. Antigone broke a decree from Creon: not to bury the traitor Polyneices. Sister of Polynices, she breaks this new law because she knows that to please the gods, she must make the right choice and bury Polynices. When she does, Creon sentences her to death by locking her in a cave. After realizing he had made a critical error, he and his followers unsealed the rock tomb only to discover that Antigone had committed suicide. Creon's son, Haemon, Antigone's future husband, rushes into the cave in mourning. He attempts an attack on Creon, but fails to connect with his sword strike and, in anger and remorse, kills himself with his weapon next to his dead love. Creon, overwhelmed with anguish, returns to the castle. But when Creon's wife Eurydice learns of her son's death, she quietly slips away and stabs herself in the heart with a dagger before Creon returns. Creon realizes that all responsibility for these deaths rests on him alone and suffers great suffering, just like other central characters in Greek tragedies. For example, in the play Medea by Euripides, Medea suffers the loss of her family, friends, lands, and children. Creon faces the same kind of suffering and wishes for his life to end to end his suffering. He poetically declares in the play: “Come, you welcome destiny, appear, come; brings the final date of my days,fill their sum! Come quickly, please; Don't let me consider another day! (51). So, with all this suffering, one might wonder what the purpose of such a depressing play could be, or what lesson Sophocles is trying to teach us. This brings up the concept of morality. Creon did not emerge from this delicate situation without gaining something from it. Creon learned valuable lessons of morality, moderation, piety, respect, wisdom and humility. In all Greek dramas, myths and even architecture, the idea of moderation was always at the forefront in the courts. Creon, a rather self-confident king, wants his authority and power in the polis to go unchallenged. New to this position, he makes his first judgment against the body of Polyneices, ordering that his body not be buried and left to the dogs, threatening death by public stoning if anyone dared to disobey him. After making his decree, he boldly declared: "No one shall bury him, no one should mourn for him;...His body shall be left to be devoured / By dogs and birds of the air." » (9) But his bad attitude precedes him when Antigone warns: “If sin / Belongs to these, oh may their punishment / Be measured by the injustice of mine! (34) Creon nevertheless locks him in the cave. He is further warned by the wise seer Tiresias who tells him that he must release Antigone immediately and perform the appropriate funeral rituals for Polyneices. Creon refuses to comply, accusing Tiresias of accepting bribes, but the main speaker of the Chorus persuades him to do so because the seer has never been wrong. He does so, but he suffers the consequences of his stubbornness. The Chorus of the Theban Senators expresses Creon's lesson well. Wisdom first for the well-being of man is the key to all things. Heaven's Insistence Nothing allows man's irreverence; And the great blows, the great vengeful speeches, Inflicted on the boaster, Finally teach men wisdom in old age. (52). Creon learns that a boaster will surely exceed the limits of a moderate person, which is beyond the normal of a modest life. He said sadly: “Ah yes, I have learned, I know my misery!” (48). In the end, he knew all his mistakes and learned from them. At the center of every Greek tragedy there is a tragic hero, and Creon is just that. He fights for the right, makes a choice that results in suffering, attempts to right an injustice, has a character flaw and, despite his efforts, becomes one of fate's victims. Creon was crowned king when the current king Eteocles was killed during the Battle of Thebes, sparked when Polyneices attacked the city. Creon ascended the throne with a feeling of aggression towards the enemy of Thebes. He punished a traitor and punished anyone who sided with the traitor. Creon's sentencing of Antigone to death was a choice that led to great suffering. The decision to execute him set off a chain reaction that ended with a body count of three and a remorseful king. When Creon realizes that his actions against Polynices and Antigone are terribly immoral, he immediately attempts to correct them by burying Polynices and attempting to free Antigone. He therefore tried to change a wrong, his judgments against Polyneices and Antigone, into a good. Creon has a character flaw that reinforces his role in this difficult situation; his arrogant attitude. His arrogance, or pride, draws him into heated debates, arguments and confrontations with his supporters, such as the Sentinel, his victims, Antigone and even the wise seer Tiresias who was never wrong. When he finished speaking with Creon, Teiresias said: "And let him pour out his spleen on younger men, And let him learn to keep a sweeter tongue and / A brain.