People are unquestionably faced with the challenge of growing up and facing head-on all the unexpected changes that life holds for them. Change, perhaps the lone constant of life, pushes people to make decisions that will be reciprocated with an unexpected event. This life principle is applied as an underlying web to the plethora of ironies throughout Antigone. Set in the era of the reconstruction of Thebes, no doubt due to the consequences of a war between brothers and their ongoing family curse, Sophocles' constant use of irony in Antigone around Creon, the king of Thebes, indicates that the ironic nature of man contributes to and hides in their definitive end. Antigone's characters cannot avoid vivid irony; however Creon remains the only target of Sophocles' ironic apparatus. Specifically in Antigone, Creon's attribute that distinguishes him as a candidate for ironic tragedy in Sophocles' eyes is his incentive in his actions. Creon shows harsh irony on his part when he comments that Antigone's death “gives him everything” (Sophocles, 709). His refutation is ironic, because ultimately it is Antigone's death that empties all love from Creon's life when he is left without a family. As Antigone, the daughter of his brother Oedipus, continues to defy his laws, his desire for security in power and his uncontrollable anger drive him almost to an obsession with bringing about Antigone's death. Thus, Creon's incentive into an adamant vocalization of his desire for Antigone's death is not because he truly feels that Antigone's death justifies his "crime," but rather that her death paves the way for Creon's satisfaction with be a sovereign leader. Yet Sophocles brings his explanation to the... middle of the paper... lty. A new Creon is reborn in the eyes of the public. He is the victim of an ironic fate. The changes define the course of human life, as well as the clash of their ironic decisions. Yet Sophocles' turn on this principle of human life was undoubtedly more cynical. Irony does not present itself as an opportunity for man to seize. The truth is that men are forced to experience the tragedy that irony brings out in the most unexpected circumstances. As for Creon, these circumstances lead to his final fall. In light of all this, the tragic irony of Oedipus' curse is ultimately rejected. Perhaps it is fortunate that the curse is repaired. No doubt the city of Thebes will be thrown into another period of reconstruction after such a shocking revelation. But Creon's fall and his sacrifice will also contribute to the peace that the people of Thebes will finally deserve.
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