Leadership in Antigone - Essay Sample

Introduction

Leadership is an intricate responsibility that should be handled with care, even when there is so much power attached to it. People who are in power should not just consider that they can make changes in society but should also be concerned about extending the right impact on the people they lead. Often leaders assume that they are absolute figures, and the people they lead should follow them without questioning any of their actions. Such leadership often ends up being humiliating to the leader. The disadvantage of being an authority figure is that the wrong decisions they make are disruptive on society and could affect the leader, their family, and even the whole group they lead. Sophocles' " Antigone" is a replication of how poor leadership negatively affects society and how poor choices that leaders make often affect the people they lead, sometimes extending to their families. In "Antigone," poor leadership leads to war, division of families, loss of lives, and societal disintegration, which is an appeal that leaders should make stable decisions and an explication that many disadvantages follow an authoritative figure, and they need to make sober decisions.

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"Antigone" presents the case of a city that is already at war. The city is at war because of the obvious reasons that the leadership of the city is wrong. The setting of the story takes place in the city of Thebes. Oedipus was supposed to the rule of Thebes, but he was banished from the city by Creon because he killed his father and married his mother. The myth is deeply embedded in the story of Oedipus, who, after being banished from the city, left the leadership of the city to Creon because his two sons Eteocles and Polyneices are too young to rule over the city (Bobrick 43). The story, therefore, shows the differences among leaders as causing destabilization in such a great way. Sophocles appeals to people in power to consider their behaviours as they do not just affect their leadership but also the stability of the place that they are leading.

As the story progresses, a very instrumental difference is seen between Polyneices and Eteocles. The two who are brothers are forced by bad leadership to get into the war. Eteocles who is the younger son of Oedipus, gets to a time when he claims the throne for himself and exiles his elder brother Polynieces. Creole does not seek to advise Eteocles on how the leadership should be taken. Ideally, it is the elder son Polyneices who was supposed to claim the throne. Creole clearly understands that the two will disagree and fight, which will see him remain at the throne. An appeal to leadership for offering directions to the young is therefore presented in that context. Sophocles shows that leaders ought to be people who are mature enough to offer directions to the younger generations regarding matters of the essence to them. If Creole had advised Eteocles, the two would not have been in disagreement. Sophocles thus appeals to leaders to ensure that they work towards uniting people as opposed to allowing them to divide and fight.

The reflection of a selective can leader cannot just be seen in that he promoted the war but also in the fact that he sought to favour one of the brothers and discriminate against the other even when he was dead. Leadership should make someone reflect on treating others better. It should make them consider that taking sides amongst the people they are leading would cause greater division amongst the people they are reading. Antigone says, "He's honoring one with a full funeral and treating the other one disgracefully." (Sophocles 26-27) In this statement, Antigone can be seen lamenting the choice that has been made by Creon, who is the leader. As the leader and even when the two brothers waged war against the other, he should have ensured that they received the same treatment for a sober society.

But Creon blames his choice on religious backgrounds, which were a poor way to defend his hate for one of the brothers. He publicly defends himself that he has worked tirelessly to build the city and thanks to the people for standing with the sons of Oedipus. He tries to act as if he was not the one responsible for the murders as he says, " Men, after much tossing of our ship of state, the gods have safely set things right again." (Sophocles 185-186) After claiming that the gods have spoken, Creon states to the city that since Polyneices had come from exile and Eteocles was defending the city; the latter would be given a noble burial while the former would be left in the battlefield for his corpse to be eaten by the birds and the dogs. Utter disrespect for his nephew is expressed in his sentiments, which show ultimate hate for Polynieces even when he is dead. Sophocles thus tries to train leaders not to be resentful like Creon, who tries to hide his intention behind religious beliefs.

In his play, Sophocles also appeals to leaders to consider that they are not absolute. He induces that leaders should consider consultations as part of their daily operations. He induces that no leader has the absolute ability to make the right decision every time, which is the reason that they should consider having advisors. For instance, Creon, in his thoughts, believes that he would be justified when he refuses Polyneices to be buried. He believes that he is appeasing the gods. However, upon consultations with the Teiresias, the old and blind prophet, he realizes that his decision was wrong (Sophocles 1144-1150). He conducts the consultations when it is too late, and a lot of damage has happened owing to the fears that he had instituted. In this particular script, Sophocles rubs off the idea that leaders are supreme and that their decisions are always right. Instead, he urges them to ensure that they consult with the considerable forces before making decisions that affect their societies.

The appeals to leaders, as directed by Sophocles, are hindered by several disadvantages. All over the play, Sophocles showcases the strength of leadership and its effects on society. He showcases that leaders are placed at very crucial positions where the decisions they affect the society, the wellness of their families and themselves too. He, therefore, appeals to leaders to be careful with how they make decisions. He cautions leaders not to be entangled in pride and selfishness as it would not just cost their positions but also the wellness of their societies. From the play, Creon can be said to have fashioned his detriment (Bobrick 45). He makes decisions without consulting because he does not believe he could be wrong. A dire level of the selfishness of a leader can be seen in him. He does not make the right decision as he believes he is doing and it affects his whole family. He ends up as a person that fashioned the woes that got him basically because he seeks to make decisions without consulting others in the view that he can make decisions alone as the leader.

Also, Sophocles induces that whereas a leader has authority over the people over the people and is allowed to make decisions on their behalf, he should not view the other leaders in society as not meaningful. When Creon meets Teiresias, who is a blind prophet, Creon brushes off her sentiments that the gods are not appeased with his decisions. Just like him, Teiresias is a religious leader even when she is blind. It would have been expected that he would follow Tereasias at the very instant he recognizes that he was wrong, but he does not (Sophocles 1072-1078). A complete disregard for some other form of leadership is witnessed from Creon, which is wrong. Therefore, Sophocles appeals to leaders to follow the directives of other leaders because they cannot be satisfactory to lead society by themselves without the help of other leaders.

Being a leader often comes with a string of issues. One of the ideals is to control the greed that comes with being one. When one is a leader, they tend to focus on how they can stay in position without the legal authority or even beyond when they should stay. The main problem that Creon faces is that it has been the leader of the city since the sons of Oedipus have matured to take up the throne (Contu 3). Sophocles symbolizes that leaving a position of leadership is a hard encounter as it is for Creon. A great disadvantage of being a leader is elicited in the fact that a leader may not be conversant with turning into a commoner once again. It could be for this reason that Creon rejoices the death of the two sons of Oedipus. He considers that because he is the closest next of kin, then he is the one who should take the throne and lead the city henceforth.

Another disadvantage of being a leader is that one has to choose between two pulling sides, which leaves them in a dilemma. A leader often has to make a decision, most of the time, one that is not popular. The basis of being a leader can make the decision that best suits the whole group that they lead and not a single individual. In Sophocles' story, Creon is the leader who is placed in this dilemma. As a leader, he believes that he is more answerable to the gods than he is to his family (Bobrick 44). It is for this reason that he makes a decision that is not very popular, which is not to burry Polynieces as he believes that it is against the will of the gods to bury a person who has been a traitor. This decision displays him as a person who has no consideration for the family. While Creon could be interested in his family and including his nephews, he is disadvantaged as he has to make an unpopular decision because it suits the city as a whole and not his family alone.

Being a leader also comes with a great level of resistance, which is such a great disadvantage to the leader. When Creon makes the decision that Polyneices will not be buried, he is faced with such instrumental resistance emanating from different directions. The people resisting his directive are among family members and also concerned people in society. Handling resistance becomes a hard duty for Creon, which makes him institute threats to anyone who opposes the directive. He decrees that anyone who would be found engaging in burying Polyneices would be stoned to death (Sophocles 43-46). While it was not a popular decree, it shows how much leadership is faced with resistance. Being a leader, even when it comes to express authority, places the leader at a disadvantaged position where facing opposition, sometimes unjustified, is a tradition. Sophocles in the play thus initiates an idea that leaders should know how to amicable face resistance.

But the problem of making decisions, as seen in the case of Creole, comes with a price tag, most of which is too personal to bear. Sometimes, leaders should even be ready to face the deaths of their children owing to the decisions that they make. Creon loses his family in the entanglement with Antigone. Considering that Antigone is the bride-to-be to his son Haemon, Creon should have made a decision and a stable one to leave her alone. However, guided by his interests to affirm his leadership in the city, he does not even care whether his son will not be happy with his decision. He buries Antigone alive only to find out that he was wrong (Contu 6). At the moment he discovers he was wrong, he finds that his son, Haemon and his wife Euridice are dead. Creon loses his immediate family members because of his decisions as a leader, which is a great disadvantage to him. From the text, Sophocles tries to show that leaders should be ready to face disadvantages that come with leadership, such as losing their immediate family members.

Sophocles' "Antigone" is a play that, in such a huge manner, replicates issues of love, domination, freedom, and leadership. In such an effective way, Sophocles makes the play to showcase a failed leadership of Creon who leaves two bro...