Haimon is the voice of reason in the play. His argument
to his father is a model of persuasion. He begs Creon to listen to
reason:
It is
not reason never to yield to
reason!
Haimon argues that
Antigone should be rewarded for trying to bury her brother, not punished. It was not
wrong, Haimon asserts, for Antigone to cover her dead brother's body so that the
vultures would not eat it.
He tells Creon that he does not
have to be so rigid in his beliefs, so stubborn, that he cannot believe that he "alone
can be right." Haimon uses the analogy of trees in a storm. Those trees that are able
to bend survive the storm; but those that cannot bend are
destroyed.
When Creon is still not convinced, Haimon tells
Creon that it is his duty to listen to his people. Creon argues that the "king is the
state," but Haimon counters with the state is the people, and that a king should govern
according to the desires of his people.
So Haimon's
argument rests on three principles: (1) Antigone's action should not be regarded as a
crime. She was acting out of compassion; she was obeying God's law, (2) the people are
in agreement with Antigone, and a king's duty is to listen to his people, and (3) it is
not wrong for a king to change his mind, to be merciful.
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