IB English A1 Higher Level Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

IB English A1 Higher Level - Essay Example The phrase appears in a speech from Creon, the King of the play and the man that wields the most power. He is attempting, by one means or another, to win over his son Haemon to his point of view regarding the burial of the corpse. Essentially, he also wishes him to accept a very straight-forward, but, as shall be seen, rather contradictory view of the nature of political authority. Creon states that â€Å"I must keep my kin in line, Otherwise folks outside the family will run wild.† Creon is the titular head of his family and so appeals to the fact that he must keep in his family in order for the city as a whole to follow suit. He then states that he will give â€Å"nothing but contempt† from someone who breaks the law and/or tells his masters what to do. But we soon he states an all-important â€Å"but†: Morality and virtue, the â€Å"right† and the â€Å"wrong† are less important to Creon than the absolute obedience to legitimate political authority. Indeed, political authority seems to trump any other concerns. He does not just state this opinion in isolation, he goes on to give an explanation for why this system is good not only for the ruler, but for the city as a whole: Creon’s rather tenuous theory of political authority argues that first, a ruler’s orders should be obeyed without question. Second, that if those orders are obeyed without question he will willingly give up power to another and then be â€Å"cheerfully ruled† and third that the whole city will essentially be one of order and discipline. Absolute rulers do not tend to give up authority without a fight or, in a hereditary type of system, before their deaths. The old adage that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely seems to be conveniently avoided by Creon who, with his experience of power, and knowledge of his family history, should know better. Creon essentially sets up a Cartesian world in which a leader is either obeyed (leading to a perfect society) or