There are no blurred lines between being a good leader or a bad one, which can be determined by actions not words. Sophocles, the author of Antigone, shapes out Creon to be seen as a bad ruler. Being a good leader involves characteristics such as keeping an open mind, not having hubris, and to not be ignorant or selfish.
Creon does not uphold the meaning of a king. Having the responsibility of a king is being accountable for mistakes, not getting a big head and especially closed-minded. Haimon, Creon's son, tries to help Creon follow these leadership qualities but instead Creon disses Haimon by telling him it is not "right for a man of [Creon's] age to go to school to a boy," (Scene III). Blinded by his ignorance, Creon thinks because Haimon is younger than him he does not know anything he himself would not already know. The response Creon gives his son who was trying to help proves how Creon is not open to other peoples help but only whom he deems would be able to help him. Sophocles even lets readers know a little before how "dreadful it is when the right judge judges wrong," symbolizing how despite Creon's role as king, this does not make him perfect (Scene I). Creon is human and will make mistakes, the real mistake is when he knows it is wrong but is too blinded by himself to fix it. His own hubris is making him closed-minded and thinks that due to his higher role, he is higher in everything else thus being his tragic flaw throughout Antigone.
Almost too often people who are not open minded to others opinions and let one be deaf to other ideas because it is not what one wants to hear. Creon does this in order to not feel weak and inferior. When the Sentry explains that someone did exactly against Creon's law, he goes off on the poor messenger. The sentry then states, "it is not what I say, but what has been done that hurts you," basically telling Creon that he had no right to go off on him when he was actually the one helping him that someone buried Polyneices after he said not to (Ode I).
