Kreon and Antigone, in Sophocles' Antigone, stand in stark contrast to one another in terms of the qualities important to each character. In his major act in the play---his refusal to bury the corpse of Polyneices (Antigone's brother)---Kreon shows that his major concerns are pride and revenge. Antigone, on the other hand, cares only about doing what is right according to the highest standards of humanity and of the gods. She wants to bury her brother as much as Kreon wants to prevent his burial. It is telling that Antigone determinedly maintains her ethical stand to the end, while Kreon changes his mind and buries Polyneices---although he acts too late to avert the catastrophe prophesied by Teiresias.
Antigone shows herself to be fearless in trying to bury her brother. Her sister Ismene reminds her that she will be killed if she tries to bury their brother, but Antigone simply says "He is my brother" and "Kreon is not strong enough to stand in my way" (1196). She argues that if it is a crime she will commit in trying to bury her brother it is a "holy" crime, and in any case she is determined to bury him because it is decreed by a law higher than the decree of Kreon---the "laws of the gods" (1197). She sees that her efforts may lead to death but it will be a death with "honor" (1197).
In announcing his decision to prevent the burial of Polyneices, Kreon declares that his primary principle is his dedication to doing whatever he needs to do to ensure the survival of the State. However, it is clear from the hateful and vengeful nature of his words that he is operating according to the standards of his darker emotions rather than the standards of some political ideal: "No man is to touch him, or say the least prayer for him; he shall lie on the plain, unburied; and the birds and the scavenging dogs can do with him whatever they like" (1199-1200).
Kreon is basing his actions on the pettiest factors---his rage, his pride, his ...