Medea Character Analysis Essay

I don’t think that Medea will ever be able to escape the torment and unhappiness caused by this whole ordeal. In our inner circle, the question “Do you think she is happy with the outcome?” kept coming up. Everyone had their own opinions, but I think that we all eventually came to a consensus that no, she could never really be happy with this. That it will always torture her and she will always feel the guilt of what she and Jason have done. In this paper, I’m going to elaborate on why I think this.

Edgar All Poe uses literary devices in order to create a pragmatically desolate mood in his short story The Fall of the House of Usher. Poe’s famed melodramatic writing style shines through with his use of idioms in this story; his masterfully described setting also helps to create a feeling of dread and isolation. The story begins with the description of a bleak house surrounded by an unkempt yard complete with rampant bushes, rotten trees, and a putrid tarn. The narrator of the story tells how the bleakness and wildness of the estate has inspired a sense of dread and isolation in him.

In the Hebrew bible genesis 11 explains the origins of multiple languages throughout the world from a specific tower called the Bable Tower. Before so, everyone in the timeline spoke only one common language in a commonplace. That was the case until after some decided to move east to Shinar, they decided to construct a city. Along the city, a massive tower made out of bricks and bitumen was in the center of the city being built soaring in the heavens. The main reason they build a tower remarkably tall, is to gain human pride. The Lord visited the site of the tower encountering the builders still inside. He realized that the tower wasn’t in name of religion. In fear of what humans are obtainable to do, he reluctantly isolated one another so

For Medea must fall in love with Jason and then she will use her great skill with magic to help Jason acquire the fleece. Because of Hera’s hatred towards Pelias Medea’s life is now destined for extreme agony, shame, and guilt. Her love for Jason causes her to tear away from her loving parents and dishonor her father by helping his enemy. Hera’s plan to avenge Pelias also flood Medea’s head with thoughts to keep her from straying from Hera’s plan. Unfortunately for Medea her decision to help Jason was not her own and was a careful thought out plan by Hera. Her life would never again be the same. Even though Jason promises to love her always and promises that she will be his wedded wife, he breaks this promise as soon as she become old and he is given the opportunity to marry royalty. Medea decisions were not in any way wise but if it were not for the arrows of Eros she would have had better judgment on the stranger. Medea’s behavior in this story shows that of loyalty and confusion in her heart. She is in agony because she can not conceive as to why she feels so much love for a stranger and does not wish to dishonor her father by doing so. But then she is constantly

In Medea, a play by Euripides, Jason possesses many traits that lead to his downfall. After Medea assists Jason in his quest to get the Golden Fleece, killing her brother and disgracing her father and her native land in the process, Jason finds a new bride despite swearing an oath of fidelity to Medea. Medea is devastated when she finds out that Jason left her for another woman after two children and now wants to banish her. Medea plots revenge on Jason after he gives her one day to leave. Medea later acts peculiarly as a subservient woman to Jason who is oblivious to the evil that will be unleashed and lets the children remain in Corinth. The children later deliver a poisoned gown to Jason’s new bride that also kills the King of Corinth.

Medea’s conflict with Jason proves to be the main conflict in the play, which really sheds light into the fact that Euripides created this play to challenge the notion of feminism. After Jason’s betrayal, Medea decides to take control. It is evident in the way she manipulates other characters within the play, and how she handles situations she is in, that she is quite intelligent. Her motivation and will to accomplish her own goals, portrays Medea as the complete opposite of a typical patriarchal woman who embodies the norms of patriarchy in Greek society. In the play, Jason says, “I married you, chose hatred and murder for my wife – no woman, but a tiger…” (1. 1343-44) This quote shows the misogyny with Jason, because he is saying that him and the society have made Medea this way. But maybe Medea started acting

She helped him in every way possible in his quest for the Golden Fleece, “Her heart on fire with passionate love for Jason... But now there’s hatred everywhere. Love is diseased.” (1) However, in a tragedy, the hero is supposed to make a single mistake which ultimately leads to their downfall. In this case, Medea is not a heroic character as she is a sorceress, murders her brother, and her own children. The hamartia is intended to bring down a character of high morality, but Medea can be viewed as a wholly evil character who is not guided by any moral principles. She is also manipulative and deceptive in the way that she treats the men around her, Creon, Aegeus, and Jason, while involving them in her plan for revenge. Euripides has shown this aspect of her personality through lines such as “Do you think that I would have fawned on that man unless I had some end to gain or profit in it?” (12) and “by a trick I may kill the king’s daughter” (25)

Medea, the protagonist, was the daughter of Aeetes of Colchis, she was driven by passion and committed horrendous crimes for the love of Jason. Euripides characters are a relatively flat character, and they do not change dramatically throughout the play. The character Medea is cynical, wicked, scheming and unlike any other heroine in ancient times, she blames Jason for her predicament and seeks out revenge against everything that he loved. The opening act takes place in the setting outside of Jason and Medea home in Corinth, Medea standing outside irradiates to the Chorus how Jason victimized her and deserted the family. Like other plays in Greek history, the play included The Chorus which was comprised of the women from Corinth; the there role was to converse with Medea and evoke sympathy for her character.

Moreover, Euripides incorporates Medea into the relationship to convey the idea that females also possess a dominant role in the struggle over dominance, but their power form is different compared to males. Medea elucidates that even in the arduous times, she assisted Jason and supported their union. In a direct conversation with Jason, she tells him, “…after I’ve done all this to help you, you brute, you betray me…” (27). She explains that although she took care of Jason and supported him whenever he needed her help, he used his massive quantity of power to overpower her and abandon her. Even after Jason abandons Medea, she thinks day and night of him. Medea demonstrates that the power females possess is not physical and totalitarian like the males, but is emotional and mental. She tries to keep the family together and in trying to do so, she does whatever Jason asks her to do. She is the important woman behind every successful man. Without her command, Jason would not be the person he is. Therefore, she can destroy Jason whenever he desires with her power. She can be a femme fatale and reduce Jason’s life into rubble. Similarly, after Medea finds out she was being cheated on, she quickly creates and evil plan and destroys Jason. She murders his new

Commonly considered one of Euripides greatest pieces, Medea is an insightful depiction of how a woman’s love for her husband, churns into a gruesome revenge scheme against him. This tragedy illustrates a tale of a woman who challenges Greek societal norms. In the era that the story takes place; women are often seen in submissive roles. However, the play’s main character, Medea, challenges their customs through her actions against the Kingdom of Corinth and Jason.

Medea was a troubled soul once Jason left her for a younger princess. When the nurse says “Rulers are fierce in their temperament; somehow, they will not be governed;”, it rings very true of Medea (Puchner 531). Someone so accustomed to getting her way will by no means let anyone, including her beloved Jason, treat her with any disrespect. She not only felt dejected by Jason, but she felt she could do nothing to change her circumstance but take out deadly vengeance against those that committed such a hiatus act towards her. With all things considered, Medea felt Jason took everything from her when he left. Jason became her everything. When she

<br>Medea seeks vengeance with the same forceful determination to rectify the situation as a man would. A woman seeking revenge challenges society's view of women as weak and passive. Medea will go to great lengths to hurt Jason for the wrongs he has done to her.

Henry Thoreau’s literature resonates with movements of the twentieth century in the United States and abroad. Although he did not advocate for a non-violent form of resistance to civil government, his essay has been interpreted as a form of passive resistance from movements around the world. Similar to Douglas, Thoreau writes against the injustice of slavery and the despotism of government. His criticism of the Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court, which did not recognize the legal standing of a slave before the Court, exemplifies his questioning of the Constitution as illegitimate authority. For Thoreau, the Constitution should be subjected to a test of morality.

The play starts with Medea reacting to her ex-husband Jason breaking up with her. Medea says “If only a lightning bolt from heaven would go through my head! What good does it do me to remain alive?” (Euripides, 2005, p. 18). Medea brings up death several times, and it is clear that she is extremely upset about her husband leaving her. This situation was the period of high stress that triggered her episode with mixed features. Medea starts to feel suicidal, worthless, and depressed, which are all symptoms that are connected to bipolar disorder. Medea's bipolar emotions can clearly be seen in the scenes where she speaks to Jason. When she first speaks to him after they break up, she is enraged and she is very aggressive towards him. She insults Jason and calls him out for ruining their family. The next time she talks to Jason, her mood is the polar opposite. Medea pretends to forgive him and apologizes for the previous conversation they had. She acts very friendly and makes Jason believe that they are now at peace. These contrasting conversations show that Medea has bipolar emotions. In the first conversation, Medea is extremely angry and upset, and in the second, she is accepting and friendly. Medea also expresses poor decision making and risky behaviors throughout the play. She makes some baffling decisions when she devises her violent plan to get revenge on her ex-husband. She thinks that

Euripides also carefully reveals the elements of Medea's past that demonstrate her readiness to violate solidarity of family ties in order to pursue her intractable will; Jason and Medea's original tryst, for example, required that she kill her own brother, thus choosing marriage ties over blood ties. Secondly, Medea's selfishness provides power to her fatal flaw. Medea's selfishness and lack of humanity is displayed through the act of killing her own two sons. Medea understands that the slaying of her children will make Jason miserable. During this time, the chorus recognizes her self-worship and states, “But can you have the heart to kill your flesh and blood” (Euripides, The Medea, 816)? Medea does not stop to think what pain she may cause to herself by murdering them. She is only concerned about her happiness that will be derived from Jason's grieving. Medea comes to the conclusion that it is worth the suffering just to see her ex-husband unhappy. Medea states, “Yes, for this is the best way to wound my husband” (Euripides, The Medea, 817). This exhibits Medea's selfishness by the slaying of her sons just to cause sorrow to Jason for her own pleasure. Medea's rage also leads to her fatal flaw of excessive passion. Her excessive passion, fed by rage, leads Medea to do uncalled-for acts of violence and murder.