Medea And Jason Compare And Contrast

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The play Medea by Euripides was written to entertain readers with the intriguing story of the revengeful Medea and her unfaithful husband Jason. The play begins with Medea being betrayed by Jason and being filled with this revengeful rage and murderous thoughts. Medea does whatever she possibly can to satisfy her need for payback, even if it means hurting her own flesh and blood. In her eyes, no vengeance would ever make up for the pain inflicted upon her by the one person she risked it all for. While the play portrays Jason as egotistical, Euripides presents Medea as devious in order to prove that at some point they both are very similar because they are both out to achieve a personal goal and they both only care for their own gain. Yet, they …show more content…

They both are out to save themselves, Jason is out to marry someone that will support him financially and help him move up in social rank while Medea is trying to find a home after being exiled but only for herself and not her own children. Although, Jason and Medea are both very slick, they make everything they’re doing seem as if it was for the greater good of their family. For example, when Jason is talking to Medea about his actions he argues, “…we-and this is most important-may dwell in comfort, instead of suffering want, and that I might rear my sons doth befit my house; further, that I might be the father of brothers for the children thou hast born, and raise these to the same high rank, uniting the family in one, to my lasting bliss.” This quote resembles that in Jason’s eyes he’s doing “everything” in his power to support and protect his family when in reality he is just watching out for himself and his social rank. The thing is that even if his sons were accepted into the family they would never be fully treated as royalty because of the fact that their mother isn’t originally from Corinth. Medea and the children will forever be treated as outcasts no matter how far up the social ladder they go. In addition to Jason’s selfishness, Medea is no saint in this department either. She might be fooling all of the royals with her acts of insincerity, but she …show more content…

For example, the way they react to all these situations that surround them are different. Jason reacts to everything in a calm manner while Medea on the other hand, reacts to everything with an insane attitude that causes the people around her to think she’s crazy and harmful to the land of Corinth. Medea has a rough edge to her; all her actions are filled with jealousy and rage, for example, when Medea convinces Creon to let her stay, “He lets me stay one extra day, to make three enemies corpses: ha! Father, daughter, and my husband.” This quote reveals that Medea may not be in her right mind when choosing to do all these terrible things. Her plans are filled with murder and hate, nobody really knows how much Medea is capable of until she finally kills Creon and his daughter. Jason on the other hand is a little more serene when it comes to dealing with these situations. He knows he’s doing wrong but he attempts to appear as if he is the innocent one by asking to help Medea, for example he states, “But, if thou wilt of my fortune somewhat take for the children or thyself to help thy exile, say on; for I am ready to grant it with ungrudging hand, yea and to send tokens to my friends elsewhere who shall treat thee well.” This quote reveals how Jason is good with concealing his true feelings unlike Medea, which just comes right out and wants to kill

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