Representation of Society in Euripides' Medea
During the time of Euripides, approximately the second half of the fifth century B.C., it was a period of immense cultural crisis and political convulsion (Arrowsmith 350). Euripides, like many other of his contemporaries, used the whole machinery of the theater as a way of thinking about their world (Arrowsmith 349). His interest in particular was the analysis of culture and relationship between culture and the individual. Euripides used his characters as a function to shape the ideas of the play (Arrowsmith 359).
In Medea, there was not a "traditional" hero, but a fragmentation between the two paired major characters, which is characteristic of Euripides' work (Arrowsmith 356). Jason and Medea, the initial lovers of the play, were antagonists by the play's end. Euripides sought to take the wholeness of the old "hero" and represent him divisively, thus diffused over several characters. Since Euripides chooses that his characters represent ideas, the paired antagonist Jason and Medea both represent the warlike modes of a divided c...
Tindall, George Brown, and David Emory Shi. “A Conservative Realignment: 1977-1990” America A Narrative History. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013. 1098-1127. Print.
Fairlie, Henry. The Parties: Republicans and Democrats in This Century. New York: The New Republic Magazine, 1978.
Looking at the United States in 1965, it would seem that the future of the liberal consensus was well entrenched. The anti-war movement was in full swing, civil rights were moving forward, and Johnson's Great Society was working to alleviate the plight of the poor in America. Yet, by 1968 the liberal consensus had fallen apart, which led to the triumph of conservatism with the election of President Reagan in 1980. The question must be posed, how in the course of 15 years did liberal consensus fall apart and conservatism rise to the forefront? What were the decisive factors that caused the fracturing of what seemed to be such a powerful political force? In looking at the period from 1968 to the triumph of Reagan in 1980, America was shaken to the core by the Watergate scandal, the stalling of economic growth, gas shortages, and the Vietnam War. In an era that included the amount of turbulence that the 1970's did, it is not difficult to imagine that conservatism come to power. In this paper I will analyze how the liberal consensus went from one of its high points in 1965 to one of its lows in 1968. From there I will show how conservatism rose to power by the 1980 elections. In doing so, I will look at how factors within the American economy, civil rights issues, and political workings of the United States contributed to the fracturing of the liberal consensus and the rise of conservatism.
Dye, Thomas R., L. Tucker Gibson, Jr., and Clay Robison. Politics in America. Ninth ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: Longman, 2011. 337. Print.
Medea has just killed four people which are Creon the king of Corinth, the princess whom Jason is in love with, and her two little children. Jason then prays to gods, especially Zeus, father of all gods, to punish Medea for her crimes. From the context of the quote, the chorus is addressing the audience about the unexpected and unbelievable end of the play. Medea then gets away to Athens with a chariot lent to her by Helios, the sun god and her grandfather.
Ken Kollman, The American Political System, (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2012), 25, 322-323, 330, 449.
While I enjoyed how Mills analyzed Medea’s action by bringing up relevant information regarding her historic roots and comparing her to several similar Greek characters, I disagreed with his heavy emphasis on her celestiality. She certainly does implore many aspects that a witch or mystical spirit would exhibit, such as her use of herbs and her method of escape, but I don’t think it is appropriate to blame her act of vengeance on aspects of alienation from humanity. Because Euripides’ intention of writing this play was to compel his audience to question social norms and gender roles in society, I don’t think he would have crafted Medea in a way that cast her outside of the human realm. While it certainly would have not been socially accepted
Beck, Paul Allen and Hershey, Marjorie Randon. Party Politics in America. 9th Ed. Longman, New York, NY. 2001.
The exchange that takes place between Medea and the Chorus serves several purposes in Euripides' tragedy, The Medea. It allows us to sympathize with Medea in spite of her tragic flaws. It also foreshadows the tragic events that will come to pass. Finally, it contrasts rationality against vengeance and excess. The Chorus offers the sane view of the world to the somewhat insane characters of Medea, Jason, and Creon. As the passage begins on page 176, the leader of the Chorus reveals that she has high regards for Medea despite the fact that she is "savage still." She acknowledges Medea as a foreigner and an outsider and yet is sympathetic towards her. This alliance is apparently based on female bonds rather than on any kind of national loyalty. Medea wastes no time before she begins lamenting and cursing those who "dared wrong me without cause." The Chorus tries to comfort Medea, hoping that this might "lessen her fierce rage / And her frenzy of spirit." They show real concern for her well-being, as well as for the well-being of her loved ones. This unselfish attitude is in stark contrast to the attitudes of the main characters in the tragedy, who all seem to be extremely self-serving. So in just a few short lines, it's already become apparent that while the chorus doesn't necessarily agree with the way that Medea is handling her situation, they are sticking by her and supporting her. This idea supports one of the important themes of the play: the battle of the sexes. Medea now has a chance to get a few things off her chest. She addresses the "Women of Corinth," reminding them that of "all things that live upon the earth and have intelligence we women are certainly the most wretched." She discusses the sad lot that women must deal with in marriage and again stresses the fact that she is an outsider, "alone, without / a city. Her speech is clever and compelling.
...ely to the way all three of these characters interact with one another, the reader cannot make a decision about which is the true hero, which is a false hero, and which is in between the two. Therefore, the only way Euripides elucidates information about the mythological hero is by farther expanding on the notion that people live differently and therefore have different options about the same things. Some people believe immoral characters, like the Greek heroes or Deadpool for example, are good while others think differently while some others think both ways. Similar to modern heroic literature, everyone has different ideas about what a hero is even if it is the same exact story or character. So, it is impossible to clearly define what a hero is and is not for everyone if everyone does not agree with the definition. The play Medea is no exception to the fact.
Wattenberg, Martin P. (1986). The decline of American political parties 1952-1984. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
After the phallic stage is the latent period, where the sexual energy is suppressed due to the development of the ego and superego. Children become more concerned with peer relationships, hobbies, and other interests (Furnham). In this stage, Medea attempts to represses her sexual anger at Jason, almost deciding against killing her children. Despite her attempt, she is unable to transcend this stage. The last stage is the genital stage, where the focus of the child transitions from individual needs to the interest of the welfare of others. The individual should be well-balanced, warm, and caring (Furnham). Based on her behavior, Medea doesn’t reach the enlightenment that is supposed to come with the genital stage because she doesn’t reconcile
Central in the arguments against gun control is its ability to restrict any citizen of the United States the right to own guns which is protected under the constitution. Specifically, due recognition is made to its connection to the 2nd Amendment wherein it seeks to protect the individual liberties of people. This facet also applies to gun ownership regardless of the original objective and intention. “The second amendment from the Bill of Rights grants private citizens the right to bear arms. Thus, people who stand firmly against gun control insist that no legislation, technically, should have the right to take away a citizen’s guns without first repealing the amendment in question” (Groberman 1). A good approach to consider in highlighting this part comes from depriving the citizen of his basic right on the basis of specific presumption that it would be used for violence or crim...
Patients in the Intensive Care Unit are at a high risk to develop delirium. It is one of the most common conditions encountered by the staff in an Intensive Care Unit. Delirium can be hyperactive or hypo active according to the patients’ behavior. Disorientation, agitation, hallucinations, or delusions are characteristics that may be observed in the patient with hyperactive delirium. Apathy, quietly confused, withdrawal, lethargy, and even total lack of responsiveness are all symptoms of hypoactive delirium. Some or all of these symptoms may occur at any time.
An anti-hero is the protagonist of a story who lacks some attributes almost always present in a hero, such as selflessness and mercy. Where the hero will save the antagonist at the end of the story if such an opportunity presents itself, the anti-hero will most likely leave his or her foe to rot and choose to forgo saving the life of an enemy. The anti-hero might go as far as to hasten the humiliation or death of said enemy to further her or his own agenda. In Euripides’ play, Medea, Medea shows aspects of an anti-hero in how she deals with her problems, such as manipulating others to save her own skin, cursing those who have wronged her and destroying them, and scarcely ever displaying heroic characteristics such as mercy and sympathy; even as she takes Jason’s only hope for solace away.