Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Medea and Jason's changing roles
In the beginning of the play, the audience is inclined to feel sorry for Medea. She was lost her husband to another woman and is heart broken. We originally think of her as the protagonist. We dislike Jason because of what he is done to Medea; he is the antagonist. However, as the play progresses, their roles change. We learned that Medea betrayed her father and killed her brother for Jason. Medea also becomes obsessed with revenge. She eventually ends of killing Jason's bride, her father, and even their kids. By the end of the play, the audience is disgusted by Medea and considers her the antagonist. When Jason loses everything, we feel sorry, making him the protagonist. It is interested to see the flip-flop between the two characters, and a clever move on Euripides' part.
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4 comments:
I agree with Savannah on her idea of the roles changing. When we first began reading the play, I thought that Medea was the protagonist. The play begins with pity for Medea and the chorus, which represents the general public, is in support of Medea. I also thought, from the background information and the beginning of the play, that Medea would be the protagonist in support of women's rights. However, at the end of the play, we see that Jason fits the tragic hero role much more accordingly than Medea does. Medea goes on a killing spree and even kills her own children. These acts seem to turn the audience on Medea, and feel pity for Jason. The audience's feelings now for Medea may counteract their view on women's rights in Ancient Greece, but the play seems to serve more of as a warning that also portrays how poorly women are treated.
I find it hard to see Madea or Jason as the protagonist. Yes Madea is wronged an we feel bad for her at first, but then she goes on a killing rampage to fulfill her own desire for revenge. She even kills her own children to statiate her bloodlust. On the other hand, we are never introduced to Jason as kind or anything to make me like him. As a result, I find it hard to feel bad for him because I feel like I never got to know him as a person and I didnt feel much towards either character in the end.
Yeah things suck for medea at the beginning, but the way she reacts is just so ridiculous. And even though it is unlikely, Jason may have even been truly trying to act in Medea's best interest. Since we basically see the story from her perspective at first, we don't get to fully see Jason's side
Yeah things suck for medea at the beginning, but the way she reacts is just so ridiculous. And even though it is unlikely, Jason may have even been truly trying to act in Medea's best interest. Since we basically see the story from her perspective at first, we don't get to fully see Jason's side
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