- Madea is a woman, but Euripides has presented her as a figure previously thought of as exclusively male–a hero. Analyze her character in the play with that of Achilles, and conclude with a judgement on whether or not you think Medea is a hero and why.
Madea and Achilles both have the same thought process. If we recall, Achilles was glory driven. He did not care what happened to those along his journey, as long as he got what he wanted. It took him up until it was almost too late to realize what he had been doing. Madea was very upset about her husband, Jason, marrying another woman. She did not care what happened as long as she could light a spark in Jason. She even killed her own children! As you can see, neither Madea nor Achilles were thinking clearly. They took advantage of what they had, despite those that they hurt along the way.
I don’t believe Madea was a hero. Yes, she stood up for herself and fought for what she wanted. However, her children didn’t have to be murdered. No matter how mad she was at her husband, she did not have to take the lives of her children just to get back at him. There is no justifying it. I’m sure there were other things that she could have done to get under his skin.
- Job (in chapter 31) makes the claim that his life has been virtuous and devoted to the worship of God, and so he does not deserve the calamities that have fallen on him. He asks God for an answer, but the voice from the whirlwind does not deal with his question at all. Why does Job accept God’s assertion of divine power (42) and not press for an answer to his question? Why is he satisfied with what he is given? Do you find the end of the dialogue satisfactory?
Job did not press for an answer from God because he was without a doubt, one hundred percent faithful to God. Even if he didn’t like a particular circumstance, he would find the positives behind it. In doing this, he proved to God how generous he was. The questions that Job was asked were rhetorical in God’s eyes. In speaking how he honestly thought, God threw great perspectives back into Job’s hands. He was very pleased with the way he had answered the question. He was satisfied with what he was given because it came from God. He believes that God wouldn’t give something to someone who wasn’t willing of it. I did find the end of the dialogue to be satisfactory! It showed me that even when you aren’t thinking positively, something great could come from it!
I totally agree with you, she was not a hero. Just because you stand up for what you think doesn’t make you a hero, also, wasn’t part of the definition of a hero achieving a greater good, outstanding achievements and noble qualities. I would not necessarily put Medea in that category.
I agree with you about Medea not being a hero and not showing any hero characteristics what so ever. Killing her own kids was definitely a devilish act and she was evil at the end of the story when she wanted Jason to see the two kids dead bodies. Good job and good points.
Great post, I agree that Madea definitely went overboard with killing her children all for revenge towards her ex-husband. She certainly wasn’t a hero figure, but a villain who we all should take note never to become ourselves. Perhaps that tis the given moral her, it showed why she became this way and how really people should let things go instead of beating a dead horse.