Foreignness in Medea

Throughout the play, Medea's status as an outsider is referred to for a variety of reasons, but is generally considered a negative attribute. We have already discussed and explored some ways in which Medea's foreignness is held against her by Jason, but Medea herself sees her status as an outsider as a profound liability.  In this evening's reading, Medea discusses being an exile and outsider when she struggles with her decision of whether or not to kill her children.  How do you understand this issue of belonging vs not belonging, being native vs being foreign, being in your homeland vs. being exiled as influencing Medea's actions? You are welcome to refer to lines from earlier reading, but please focus your response on tonight's assignment and please include specific lines from the play.

And so, all becomes clear...

...tomorrow in class we will learn about and discuss the ways in which Aristotle defines and judges a tragic figure, a reversal of fortune and the other required elements of tragedy (according to Aristotle). But tonight, you are blissfully unaware of the Classical rules of tragedy and just have the reading and your reaction...so, what is that reaction? How do you feel about Oedipus now that everything is revealed and he has fallen from his great heights? Do you still feel connected to him? Do you feel sympathetic or compassionate towards him? Has he done anything to stop you from feeling sympathy and compassion? Please include specific lines from the text to illustrate and support your current feelings and explain why you feel as you do. More tomorrow!

Connecting with Oedipus

At this point in the play, you have seen Oedipus interact with the chorus and a variety of individual characters. You may have noticed that since the beginning of the play, Oedipus' reactions to people have become more extreme and angry, which may make him appear less sympathetic.  Putting Oedipus' growing anger aside, what qualities and attributes do you see in Oedipus that make him a character with whom you can connect? Certainly his status as a king and a cursed person has the potential to make Oedipus appear distant and difficult to sympathize with, but what are the aspects of his personality and of his circumstance that allow you to be invested in him as a character, relate to him and care about what happens to him?

Please refer to specific lines from the play to illustrate your answer.