Prompt 2

Prompt 2:


Choose a character in a novel or play of your choice (from the AP List!) and write about the conflict(s) that arise since they are in conflict with the society they are from. This may be socially, religiously, and/or morally. Dig deep! You should also address whether your character comes to a good/bad fate due to this conflict(s).


In the world of Medea, chaos breaks loose after one misunderstanding turns into a plot for murder. Medea, the main character whom is hurt by betrayal, goes into a spiral emotional downfall which leads to the death of her two sons, a princess, and the king. In Medea, a woman's rage causes a devastating impact on the society. Society rejects her view of "motherly love" and her reasons for murder. Only Medea sees the justice that her actions have brought her. She got her revenge and does not regret it. There are many different reasons why the society she lives in rejects her actions both religiously and morally.

"Thou shall not murder" is one of the ten commandments in the Holy Bible. Medea goes against this commandment when she turns on her husband, Jason, and decides to destroy everyone around him including her own children. She plots to poison the princess which also will lead to the death of the king. To close her plan, she decides to take her own two sons' lives and carry them away so Jason can't have them dead or alive. She obviously does not follow the rules that God laid down for man when He first made him. Only she thinks that she is justified in killing all those people. In the play, the society believes in Gods and Goddesses. They might not be the same as the society that we live in today but it does show they have some religious beliefs if they have a God to answer to. Medea is associated with the goddess, Hera, whom is Zeus' wife and a very jealous woman as well. Hera is constantly hurt by Zeus' flirting with other women and marrying behind her back. Thus, the reader can see why Hera and Medea would be alike in some ways. But even Hera doesn't murder anyone to get back at Zeus.

Medea has no moral in the play due to her murdering almost everyone in it. She feels no remorse for her actions and shows a few characteristics of a sociopath. A sociopath is a person that views their own actions as right and has a deceiving personality. Till the end of the play all Medea's actions were due to Jason cheating on her with the princess. She views her revenge as justice because Jason ruined her life so she can ruin his. She murders her own children and uses the fact that she doesn't want Jason to have them to ease her pain for doing it. She is only driven to ruin Jason as much as she can she does not realize the harm that she is doing. She deceived more than one person in the play with her "innocent" act. She plays up her nice side to the king to allow her a few more days in the city even though she was plotting already to murder him. She acted like she understood about the whole marriage between Jason and the princess was to help her and the kids but in reality she was still very angered by it. Lastly, she sweetens her sons before she kills them. She acts like she is a very loving mother and then approaches them with a knife while they are pleading. All her actions demonstrate the messed up mind set that Medea has. No society would accept a murderer let alone a psychologically disturbed person. Plus, killing the head of the society wouldn't be acceptable to anyone in their right mind.

She is a woman that is driven by her emotions and causes more harm to herself than anyone else. She murders the people that are closest to her and the people that would've helped her if she was willing to reach out. She set her own faith by causing the whole mess.