Medea Persuasive Speech

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Donald Trump has performed the unthinkable this year by taking out the US Presidential Election, going against the narrative that has been painted by the mainstream media and most of the world. By gaining 270 electoral votes, the savvy yet blunt entrepreneur has stunned the world with his spectacular finish. In the wake of this historical event, a thought-provoking comparison can be made to a very homogenous tragedy, which warns us of the dangers of appealing to those fringing on the extreme and acts as a parable as to why we should not possess traits or qualities in excess. The Greek play Medea, created by playwright Euripides, explores the journey and struggles of a passionate and poignant wife Medea, alongside her cold, logical husband and Greek hero Jason, the …show more content…

Medea's eventual victory through her flamboyant and irrational character reflects well in Trump's bombastic campaign, that was so extreme and outlandish that it won him the election. Medea stoked a fire that had been left unkindled in many of the members of Athens, that of passion and emotion as well as a plight they could get behind, that the women of Athens were constrained and oppressed by the male patriarchy. Medea used her narrative to ascend to power, manipulating the Chorus by appealing to them as a fellow woman imprisoned in a world of men. Through this plight, Medea could ascend to a position where her horrific actions would be overlooked and overshadowed by her story of victimhood. Donald Trump followed in similar wake to Medea, appealing to the working class and rural people of the United States, whom had been oppressed by the past and current governments in the form of lost jobs and poor living conditions. Trump promised to revive the American dream and as such his popularity soared and his fatal flaws became irrelevant in the eyes of the American people. It was only when the goal of both Medea and Trump was achieved that the audience looking on took a step back

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    Shirley Barlow centralizes her article, Stereotype and Reversal in Euripedes’ Medea, on the idea that Medea goes back and forth between the normal social stereotypes of a Greek man and woman. Medea holds very heroic qualities, qualities of which are supposed to belong to a man. Barlow makes a point in the article that even though Medea is exposed to the same environment and circumstances, the way in which she thinks and carries out action is completely different than that of a normal Greek woman. While trying to convince the reader of Medea’s unusual heroic characteristics, Barlow points out that she Medea also holds the feelings of a mother who has love for her children. Barlow

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    To begin comparing Euripides Medea and Ovid’s Metamorphoses Book 7, we need to look at three components: context, characters, and themes. Both Euripides and Ovid tell the story of Jason abandoning Medea for another woman; however, they do not always share a perspective on the female protagonist’s traits, behavior, and purpose. Euripides portrays a woman who reacts to discrimination by beginning a battle to gain revenge all who harmed her, which she is prepared to follow through with even if it means resorting to the most despicable methods. Ovid, on the other hand, tells of a much less severe figure whose modest goal is only to persuade Jason to return. Despite these written differences, both of their Medea’s create trouble by acting with emotions instead of with reason, and as a result, put themselves in undesirable situations. Euripides and Ovid present two different sets of motivations for Medea's behavior wh...

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  • A Close Reading of Euripides' Medea

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    455 Words  | 1 Pages

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