“He studies his dog, who breathes so hard he sprays the ground with spit and blood, his nose to the earth. Manny kneels next to Rico, whispers. I know that whatever Manny is saying is showing the meanness in him, that he is Jason betraying Medea and asking for the hand of the daughter of the King of Corinth in marriage after Medea has killed her brother for him, betrayed her father. I read, She ain’t shit, ain’t got no heart. He looks at China when he murmurs but it feels like he looks at me” (Ward 172).
This quote shows how similar the relationships of Esch and Medea are. This is very direct by Jesmyn Ward, since she directly refers to the story and where the comparison is. Jason constantly betrays Medea while Manny does the same, but not in the exact same way. When any guy comes near Esch or Medea she turns them down while Manny and Jason are open to being with other people. Both relationships are also very uneven since Jason may slightly be attracted to Medea while she is madly in love with him. The same to a smaller scale is true for Esch and Manny. Esch loves Manny and has not had sex with anyone else since having it with Manny, while Manny pays no attention to the latter. In addition, Esch is pregnant from Manny but does not want to tell him since she has not even revealed her love for him. She is not sure about him yet since she thinks he is always saying things that show the meanness in him. Since both relationships are so one-sided there is also the similarity of Esch and Medea realizing the situation of their relationships and thinking about acting upon it. While Medea impulsively kills due to this, Esch is very responsible and goes through the pains of pregnancy including but limited to throwing up and excessive urination.
This Campanian red figure neck-amphora by the Ixion Painter c. 330 BCE depicts Medea killing one of her sons. This image is a somewhat graphic portrayal of the rampage Medea went through including slaughtering her sons. Though this image only shows one of the sons, it is a great portrayal of the event itself.
This image symbolizes Esch at the end of the novel because a lot of damage has been done to her physically and mentally. At the beginning her life is similar to a disaster but she deals with it and improves her life as much as possible to become the house on the right. Her home does not become better after the beginning but more in her mental state overall. She has now organized her life from the mess that she started with.
The comparisons were clear to the reading, which is a part of the assignment that is clear cut. The picture choise is very fascenating. Its a great example of Esch's emoitonal state through out the story. I agree with your stance.
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