A Superior Wife And Mother - Literature Essay Samples

In Homers epic The Iliad and Sophocles play Oedipus the King, the characters Andromache and Jocasta are confronted with tragedy and strife. Andromache endures the loss of her beloved husband while Jocasta struggles with the fruition of an ancient prophecy that she will marry her son. By considering these characters respective places in society and within their spousal relationships, their outlook, and their behavior, Homers Andromache emerges as a more ideal wife and mother than Sophocles Jocasta. Before they enter into their present marriages, both Andromache and Jocasta are women of nobility. The daughter of King Eetion of Cilicia, Andromache is a princess marrying a prince who leads her from her fathers house with countless wedding gifts to win her heart (22.554-5). Her marriage with Hector is socially acceptable, as she is previously unmarried and taken directly from her home, so she is respected by her country and by Hectors family, as seen when they comfort her after his de ath, crowding round her now her husbands sisters and brothers wives supported her in their midst (22.556-7). Unlike her Homeric counterpart, Jocasta has been married and has born a child to another man. While it may be inferred that Hector is slightly older or of the same age as his wife, Jocasta is at least twelve years older than her husband-son Oedipus. Because she is the queen of Thebes whose husband is a former prince, Jocasta holds a higher place in society and in marriage than Andromache. Respected as a potential mediator by the chorus of Theban citizens, Jocasta is expected to resolve the dispute between Creon and Oedipus, the leader declaring that With her help you must put this fighting of yours to rest (707-8). After Jocasta instructs the two men to go to their homes, Oedipus and Creon complain to her as if she were a judge, Creon informing her of Oedipus plan to exile him and Oedipus telling her, I caught him in the actplotting, about to stab me in the back (718-9). In regards to their spousal relationships, Andromache is the more submissive of the two. Even though she pleads with her husband not to fight in Troy, after Hector explains to her why he must go she is seen smiling through her tears (6.578), in understanding of his necessity to win honor. She does not argue with him about it further. Also, after Hector asks her to go home and tend tothe loom (6.585-6) she obediently sits weaving at her loom (22.516) at the time of Hectors death. Though their relationship may not be equal in power, it is mutually loving, as Andromache pressing close beside him (6.480) weeps freely at the thought of losing her husband. He then stroked her gently (6.579) to comfort her after declaring that he would die before allowing her to be enslaved in Argos, proclaiming, Let the earth come piling over my dead body before I hear your cries (6.556)! In a poignant moment also demonstrative of their loving relationship, the couple shares a final moment of joy when their son cries And his loving father laughed and his mother laughed as well (6.562-3). Andromaches affection for Hector is also apparent in the grief she expresses over his death as she wishes she were never born, crying, Would to god hed never fathered me (22.565)! To a woman whose entire family was destroyed by Achilles, Hector is everything to her: my father my noble mother, a brother too (22.508-9), and as a result she is extremely devoted to him. Jocasta and Oedipus marriage is also reciprocally loving, as Oedipus asks his wife, Who means more to me than you (849)? He also cares so much for her as to feel shame for having defiled her, touching her, body with these, the hands that killed your husband (908-9). Jocasta assures him of her respect and love saying, Id never displease you (953), although she clearly has the upper hand in the relationship. As Oedipus confidante, Jocasta believes, even I have a right, Id like to think, to know whats torturing you (845-6) and Oedipus confesses, I can hold nothing back from youwhom would I turn to but you (847-9)? He even holds his wife in higher regard than he does the chorus, saying, I respect you, Jocasta, much more than these men here (769-70). The two women differ not only in their status in their marriages and societies, but also in their outlook and behavior. Although they both believe in the existence and intervention of the gods, Jocasta has less confidence in the power of oracles, although she prays to Apollo, I urge [Oedipus] gentlyso I turn to you (1006-7). Andromache is thought to be praying at, Athenas shrine where the noble Trojan women gather (6.450-1). But, despite her faith in the gods, Andromache believes the past and present foreshadow the future rather than divine foresight. After hearing that the Trojans are being hard-pressed by the Acheans, she, sped to the wall in panic, like a madwoman (6.459) out of dread that her husband would have to enter the fight if the Trojans continu e to lose. Also, with all of the men in her family slaughtered by Achilles, she fears that Hector will also fall at his sword. On the other hand, Jocastas attitude is defined by the oracle. Throughout the play she gives no credence to prophecy and ignores the clues like Oedipus incestuous fears, dismissing them as common, Many a man before you, in his dreams, has shared his mothers bed (1074-5). She also advises him that because their lives are governed by chance it is, better to live at random, best we can (1072). Resentful of the oracle for having caused the death of her son for no reason, she belittles divination saying, Apollo brought neither thing to pass. My baby no more murdered his father than Laius suffered his wildest fear death at his own sons hands (794-6). Although she ridicules the oracle again by saying, You prophecies of the gods, where are you now? (1036), she eventually surrenders to the inevitable when she runs out of the palace shouting, Youre doomed ma y you never fathom who you are! (1173-4), realizing that the oracle was correct. When she disparages the oracles accuracy, Jocasta tries to be a source of stagnation as she begs Oedipus to cease his quest for identity, Stop in the name of godcall off this search (1163-4)! However, she has no effect on his will as he attributes her fears to social snobbery and ignores her warnings. Similarly, Andromache tries to hinder her husband from realizing his fate but to no avail imploring, Pity me, please! Take a stand on the rampart herebefore you orphan your son and make your wife a widow (6.511-2) only to be given the final word that despite her protests and his own qualms he must go to war. Though she tries to stop Hector from achieving the fame he is destined to have as a skilled warrior, Andromache has no flaws as a wife and is frequently described as loyal (6.445), warm, generous (6.466), and loving (6.576). Her adoration for her husband can also be seen in her grief upon hearin g of his death, her heart pounding, leaping up in my throat, the knees beneath me paralyzed (22.530-1), crying like a madwoman (22.541) as her world went black as nightgasping away her life breath (548-50). As she grieves, in idyllic Homeric fashion, she mourns the loss of her great warrior by exalting his performance in battle, it was youwho shielded the gates and the long walls of Troy (22.595-7). Her love for her husband is also evident when she threatens suicide saying that, bereft of [Hector], better for me to sink beneath the earth. What other warmth, what comforts left for me (6.488-9)? Ironically, she forgets the one living reminder of her husband she would have, her son Astynax, who is almost always seen carried by not his mother but a servant following in [his mothers] steps (6.471). In her final speech, Andromache equates the loss of Hector with the loss of her son, saying that he is doomed and outlining the bleak fatherless future that awaits him, humiliated i n every way, his cheeks stained with tears (22.577-8), begging for food, shunned by society. Only in this dialogue and at the time Hector puts his son in her arms and she, pressed the child to her scented breast (6.577-8) does she show affection for her son. Either at the command of Hector or at the loss of her husband does she recognize her son, which demonstrates both her obedience and her will to put her husband first over her son. This makes her an ideal wife, but as a mother, she is as doting as she can be while supporting her husband to the fullest. In contrast, Jocasta is more of a mother to Oedipus than she is a wife, by the standards set by Andromache. She calms him, answers and asks questions, and even orders him in public saying, For the love of godtell me tooWhy this rage? Youre so unbending (767-9). She also advises him to forget about the prophecies and to, Liveas if theres no tomorrow (1077-8)! As a mother, Jocasta is forced to choose between the lives of her children and her husbands, and each time she opts for the latter. Because she is not as compliant as her Homeric counterpart, she is not as ideal a wife nor is she as loving a mother. Faced with the choice between her son and husband, at the time Laius plans to kill her son, she fails to object strongly enough to save his life. She seems to show sorrow over the loss of her son, pausing before saying, my son he wasnt three days old and the boys father had fastened his ankles [and] had a henchman fling him away on a barren, trackless mountain (790-1). Again she chooses to save herself and her husband from living with the humiliation of their incestuous acts by hanging herself while leaving her two young daughters motherless. After Jocastas death, they cry when visiting their father as Oedipus asks, O god! Do I really hear you sobbing (1613)? He also outlines their bleak future lamenting, Your doom is clear: Youll wither away to nothing, single, without a child (1643-4) and without a mother to guide them.Although Andromache and Jocasta live in the separate cultures of Homeric Troy and Sophoclean Greece, they face similarly shameful fates, and in the way they cope with the tragedies dealt to them, they allow insight into the vision of the ideal wife and mother. By serving as a mother to Oedipus as well as fulfilling her wifely duties, Jocasta would be the ultimate female companion. However, because she is domineering and not as loving as she should be, Andromache is the more ideal wife. Extremely devoted, supportive, and obedient, she always puts her husbands needs before her own and even before her sons. As a mother, she is as doting as she can be to her son while supporting her husband to the utmost extent, while Jocasta allows her baby to be killed less than three days after his birth, virtually ripped from the womb, and leaves her two daughters to a life of motherless pain and emptiness. Therefore, Andromache proves to be a more ideal wife and mother than Jocasta.

Discussion on Whether Euthanasia Should be Legalized - 275 Words

Discussion on Whether Euthanasia Should be Legalized in Kenya (Essay Sample) Content: Should Euthanasia be legalized in Kenya?Sample essayJohnson WanjohiEuthanasia is defined as the introduction of harmful doses of medicament by a physician with the intention of ending a persons life. The action can be either voluntary where the patient is killed with their consent or non-voluntary where the patient is killed without their permission. The practice is considered illegal in most countries around the world. Euthanasia is employed when a quick and painless death is induced to a patient with a terminal disease or an irreversible comatose. The notion of allowing medical doctors to use euthanasia in practice has brought sharp debates regarding the ethical consideration of the action. This paper discusses whether euthanasia should be legalized in Kenya.The Kenyan Constitution Chapter 4 the Bill of Rights Part 2 section 26 stipulated that every Kenyan citizen has a right to life. It elaborates that a persons life begins at conception, and a person will be crim inally charged if he or she ends the life of another person. However, euthanasia is not clearly defined and is considered illegal because it involves killing another person. The lack of provisions that define euthanasia makes it open for the discussion on whether it should be legalized in the country (Muraguri, 2015).Research done by Kamau (2013) explains that the ethical dilemma surrounding the consideration of healthcare providers working in the intensive care units in Kenyan hospitals is experienced on a day to day basis. He describes the lack of laws that protect healthcare providers in instances where the patient and their guardians consider adopting the action of euthanasia in cases of presence of irreversible comatose and terminal disease conditions. The study also elaborated that the majority Christian population in Kenya is also opposed to the idea of allowing physicians to end the life of another person.The Hippocratic Oath that is taken by every healthcare provider states that the medical practitioner should do no harm to the patient. The action of euthanasia involves administering lethal doses of drugs with the intention of killing the patient which is contrary to the central principle that acts a guide to every medical professional in the world. The Hippocratic Oath also states that the healthcare provider should undertake every step necessary required to help the patient recover (Muraguri, 2015). Contrary to the statements, euthanasia does not contribute to improving the quality of life of the patient in any way.Most of the African traditional values that are present in many Kenyan communities are opposed to the idea of disrupting the natural process of death. The African traditional practices identify life as sacred and should not be ended by another person. These African customs make it difficult to bring about the debate on whether to legalize the action of ending another persons life. The majority of the Kenyan citizens who observe ...