Troy Gostyla-Esch and Medea

By: When Manny comes by Esch's home to tell Randall that Bodean has been chosen to be in the basketball camp instead of him, Esch sees an opportunity to reveal her feelings towards him.  She starts slapping him and yells, " 'I love you!' 'Esch!' The skin on his throat is red, his scar white.  'I loved you!' I hit his Adam's apple with the V where my thumb and pointer finger cross.  He chokes.  'I loved you!' This is Medea wielding the knife.  This is Medea cutting.  I rake my fingernails across his face, leave pink scratches that turn red, fill with blood." (Ward, 204) This allusion represents the willingness of both females to do anything to stay with the person they love.  Esch attacks Manny and blames her pregnancy on him, hoping he will change his mind and settle with her, as it is most likely his child.  On the other hand, Medea will violently kill anyone and do anything in general for Jason to obtain this fleece because that's his ticket to being King and it's something important to him.  Without these males in their lives, this connects Esch and Medea to being completely empty inside unless they have their (Jason/Manny) companionship.

This depiction shows a man playing a flute, as Jason symbolically "plays" Medea to his advantage of getting the golden fleece (with the three tasks he needs to complete in order to receive the fleece).

The image depicts a girl being comforted by a close friend. By the end of the novel, Esch understands that many people in her life will help in raising the child, even though it won't be the same without the child's own father.  She does get some closure and moves on with a strong, determined attitude towards the future.

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 30, 2017 at 11:18 AM

    I agree with your statement about how Esch/Medea feel that if they do not have the companionship with the men in their lives, then they will be filled with emptiness and sorrow. However do you think that this rage and anger directed towards the men in their lives is coming from something other than the fact that the men left them, like family issues, regret, etc. I also like how you made the connection of friendship to Esch and how although the father will not help raise her child, there will be many other people that are an important part of her life that will do so.

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