Esch and Medea - Amelia

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" In ancient Greece, for all her heroes, for Medea and her mutilated brother and devastated father, water meant death. In the bathroom on the toilet, I heard the clanking of metal against metal outside, some broken machine tilting like a sinking headstone against another, and I knew it was the wind pushing a heavy rain." (pg. 216)

    Jesmyn Ward draws many connections between Esch and Medea, one of them being water as a motif for fatality. For Medea, water in the form of seas and rivers was what caused her demise. However, for Esch, water represents impending fate. As she and her family prepare to survive hurricane Katrina, the symbol of the water rising is used to show their impending fate and their uncertainty of the outcome, much less survival. To Esch, the rising water is threatening to take everything away from her, even her family - much like how the water impacted Medea's family.


Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 30, 2017 at 11:14 AM

    Is water all bad for Esch or does it ever have good aspects that help Esch or Medea? The water rising is a great connection between the struggles of Esch and Medea. Although the rising water is threatening to take everything away from Esch and harm her in many ways the problem that it poses brings her closer to her family and friends and in some ways offers them the opportunity to start anew.

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