Socratic Seminar Questions (Medea)

Socratic Seminar Questions 1. Do you think Medea should’ve let the children live? If so, who do you think she would’ve chosen and why? If not, why do you think Medea killed the children? I think it was right for Medea to kill the children. The children are a “product” during Medea and Jason’s relationship. Since Medea feels like Jason betrayed and tainted their relationship, she feels like letting the children not live is like destroying every last remnant of their relationship.
She also feels that killing the children would punish Jason and as a mother, she doesn’t want anyone else to harm her own children, so she kills them as a sacrifice. Personally, it was a dour scene of killing the children, but it had a hidden reason into killing the children. 2. What are some major complaints Medea pleas about the treatment of women? Do you think women around the world are still facing these problems? Some of the major complaints Medea pleas about are that women cannot reject marriage because of the over dominance of men that women don’t have the power to reject or deny marriage.
I believe not only Greece, but other countries around the whole world face the over dominance of men over women. Another complaint Medea states is how women are “bought and sold” by men. Women weren’t slaves back in Greece but Medea emphasizes the point that women are treated like property, being bought and sold. In the present world, there are very few or not even any countries that sell women but are treated like slaves, having limited rights than men. Lastly, she points out women are the “most unfortunate creatures”. I think the hidden message Euripides is explaining is the deplorable state of females in Greece.

I think that there are still countries worldwide, facing the same situations Medea points out to the readers. In addition, I think Euripides wants readers to sympathize the state of women and how they’re treated. 3. What do you think is the difference between justice and revenge? Did Medea achieve justice or revenge? Why? There is a key difference between the definition of justice and revenge. Justice I think brings termination, an end to something, while revenge results in personal satisfaction and pleasure. Another key difference between both is that justice is what should be done while revenge is what you believe should be done.
To sum everything up, justice is selfless and revenge is selfish. I think Medea achieved more of revenge because it was her personal satisfaction and plotting out, punishing Jason for his wrongdoings. In addition, her crave for revenge adulterates her life and her desire for revenge makes her a merciless character. 4. What ways does Medea bring her banishment on herself? There are many signs of how Medea creates banishment for herself. She made herself an exile out of love, leaving her land and killing her father and brother to help Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece. Ironically thought, his betrayal leads her into banishment once more.
During many scenes in the play, Medea expresses deep anguish as making herself an exile. She seems especially remorseful about leaving home and killing her father. This distance from Medea to her father is probably the worst feeling of exile she has to withstand. 5. If all people are created equal, then why do you think men have more authority than women according to Medea? One reason I think men would want more authority than women is men want to feel powerful themselves and they want a feel of playing a crucial role to society or a matriarch in a family by obtaining power.
Another reason men have more authority than women is how much pressure they can take. Yes, women are smart and have intelligence, but the main problem is that women can’t take as much criticism or types of pressure as men can. That could be why men are mostly leaders of countries, they can take more pressure from society or media than women can. Lastly, I think men have more authority than women is because men are more recognized in creativity. Microsoft, Apple, Google and YouTube are examples of technological inventions by men. Men feel more recognized into their creativity.