Oedipus the King and Mason’s Shiloh Essay -- comparison compare contra

Oedipus the top executive and Masons battle of Shiloh Shiloh, written by Bobbie Ann Mason, and Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, contain super different story lines but jointly call for one unique quality, the role of the wo mankind. In each of these stories, the females struggle to repress one major obstacle plaguing them by using their inner- vividness. Norma denim from Shiloh fights to lend a seemingly endless marriage, and Jocasta from Oedipus the King struggles against an ill-fate. Norma Jean and Jocasta bank that they are unwavering enough to conquer these challenges, but, in the end, they both get in they are not strong enough and commit suicide because of this defeat. Norma Jean and Jocasta strive to beat the one main obstacle placed onwards each of them Norma Jean fights against marriage, and Jocasta struggles against fate. In Shiloh, Norma Jean is married to a man with which she cannot live anymore. By strengthening herself mentally and physically, Norma J ean believes that she can leave her husband, Leroy. In preparation for the twenty-four hour period when Norma Jean will leave Leroy, she takes a body- digiting and English composition class. After working out one day Norma Jean explains to Leroy, Id give anything if I could just get these muscles to where theyre real effortful (491). Strengthening the mind and body is the only way Norma Jean knows to build her self-esteem and prepare herself for this day that will soon be upon her. On the other hand, Jocasta has always been a mentally strong woman. Jocastas battle is against something some(prenominal) more severe than a bad marriage she battles fate. When Jocasta first had her baby, Oedipus, an seer declared to Jocasta that doom would strike himLaius down at the hands of a son, / our son, to... ...r too overwhelming for her. Once again the woman was not strong enough to overcome feelings many challenges. How does one know if he or she has enough strength? In both of these sto ries, the women try to battle life using inner-strength. Even though Norma Jean and Jocasta are under extremely different circumstances, both make the same ultimate decision, death. Whether or not death was the right choice, this choice was made by both characters. Their strength was not enough to surpass the problems of life. Works Cited Mason, Bobbie Ann. Shiloh. Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 6th edition. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York Harper Collins, 1995. Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Discovering Literature Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Eds. Hans P. Guth and Gabriele L. Rico. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice Hall, 1993.