Essay about Lesson 1 Personal Response

Submitted By studynoy
Words: 767
Pages: 4

Agamemnon:
Agamemnon seems to have an unstable personality. On the one hand, he means to show modesty and fear of the Gods by refusing to walk on the red silk, but changes his mind quite easily, as he clearly feels he deserves a reward for his accomplishments at war. This shows that he is unclear in his morals and personl values, which is also portrayed through his disloyalty to Clytemnestra. He clearly does not love his wife very much, otherwise, he would not have seen such value in Cassandra, even as a "war prize". He is seemingly lost his direction in his life, and unfocused on what should be important to him - his family. Agamemnon is a troubled person, even if he is well-meaning, and has brought his fate upon himself.
Cassandra:
Cassandra's personality can be described in one word as a victim. She is innocent, powerless, and all her efforts are in vain. The one and only thing she has control of is her own acceptance of her miserable fate, which I find admirable, as an immense strength of character. Cassandra is powerless in more than one sense: status-wise, she is a slave to Agamemnon, a war prize, seen by him as an object. She is also voiceless - despite her Prophecy being true, the Chorus does not believe her desperate warning of the upcoming danger. She is mocked and humiliated for it. The irony of her super-power working against her is incredibly sad. Even before this situation, Cassandra's circumstances are extremely unfortunate. She has been through poverty, famine and loss. It seems that after everything she has been through, she does not deserve her fate. I relate to Cassandra most of the three characters. she is pure of heart, an innocent dragged into the worst of predicaments - and continues to do what she can to stop it. I can strongly relate to the feeling of helplessness, panic and despair that she must have been going through. Even after seeing no way out, I admire her ability to gracefully accept her fate as it is, and to try to make the best of it by wishing for her imminent death to be quick and painless.
Clytemnestra:
Clytemnestra is a strong, fearless female but has somewhat of a warped sense of justice. It seems she has been suffering a great deal, holding in her real feelings and thoughts about the trauma of losing her daughter, and keeping it all deep down inside for a very long time. That is a recipe for a powerful drive for revenge, and overall, a very broken person. I think that the suffering that Clytemnestra must be going through is overwhelmingly complex. Not only did losing her daughter alone cause her immeasurable pain, but the fact that it was her own husband and the father of the daughter who took her, and the fact that it was an unneccesary, cruel sacrifice, is what made her write Agamemnon off,