Summary Of Jesmyn Ward's Salvage The Bones

The novel, Salvage the Bones, was narrated by a girl named, Esch Batiste, who lived in Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, in a small, fallen apart house. She spends most of her time with her three brothers; Randall, Skeetah, and Junior. Their mother had died giving birth to Junior. Due to this, their father is a drunken mess who only worries about the hurricane Katrina. Later in the story, Esch found out she was pregnant with Skeetah’s best friend's’ baby at the age of fourteen.

The lost of a loved one can have a huge impact on a family that they failed to notice the present. In the novel, Bone by Fae Myenne Ng, Leila wondered if she mattered to her mom because of the lack of attention she received, "I resented Mah her stubborn one-track moaning-crying over Ona who was dead, crying over Nina who was gone. Crying over her two lost daughters... What about me? Don't I count?

The most important parallel between the Greek myth of Jason and Medea and Jesmyn Ward’s novel, Salvage the Bones, is the parallel connection and comparison between Medea, Esch, and China relating to their pregnancies. The comparison between these three characters is integral to the novel because it allows us to analyze Esch in a new light, as she transforms from an abused and objectified girl into a potentially powerful woman who has more control in her life. As Skeetah argues that China’s pregnancy had only made her stronger, “He glances at [Esch], too” (96). Skeetah’s glance towards Esch as he describes the power China has gained from giving birth illustrates a connection between Esch and China, and in turn Medea, as all three characters

The Lovely Bones is a book about a girl being murdered and watching her family struggle to cope. The book takes place in December in 1973 when no one was worried about crimes happening in their neighborhood. The theme is about Mr. Harvey killing Susie and watching her family fall apart because of it. However, the movie doesn’t give as much detail as the book does.

“The Odyssey,” written by Greek poet Homer is an epic tale depicting the brutally enduring quest home of the Greek hero, Odysseus. Within this heroic story, women play a very large and pivotal role in Odysseus’s trip home from the Trojan War. In his attempt to get back to his wife, Penelope, Odysseus’s progress is constantly hindered by the intervention of women who will do anything in order to either convince the heroic figure to stay with them or have him killed. The intentions of the women in the epic are all very different but one of the most prominent roles lies in the seductresses and the alluring women who will deeply influence Odysseus. Most importantly, Penelope plays a large role in portraying the importance of women’s roles in the story.

In many societies today, individuals are led to believe that the concept of women possessing their own strength or independence is abnormal. As a result, women experience the world in a constrained way in comparison to men, even if they are in higher classes of society. However, these extensive aspects of females are contradicted in some ancient Greek literature. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer portrays women as a vital and powerful force through the characters Penelope and Circe, who counter the normality of misogyny in Homer’s time. Penelope’s character displays how some women are able to exceed society’s standards and show strength and cleverness when it is necessary.

“Trickster nymphs… ruthless goddesses, and… world-uprooting mothers” (15). Greek mythology is filled with characters who exemplify the connection of power and femininity. In Salvage the Bones, Jesmyn Ward emphasizes this connection through the thoughts and experiences of the protagonist, a teen girl named Esch. Esch has grown up in a male-dominated environment; her mother and grandmother both passed away when she was young, leaving her without any influential women in her life. Consequently, Esch looks to the heroines in the stories of Greek mythology to stand in and act as her female role models.

In spite of the fact that Homer’s Odyssey is an epic story of a man’s gallant journey, women play a huge part throughout. Their unique yet controversial personalities, intentions, and relationships are vital to the development of this epic and adventurous journey of Odysseus. The poem by Homer was written at a time when women had an inferior position in society, yet that didn’t stop them from being any less influential. All of the women throughout the Odyssey possess different qualities, but all of them help to define the role of the ideal woman.

In the novel Salvage the Bones, by Jesmyn Ward, Esch and her family struggles with life in the Pit, while also facing the incoming impact of Hurricane Katrina. The main reason for this struggle is poverty. Rural poverty in Mississippi is a very common and pressing issue. Many families live below the poverty line and are without important essentials, such as healthcare. The lives of these families are reflected through Esch and her own one.

Lady Macbeth and Medea are therefore considered tragic heros because they put their loyalty above their own self-worth. Ultimately, this ideal encompasses how femininity is controlled by men, because the actions of the Macbeth and Jason were the cause for Lady Macbeth and Medea’s

The story that we used in our project was Medea by Euripides. We wanted to use this plotline to address a current issue in America, which is bordering on distrust. Medea is a story about a woman who put her faith into a man, and was later betrayed and thus sought out revenge. Medea wanted to put all of the blame onto Jason and not take any of the responsibility in the situation, in the end she killed her own sons and ruined Jason's life out of spite. Our piece narrates a young man who is dealing with the aftermath of his affair on his significant other who has left him, Noah is recounting his thought on the events and how he did love the woman but he’s inability to take her feelings into account cost him his relationship.

The Odyssey by Homer contains multiple moments where female characters are oppressed or fit into a patriarchy, but there are several moments where these character show signs of rebellion against this oppression. Applying a critical lense of feminism to these characters and relationships create complexities and conflicts within the novel that shine meaning on the world. The character Penelope offers many of these moments. Analyzing the actions, situation, and comparisons with other characters using a the feminist critical lense will show a more enriched version of Penelope and offer a deeper insight of the patriarchy, and how is affects the world.

Women's roles have changed throughout time. Both The Chrysanthemums, written by John Steinback, and The Story of an Hour, by Kate Choppin, are stories that use both direct and indirect characterization on women and their roles in their time. Throughout The Chrysanthemums, there are examples of our protagonist Elisa Allen struggling as a woman in the 1930s Great Depression society. In The Story of an Hour, it focuses on the fact that the protagonist, Mrs. Louise Mallard, feels oppressed and stripped of her freedom as a person. In addition, these two women grew from their pain, but were still seeking for more.

Claire’s characterization as a ruthless woman scorned is integral to the play’s plot and it is facilitated by allusions to Greek mythological characters, such as Medea, the Fates, and the Furies, who all represent some aspect of Claire’s character and ambitions. Dürrenmatt uses allusions to Greek mythology to characterize Claire Zachanassian and critique the abuse of power to ruthlessly obtain justice and seek vengeance. Dürrenmatt most directly compares Claire’s character and motivations to the Greek sorceress Medea throughout the play to illustrate the greatness of her power and its role in obtaining justice. Similarly to Claire, Medea spends the majority of her story manipulating the ex-husband who betrays her, while vengefully plotting to kill him using her powers.

Medea, the protagonist, is a woman driven by extreme emotions and extreme behaviors. Because of the passionate love she had for Jason, she sacrificed everything .. However, now his betrayal of her transformed the beautiful loving passion to uncontrollable anger, hatred and a desperate desire for revenge. Her violent and temperamental heart, previously devoted to Jason, now moving towards its doom.