Monday, March 12, 2012

Jason Versus Perseus?

Who is more heroic: Jason or Perseus? Please sight at least one example from our text and use the "heroic code" terminology to defend your claims. Complete this response by 2:30p.m. on Tuesday, March 13th.

25 comments:

Casey W said...
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Casey W said...

Perseus is more heroic because of his manners involving the guest/host relationship. After failing to bring a wedding gift to king's wedding party, he decides that to make up for his mistake, he would one up all the other guests. "...(Perseus) declared that he would give him a present better than any there. He would go off and kill Medusa and bring back her head as his gift. Nothing could have suited the King better" (148). This quotes not only demonstrates Perseus' excessive manners in the guest host relationship but also displays his excessive pride also known as hubris. He does not want to be out done by the others at the party. With the gift of Medusa's head, he will be baring a gift that will bring him fame and make him known as it is believed to be impossible to kill a Gorgon. For all of these reasons, Perseus fills out the "heroic code" more completely than Jason. Jason although very strong in some parts of the code, fails to reach all the parts such as the guest/host relationship like Perseus does.

Anonymous said...

I think Perseus and Jason both portrayed bits and pieces of the heroic code. I believe that Perseus strived to seek personal recognition more than Jason did. However Perseus was also more prideful than Jason, displaying "hubris." The fact that Perseus does not have a gift at the wedding, and then proclaims he will get the best gift of all demonstrates the guest/host relationship of the story. Although both men strived to receive personal recognition and fame, I think Perseus is the more heroic of the two.

Dominic P. said...

I think that Perseus is more heroic than Jason because he decided to get Medusa's head head as a gift. "Nothing could have suited the King better" (page 149) . This action follows the heroic code because he is full filling the guest/ host relationship and he is going to full fill his glory.

Anonymous said...

Perseus more heroic of the two. He often demonstrates Hubris. He is prideful, yet an excellent hero. He is a better hero because he is doing a better job for society. In the story of Jason, Medusa helps him a lot throughout his quest. Understandably, Perseus gets help too, but Medusa helps Jason a little too much, I think. The guest/host relationship is better within the story off Perseus as well.

Anonymous said...

i think Perseus is more heroic because Jason is only going on the quest for the golden flease because he wants his throne. I don't think that if his throne was just given to him he would have gone on the quest.

Alli Holmes said...

I believe that Perseus is much more heroic. To start his story is just much more heroic, challenging monsters, a little help from the gods here and there but not a lot. And on the other side Jason is basically telling Medea that he is in love with her as well and acts like he is, whether it was real or not, to gain her trust and make sure that she will help them out no matter what, they dumps her when he's done with her for another girl. It's like a bad boyfriend story. Perseus' tale was much more manly you could call it, he was way more independent, and he didn't ask for help, it was just given to him because of his heroic actions.

Rae.A said...

I guess Perseus is more heroic because he set out on his "quest" to get his soon to be father in law a wedding present, rather that Jason who set out for glory. I think the reason Perseus set out on this quest in the first place is because he has excessive pride (Hubris. Though they both kind of set out for fame Perseus is more heroic.

Anonymous said...

Perseus is more heroic because he doesnt harm as many people and actually helps prevent more deaths by killing medusa. her head is presented as a gift to the king but really it is to all brave men. Perseus is also a good guest when he is invited in and a good host as well. Jason is not as heroic because he is a very violent person who does a lot of unnecessary killing on his mission and isnt straight foward/honorably fighting in his battles because his weapons are invisible.

Anonymous said...

Although Jason's quest is long and full of treacherous beings and elements he overcomes, it is not always he that is doing the work. Medea fell in love after "Cupid swiftly drew his bow and shot a shaft deep into the maiden's heart" (128). This love almost ruined Jason's status of the heroic code because he was using her to survive long enough to get the fleece. Jason was also helped by the gods, as was Perseus, but it was Perseus who took the gifts from the gods and used it to his advantage. Perseus forgot a gift at a wedding, and upholding the guest/host relationship, offered to bring back the best gift he could find. His deed was for the best of the people, and he accomplished it well and with pride. He wasn't assisted by any mortal of any kind, just his will to get the job done.

Anonymous said...

Perseus is much more heroic because though he does receive help from others throughout his journey, he completes it fair in square mostly by himself. He also is more heroic because he follows the heroic code and shows a good guest/host relationship. Jason on the other hand receives a lot of help from Medea.Unlike Perseus, Jason could not have done it without help, Therefore Perseus is more heroic.

Anonymous said...

Perseus is more heroic then Jason because of Perseus had more pride then Jason did with "Hubris" Perseus did not bring a present to the wedding but he did say that he would get the best gift and I think when he said this that it shows host and guest relationship in the story.It shows he is more heroic because he was going to go kill Medusa and then bring back her head as the gift. Strong king like qualities.

Paulh said...

Perseus is more heroic than Jason because of his reason for going to kill Medusa. He has excessive pride in believing that he will do something, kill Medusa, that it is impossible to do without the god's help. In that time however being helped by the god's in your quest actually meant you were more heroic. But the hero must still strike the killing blow. Jason on the other hand is helped by Medea in such a way that he really doesn't have to do anything. Medea, another mortal, kills them not him. Both Jason and Perseus go on their respective quests to gain fame and or to not lose face in Perseus' case. So in this way they are both heroic. But Perseus' attempts to uphold the guest-host relationship are what make him more heroic. He knows he has wronged his host in some way by not bringing a wedding gift and he attempts to amend that by getting an even better gift. This reasoning for starting on his quest is much more heroic than Jason's of simply reclaiming a kingdom that he has never owned.

Anonymous said...

Perseus is more heroic due to his kind manners and the way he demonstrates the heroic code. He fails to bring a gift to the king's wedding, but makes up for it by saying he will bring Medusa's head as a gift. This displays heroic qualities and also guest host relationship. "he would give him a present better than any there" (148). Jason displays heroic qualities as well but Perseus displays it better.

Anonymous said...

I think Jason is a better hero because he was on a quest to reclaim what was taken from him by his uncle. He completed his quest with the help of his friends and freely admits it. Perseus was only trying to be the best at a party and to me that seems arrogant, with a need to be the center of attention.

Anonymous said...

Jason is more heroic because even though he does not do as much for the good of the people, he does more that follows the heroic code. He starts on his quest for the golden fleece for his own good. He endures many trials in order to take back his kingdom. "Jason, the rightful heir to the kingdom...and when he was grown he came boldly back to claim the kingdom from his wicked cousin." Jason is worried about himself and the things he wants, not other people. He much more closely follows the heroic code.

AbbyC2014 said...

I think Perseus is more heroic because of the way he acts throughout the myth. Both men had hubris, and their pride sometimes made them stray off course, and do things they know to be foolish. Perseus went on his quest to save what little pride he had by getting a wedding gift for his mother and the king. Perseus stuck to his goal, he wasn't completely selfish and succeeded in his task. Jason went on his quest to take his rightful place as king. At first, Jason seems like an okay guy, trying to find the Golden Fleece. However, when he meets Medea, he uses her love for his own benefits. This ultimately made me dislike Jason and his morals. He didn't think about anyone other than himself, and it ended up being his own fault his wife died because of the way he treated Medea.

Siren E said...

In my eyes, Jason had heroic themes, but Perseus was more focused on seeing the bigger picture. I see this because of the guest/host relationship with the promise of Medusa's head, but he also somewhat overstepped his bounds with hubris.

Anonymous said...

Perseus is more heroic than Jason because he fits the heroic code better. He grew up in a hard childhood and his mother was gone when he was young. Also, he faced one of the most scary creatures Medusa and did a heroic deed by cutting it off her head and giving it the King. Jason returning with the Golden Fleece did not seem as heroic because he was not faced with the fear of turning into stone.

Anonymous said...

It seems that Perseus is more heroic than Jason. Jason had almost a false bravery. He was aided by Medea quite a bit and went on this quest so he could become king. This made Jason out to be a hero that he was not. Perseus on the other hand, was brave from the beginning and was an independent, strong man. He went on his quest to make his mother's new husband happy by getting him the gift he wanted, "more than anything else" (148). He wanted to help people. He also saved Andromeda from the sea serpent that was supposed to kill her. Perseus seems much more heroic, and genuine than Jason.

Anonymous said...

Jason suffers from hubris, which causes him to undermine Medea's magical powers and makes him a lesser hero. His excessive pride leads him to stop caring about Medusa and marry another woman. However, Medea was, "determined to kill Jason's bride" (135) and she succeeded, thus ruining Jason's life and reputation. Because of Jason's excessive pride, he downfalls and cannot be a successful hero. However, Perseus is determined to bring the head of Medea back for a wedding present and, "nothing could have suited the King better. No one in his senses would have made such a proposal" (149). His quest made him heroic because he had great challenges ahead of him.

Nate H. said...

Perseus is more heroic than Jason, because of how determined he is to help other people. Perseus meets every aspect of the heroic code. He offers to kill a monster that has terrorized his kin, this shows his warrior mentality and desire to be recognized as a courageous person. He showed up at the Kings wedding with no gift, then offered a greater gift than everyone else who was in attendance, because he did not want to lose his honor. He goes on to pursue his prize and claim the head of Medusa, doing what he does best. However, all of that would be worthless if he was not doing all of this in the name of the King. By setting out to claim the head for the King, he claims it for the kingdom -- that means everyone inside it too. He puts his life at risk to conquer a terror that had left men cold and dark for eternity. Of course, nothing would be complete if he was not able to finish his quest "With a single sweep of his sword he cut through her neck... he swooped low enough to seize the head" (Pg. 151, Mythology) looking only in a mirror.

brendand said...

I would say Perseus is the most heroic of the two because he does an extremely dangerous task in order to get a cool gift for the king. He gets Medusa's head which fulfills the guest\host relationship. Also this task he has to pull of is extremely hard because if he sees her head he will turn to stone.

MattG said...

I feel that perseus is the more heroic figure because of all that he did to bring the ultimate gift for the king which was madusa's head. This was more dangerous than Jason retreaving the golden fleece because if he made eye contact with madusa he would be turned into stone.

Anonymous said...

I think that Perseus was more heroic than Jason because of how they showed "hubris." Jason tended to be more prideful than Perseus in many cases. For instance, Jason used Medea for much of his quest. Perseus did all the work with help from the gods. It said that, "this could be none other than Hermes, the guide and the giver of good." Perseus is the more heroic of the two.