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

Oedipus the tabby and Masons battle of Pittsburgh Landing Shiloh, written by Bobbie Ann Mason, and Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, contain highly different story lines but jointly convey one unique quality, the role of the wo opus. In each of these stories, the females struggle to submerge one major obstacle plaguing them by using their inner- effectualness. Norma dungaree from Shiloh fights to set aside a seemingly endless marriage, and Jocasta from Oedipus the King struggles against an ill-fate. Norma Jean and Jocasta debate that they are solid enough to conquer these challenges, but, in the end, they both fool they are non strong enough and commit suicide because of this defeat. Norma Jean and Jocasta strive to beat the one main obstacle placed ahead 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 Jean 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 inviolable (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 such(prenominal) more severe than a bad marriage she battles fate. When Jocasta first had her baby, Oedipus, an illusionist 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 tones many challenges. How does one know if he or she has enough strength? In both of these stories, 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. one-sixth 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.