Egocentricity of Pechorin vs Jason Essay Example for Free

Egocentricity of Pechorin vs Jason EssayIn this essay I will compare the egocentricity of the characters of Pechorin from the Russian novel, A Hero of Our Time by Lermontov, and Jason from the Greek Tragedy Medea, written by Euripides. I have selected the topic of egocentricity or self-absorption for it is prevalent in both works in revere to Pechorin and Jason where they put down little if any regard for anyone that themselves throughout the works. However the time differences and social and cultural conditions of the time and place the works were written must be taken into consideration. I aspect that the theme of complete selfishness and the consequences that follow is strongest in respect to Jason and Pechorin and I will compare and provide evidence for such an agate line in both works.I will start by analysing Jasons utterly selfish behaviour throughout the Ancient Greek play Medea, written by Euripides. Jason is a completely egocentric character but he doesnt have as a good deal depth or complexity as Pechorin in A Hero of Our Time which is partly due to when this play was written in ancient Greece. Society was real different people were devouted Pagans and lived in a universe of superstition. Also literature was no way near as advanced however Medea still contains the fundamentals such as psychology. Jason is motivated solely by self-interest, his save motivation to court Medea in the play is the fact that she has mystical powers to formulate him what he wants the Golden Fleece, for which he will get a big reward in return. Jason even allows Medea to kill her own brother out of lust and be banished from her homeland forever by her father as a consequence.Unfortunately Jason is to self-involved to even comprehend how his Actions would affect Medea and their children. Again we see further evidence of Jasons egocentricity when he divorces Medea and abandons his kids for Glauce, princess of Corinth. He doesnt consider the affect on Medea and their children for he is blinded by his selfishness, he doesnt even mind that they are going to get banished as long as he increases his political and social status. His only defence is that he will one day be king and they will inherit the kingdom, which has no validity for he has already betrayed her trust and showed no sign of guilt and is just trying to justify himself. Even the nurse says that his marriage is for social status not have it away, Jason has betrayed his own sons, and my mistress, for royal bed.i Unfortunately we dont get to see Jasons interaction with friends in this play, which I would guess to be very short sighted and shoal as usual. Jason seems to have an extreme lack of moral philosophy when it comes to his own actions such as abandoning his wife and kids simply for political gain.Also his motivation for this degraded action was money and political power not love for Glauce, which is immoral. The final similarity between the two characters is regret. Jaso n ends up in deep regret for his action for the outcome is the death of his new wife Glauce and his children as fountainhead as his almost social castration as a result. He learns that egocentricity leads to self-destruction for you lose sight of other peoples feeling and dont take them into consideration. Where Jasons Character differs from Pechorin is in respect to his feeling place in the work and his inability to except his faults. Jasons only real sign of emotion throughout the play is the within respect to the murder of his children.What? Killed my sons? That word kills me.ii This shows the pain he must have felt inside with this loss. Jason likewise seems to have an inability to admit his faults. He is blinded by his self-involvement, which is evidence of insecurity for living in your own world protects your from reality. Finally I feel that Jasons role in the play is more of a villain, which could be because the play is mainly Medeas view. A template of how not to get caug ht up in shallow insecurities, where as Pechorin in A Hero of Our Time is represent as more of a modern Hero where he has faults which make him easier to relate to and a much more believable character.Pechorin is also a portrayed with an immoral and selfish attitude in the Novel, A Hero of Our time. Yet Pechorin is given a lot more human characteristics and is described in much more detail with points probing on the physiological aspects even though its just pre-Freud. It was written 2332 years after Medea from a different culture and is a much larger work indeed is bound to be different in style. Pechorin is definitely as selfish as Jason is, if not more so. He uses all his so-called romantic relationships to gain control and domination over the hearts of young women. Firstly with Bela he trades her for a Horse he stole.How immoral is firstly stealing and then trading a women as an object? Because of this her father is killed and her brother rides off so shes left with literally nothing. He curtly got worldly of her and barely felt anythin at her death. Later on in his relationship with Princess Mary he is similarly selfish. He wants Princess Mary for shes in utmost demand as wee as a challenge and he feels the need to win her, in part of this was due to his old friend Grusnitski who also desired Mary. Pechorin saw this as a challenge and didnt even consider the effect it would have on Mary and Grusninski and didnt really care for hes caught up in his own world. He even sets out to destroy Grusnitskis reputation and ends up killing him.He is also very immoral in respect to the intercession of friends such as Maxim Maxyvich. He is disrespectful towards Maxim for he feels that he is now old and useless to him, which is shown at their unexpected reunion where Pechorin is very selfish and immoral. Pechorin also experiences regret like Jason in Medea, but his regret builds up and turns into bitterness. Passions are merely ideas in their initial stage. They are the property of youth, and anyone who expects to feel their thrill throughout life is a fool.iii Pechorin has not been able to find true passion or love throughout his life. He has quickly got bored of every relationship he has been in and is bitter to the fact that true love has never found him. Evidence that he could once feel emotion would lie in when he felt joy in the memory of the sulphur springs.Now this has forced him to become callus and use everyone to hide from his empty-bellied heart. However Pechorin does admit he has faults, Ambition has been crushed in me by circumstances, but it comes out in another way, for ambition is nothing more than a lust for power and my chief delight is to dominate those around me.iv But doesnt justify them or even try to change. I believe his self-analysis is shallow and this ties in to his duality as a person, which prevents him from expressing emotion. For a long time now Ive lived by intellect, not feeling. I weigh and analyse my emo tions and actions with close interest, but complete detachment. There are two men within me one lives in the full sense if the word and the other reflects and judges him.v Finally I feel that Pechorin is portrayed more as the new Hero of our Time.vi Who isnt old fashioned but strong and unconventional with human faults that we can relate to therefore hes definitely the protagonist of the novel and an affective character.