Source Essay

Source Essay

Looking at many different sources that all relate to each other in one way or another can be very interesting in the ways that they compare and contrast each other. Shirley A. Barlow, John A. Bailey, and Mae Smethurst all have interesting perspective on women and the roles that they have in different societies. Each source is unique in that they are all different from the intended audience and facts vs. opinions, to the depth of resources they use and how they organize and state their work.

Stereotype and Reversal in Euripides' Medea, written by Shirley A. Barlow, is a great source that talks about the roles of women in society and the stereotypes that were placed on them. Barlow uses great language and word choice and writes this for people looking for a fact based opinion on women in this society. All of her observations were valid and backed with proof.

Klara Ziegler als Medea

Title page from University of Cambridge printing o...

Medea

She uses many primary and secondary resources; some from Sophocles, Aristotle, David Kovacs, and Diggle. Barlow refers to the statement Aristotle makes, "So then was Aristotle perhaps rite when in Ch. 15 of the Poetics he said that it was inappropriate for a woman to show the courage of a man or cleverness?" (Barlow, p.166). She does a great job at taking into consideration the works and opinions of other people to help prove her points. This is a great source because it extensively covers my topic on women and how they use manipulation and cleverness to achieve their goals. Barlow's writing is logically organized, easy to read, and she sticks with her main idea that women are stereotyped throughout her writing.

Initiation and the Primal Woman in Gilgamesh and Genesis 2-3, written by John A. Bailey, focuses mainly on sex and how...