The question was asked in class "which killing in the Aeschylus trilogy has been the worst?" That is a great question and we talked about it a lot, but I have another question. Which killing was the most justified?
Mallory said in class that there are two ways to look at the justification of the killings, now weather or not these are the same two classifications that Mallory used I cant remember, but I think you can either justify the killings by saying that the gods condoned it therefore it is justified, or you can test the justification through ethics. Now if your basing your justification on what the gods say then I believe that Orestes' killing of his mother was the most justified because not only was he avenging his fathers murder, but he also had the "ok" given by Apollo, which would then classify Orestes' killing as justice.
If you are trying to test the justification of the killings through ethics however, I think it is a totally different story, if you want to do it that way then I would say that Clytaemnestra's killing of Agamemnon was the most justified because Agamemnon killed his own daughter, which ethically is just down right horrible.
PS: I commented on Mallory Searcy's "Orestes, Hamlet, Simba and Socrates"
Killing someone is not justified, it is wrong. It does not matter whether or not their motives or excuses, it is still wrong. Anger and hate breed only violence, and violence breeds only despair and tragedy. The only one who has a right to judge is the one who has done nothing wrong, and that would be God.
ReplyDeleteIt's very confusing isn't it? I mean I would love to think that Clytaemnestra's killing was the worst just because she's such a terrible person, but I don't know if that's the case. I mean I really think it might have more to do with actual death rather than motive. Because Agamemnon was definitely not a perfect guy, but then again, his wife planned his murder in cold blood for ten years. Which is almost more awful than actually killing him. I think that's part of what makes the story so brilliant- there really might not be a right answer, or a more justified murder. I'm still wrestling with it all.
ReplyDeleteI completly disagree Michelle, killing is definitely not ALWAYS wrong. Murder on the other hand is, the question is whether or not Orestes' killing was murder or if it was justified. If you say killing is always wrong then you would be condeming almost every soldier in the United States Military, and I don't think you wanna be doing that. Even in the Bible in the old testament God commands the Israelite Army to kill and God would never tell someone to do wrong, that would go against everything that God is.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Orestes' killing was more justified, or at least, it was done for the best reasons. I think in this situation Orestes was forced to choose the lesser of two evils. Not killing his mother meant suffering a punishment Orestes was too frightened to even describe. Killing her would avenge his father, but it would also ignite the wrath of the Furies. Orestes was forced into his decision.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea that it is murder, not killing that is wrong. There are several instances in which God commanded people in the Old Testament to kill, but he commanded his people not to murder. The difference? I believe murder involves genuine hate. So in the instances of the characters, yes, killing was wrong on all accounts. But when it comes to God's commands to kill in the Old Testament, self defense, the military, etc, killing is not necessarily wrong.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Gary, you can't just go and say that every single death is wrong and unjustified. This is a very touchy subject and there is no definite right or wrong. No matter what someone will have a valid argument for both sides. I believe that there is a huge difference between murder and killing, just as everyone else has been saying. If you truly believe that all killing is wrong, that would mean that every soldier that has every fought in a war, person who killed in self defense, or execution as the result of a crime is wrong. I just don't see how that is possible.
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