Author: Adam

Homer Odyssey

The thing that I enjoyed most when reading The Odyssey was the way they created Odyyseus to not necessarily be all good, but be cunning and sly as well. The creativity of the general poem was very entertaining and interesting to read as well. The reason why the poem was so entertaining, was because of the use of different figures of speech that added more life to the writing.

The Odyssey was an overall enjoyable read, but it could get confusing at times. The writing is a translation so at times it was difficult to make sense of. Also, the poem: The Odyssey, is a higher level of writing than I typically read and am used to. Another thing that bugged me while reading this translation of The Odyssey, is that it took upon an opinion of religion, mostly Christianity.

Something that surprised me while reading The Odyssey was the use of the gods. An instance for this would be Athena following Odysseus around during the poem, but during those times, the Greeks would see someone that is wise, as somebody well-liked by Athena. This brings back how the Greeks thought and their interpretations of people being super strong, smart, athletic, fast, etc…

 

Paper one pastiche

Passage 1

At such a time the boy found out for certain, that this space filling with people was an intersection where new roads met; and that Jacob was just the friend in his head, and Greg was never there and never real; and that the boy in my dreams, with the fancy shoes, and nice white T, did not exist, and never will, and that the black asphalt roads stretching on incessantly, weaving and winding, illuminated only by street lamps and stop lights, with cars of all shapes and sizes zooming and zipping on the black asphalt; and the storefronts flanking either side, and people busying themselves with wants and desires, walking to and fro without a thought for the young boy of only ten; looking up to the sky with his hands outstretched, he wished for a better life or a helping hand.

Passage 2

A frightened boy, missing the clothing to suit his torso, with nothing but hunks on his feet. A boy whose hair was mangled and knotted, and a face without a set of teeth, and a façade of 40, and the eyes of a boy of ten, and a crusty rag falling round his collar. A boy who had been tossed in rubbish, and bathed in the sun, and dozed on cement, and avoided by eyes, and looked down on by stilettos; a boy who hunched, and baked, and pleaded, and groaned; and whose mind dreamt of a life without struggle as he raised his hands and asked for a penny.

Does Antigone match Aristotle’s description of a tragedy?

Antigone matches Aristotle’s description of a tragedy. Antigone was just a normal girl that was neither extremely unfortunate nor fortunate. She loses everything because of her brothers’ deaths, which were both out of her control. Aristotle’s version of a tragedy is the worst thing happening to a normal person without a reason or cause, and the story Antigone is the perfect fit. “The power of fate is a wonder, dark, terrible wonder— neither wealth nor armies towered walls nor ships black hulls lashed by the salt can save us from that force.” (pg. 108 Sophocles). This proves that Antigone was not all that special and was instead just like any other person. She could relate to anyone. Another example is the story of Antigone is king Creon, who at the end of the play ends up losing everything he loves. “…god came down and struck me—a great weight shattering, driving me down that wild savage path, ruining, trampling down my joy. Oh the agony, the heartbreaking agonies of our lives.” (pg. 124 Sophocles). This is after Creon’s son dies, it is another example of Aristotle’s description of a tragedy, Creon being a semi-normal person ends up losing all he loves because of an uncontrollable prophecy. Antigone meets Aristotle’s description of a tragedy because of the way in which both Creon and Antigone suffer from tragedies that could not be changed.


Personal Response to the three theban plays

Oedipus retells Apollo’s words “Death for the father-killer, the curse—…” (pg. 246 Sophocles). Reading this, I couldn’t help but realize the irony of the statement. Apollo was the creator of the prophecy and he is now sentencing him to be killed. The story portrays the cruelty of the greek gods in the way they mold humans to do certain things; only to have them killed. I was slightly perturbed by the use of language, seaming as it was very informal and unlike the time it took place. It is a translation so that does affect the language but even still, I believe that it should sound like older English considering how old the story really is. On the note of age, I was somewhat surprised by the ease in which the story told of a mother and son relationship because it shocked, surprised, and even made me feel uncomfortable to talk about. It leads me to wonder if the times were so different, or if Sophocles was the type of person to think of crooked stories like this. Reading the end of Oedipus the King, it finally dawned on me. Oedipus was a coward, from the start of the story to the end. In the beginning of the story, he gets told that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Instead of facing his parents and telling him what had happened with the oracle, he instead runs away. Oedipus was so caught up in fear, that he failed to realize; his foster parents might not be his real ones. Then again, when Creon accuses him of being the cities downfall, he fights back out of pure fear for his own life. In the end, he begs Creon to spare him and let him live in exile.

Abraham and Isaac

I knew of the story of Abraham and Isaac beforehand, having heard it from my parents and from the Jewish community that I went to back in California where I used to live. Re-reading this story I now remember that it was a test from God on Abraham to find out if he was faithful enough, or in the text’s words, “now I know that you fear god,-“ (12). The story of Abraham and Isaac may sound cruel however the old testament never made God out to be kind but instead the all-powerful and all-knowing who did what had to be done for the Israelites. Although there are many different interpretations on why God would make Abraham do such a horrific act. One interpretation is that it was a test and a statement showing that Judaism would stop the sacrifice of firstborns, unlike some other religions at the time.