Oedipus Beginning

         Oedipus Tragic Hero Elements

             Oedipus' hero status is shown through others' diction and the manner in which they speak to him. Oedipus asks the current situation in Thebes and a priest replies to him in a way that indicates hero status. The priest says, "Oh Oedipus, king of the land, our greatest power!" (Sophocles, 264). The fact that the pries recognizes Oedipus as not only "king of the land", but also "our greatest power" shows that Oedipus is in a position of great power and respect (hero status). Later the priest also talks to Oedipus in a way that makes Oedipus god-like. The priest says, " Now we pray to you. You cannot equal the gods, your children know that, bending at your altar. But we do rate you first of men" (Sophocles, 264). Praying to Oedipus shows just how much people value him, and his contributions as a society. Also the priest says, they rate him "first of men", which also displays Oedipus' hero status. The hero status of Oedipus is depicted by others' words spoken about him.
             The hamartia in the story of Oedipus is when he calls upon Tiresias to get told the truth. The hamarita is the event that marks the start of the downfall for the protagonist. For Oedipus this is when he calls on Tiresias to hear who the murderer of Laius is. After much questioning Tiresias reveals, " You are the curse, the corruption of the land" (Sophocles, 278). Oedipus wants to find the murderer of Laius, however he has no idea it is him, and by questioning who did the murder reveals that he himself did it. Tiresias also later reveals that Oedipus will have a massive downfall. He says, " No man will ever be rooted from the earth as brutally as you" (Sophocles, 280). While Tiresias may have been exaggerating some at this point, he is still a prophet and so what he says shows that Oedipus will have a massive fall from the top of his hero status all the way to nothing. The start of Oedipus' downfall will be his calling upon Tiresias and his nagging of Tiresias for the truth.

LotF Group Poster Analysis

        Ralph, as an allegorical element, plays the role of the leader and one of the rational minds. When there is an election for chief Golding writes, "Ralph counted, "I'm chief then" (Golding 34). Ralph's status was that of chief after that moment, and he played the leader for a long time as well. The next excerpt is when Ralph is in a state of sadness after a series of societal failure and shows some of his analytical ability."He found himself understanding the wearisomeness of this life, where every path was an improvisation and a considerable part of one's walking life was spent watching ones feet" (Golding 76). Ralph's thoughts show that he has lost a large portion of his innocence because not only is he sad when the other boys are somewhat happy but he is sad because he has to play the parent to the group of kids, and take all the responsibility. Ralph is a leader of the group and has a large logical capability.

       Loss of innocence is a recurring theme in Golding's Lord of the Flies. When talking about Piggy snapping on everyone after they fail to keep the fire going Golding writes,"The knowledge and the awe made him savage" (Golding 44). Golding's words show how Piggy lost his innocence, Piggy became savage when he became aware of his circumstance (" knowledge") ,and when the gravity of his circumstance hit ("awe"). James Baldwin spoke about the loss of innocence, "People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own destruction, and anyone who insist on remaining in a state of innocence long after that innocence is dead turns himself into a monster" (James Baldwin). Baldwin says that the loss of innocence is to protect yourself "People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own destruction", and that staying innocent after your innocence is gone makes you monstrous. Loss of innocence is something that happens when a change is needed to protect one's self, and it happens frequently in the book to differing degrees to almost every character.

      In Lord of the Flies, the society of the boys depends on the ethics of the individual just like every society. In the first assembly of the boys Ralph is trying to speak and Golding writes, "Ralph waved the conch, "Shut up. Wait. Listen"" (Golding 37). Ralph needed to speak, and so all members of the society needed to be quiet to hear the message; a good example of society depending on the ethics of every individual. Later, when the shelters need to be built the "hunters" don't help at all and Ralph remarks, "You wouldn't care to help with the shelters, I suppose" (Golding 50). Ralph illustrates indirectly that everyone needs to help building shelters for the sake of the society and for everyone's well being. The society of the boys in Lord of the Flies depends on the ethics of the individuals to get big tasks done and to function.

Much like a society a chain relies on indiviual units to be strong

Lord of the Flies Leadership and Corruption

                 In William Golding's Lord of the Flies there is an orginization of the leadership of the boys' society, shown by Ralph and Piggy. In the real world there is also and organization of high up leaderships.One article writes, " His role included crafting policy and communicating the President's message in coordination with President Obama, the Obama Administration speechwriters, and the White House communications team." The excerpt is talking about the President of the United States of America's long-time senior advisor David Axelford and his role as advisor to the president. This role is similar to Piggy's job in relation to Ralph. Golding writes, "We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They'll come when they hear us-... You try, Ralph. You'll call the others" (Golding 15). Piggy's actions show that he acts as an advisor to Ralph because he gives him advice on what to do, much like real-life political advisors.

            






 Golding also depicts corruption and abuse of power using the character and allegorical element Jack. Numerous politicians misuse power in all kinds of situations, like for example, Texas Governor, Rick Perry. One article describes," A grand jury indicted Mr. Perry on Friday on two felony counts for allegedly improperly threatening to veto $7.5 million in funding for the Travis County Public Integrity Unit, which handles political-corruption investigations in Texas, if Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg didn't resign following an arrest for drunken driving." This quote shows obvious misuse of power to further a personal agenda, which can also be found in Lord of the Flies. Mirroring numerous politicians Jack, serving as an allegorical element, also misuses power to further a personal agenda. Jack says, "But I shall! Next time! I've got to get a barb on this spear! "We wounded a pig and the spear fell out. If we could only make barbs- " We need shelters" (Golding 50). Jack wants to kill a pig to have satisfaction and to appear powerful despite the need for shelter that the whole has. This is actually harrowingly close to how childish many real-life, large-scale cases of corruption are. Jack is very similar to a real-life corrupt politician in his chilidish misuse of power.



Bibliography

Works Cited

"Former Obama Strategist David Axelrod to Write Memoir." Chicago Tribune. N.p., 10 Apr. 2013. Web. 09 Feb. 2015.

"Texas Gov. Rick Perry Booked On Abuse-of-Power Charges." The Wall Street Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2015.

Links

Siddhartha Recurring Themes

             Over the course of Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse shows the theme of teaching/learning  through cyclical juxtaposition . Siddhartha has many teachers over the course of the book, this quote is talking about one of his teachers (The Buddha) and his teaching. Hesse writes “the Sublime One spoke, preaching the four basic principles , preaching the eightfold path. Patiently he trod the familiar path of his doctrine, of the examples, the repetitions"(26). While this quote does no specifically adress Siddhartha's past teachings it references by using phrases such as "familar path," or, "the repetitions." Many times earlier in the book Siddhartha has been the receiver of teachings and it is emphasized in this quote. Later in the book, after Siddhartha realizes he no longer desires any teaching, Hesse writes about Siddhartha's state. Hesse says,"Part of him was no longer present; the desire to have teachers and hear doctrine"(33). The quote shows that Siddhartha has broken the cycle of new teachers and teachings with the phrase, " Part of him was no longer present; the desire to have teachers and hear doctrine." Throughout Siddhartha, Hesse shows Siddhartha going through a cycle of teachers with juxtaposition until Siddhartha breaks the cycle willfully.
             
                Throughout Siddhartha, repetition, used by Hermann Hesse, depicts the recurring theme questions and anwers. Siddhartha repeatedly questions himself on multiple occasions. Siddhartha says, "What is meditation? What is abandonment of the body? What is fasting? What is the holding of breath?” (14). In this quote alone Siddhartha asks 4 seperate questions over the course of 4 sentences, "What is meditation? What is abandonment of the body? What is fasting? What is the holding of breath?," The quote shows how repetition is used with questioning to solidify the theme of questioning. Later in the book, Siddhartha feels as if he has answered some questions and again it is presented with repetition. Siddhartha says, “I was afraid of myself, I was fleeing from myself, I was seeking Brahman, Atman, I wished to destroy myself to get away from myself, in order to find the unknown innermost, the nucleus of all things…” (32). Siddhartha makes multiple statements in a row adressing his former questions,  “I was afraid of myself, I was fleeing from myself..." Hesse depicts the theme of answers with repetition throughout Siddhartha.

The Power of the Mind

                    The thoughts in one's brain is reality. In my experiences in life I've discovered that many physical things that translate to thoughts, like pain,  can be contolled. One of the many times when I sprained my ankle horribly I realized I consciously felt no pain simply because I chose to think I felt no pain. Despite being physically maimed and aware of it, I knew that pain was just a reaction, a signal nerves in  my body sent to my brain that was disregarded. Thought is the only lens with which people can sense physical things."Thought is real; physical is the illusion". The idea of "physical is the illusion" is very true for animals, like ourselves, because physical things are not what we sense. We sense physical things through the filter of our mind. Thought is reality because it is all we sense, physical is the illusion because it just influences thought.

Canto V Paragraphs. Before and After Revisions.

Canto V Tone Paragraph

Dante’s cruel diction fulfills Dante’s purpose of making the reader scared of and not-wanting to go to Circle Two of Hell. When Dante approaches the second circle he can begin to hear and feel the wickedness; He says,” I can hear the notes of agony In sad crescendo beginning to reach my ear; Now I am where the noise of lamentation Comes at me in blasts of sorrow” (5:24-27). In using expressions as malicious as “I can hear the notes of agony in sad crescendo,” and,” Noise of lamentation comes at me in blasts of sorrow” the noise and scene is vividly imagined by the reader to be incredibly sinister. Later in the canto constant tempest in the second circle is described by Dante. Dante writes,” The hurricane of Hell in perpetual motion Sweeping the ravaged spirits as it rends, Twists, and torments them. Drives as if to land, They reach the ruin: groaning, tears, laments” (5:30-34). Phrases like, “Sweeping the ravaged spirits as it rends, twists, and torments them,” invoke feelings of pain in the reader by being so brutally descriptive.  By using grim and pain-invoking diction in Canto 5, Dante makes the reader want to avoid ever going to Hell and its second circle.

Canto V Tone Paragraph Revised

Dante’s cruel diction fulfills Dante’s purpose of making the reader terrified of and not-wanting to go to Circle Two of Hell. When Dante approaches the second circle he begins to hear and feel the wickedness. Dante says,” I can hear the notes of agony In sad crescendo beginning to reach my ear; Now I am where the noise of lamentation Comes at me in blasts of sorrow” (5:24-27). Dante’s point in using expressions like “I can hear the notes of agony in sad crescendo,” and,” Noise of lamentation comes at me in blasts of sorrow” is so the noise and scene is vividly imagined by the reader to be incredibly sinister and horrid so the reader will try to never go there. Later in the canto Dante describes the constant tempest in the Second Circle of Hell. Dante writes,” The hurricane of Hell in perpetual motion sweeping the ravaged spirits as it rends, Twists, and torments them. Drives as if to land, they reach the ruin: groaning, tears, laments” (5:30-34). Dante’s purpose in using malicious phrases like, “Sweeping the ravaged spirits as it rends, twists, and torments them,” is to invoke feelings of pain in the reader by being so brutally descriptive.  By using grim and pain-invoking diction in Canto 5, Dante makes the reader want to avoid ever going to Hell and its second circle.

Connection of Cambell to Lion King

      The call to adventure in The Lion King has a strong correlation to Joseph Cambell's idea of a hero being someone from whom something has been taken. In The Lion King the loss of Mufasa is the thing that has been taken from Simba. "The usual hero adventure begins with someone from whom something has been taken."(Campbell 152) Cambell is speaking about the start of the adventure, or the call in which something has been taken. After the death of Mufasa Simba has had something taken from him; he then must go off on the adventure to fill the void that the loss of Mufasa has left. The loss of Mufasa is a good illustration of the thing which is taken away from heroes during the call.
       Cambell's theory of trials testing the hero for his worthiness of being a hero closely relates to the crossing of the threshold in The Lion King. Simba's crossing of the threshold when he admits he must face his past is only after the test of facing his father and Rafiki; in which he proves that he is ready to face his past and become king by showing Rafiki, the ghost of his father, and himself that he has grown up and matured."The trials are designed to see to it that the intending hero should really be a hero. Is he really a match for the task? Can he overcome the dangers? Does he have the courage, the knowledge, the capacity, to enable him to serve?" (Campbell 154)When Simba is tested his father and Rafiki show him verbally that he has the courage, confidence ,and readiness for the confrontation with his past and Scar. The test was mostly seeing if Simba was mature and ready to stop hiding from his past, the result of this test showed Simba that he was ready rather than any outside entity. The tests that Simba undertook demonstrate Cambell's notion of trials testing a hero's warrant or readiness for the deed that must be done.
       The concept of the physical deed in battle being the climax that Campbell articulates reflects The Lion King accurately. The ordeal in the Lion King is the fight between the hero (Simba) and Scar, the antagonist. "There are two types of deed. One act is the physical deed, in which the hero performs a courageous act in battle or saves a life. The other kind is the spiritual deed, in which the hero learns to experience the supernormal range of human life and then comes back with a message." (Campbell152). The quote is about the kinds of deeds that are commonly performed that are considered heroic. Simba's fight with Scar where he acts courageously to defeat him and subsequently rights the wrongs that happened to the kingdom and complete his adventure is a great example of a courageous act in battle that is considered heroic. It's heroic because Simba deed accomplished something for his kingdom which is bigger than himself. The ordeal in The Lion King between Simba and Scar is a good illustration of Campbell's idea of a courageous act in battle being heroic.