Destiny, Free Will and Choice - The Power of Fate in Oedipus the King E

The Power of Fate in Oedipus the King The concept of fate has existed since the time of the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed very strongly in fate, which can be defined as either a power beyond human control that determines events, or the outcome or end. In "Oedipus Rex," King Oedipus lives and dies by fate. Fate influences the entire plot, thereby allowing for some interesting developments that may be unpredictable to the audience. In Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex", fate truly is a huge factor in many scenes and events.   According to ancient Greek belief, the word of God was fate, and fate was the word of God.   Therefore, every event that ever happened was predetermined and unchangeable.   Oedipus himself has been completely victimized by fate.   In the beginning of the play, he was "fated" to kill his father and marry his own mother and conceive children with her.   Since it was the word of Apollo, the god, to the Greeks it meant that it was unchangeable.   Oedipus escaped Corinth, the supposed city of his birth, and ran far away.   He happened upon an old man in the crossroads-a fated event.   Though he did not know it at the time, when he killed the man, it turned out to be his own father-a prophecy he was destined by fate to fulfill (Elsom, 85). "The heralds no sooner reported Laius dead than you appeared and they hailed you king of Thebes."   (Sophocles, 187).   Soon after he unwittingly killed his father, Oedipus happened upon a creature called the Sphinx, who posed a riddle for him.   Though none of the other great minds in the entire world could do this, Oedipus answered her riddle and destroyed her, freeing Thebes.   Thus he subsequently became king of Thebes.   What a fated chain of events! (Elsom, 86). Oedipus was ... ...s the word of God himself, many ironic events occurred due to the twists of fate.   Sophocles masterfully weaves pieces of a legend together to create a dramatic tale of fate and irony called "Oedipus Rex". Works Cited and Consulted: Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms, 7th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999. Elsom, John.   "Fate and the Imperial Dream."   World & I.   February 2000.   82-90. Ehrenberg, Victor. "Fate and Sophoclean Rulers." In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O'Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus. Trans. Robert Fagles. NY: Penguin, 1984. Yaeger, Werner. "Sophocles' Master of Fate." In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997.

Industrialized Poets Essay

Edgar Allan Poe, Walter Benjamin, and Arthur Rimbaud all lived in the turbulent 19th Century where the idyllic countryside was giving way to the industrialized world. Their poetry reflects the profound impact industrialization’s onslaught had on the world. Starting from Edgar Allan Poe, to Arthur Rimbaud and finally to Walter Benjamin this paper will discuss the effect of industrialization on their respective worldview vis-à  -vis the situation of the world during their life time. A City in the Sea By Edgar Allan Poe Lo! Death has reared himself a throne In a strange city lying alone Far down within the dim West, Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best Have gone to their eternal rest. There shrines and palaces and towers (Time-eaten towers that tremble not!) Resemble nothing that is ours. Around, by lifting winds forgot, Resignedly beneath the sky The melancholy waters lie. No rays from the holy heaven come down On the long night-time of that town; But light from out the lurid sea Streams up the turrets silently — Gleams up the pinnacles far and free — Up domes — up spires — up kingly halls — Up fanes — up Babylon-like walls — Up shadowy long-forgotten bowers Of sculptured ivy and stone flowers — Up many and many a marvelous shrine Whose wreathà ©d friezes intertwine The viol, the violet, and the vine. So blend the turrets and shadows there That all seem pendulous in the air, While from a proud tower in the town Death looks gigantically down. There open fanes and gaping graves Yawn level with the luminous waves; But not the riches there that lie In each idol’s diamond eye — Not the gaily-jeweled dead Tempt the waters from their bed; For no ripples curl, alas! Along that wilderness of glass — No swellings tell that winds may be Upon some far-off happier sea — No heavings hint that winds have been On seas less hideously serene. But lo, a stir is in the air! The wave — there is a movement there! As if the towers had thrust aside, In slightly sinking, the dull tide — As if their tops had feebly given A void within the filmy Heaven. The waves have now a redder glow — The hours are breathing faint and low — And when, amid no earthly moans, Down, down that town shall settle hence, Hell, rising from a thousand thrones, Shall do it reverence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The setting is in a city in the west ruled by death who is worshiped by all. This set is often quoted or at least used for the crafting of gothic films or at work. Death looks down upon all from his high tower, like Sauron atop Barad-Dur. The city has ‘domes, spires and kingly halls, and fanes and Babylon like walls. The poem makes a rather ironic point because the west has always been associated with good and life and the east with evil and death. For example, in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy Aragorn is the goodly Lord of the West while the Sauron commands a legion of evil Easterlings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Poe speaks of a brooding end of days when ‘the waves now have a redder glow, the hours are breathing faint and low.’ The waves turning red as a sign of hells coming because red is the color of fire and hence the color of Hell and the Devil. ‘and when, amid no earthly moans, down, down the tower shall settle hence, Hell rising from a thousand thrones, shall do it reverence. It would appear that the poem speaks of the city of death as if it were superior to Hell. Rather, as if Hell were subordinate and must pay homage. The end is a creepy scene where the Devil expresses gratitude to the devil for allowing him to come and rule the Earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As can be expected of Edgar Allan Poe the setting is dark and brooding. In relation to the modernization being experienced during Poe’s time it is quite possibly a comment on the widening gap between the rich and poor as a result of industrialization, specifically the factory system. Poe lived in the early 19th Century in his time factories were being setup left and right. People were migrating from the provinces to the cities in order to get jobs at the factories because the cottage industries they used to have were no longer viable. Instead they had to move to cities. The cities were grim gothic environs in their own right. Sanitation, Housing, and food were all in short supplies. The cities were dirty, grimy, disease ridden affairs for the vast majority of the rural immigrants. Life was short and dangerous, they lived miserable lives often working in inhuman conditions for factory owners who ruthlessly abused them. Contrast this with the capitalists who owned the factories. The newness of the factory system meant that laws were not yet in place to protect the rights of the workings. Unscrupulous factory owners worked the peasants to the hilt. Fourteen-hour work days and Six-day work weeks were not unknown. Wages were a scandal, with no wage boards or unions to protect them and with the labor being a buyers market most workers had no choice but to accept the poor wages or be unemployed. As a result, the factory owners could become oppressively rich. In fact, in the Victorian era the Nobles and the now-wealthy Capitalists mingled as equals in the lavish parties of the day. Men like Vanderbilt and Astor could afford to build Palatial estates fit for kings quite possibly at the expense of the wretched workers in their factories. In my opinion, aside from his already dark and brooding outlook and writing style, Edgar Allan Poe was inspired to write A City in the sea by his exposure to the factory system. The oppression of the workers vis-à  -vis the extreme privilege of the owner may have further jaded mr. Poe. He would is not the first, and he was certainly not the last to suggest that Hell itself will rise from the City in the Sea. Moving forward, Arthur Rimbaud’s Une Saison en Enfer or A season in hell was written at the time when he was recovering from a gunshot. The book has had considerable influence on later Surrealist writers it was considered a revolutionary work because it shunned conventional description, straightforward narrative and didactic purpose. His work revolts against naturalism, precision and objectivity. Rimbaud relies on suggestion and evocation rather than concrete depiction. For this paper we will focus on the second poem Bad blood. The poems read like the confessions of a self-confessed scoundrel. And why should it not? Rimbaud had a homosexual lover named Paul Verlaine who later shot him when they broke up. The book was direct result of his shooting and the tumults he underwent while recovering from the wound. Initially the book was unsuccessful. The poem Bad Blood, like the rest of his work, reads like the rants of a self-confessed scoundrel. He explores his pre-Christian, Gaellic origins and emphasizes his alienation from modern civilization. Scholars are at variance as to what the actual theme of his work is. However, the general consensus is that it has to do with the Narrator’s struggle to reconcile the ideals of Christianity with the Hypocrisy and Corruption of Western Civilization. There are many dualities presented and exposed for what they are. In relation to his times the Hypocrisy and Corruption was at its hilt. In those days nearly every European power had colonies overseas. All European nations, at least in the west, professed freedom and civil liberties as inalienable rights. Slavery and serfdom were obsolete and illegal in Western Europe. Yet all one has to do is leave the confines of continental Europe so see that slavery is still widely practiced. I believe that as result of modern printing and communication methods like the Morse code and the AFP news began to travel faster than it did before. This exposed Rimbaud to the many forms of Hypocrisy and Corruption that crippled the morale fiber of Europe. For example, Africans are treated as second-class citizens in their own country. They are forced to work inhumane conditions in the mines, plantations and farms of their European masters for little or no viable compensation. Civil liberties are denied to colonials to the hilt, in the Philippines the Spanish are allowed to beat up the locals just for not showing them the proper deference. In fact, he did not have to go very far. There were many reports of women and children working in English coal mines. They even went on strike to protest their inhumane wages and working conditions. Normally news from England would take days or even weeks to reach continental Europe and vise versa but thanks to the telegraph a worker’s strike in Paris can be known to Londoners as quickly as the next day. Finally, Benjamin’s work was perhaps the most heavily affected by industrialization. In fact, his book Paris, Capital of the Nineteenth Century is almost entirely about the advances and changes brought about by the rapid industrialization of the bygone century. The book outlines the changes in almost glowingly utopia perspective. This is in contrast to the dark, brooding and negative views of the previous authors. For example, the first chapter â€Å"Arcades† points out that material and social conditions that makes Arcades possible. With the advancement of capitalism, Arcades have become obsolete, replaced by the department store. As an aside, Benjamin refers to Arcades as almost utopian paradises. The next chapter about Daguerre photography mentions the role of photography in transforming art. The chapter also mentions how photos become a commodity and emphasizes the commodity trade of photographs in relation to portraits. Benjamin will later refer to this as unconscious optics. The fourth chapter points out how the rapidly industrialized world has successfully separated home from work. In the olden days of Agriculture people worked that land where they lived. In his day people traveled quite far to reach the factories and shops where they worked.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Simply put, Benjamin chronicles the changes that industrialization has brought about. It is appears he view industrialization as positive since there are few mentions of the negative aspect of it. Instead Industrialization is viewed positively as a means to improve the lives and livelihoods of people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Industrialization brought about massive changes during the 19th century. Poets and writers as purveyors and chroniclers of the people’s world-view are not isolated from these sweeping changes. These authors are just a few examples of how the great changes of their times greatly affected their styles.

An Analysis of George Orwell’s Essay Why I Write Essay

George Orwell and Joan Didion, in their essay, â€Å"Why I Write,† imply that writing has affected each author to abdicate adversity and to accept failure. Orwell and Didion support their implications by explaining how each author attempted to embrace the abstract ideas in writing, but learned to view themselves as mediocre writers, neither good nor bad, whose self-reflection in writing produced a solemn atmosphere. Their purpose is to educate the reader on relevant motives and authenticity associated with writing to help them conceive a profound piece of work through self-reflection. Both authors establish a formal but moderately depressing tone, appealing to young Americans who hope to become writers. George Orwell, in the essay, â€Å"Why I Write† utilizes the rhetorical strategy of explanation in order to effectively deliver his message to the attending audience. Orwell, at first, introduces a statement about his childhood and his ambitious goals to become an inspiring writer. Suffering from depression and solitude during his adolescent years, Orwell often constructed solemn pieces of literature in order to reflect upon his current lifestyle. This idea of self-reflection assisted Orwell in becoming an exalt writer. Through exemplification, Orwell introduced the â€Å"four great motives for writing. † Orwell reflects upon the subject of sheer egotism, arguing that writers often write to be remembered. The author further elaborates on this idea, stating that serious writers care more about personal self-reflection than making money. In the motive of aesthetic enthusiasm, Orwell views himself as a moderate writer, illustrating how writers make their writing sound and look good by appreciating the aesthetics. The author eventually provides an example for these motives, by appealing to the pathos in his Spanish-civil war poem, often concentrating on emotion and expressing remorse. Through explanation, George Orwell was able to effectively deliver his message to the attending audience. Joan didion, in the essay â€Å"Why I write,† utilizes the rhetorical strategy of explanation to appeal to her audience. Joan introduces her essay with the topic of self-reflection, by illustrating the act of saying I. In addition, Joan elaborates on this idea of self-reflection, explaining how writing allowed her to create a mind of abstract ideas. Similar to Orwell, Joan experienced several obstacles that impeded her writing. The author focuses on a particular issue, in which Didion became distracted while writing. The author reflects upon this idea, by providing an example of how her attention diverted simply to a â€Å"flowering pear outside her window† or the â€Å"lights on in the Bevatron† while writing at Berkley. Didion additionally conveys her attitude towards these distractions, often wondering why such events occur. As a result, Joan often ponders upon the abstract ideas in order to enhance her writing. Through the use of explanation, Joan didion was able to effectively deliver her message to the attending audience. George Orwell and Joan didion, in their why I write, employ the rhetorical strategy of explanation in order effectively attend to their audience. Though each author provided examples in order to support their implication, their appeals to pathos and emphasis on pondering the abstract ideas in writing further attracted their audience.

Lion of the Desert

Lion of the Desert Reflection Rebellion spearhead as well as a teacher, Omar Mukhtar was a clear leader. During the brief peace talk in â€Å"Lion of the Desert,† the first demand Mukhtar wanted for his people were Muslim schools. Other requirements for peace that were requested were national protection, national parliament, and return of the lands taken from the people of Libya. Mukhtar was first a teacher, when reading, reflecting or teaching he wore his glasses. Mukhtar balanced them gently on his finger, when speaking to a class of young boys, illustrating importance of balance within the Koran.A young boy whose father was killed while fighting, clumsily puts on Omar’s glasses, it is consoling for the boy as Omar seeks a role model and new hope for him. After the father dies, the guidance of Omar shows the importance of a male influence in the boy’s life and within Islam. At the moment Muhktar picked up a gun, he transformed into the leader of the rebellion. In acts of insurgence Omar was guided by his religion and teaching. After a small victory, the men took the flag from the caravan and presented it to Omar as a trophy.Mukhtar simply responded, â€Å"They are not our teachers, he is a boy, tell your general†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and he returns the flag to the surviving Italian soldier and sends him back, as opposed to killing him. In contrast, on the scene of General Graziani’s victory, he has sand goggles on as well as wearing a flag as a cape. He is then presented with a flag raising ceremony to declare their dominance of the area. When ambushed by a gas attack Mukhtar loses his glasses, just as his comrades have fallen dying or injured. Shortly after, Graziani constructs a massive barbed wire fence to block the rebels from supplies and refuge.Muhktar then says, â€Å"What is wire to the will of God? † guiding his forces on principle and the teachings of the Koran. The nationalist rebellion also adheres to their religion whe n tying their legs to remain in the face of an attack. Islamist teaching includes the concept of jihad or self-sacrifice for the sake of the cause. Their tied leg prevented the men from retreating or running away. In the end, when Graziani offers to release Muhktar if he were to relinquish his rebellion and beliefs, Muhktar refuses.He lays down his life in order to protect his convictions. His glasses were returned to him by Graziani and Muhltar puts them on to read a passage from the Koran, moments before his hanging. As Omar drops from the gallow, his glasses drop from his clenched hand. They are retrieved by the young boy that had earlier put them. Illustrating the assertion made by Muhktar to Graziani, that the rebellion against the Italian’s would continue and as each man is killed the younger generation will rise to fill their place.

Granada Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Granada - Assignment Example In another ruling the International Court of Justice suggested that the right to self-defense could be invoked in an isolated low-intensity strike.4 Regardless there is a general standard that is safe for self-defense and where authorized by the UN Security Council force may not be used against another state not even for the purpose of â€Å"rescuing one’s nationals abroad, saving aliens from widespread deprivation of human rights† or as a pre-emptive strike â€Å"against a grave but distant threat†.5 The doctrine of ‘opinio juris sive necessitatis’ which allows an opinion of law or a necessity of law together with â€Å"state practice† dictates that the exceptions to the use of force in international law are far more flexible than they were when the UN Charter 1945 came into being.6 Since the end of World War II, the world has changed significantly to the extent that threats may be perceived differently. The invention of nuclear weapons, an i ncrease in international human rights, â€Å"and the emergence of global terrorism† have â€Å"significantly affected attitudes toward permissible uses of force†.7 In assessing current conditions in the world today, Durant and Durant maintain that international law as it is currently constructed cannot adequately regulate peace and security. A State â€Å"must be ready at any moment to defend itself† and â€Å"when its essential interests are involved† a state â€Å"must be allowed to use any means it considers necessary to its survival†.8 Controversy and debate continuously challenged whether or not there are limitations on the right to self-defense. For example, when the US proposed the Kellog-Briant Pact of 1928, the Pact stated that no prohibition on war could restrict the right of a â€Å"sovereign state† to use force in self-defense.9 A similar statement was made by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in 1948 which est ablished that state sovereignty alone made self-defense an inherent right.10 The international law on the prohibition against war and the right to self-defense is therefore contested. If the doctrine of opinio juris and state practice creates customary international law, it can be argued that virtually any threat, regardless of how serious might be interpreted as a situation in which the right to self-defense can be invoked. Moreover, if state sovereignty prevails, the inherent right to self-defense gives states the authority to use force against another state for any number of reasons including pre-emptive strikes, or rescuing nationals, or any other purpose that can be peripherally justified, provided the state is protecting its sovereignty. The Invasion of Grenada The US’s invasion of Grenada is just as â€Å"controversial† as the international law prohibiting war except in self-defense.11 When the decision was made to invade Grenada in 1983, it was justified on the grounds that American citizens were in danger and it was necessary to restore peace after a coup. However, it was well-known that the primary goal was to stop the spread of communism anywhere near

Frederick Douglass Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Frederick Douglass - Essay Example He was orphaned at the age of seven when his mother died and thus was forced look after himself and to mature very quickly, learning to read and write under the tutelage of a woman in Baltimore who eventually purchased him. In 1838, Douglass escaped to New York City, changed his last name to Douglass, and married Maria Bailey, free women whom he had met while still in Baltimore.2 Douglass was privileged to be educated by his owner. However, he suffered the hardships of slavery and oppression firsthand, lending him expertise on the subject that no number of-even highly educated-white men could hope to match. Therefore, his insight on the subject, expressed eloquently through his writing and lectures, became pivotal in the dialogue about slavery and the abolitionist movement. Douglass began lecturing in 1841 and soon after was hired by the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society to act as an agent on their behalf. He would spend the rest of his life in that capacity: writing, lecturing and publishing anti-slavery literature. Douglass became free during a point in history in which both the Abolition and the Women's Right's movement were gaining both power, and followers. He was associated with many important figures of the age including, Susan B. Anthony, Abraham Lincoln, and William Lloyd Garrison.3 His contacts, not limited to peers of the same racial background as himself, served as a growing network of potential supporters. At the very least, his rhetoric was disseminated all the more quickly along these liens of communication, ensuring that his ideas-credited to him or not-reached the general public quickly. He not only influenced how the public perceived free people of color, but how they ran the abolition movement, and the women's rights movements, by affecting the manner and one of the discourse. Douglass was known for how vehemently he disagreed with those people he called his friends. A disagreement with William Lloyd Garrison in the 1860's resulted from the inevitable conflict between the demands of Douglass, an African American anti-slavery agent for equal pay and treatment, and Garrisons' political wheeling and dealing. Both Garrison and his assistant Maria-Weston-Chapman would frequently attempt to divert Douglass from his fight for equality by characterizing him as being less than human. Oddly enough this was typical of the anti-slavery movement at the time. African American abolitionists were often relegated to playing small public roles in the abolitionist movement, while their white counterparts spoke with bravado about their upcoming revolt against slavery.4 Douglass, rather than kowtow entirely to this attitude, Douglass kept speaking what he felt to be the truth about slavery, abolition, and the movement toward basic human rights for all people. Had he simply shrunk from his oppressors, surely the tide of change would have been slowed measurably if not stalled. This is not to assign too much importance to one man, but merely to recognize the reaches of his influence at this time. His voice was heard through his speaking and writing by

Portofolio for proffesional development in education Essay

Portofolio for proffesional development in education - Essay Example Accordingly, I have carried out the following assessment of the teaching methodology I used. As per my tutor, there needs to be a greater knowledge base which would have the strong support of evidence throughout the assessment. I have done so by making use of theories that have been supported by various scholars so as to support each of the arguments I have put forth in the process of discussing and assessing the learning approach I have use. These include theory and practice relationship within teaching methodology as well as the learning outcomes of the learning approach used by me. These have been summed up as the evaluation in the conclusion. These elements of assessment have been used an integral part of the assignment rather than separate features, as pointed out by my tutor. To begin with, there has been a substantial amount of learning that I have managed to garner from the classes. Yet, the classes showed me that there is a lot to be desired in terms of definition of areas that signify real worthwhile learning. There also seems to be a confusion of thoughts with a plethora of concepts like globalization flying around. This has shown that there has been a steady merging of lines throughout the world with the convergence of theory and practice. ... With an increase in the phenomenon known as globalization and the wide use of technology as a complementary feature, human society has changed and the needs have increased manifold. This has been used in the teachings regarding acute pain during this class. In the case of healthcare teaching, changes in the political, economical and cultural arena have challenged and effected alterations within various professions. The autonomy of professions has been under challenge because the market has tried to decrease it so to reduce their power and status. Finally, all these changes have affected and put under challenge professional education. This is further evident in the following lines as mentioned by Robert B. Reich, when he says, "In this mercantilist game, one sovereign's advance (was) necessarily at the expense of another, because the whole point of the exercise (was) to gain more power than a potential opponent." (Reich, 1991, p.14). As assessed above, there has been a convergence of theory and practice, yet there are many gaps owing to the basic fact that there is yet to be a clear cut definition of how globalization affects the meeting of theory and practice. (Reich, 1991, p.14). This will create the real platform upon which worthwhile learning may be measured. Worthwhile learning is also getting increasingly difficult to measure and there needs to be better models that can support phenomenon like knowledge management so as to support complementary phenomena like globalization. Many scholars believe that theory and practice are characterized by a clear difference because each one offers a different, not opposite, knowledge field. According to Durkheim, theory refers to the knowledge that we