The mythical king Sisyphus was sentenced the eternal punishment of pushing a boulder up a hill only to have it roll back down. Sisyphus doomed himself to this punishment for tricking Hades ,the god of death, and escaping death itself twice. Eventually when he died of old age, he began his punishment. However his punishment could also be seen in a very ironic way. Sisyphus' punishment is in a way exactly what he wanted, to be immortal. By pushing the boulder up the hill in a never ending trial, he in turn also lives forever. With this point of view it seems that however bad the punishment it was also Sisyphus' goal. Could Sisyphus actually like this punishment? Do you think Hades did this on purpose to give Sisyphus "what he wanted"? Now when a task seems never ending or a job that always must be done over again many times it is called a sisyphean task. Can you apply a sisyphean type task in your life?
I believe that Sisyphus did but doesn't enjoy his punishment. I think that at the beginning of his punishment he might have seen it as a positive. Instead of rotting in hell he get to live forever. Even with the punishment of never ending hard labor added to that, I think that at the start of his punishment he could have had a positive outlook on it. He had immortality literally because he would live forever, and immortality metaphorically because the story of his life would be forever forever remembered. I also think that after some time Sisyphus realized that he did not truly desire to be immortal. It really did become a punishment that would torment him for eternity. In my mind it was a cunning and perfect punishment for Sisyphus. Something in my daily life that is a "Sisyphean task" is schoolwork and homework. Right after I finish doing it I have a whole bunch more the next day.
ReplyDeleteI could see how Sisyphus pretty much got what he asked for, but I wouldn't say that he likes his punishment. Some people get their own words twisted into something unappealing, which is what I believed happened here. He just wasn't clear enough about what he wanted, which brings up the saying "Be careful what you wish for." What he really wanted, was to live an eternal life of luxury. One example of a Sisyphean task in my life would be homework. Every time you finish it, you get another load of it the next day.
ReplyDeleteI think that even though he is technically immortal through the stories, Sisyphus’ goal was a different type of immortality, a living, joyous, and wealth filled life. While yes, Sisyphus in theory did achieve his goal, he probably lost sight of it after his punishment started to mentally, and physically affect him. Sisyphus’ idea of immortality was to live a life similar to those of the Greek gods, rather than one of a prisoner. In addition, Sisyphus desired fame from people admiring and fearing his power, just as they did to the gods, he did not desire fame for his punishment and the fact that the Hades caught him. The reason Sisyphus’ scheme with his wife involved raising him from the dead, probably resulted from his fear of a bleak and dull death. Hades possibly gave Sisyphus this specific punishment to eternally mock him, not reward him for managing to trick him. The gods were vengeful, they would not reward for someone making a fool out of them.
ReplyDeleteI think that Sisyphus did not enjoy his punishment because even though he did turn immortal, the fact that he has to do the same thing everyday which would be boring. Even though he did become immortal, he probably does not enjoy pushing a rock up and down a mountain. I don't think that he wanted to do this punishment forever even though he was immortal. I think Hades gave him this punishment on purpose because he wanted to show him that you would have to suffer everyday and you would never die because you have to do the punishment. A Sisyphean task that happens to me is when sometimes I can't stop studying for tests. It makes me keep pushing the rock up and over again because whenever I am done studying I always tend to forget what I just studied and I have to start all over again. I think the Sisyphus deserved the punishment he received for eternity.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Sisyphus definitely did not like his punishment. I can not understand why anyone would be happy with reaching success, only to have it ripped away from them repeatedly for all of eternity. Sisyphus may have felt happy about successfully cheating death, but I do not think that one can classify pushing a boulder up a hill for eternity as living forever. Sisyphus still ended up in the Underworld where all dead people in Ancient Greece went; however, he obtained an extra amount of punishment for his wrongdoings during his life. I think that Hades' punishment for Sisyphus had some metaphorical meaning, but I do not think it was meant to be seen like living forever. I think that Hades' punishment was supposed to show Sisyphus that no matter how many time he attempted the impossible, he would still fail and have to start his journey over again. I would classify a Sisyphean task as something that leads to procrastination for a lot of people. Procrastination is a Sisyphean task/obstacle that I find myself constantly having issues with. I can always find something more entertaining to do instead of homework, so sometimes it can be hard to study with so many distractions around me. Also, sometimes when I feel especially lazy, exercise can seem like a Sisyphean task. I think that a big part of your career as a young adult is to learn to overcome these Sisyphean tasks, and to focus on the more important things in your day.
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