Moses and Odysseus were both leaders. Moses led the Israelites to freedom away from Egypt to the promised land. This was his duty because God called him to the task. Odysseus was called to his task when the Trojan War began. He had to lead his men through the interminable war of ten years and then ten more years coming home. Moses delivered all of his people safety to the promised land while the opposite happened to Odysseus. Instead Odysseus did not display caution when it came to protecting his men, and he ended up losing every one of them and returned alone. He reached home after their chaotic journey and celebrated even though none of his men arrived with him. Odysseus probably believed in himself a little too much while Moses had no confidence before God helped him gain some. In the pictures above we see Moses parting the red seas to get his people across. And then we see Odysseus trying to protect his men against the cyclops. First of all he probably shouldn't have gotten his men involved with the cyclops in the first place but then he gloats and Poseidon curses them which contributes to the death of all his men. Many people think Odysseus is still a hero, was Moses a hero too? Odysseus was known for his cleverness and ability to think quickly in tight situations but Moses had extreme bravery to lead his people into the unknown and trust completely in God. Taking all of this into consideration who appeared as the better leader? Both of them tried to protect the people that they were leading but in different ways. In your opinion who seemed like the better leader and hero overall? Are Odysseus and Moses similar in some ways? If yes explain which qualities they have in common and what sets them apart.
“Courtney you HAVE to study for you French quiz.” I sternly told myself. I unlocked the front door and slowly pushed it open. "Mom! I'm home.” I said. My voice echoed throughout the deserted house. No reply. This was not good, I was all alone and no one was here to make sure I was going to study for my French Quiz. I unpacked my bags and plopped down on the big, comfy couch.
“Okay. You had a hard day you can watch television for 15 minutes.” I told myself. After I my 15 minutes of relaxing I pulled out my laptop. I clicked on Safari and Tumblr, my home screen, popped up. “Okay Courtney; you can spend 4 minutes on Tumblr.” I told calmly myself even though I knew I should be studying. After mindlessly reblogging pictures onto my Tumblr I looked up at the clock. My jaw dropped.I was only supposed to be on Tumblr for four minutes, not a half hour!
“Come on Courtney, you really, really need to study for your French quiz.” I aggressively murmured to myself.I took a deep breath and quickly typed Quizlet into the search bar. To be completely honest I don't know exactly what happened, but before I knew it I was browsing through my newsfeed on Facebook. As I scrolled up my newsfeed something caught my eye. "Don't miss the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Tonight!" the post read. My eye twitched.
“I absolutely have to watch the fashion show.” I anxiously told myself.
“It is only once a year! If I did not watch this then what would be next? Missing the Thanksgiving day parade?“ I thought to myself. After persuading myself I finally gave in. Within a few minutes I was sitting on the sofa with a bag of freshly popped popcorn in my hands watching the magnificent Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. After the fabulous show was over I was once again in the position I was in an hour ago. I really did not want to study for French. I sat on my bed and flipped through my binder. I stopped when a paper caught my attention. It was the paper that Ms. Fleming gave us to help guide us in writing our blog post.
“I really should work on my blog post. I mean I can study for French afterwards.” I persuasively told myself. Content on my decision I pulled out my shiny blue vocabulary book and began to flip through the pages while searching for a word that would inspire me. While I was flipping through the pages one word caught my eye. The word was procrastination. I stared at the word for a second. Was this a sign? I typed in the definition of procrastination into the Google search bar. The definition quickly popped up: procrastination- the act or habit of procrastinating or putting off or delaying, especially something requiring immediate attention. I tried to ignore the fact that I had very possibly just been given a sign to stop procrastinating and study for my quiz. Instead of heeding the very obvious sign I decided to try to find a video to accompany my blog post about procrastination. I searched through the pages and pages of procrastination videos until I found one that looked good to me. The video was of a middle aged man. The first thing he said was, “If you are watching this video about procrastination you are probably procrastinating right now.” He was right. It was eleven o’clock and I had not gotten anything done besides the life changing discovery that I really am a procrastinator. After five and a half hours I was finally ready to study. I took out all the necessary supplies to study for French and looked over the material I need to know.
“Then again I can just wake up early tomorrow morning to study.” I told myself.
Procrastination, the putting off of something you need to do, can be seen all throughout history. In 800 B.C. Hedroid, a poet, wisely wrote,
“A man who puts off work is always at hand-grips with ruin.” Why have so many people been dealing with procrastination since the beginning of time? Well we have to fight the urges to procrastinate simply because the way our brain is wired. The urge to procrastinate is a metaphorical “tug of war” between the limbic system (the unaware desire center) and the prefrontal cortex (the planner). Why is it that most people usually end up doing what they want to do instead of what they need to do? This is simply because your limbic system developed earlier and is farther developed than your prefrontal cortex which is usually not fully developed until you are in your twenties. Your limbic system tells you things like “Run!” when you are being chased. The prefrontal cortex is the newer less developed part of the brain that tells you that you have to study for the big test tomorrow. The brain is very much like the angel and devil that are often seen standing on people’s shoulders in numerous cartoon shows. Because your limbic system is more developed it is a lot easier to give in to whatever it wants to do. When you grow older you usually have better self control and discipline because your prefrontal cortex is more developed. The only way to avoid procrastination is to have self control. It may be very hard at times but you will definitely feel better once you have gotten your dreaded task out of the way. How would our society be different if everyone always gave into our limbic system and procrastinated? Which part of the brain do you think is more important and why? Do you ever think it is good to procrastinate?
In early biblical times the world had become a wicked and sinister place. All the people on earth were unholy. All of them except a man named Noah. In Genesis the bible says that Noah was the only righteous man on the earth. It then proceeds to tell us the story of how God told him to make an arc. Noah, his immediate family, and 2 of each animal on the earth, were saved from the flood that God sent down to eliminate the wicked people. I’ve have heard two renditions of minor details about this story from biblical scholars. The first is that the bible was literary saying that of all the people on earth Noah was literally the only good one. That the rest of the earth’s population was living in a way that is not pleasing to God. The other opinion of the story is that it was a metaphorical way of saying that the world wasn’t what God had intended it to be. Noah was not the only righteous person, but was just one of the few that were still serving the lord. Which of these versions do you think is more accurate and why? If everyone around you were doing things that were morally wrong would you conform to their ways or stick up for what you believe in? Why?
Previously, we saw the Sirens (illustrated to your left in a painting by John William Waterhouse) appear in the Odysssey. They are considered a cunning, blood-thirsty group of creatures intent on leading Odysseus, his crew, and many other sailors to their deaths. But we don't really get their backstory during this process. One version of their story, is that at some point, they were good friends with Persephone. When Persephone was stolen by Hades and went missing, Demeter called to the Sirens for help. Since the Sirens failed to return Persephone home, Demeter turned them into bird-like creatures and cursed them to wait on an island and call(sing) to Persephone until she was returned for good. In the poem we read this year,"Siren Song", it seemed to show us that maybe they aren't happy to be on the island. What's your opinion of how the Sirens feel on the island (Mad, happy, sad...etc.). Explain your answer. How do you think the sirens differ from other Greek mythological monsters/obstacles?
Kleos, the renown or honor in your name, kills. Soldiers go to battle knowing they will earn a respectable name . CEOs build corporations that end up exploiting workers, so that articles will be written about their success. Not all ambition for renown and honor is bad. Only when the cravings for a "good" reputation clouds your mind, and makes you unscrupulous in your search for honor. Cain and Abel, brothers, provide a solid example for when good intentions go awry. As twins, Cain was born first, and Abel was pulled out heel first after him. The culture of the time dictated that the first brother should hold favor. That was not the case. Cain was a farmer, and Abel was a shepherd. God accepted Abel's animal sacrifices with more grace. Following God's example, Adam and Eve favored Abel as well. Cain killed his brother in rage as he reached his limit of second best. Cain did not plot the murder of his brother, yet he was aware of his internal struggle to not stand in his brother's shadow. His name was not made better through his actions. Nonetheless, everyone knows who Cain is, and his actions are repeated through history as brothers kill each other for a chance at glory, honor, and recognition. The old English war, The War of the Roses was a brothers' and a cousins' war. The War of the Roses lasted for fifty years and killed thousands of men, and left their widows and children defenseless in a dangerous time. Fifty years were wasted in a power struggle for the kingdom and for honor. In the Odyssey, Telemachus is in doubt of his father's kleos. Kleos was passed down from father to son, so Telemachus's honor would be jeopardized. In his search for manhood, he attempted to learn about his father's plight, and if his honor remained intact. After he was reassured that his father had fought bravely in Troy, he returns home with more confidence in Odysseus. Once he returns home, Athena tells him that he will need to kill the suitors. The suitors, except for one, all deserve to die, but the fact remains that they are only murdered to save Odysseus and Telemachus's kleos. If you could change the rules on honor, what would you make them? For example, would you say that there are times when it is okay not to defend yourself. Or do you think there are specific reasons you should always protect your honor? Is it okay that in trying to make oneself appear virtuous that people commit crimes? Can you think of any successful, righteous people who are good examples of good kleos? Is protecting our own dignity and self-esteem worth killing for?
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?
Yes, we all know this word from Vocabulary Energizers in chapter two. But, what details create the real meaning behind this word and what can we connect it to in the literature that our class has read this semester? The word proceeds from a political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli who lived in Italy during the Renaissance. He wrote a book called The Prince, which is known as a manual for rulers on how to seize and maintain power. This book makes up a new adjective, Machiavellian. The book has to do with craftiness, described as "Machiavellian". The author counseled reliance on fear rather than love and advocated lying if necessary. He thought these methods would make a ruler stronger and teach them how to gain authority and respect. With writing this book, Machiavelli developed craftiness, double-dealing and treachery in his mind, thus creating the adjective, Machiavellian.
To begin, Machiavellian is defined as unprincipled and crafty. Now, who do you know from our reading is unprincipled and crafty? Is there more than one person who is known as crafty or unprincipled? Write about one of the characters that we have studied that are unprincipled and/or crafty. What are they like? Give some examples supporting the fact that they are unprincipled or crafty. Who else do you know who can be related to this character? Are they as unprincipled or crafty as well? Write down your thoughts!
These two paintings show very different interpretations of the Samson and Delilah story. When Samson tell Delilah the secret of his strength he says " No razor has ever been used on my head because I have been a Nazirite set apart by God since birth. If my head were shaved my strength would leave me." Do you think each painting might represent a different stage in the hero quest for Samson, even if they tell the same story? What about Delilah? Is one of the paintings a more accurate representation of her role in the story? In the painting on the top, the scissors are to the bottom left corner, near the dog. In the other painting, Delilah holds them. What do the placement of scissors tell about the stories the different artist are trying to communicate?
