In the novel Fountain and Tomb by Naguib Mahfouz, the reader is thrown into a small alley in Cairo, Egypt in the 1920s. The narrator is an adult reliving his childhood through many random, interesting vignettes of his youth. We learn about many different aspects of Egyptian life from political rebellion, to arranged marriages, to religious devotion, to gang warfare. We are led to conclude that one of the major themes of the book is Truth. We come to question whether Truth is something that always needs to be known. Will the Truth ultimately do more harm than good? Is there ever a time when the Truth must be told? Are there times when it’s better for the Truth to never be known?
Truth is constantly sought out in Fountain and Tomb. Our young narrator is often like a detective, listening attentively to conversations, making keen observations of situations, and seeking out answers to questions he doesn’t know. “The day is lovely but redolent with mystery,” our narrator says, identifying all the unknowns in the world around him (Mahfouz, 15).
An issue which is mentioned throughout the story is the concept of “Ignorance is bliss”, which is an old cliche meaning what we don’t know can’t hurt us. While massaging his naked female neighbor’s body, the narrator is asked if he’s going to tell his mother. No, he answers. “So you even know that certain things are better left unsaid! You really are a devil” (Mahfouz, 13). The neighbor makes the obvious point that sometimes there are things that don’t have to be repeated, for the benefit of all the parties involved. Some might argue that the Truth will always come out, and by hiding it someone will end up being affected by it much more later on. But that is only if the information does get repeated. Knowledge doesn’t always have to be repeated, as was shown by our narrator and his neighbor. If the narrator had told his mother, would any of the parties benefit from this knowledge?
We learn of a case where finding out the truth was a devastating experience for one family. Hag Ali Khalafawy was rich because he had stolen another man’s money. When he was on his death bed he told his son of his thievery and asked that the fortune be returned to its rightful owners. The son didn’t believe it, and his father answered, “It’s the truth, no mo...
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...hers might say. He tells our narrator, “The most important thing in the world is knowing the truth.” He goes on to remark, “The whole truth and nothing but the truth” (Mahfouz, 69). In this story, the Truth had a positive affect on the character. It gave him a new sort of freedom. He had gained a new sense of identity because of his new knowledge, and this evoked a sense of happiness in him.
In conclusion, in Naguib Mafouz’s Fountain and Tomb, we are faced with a central theme of Truth. It can be reasoned that most of the time the Truth (or knowledge) isn’t always something that it is necessary to know. The Truth can bring about happiness, prosperity, or a positive affect, but that seems to happen much less frequently. Sometimes being ignorant of the Truth is better because it makes lives easier and happier. People don’t necessarily need to know everything (the whole Truth), because what they don’t know can’t really hurt them. Truth comes with excess baggage, and it sometimes leads to conflict, hurt feelings, alienation, or broken hearts. As the old saying goes, “Ignorance is bliss.” Fountain and Tomb does an excellent job of illustrating that cliche.
Truth is an objective in a person’s life in which a journey is taken to find the answer to their question or an identity of themselves or others. In Plato’s allegory of the cave The Republic VII, Plato discusses the steps that is needed to taken to find the real truth to one’s self. These theory created by the world famous philosopher can be related to many text and life on how truth is formed. Plato relates the Republic VII to a cave and how a man must step out the darkness of the cave and its many obstacles to find real truth. Plato’s steps in Republic VII are a part of Othello by William Shakespeare in which the main character Othello face obstacles finding the truth of his wife and his friend’s loyalty. These obstacles also include stereotypes which are discussed in “Don’t Let Your Stereotypes Warp Your Judgment” by Robert Heilbroner in which studies and are given about how stereotypes affect the image of others. In Othello to form the truth in which it follows the steps of Plato’s allegory of the cave to find the truth which is manipulation, stereotyping, breaking the bonds of manipulation/stereotypes and realizing real truth.
The role of the Gogolian narrator is an unassuming revealer of what is hidden in the world. Revelations can be the world’s evils, morality, or a nation’s ultimate purpose. Gogol’s narrator is merely a puppet of his imagination and is kept within certain boundaries. Sometimes the narrator’s lack of transparency can make a story seem like a parable or folk tale like in “The Nose” and “Nevsky Prospect.” We can see this in what limited information the narrator is allowed to reveal to the reader and I will examine this theme in Gogol’s “Nevsky Prospect,” “The Nose,” and Dead Souls.
In order to sway everyone in Elsinore that Hamlet was insane, he first sells his insanity to Ophelia because he knows of her loyalty to her father. By convincing her, he would convince her father and the king. Despite his successful plan of "craziness", he severs many relationships with friends and family, especially with his believed-to-be lover. After verbally assaulting her in the castle, Ophelia takes his words "I loved you not" (3.1.117) and "...what monsters you make of them" (3.1.134-35) to heart and she feels betrayed and abandoned. Once again, the relationship is demolished. However, upon Ophelia 's death, Hamlet professes, "I loved Ophelia; forty-thousand brothers / could not match with all their quantity of love / make up my sum" (5.1.236-38). The readers learn in Act V that Hamlet 's love for Ophelia was indeed genuine despite his previous actions and words.
Polonius does not trust Hamlet and thinks he is unfit to be with her. Throughout the play Ophelia is being informed by her father Polonius and her brother Laertes
Throughout the year Professor Prudden has been teaching us the idea of the individual and when and how it came about. We have studied The French Revolution, Scientific Revolution, Colonialism, and Reformation, all stressing what made this time period important to the individual. We finished the class reading the novel Frankenstein with does a great job of demonstrating a man or “monster” creaking his own being. We have already determined that an individual is; the habit or principle of being independent and self-reliant. Mary Shelley demonstrates individuality through Frankenstein and leads to his internal isolation and loneliness. She shows that uniqueness is the most important aspect of individualism not only through Frankenstein but Victor
The novel Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson has many themes that present themselves throughout the book. One such recurring theme is a search for truth. The characters in the book do not fully realize that they are searching for truth, but they do feel a vague, "indescribable thing" that pushes and prods their minds to actualize a higher plane of thought. This search for a higher plane by the characters of Winesburg nearly parallels another literary work of ancient Greek origin- Plato's "Allegory of the Cave," which is a portion of his famous writing "The Republic." I contend that the town of Winesburg is the equivalent of the Cave in Plato's writing.
Sherwood Anderson, in his masterpiece Winesburg, Ohio was writing against the notion that stories have to have a plot which reveals a moral idea or conclusion. Like the "tales" that Doctor Parcival tells George Willard in "The Philosopher," Anderson's short stories also seem to "begin nowhere and end nowhere" (51). We as readers must, like George Willard, decide if such stories are little more than "a pack of lies" or if rather, "they contain the very essence of truth" (51). The ability (or lack thereof) of both his characters and his narrator to distinguish between "lies" and "truth" is one of Anderson's central preoccupations. The people who inhabit Winesburg, Ohio are acutely aware of the impotence of words in the face of expressing any form of truth or meaning. Words, instead, serve as obstacles in uncovering "truth." It is not only Anderson's characters, however, which comprehend the impotence of words. The narrator, as we shall see, also struggles to find words that can express "truth." It's not surprising then that "truth", in Winesburg, Ohio takes on a "vague" and amorphous shape that can be described using only the most vague and amorphous of words: "thing."
He always sought the truth. At the same time this could also be considered as a tragic flaw. Sometimes you do not need to know the truth. When you always try to find out the things that are hidden, it might not be good for you.
As the tragedy comes to a close, the truth is revealed to Oedipus concerning his lineage and unnatural actions. Although the truth had been spoken to him about these matters previously, Oedipus had chosen not to believe and understandably so. True revelation comes to Oedipus through the same slave that had been ordered to kill him as a baby.
One of the biggest questions that humans have is “what is reality”. Plato suggests that, “ we are born in illusions,” (Plato) and that the truth is initially blinding. “The Myth of the Cave,” is a narrative story about the idea of reality, it is explored though an allegory about a man finding out the truth about reality coming from a life in the dark. They can only learn about true mainly through reason and truth. The story is told as a metaphor for what happens in the natural world and how people can be stuck in the dark about reality. Plato tells the story through the voice of Socrates, his mentor.
It is a story that provides the ultimate explanation of how two different people who are witnesses to a crime give completely different psychological recollections of the same event. The author reminds us that truth depends on the telling. Someone must step forward and tell that truth.
Deep in the abysmal, rocky contours of modern-day Luxor’s western bank, a collection of dry beds host the Wadi Bidan el-Muluk, otherwise known as the Valley of the Kings (Hawass 9). Here, Ancient Egyptian workers had toiled through scorching desert heat to create a series of tombs that would house the physical bodies of their pharaohs. The choice of isolation for this complex of wadis, their towering and mammoth architecture, as well as the detailed, colorful decoration depict the significance of the tombs to the Ancient Egyptians. Built during Ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom, there are 63 known tombs, most housing the bodies and possessions of renowned pharaohs and god-kings (Hawass 24). With every new archaeological discovery and breakthrough regarding the Valley of the Kings, our understanding of Ancient Egypt continues to flourish. Without debate, the Valley of the Kings – the most majestic and culture-rich burial ground of the world – should be the museum’s next main exhibit because it remains the most important and insightful look into the life, culture, and religion of the Ancient Egyptians.
The topic of truth in itself is a paradox; if telling someone the truth will hurt him, then is it worth lying to him, creating a false reality to be comforted by? In the short story “Like the Sun” by R.K. Narayan, the theme is that similar to the sun, truth cannot be directly seen without being hurt.
At least that is what Polonius, Ophelia’s father, believes. He reads the king and queen a love letter written by Hamlet for Ophelia. Polonius, oblivious to the story behind the Hamlet’s father's death, tells them the reason Hamlet has been acting strange is because of the recent break up between him and Ophelia (II.ii.130-149). The king and Polonius agree to spy on a conversation between Ophelia and Hamlet. Hamlet is overheard telling Ophelia he did not love her. With that being said, as the conversation goes on, Hamlet tells her to join a convent and never get married (III.i.135-140). I think that Hamlet is doing this to protect Ophelia from himself because he realizes that after he kills his uncle they would have no chance to remain together. In addition to this, he continues acting strange so others will be convinced he is crazy. When he finds out that Ophelia died ,he proclaims his love for her by saying, “I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum” (V.i.221-223). While, I was left guessing for most of the play if Hamlet’s love was true, I knew that he was distraught about his broken relationship with Ophelia and her ultimate death. Hamlet’s shattered heart made him act
In the twenty -first century, teenagers live in a life of social networking and life’s online. It’s hard to believe how much the world has changed over the decades, especially in technology. Technology helps people to contact relatives and friends from long distance more easily and conveniently. People can now talk to each other from everywhere in the world simply through chat and video calls. By time, internet connections have spread throughout households and social networking such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram has increased gradually. However, the internet and several modern technologies have wasted many times and has hurt the society. Social media plays such a big role in people’s lives that some people couldn’t even imagine