Aeschylus. The Oresteia. Trans. Richmond Lattimore. Ed. David Grene and Richmond Lattimore. Chicago: University of Chicago Press 1953.
Prometheus takes the human side in the negotiation because he sympathizes with their ongoing struggle for survival and also intends to make the world a better place. Prometheus realized that it was his duty to aid the humans when he “found them living in caves, and in holes of the Earth, shivering with cold because there was no fire…” (Baldwin et al. 1). Prometheus empathizes with the humans’ struggle for survival as they do not have fire or any of the techniques needed to survive. This follows the theme of someone of a higher status wanting to give the same opportunities that he/she had to someone of a lower
David W. Tandy and Walter C. Neale (edd. and trans.), Hesiod's Works and Days: A Translation and Commentary for the Social Sciences. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996. Pp. xiv, 149.
Okonkwo crumbled under the newly developed society of the white man in Umofia. He could no longer act on his fury, vehemence or impetuousness, because acting in those non-compliant ways got him no further advancement and was frowned upon. Okonkwo lost his mental composure and everything in his life went to pieces because of it. His lack of sensitivity and understanding of those different from him handicapped his entire life. Okonkwo’s strength was further proven to have many fallacies because he was not strong in the important aspects of having composure and not acting on impulse. He could no longer control the people around him, nor his own life so he became misfortune of a classic tragedy.
Bierce broke this story down into three parts. The first part of the narrative creates an atmosphere with the setting at Owl Creek Bridge. Great detail is told here as to who is present at the scene, what is happening, what the scene looks like, etc. But the reader only receives ideas and thoughts from one person, Peyton Farquar. The first part as like the other two parts of this story is written very systematically and clear. Even with such a structured set up, the author still manages to put great anticipation and fearsome emotion into the near end of the first part of this story. At this point the author makes the reader think Peyton is devising a way to set his hands free from the rope thereby beginning his journey to escape home.
Things Fall Apart is by the widely acclaimed African author Chinua Achebe. The story told is a tragic one of a person by the name of Okonkwo who's own stubborn views about what it is to be a man leads to his own demise. Okonkwo is often compared by people to the tragic hero like those in Greek tragedies. This is probably the primary way in which the text is interpreted but I feel Achebe is trying to make another point as well through the story. Achebe received inspiration to write the novel from a poem written by an Englishman by the name of William Butler Yeats. The title of the poem is The Second Coming. The poem talks about anarchy that is upon the world during the present time and how things will change with the 'second coming." During this 'second coming'; the chaos that is prevalent will end finally after two thousand years. Achebe uses this poems basic idea by creating the story of Okonkwo who lives in a chaotic and barbaric world. To outsiders who are observing Okonkwo's people, they may certainly seem uncivilized in many ways. Achebe symbolizes the end of this anarchy in Okonkwo's society by the introduction of Christian missionaries who pacify the Ibo people and ultimately cause the death of Okonkwo. I believe Okonkwo is the last and final source of chaos that is finally muted to bring civility to the people.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge uses dramatic irony, imagery and time to piece this short story together in a compelling way that brings the readers through the text in a swift, but gentle movement. Bierce is also protesting the Civil War going on in the United States as futile and inhumane. He produces a timeless piece that can be related to present times and times to come. He maintains control throughout the entire work and uses the element of surprise to the benefit of his work. Bierce’s ability to create a dramatic, detailed story using imagery and irony to establish a vibrant mental image and produce the well-written short story of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.
Branscome, David, comp. "Greek Hesiod, Theogony, Lines 1-210 "invocation to the Muses and Creation" [Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Tr. Hesiod, Theogony and Works and Days. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914.]." Ancient Mythology East and West. Print.
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is written by Ambrose Bierce with a plot that has a very unique twist to it. The fictional story takes place during 1860’s during the Civil War. Farquhar the main character in the story was caught trying to destroy the bridge and is sentenced to death by being hanged. The story is very thrilling because of the amounts of flashbacks including the settings, Farquhar’s senses. An Occurrence of Owl Creek Bridge presents the readers with many themes throughout the fictional story. Reality and illusion is one of the themes, the theme shows us that the character is trying to make his main problem go away by making and thinking of a happier moment. Time is another theme this is showing us that the story
In the short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” Bierce theme is that life is not always a fairytale. Real life is sometimes interrupted by tragedy and does not always have a happy ending. Bierce’s sarcastic tone gives off the idea that he is making fun of fairytail dreams. “Their movements were grotesque and horrible, their forms gigantic”(486), describing the soldiers setting up to shoot at Peyton and emphasizing the hard truth about war. It is grotesque and horrible. People kill and people die, but then each and every bullet just perfectly misses Peyton while he maneuvered his way through the water. This created an illusion of almost impossible superhero-like qualities that Peyton seemed to have, but this was imagined. This dream-like state foreshadowed that it was not real and was more of a fairytale. This contrast between reality and fairytale is what makes the theme so vivid at the end of the
Shelly’s use of the Prometheus myth combines the two versions of the legend, Prometheus the “fire-stealer” and Prometheus the “life-giver”. According to the Ancient Greeks, in the first version of the myth, the Titan, Prometheus, in rebellion against Zeus, took fire from the sun and gave it to humankind to warm them and enable them to make tools and weapons, thereby allowing them to rise above other animals. Zeus was incensed by Prometheus’ disobedience, and as punishment, ordered Prometheus chained to a rock, where his liver was eaten by eagles each day and restored each night so that his torment could be prolonged for eternity.
Both the poems of Hesiod’s tell of the curse of Pandora and both have Prometheus as the main character. Prometheus in both is the cause of why Zeus inflicted
Euripides. Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus. Diane Arnson Svarlien and Robin Mitchell-Boyask. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2007.
Since the setting of this story took place in Alabama, we know that there was a great deal of animosity between the North and South. Peyton asked a soldier that approached him and his wife about news from the front while his wife ran to get him some water. The soldier told Peyton that someone could possibly set a fire under the bridge because of all the dried driftwood there and that the bridge was only guarded by one person. We know that this was an attempt by the union to eliminate a steadfast southern supporter because of the last line, "He was a Federal scout." (par.17) I find it very odd that the couple would be so eager to speak with this soldier u...
Who was the person that was responsible for bringing fire to mankind? Prometheus. Who was chained to the top of a mountain and had his liver ate every day? Prometheus. Prometheus was a part of a group of might Gods known as Titans. Hesiod the poet called Prometheus a trickster and a troublemaker because he was always tricking others. He was a person that was smart that advised that the Titans use a plan before they entered the war because he felt it was smart in order to avoid a massive bloodbath.