Deception in Sophocles' Philoctetes and Hesiod's Theogony
For many centuries, the art of deception has been a powerful tool for achieving goals, and it has spawned the ancient debate of the ends justifying the means. In the tragedy Philoctetes by Sophocles and in Hesiod's Theogony, there are many instances of deception, particularly on the part of men in the texts. For each of them, the deceit is justified as a means of building and maintaining a reputation or obtaining power. Ultimately, however, the use of deception results in putting the men in positions of further vulnerability.
In Philoctetes, the character of Odysseus is portrayed as well accustomed to using deceit for personal gain without much consideration for morality or human compassion. He not only deceives Philoctetes himself, but he has the audacity to con Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, into doing the same. Odysseus's first deception of Philoctetes happens before his second arrival on Lemnos with Neoptolemus. Odysseus and his crew maroon the injured Philoctetes on the island with no one to help him by sneaking away while he is asleep. Odysseus explains their reasons for abandoning him:
We had no peace with him: at the holy festivals,
we dared not touch the wine and meat; he screamed
and groaned so, and those terrible cries of his
brought ill luck on our celebrations (Phil. lines 6-9).
No one is able to heal Philoctetes because his disease was inflicted on him by divine power. Nor does he have the self-control to keep quiet, even during religious ceremonies, and his lack of self-discipline reflects poorly on the group as a whole. Philoctetes's unrestrained howling during solemn occasions jeopardizes their dignity and their reputations as serious and powerful men.
Odysseus returns to Lemnos only because he realizes that, in order to sack Troy, he must have the bow of Heracles which is in Philoctetes's possession.
Emphasizing on Odysseus's time on Polyphemus's island, many of his actions are cowardly and put his men in more danger than he. For one, Odysseus watches and cheers as his men stab Polyphemus in the eye. This shows Odysseus believes his men are tools helping him to reach home, rather than companions. Also, during the men's escape from the cave, Odysseus escapes under the largest sheep of the flock....
Another instance that proves that Odysseus is a cunning person is when he is trapped in the Cyclops' cave. The Cyclops asks him his name and Odysseus tells him that his mane is "Nobody". This is a key part in his plan to escape, because he plans to kill the Cyclops but he knows that the Cyclops has friends nearby. Lines 454 through 455 shows why: "'Nobody, friends' --Polyphemus bellowed back from his cave-'Nobody's killing me now by fraud and not by force!'" So Odysseus escaped by blinding the Cyclops thus enabling he and his men to flee from the cave.
Harriet Jacobs' words in Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl clearly suggests that the life as a slave girl is harsh and unsatisfactory. In this Composition, Jacobs is born a slave, never to be freed. She struggles through life in many instances making life seem impossible. The author's purpose is to state to the people what happened during slavery times in the point of view of a slave. Her life is so harsh that she even hides from her master for 7 years in a cramped space in the top of a shed without any room to walk. The theme of the story is a statement on how slavery was a much harder way of life than many people may have thought. Many people during these times thought that slaves were happy where they were and that their lives were much easier in the southern states than in their ...
“I shan’t mind being a slave all my life, if I can only see you and the children free.” Her family and friends stayed strong with her and many of them did anything in their power to see her and her children safe and free. Jacobs always gave thanks and mentioned how much gratitude she had for the people that helped in getting her and her children’s freedom. “She said she would sacrifice her house, and all she had in the world, for the sake of having me safe with my children in any part of the world.” They were willing to make sacrifices and risk their lives to help Jacobs and her
Homer’s Odyssey challenges the common view on deception as employed only maliciously. Both a mortal, Odysseus, and one of the most revered goddesses, Athena, have the common noble goal of bringing Odysseus back home to his family after nearly two decades of absence. To achieve that goal, they mainly use deception and disguise in various forms that their physical and mental powers allow. Odysseus is famous for wittily deceiving others through verbal means, fact noted by Menelaus and Helen of Troy (Book 4). He even doubts Athena, as his own skills have made him doubt other’s honesty. Athena states after realizing Odysseus’s disbelief, “Would not another wandering man, in joy, make haste home to his wife and children? Not you, not yet” (8. 420-422). Odysseus wants to make sure that Athena gives him substantial evidence regarding his family and being back because “empty words are evil” (4. 891). After this exchange, when Odysseus knows him and Athena are on the same team, they use those skills to uncover the truth of matters or people’s character and return home.
In 1861, Harriet Jacobs published her book “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.” The story is based in Southern United States of America during the time before Jacob escaped from slavery in 1835 (Reilly 649). Jacobs uses the name Linda Brent as a pseudonym (Reilly 649) and describes her experience as a female slave through a first person narration. The purpose of the selections featured in Kevin Reilly's, “Worlds of History,” is to show the victimization and emotional suffering female slaves feel against their white masters vs. the physical pain a male slave endures.
Just like any other narrative, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” by Harriet Jacobs is a narrative telling about a slave 's story and what slaves go through as they execute the socioeconomic dictates of their masters. It is important to note that more than five thousand former slaves who were enslaved in North America had given an account of their slave life during the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of their narratives were published on books and newspaper articles. Most of the stories of these slaves were centered on the experiences of life in plantations, small farms owned by the middle class natives, mines and factories in the cities. It is undeniable that without those slave narratives, people today will not be able to know how slaves
The insults and violence that Jacobs endured from her master shaped the choices she made in life. He whispered foul words to her, causing Jacobs much pain. She was forced to lose her innocence early in life. Her master owned her so he was able to treat her and violate her innocence as he pleased. By losing her innocence Jacobs felt that she had done something wrong. She soon realized how she was different by being a slave that was a women. "She will become prematurely knowing in evil things. Soon she will learn to tremble when she hears her master's footfall. She will be compelled to realize that she is no longer a child."(Jacobs,361)
Odysseus displays his desire for glory through his careless actions during his encounter with the Cyclops Polyphemus. The desire for glory Odysseus displays is shown through the words he speaks to Polyphemus. He is a clever character but makes rash decisions that affect the outcome of his original goals and intentions. While Odysseus is trapped inside of the cave of the Cyclops, he begins to taunt Polyphemus. “I called back to the Cyclops, stinging taunts: So, Cyclops, no weak coward it was whose crew you bent to devour three in your vaulted cave—with your brute voice! Filthy crimes came down on your own head, you shameless cannibal” (Fagles, 226). Odysseus was insulting the Cyclops, and those insults caused the rage of the monster to boil over. The Cyclops was already angry with Odysseus blinding him, and was even more demoralized and angry when Odysseus began to taunt him. As Odysseus goes on with his insults and as his anger rises, he says, “Cyclops—if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed—say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, La...
Through her autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs, under the pseudonym Linda Brent, documents her story under slavery and her escape to freedom for her and her children and is addressed to the “people of the Free States” (Jacobs 3) who do not fully comprehend the evils of slavery. She makes appeals to expand their knowledge of the matter and states “only by experience can any one realize how deep, and dark, and foul is that pit of abominations” (Jacobs 3). As she recounts, Jacobs was born into slavery and after the death of her parents at a young age, and was raised by her free colored grandmother. Jacobs then spends the next twenty years under her mistress’s father, Dr.
Through temptation and torture, Odysseus never forgets that he must put others’ needs before his own desires. Like a hero, Odysseus has to sacrifice the options that benefit him in order to benefit his others. Specifically, Odysseus accepted the fact that he laid with Kirke in order to free his men from her spell. Though it went against all of his ethics and unfaithful to Penelope, Odysseus’s main objective was to return home with all of his crew alive. He illustrates his true loyalty to Penelope when he declines Kalypso’s offer of immortality. Odysseus immediately responded and refused Kalypso’s offer: “My lady goddess…come (Book V, 223-233).” Many individuals would not decline immortality, but he did not ponder over the thought of living for eternity. Odysseus made this decision based on his ethics and because of true love. Odysseus also makes ethical decisions to save people’s lives. For instance, ...
Odysseus portrays his selfishness right as the book begins and this shows how truly incompetent of an individual he is. One form of selfishness Odysseys shows is adultery. He is unfaithful to Penelope many times throughout the book. He reveals this trait specifically when he is with Kalypso on Ogygia and with Kirke on Aiaia. Odysseus shows his selfishness when he steps foot on Kalypso’s island because he chooses to stay with her for seven years. He did not care about the crew’s feelings on the matter, since all’s he cared about was himself. By the time the seven years were up, the crew members finally realized they had to make Odysseus leave. These actions also make a liar out of Odysseus because he said he wanted to return home more than anything, yet he did not even make the slightest attempt to leave. On Aiaia, Odysseus was forced to sleep with Kirke to save his men from staying swine, but he still committed adultery. No matter what the reason, adultery is a choice that can be controlled. An additional negative quality Odysseus obtains is being self absorbed. This trait is seen when Odysseus traveled to the Land of the Dead. He shows his selfish qualities in this example because he travels there initially for his own benefit. Odysseus also has attendances to t...
In “The Trial of Girlhood” and “A Perilous Passage In the Slave Girl’s Life” Jacobs’s narrative emphasizes the problems that are faced by female slaves. She shares the sexual abuses that are commonly practiced by slave master against young female slaves. She does this through revealing the unique humiliation and the brutalities that were inflicted upon young slave girls. In this narrative we come to understand the psychological damage caused by sexual harassment. We also realize how this sexual harassment done by the slaveholders went against morality and “violated the most sacred commandment of nature,”(Harriet 289)as well as fundamental religious beliefs.
Researchers believe that it is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, which may be hereditary or caused by different events in a person’s life. Most types of depression seem to run in families with any problems. Many illnesses have specific medical causes and have straightforward treatment, but depression is more complicated then with any other illness because you can not cure it with surgery. One of the causes of depression can occur with “social factors such as loneliness which can be a break up with a boyfriend or girlfriend or a death of a relative or friend” (Curtis). It can be any type of family history conflicts such as anyone within the family or any child abuses. An early child abuse can lead to it or it can be heredity if a family member has been through it. Money can be another issue towards depression people lose their jobs. Once they lose their job they get stressed out and at times feel depressed because they don’t have sufficient amount of money for themselves or their family to support them such as food, clothing, rent, and payments. “Depression can be a temporary response to many situations and stresses” ( Major). Sex hormones may
In Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the author subjects the reader to a dystopian slave narrative based on a true story of a woman’s struggle for self-identity, self-preservation and freedom. This non-fictional personal account chronicles the journey of Harriet Jacobs (1813-1897) life of servitude and degradation in the state of North Carolina to the shackle-free promise land of liberty in the North. The reoccurring theme throughout that I strive to exploit is how the women’s sphere, known as the Cult of True Womanhood (Domesticity), is a corrupt concept that is full of white bias and privilege that has been compromised by the harsh oppression of slavery’s racial barrier. Women and the female race are falling for man’s