Homer’s Iliad – Searching for Meaning in Tragedy The past does not inevitably exist in the present. The creative processes of remembering and telling stories allow our histories to remain with us. Memory and story negate the possibility of existing independently of the past by connecting humans across time to the actions and value systems of their predecessors. Humans are forced to live amidst and confront a complex and multi-dimensional reality in which their every action affects people and events outside of their immediate context. By burdening humans with the consequences of their histories, story and memory comprise a foundation of moral responsibility. Since memory and story are subjective, our past, a seemingly immutable reality, is subject to their creative hands. These hands define as malleable entities the past, the future, and that which exists or has its basis outside of the present. The “real” is only immutable in a present entirely disconnected from all other time. Yet while the profound power of memory and story does deny an objective, singular reality, it simultaneously allows humans the capacity to transform the world to their liking. Even death, the most immutable of realities, can be manipulated through the creative processes of remembering and storytelling. Death, then, is the point from which we will begin to understand Homer’s exploration of memory and story. Death is a great wave whose shadow falls upon the lives of all beings below Olympus. Amidst this shadow and its immediacy in war, humans must struggle to combat and metaphysically transcend their transitory natures. If they fail to forge a sense of meaning for themselves and their people in what often seems an inexorably barren world, they are lef... ... middle of paper ... ...e of our own iniquity or cowardice, drives us to courageous and moral action in the present. Thus, story and memory remove humans from the horrible brevity of mortal life by bringing existence into a realm outside of time. Humans die, but through story their fellow humans can make them immortal. Even amidst life’s tragedies, stories allow us to transform what seems an unbearable reality into something deeply beautiful. And yet their power is not merely retrospective since stories impose moral responsibility on our every action. Forgetting, therefore, is among the worst evils; not only because of the “moral perversity” it permits, but also because of the meaning it denies. NOTES 1 Homer, Iliad, trans. Richmond Lattimore (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1951). 2 Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being (New York: Harper Perennial, 1984).
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Show More“If the human race didn’t remember anything it would be perfectly happy" (44). Thus runs one of the early musings of Jack Burden, the protagonist of Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men. Throughout the story, however, as Jack gradually opens his eyes to the realities of his own nature and his world, he realizes that the human race cannot forget the past and survive. Man must not only remember, but also embrace the past, because it teaches him the truth about himself and enables him to face the future.
History and memory are depicted through human attitudes and behaviours. The way that History is shaped and represented impacts on our response to events of the past and memory is vital to this equation in order to fully understand history and appreciate the past. The representation of History and memory in Mark Baker's 'The Fiftieth Gate' (TFG) justifys Yossl, Genia and Baker's attitudes and behaviours. We are made aware of this through character, literary techniques and the structural frame in bakers journey through memory and David Olere's painting 'The Massacre Of The Innocents'
The debate of the drinking age has been long discussed throughout America. The drinking age has been 21 for the last 22 years, and people around the country have wondered weather or not this was the right call. People say that 18 year olds may not be mature enough to drink alcohol and might not know when to stop. It isn’t that teenagers don’t know how to stop, but rather have not been properly taught when enough has been consumed or how to drink responsibly. Changing the drinking age from 21 to 18 years old will take the thrill that teens get from breaking the law while drinking, will no longer give them the idea that drinking is the final stage of adulthood and full maturity, and will no longer force teenagers to drink in unsupervised areas.
amnesia. It is through the theme of forgetfulness that a connection between the writer an...
Remembering past generations brings the same action and feelings to the present. Memories that are imported have an effect on the present, and how one looks at the world changes. Memory may fail, people recall actions that may not have actually happened how they say they do; confusion with details is inevitable. People’s names are erased, their identity, although separate before, becomes collective; when one is forgotten they all are: “Nothing better than to start the day’s serious work of beating back the past” (86).
The importance of memory is shown in how essential it is to each character. Without their memories, it is arguable that none of the characters would have a “self”. They use their memories so often to form opinions of each other, remember feelings they had towards each other and to
Physical activity is an integral part of the learning process at all grade levels/ Unfit children develop low opinions of themselves, dislike activity, and develop antisocial attitudes. Children need the physical and mental benefits of sports. Kids involved in sports will physically feel better about their bodies by being fit, they are less likely to have the risk of obesity later in life, and more likely to learn new skills (Krucoff 1998). Mentally, sports stimulate the intellectual development, sharpen motor skills, provide emotional and social growth, help with depression, and increase self-confidence. A non-active child that becomes active in a sport program find increas...
When an individual turns 18 they are seen more as an adult and take many adult decisions. This person also gains many rights such as the right to vote. If someone who is 18 gets into trouble they will also get tried as an adult and get consequences such as going to jail. The maturity factor has been looked at in many of the articles but one stuck out to me such as “The “old enough to fight, old enough to drink” argument has force. In fact, 18-year-olds in America are old enough to do pretty much everything except drink. Along with joining the military, 18-year-olds can vote, marry, sign contracts, and even take on a crippling lifetime burden of student loan debt in pursuit of an education that may never land them a job. Yet we face the absurd phenomenon of colleges encouraging students to go into six-figure debt—which can’t be discharged in bankruptcy—but forbidding them to drink on campus because they’re deemed insufficiently mature to appreciate the risks” (Reynolds A17). These facts opened my eyes and made me for sure for to lower the age of drinking to age
Homelessness has been a problem in the United States for centuries. When an individual thinks of a homeless person, most likely the image of an old male of any race wearing ragged clothing and carrying a cardboard sign comes to mind. Surprisingly, according to the National Center on Family Homelessness, a typical sheltered homeless family is comprised of a mother in her late twenties and two children. The homeless community is very vast and includes 2.3 to 2.5 million individuals of all races. Homelessness can be a result of many factors. Some examples include: deinstitutionalization, mental illness or chronic depression, public assistance benefits failing to keep pace with the cost of living, domestic violence or inadequate income (pg.353).
Memories generate a breakdown of an individual’s selfhood. In addition, memories embody unmistakable repercussions on the self. In the book Mind readings an Anthology for Writers by Gary Colombo, there are several essays that reveal how memories evoke individuals to doubt their ideas of selfhood. “The Inheritance of Tools” by Scott Russell Sanders, Sanders writes concerning his father’s passing and the strategies that he implements to survive his grief. “The Brown Wasps” by Loren Eiseley, Eiseley demonstrates why individuals conjure up memories in their imagination, his only reliable guide of happiness. Individuals hold fast to memories that take a lifetime to fabricate. “The Self and Society: Changes, Problems, and Opportunities” by Roy F. Baumeister makes use of many labels to justify selfhood. Baumeister examines the history of selfhood. The essays by Sanders, Eiseley, and Baumeister illustrate that situations shape unpredictable sets of memories that promote anxiety, and characterizes the selfhood. Memories and individual’s selfhood connect the past and present bringing about a paradox inspiring individuals to feel sane or manic. Frequently memories are simply figments of the imagination. In addition, in life, individuals have conflicts of his or her “inner self” resulting in a collision of the selfhood.
Youth sports have played an ever-increasing role in childhood development over the past century. Countless youth have discovered precious information about their peers, their abilities, and who they really are their selves, on the playing field. Youth learn precious lessons in sport such as perseverance, fitness, and sportsmanship, which they should hopefully carry with them throughout the rest of their lives. Lifelong friendships are forged on the playing fields as well. Many of my dearest, long-lasting, friendships were forged with my peers in youth sports. Youth sports, when done right, often plays a huge role in developing the well-rounded citizens that our society so desperately needs.
Most people are very convinced that they have memories of past experiences because of the event itself or the bigger picture of the experience. According to Ulric Neisser, memories focus on the fact that the events outlined at one level of analysis may be components of other, larger events (Rubin 1). For instance, one will only remember receiving the letter of admission as their memory of being accepted into the University of Virginia. However, people do not realize that it is actually the small details that make up their memories. What make up the memory of being accepted into the University of Virginia are the hours spent on writing essays, the anxiety faced due to fear of not making into the university and the happiness upon hearing your admission into the school; these small details are very important in creating memories of this experience. If people’s minds are preset on merely thinking that memories are the general idea of their experiences, memories become very superficial and people will miss out on what matters most in life. Therefore, in “The Amityville Horror”, Jay Anson deliberately includes small details that are unnecessary in the story to prove that only memory can give meaning to life.
The title of this piece, “Remembered Morning,” establishes what the speaker describes in the stanzas that follow as memory; this fact implies many themes that accompany works concerning the past: nostalgia, regret, and romanticism, for instance. The title, therefore, provides a lens through which to view the speaker’s observations.
My first article for this blog post was written by Jeremi Davidson in "The Impact of Sports on Youth Development," from Live Strong. According to the article, when youth is involved in sports such as basketball, soccer or any team sports, they develop good motor skills and physical activity at a young age, on the down side they overly participate in sports and get other sports related stress. At a very young age avoidance of focusing on the results should be done and that making having fun should be the goal. Sports make it easier for young kids to exercise but parents should not forget that they should enroll their kinds in age-appropriate sports too. Over participation in sports is a big no no too, according to studies, children who spends the
3. Empson, William Alice in Wonderland Some Versions of Pastoral (1974). 812-14 Rpt. in Nineteenth- Century Literature Criticisms. Ed. Laurie Harris. Detroit: GaleResearch, 1982. 2: 112- 14.