Oedipus the King and Mason’s Shiloh
"Shiloh," written by Bobbie Ann Mason, and Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, contain extremely different story lines but jointly have one unique quality, the role of the woman. In each of these stories, the females struggle to overcome one major obstacle plaguing them by using their inner-strength. Norma Jean from "Shiloh" fights to leave a seemingly endless marriage, and Jocasta from Oedipus the King struggles against an ill-fate. Norma Jean and Jocasta believe that they are strong enough to conquer these challenges, but, in the end, they both realize they are not strong enough and commit suicide because of this defeat.
Norma Jean and Jocasta strive to beat the one main obstacle placed before each of them; Norma Jean fights against marriage, and Jocasta struggles against fate. In "Shiloh," Norma Jean is married to a man with which she cannot live anymore. By strengthening herself mentally and physically, Norma Jean believes that she can leave her husband, Leroy. In preparation for the day when Norma Jean will leave Leroy, she takes a body-building and English composition class. After working out one day Norma Jean explains to Leroy, "I'd give anything if I could just get these muscles to where they're real hard" (491). Strengthening the mind and body is the only way Norma Jean knows to build her self-esteem and prepare herself for this day that will soon be upon her. On the other hand, Jocasta has always been a mentally strong woman. Jocasta's battle is against something much more severe than a bad marriage; she battles fate. When Jocasta first had her baby, Oedipus, an oracle declared to Jocasta that "doom would strike him[Laius] down at the hands of a son, / our son, to...
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...r too overwhelming for her. Once again the woman was not strong enough to overcome life's many challenges.
How does one know if he or she has enough strength? In both of these stories, the women try to battle life using inner-strength. Even though Norma Jean and Jocasta are under extremely different circumstances, both make the same ultimate decision, death. Whether or not death was the right choice, this choice was made by both characters. Their strength was not enough to surpass the problems of life. Works Cited
Mason, Bobbie Ann. "Shiloh." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Sixth edition. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Harper Collins, 1995.
Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Discovering Literature: Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Eds. Hans P. Guth and Gabriele L. Rico. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993.
2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol. The molecular weight of this compound is 146.2g/mol. It is converted into 2-ethyl-1-hydroxyhexan-3-one. This compounds molecular weight is 144.2g/mol. This gives a theoretical yield of .63 grams. My actual yield was .42 grams. Therefore, my percent yield was 67%. This was one of my highest yields yet. I felt that this was a good yield because part of this experiment is an equilibrium reaction. Hypochlorite must be used in excess to push the reaction to the right. Also, there were better ways to do this experiment where higher yields could have been produced. For example PCC could have been used. However, because of its toxic properties, its use is restricted. The purpose of this experiment was to determine which of the 3 compounds was formed from the starting material. The third compound was the oxidation of both alcohols. This could not have been my product because of the results of my IR. I had a broad large absorption is the range of 3200 to 3500 wavenumbers. This indicates the presence of an alcohol. If my compound had been fully oxidized then there would be no such alcohol present. Also, because of my IR, I know that my compound was one of the other 2 compounds because of the strong sharp absorption at 1705 wavenumbers. This indicates the presence of a carbonyl. Also, my 2,4-DNP test was positive. Therefore I had to prove which of the two compounds my final product was. The first was the oxidation of the primary alcohol, forming an aldehyde and a secondary alcohol. This could not have been my product because the Tollen’s test. My test was negative indicating no such aldehyde. Also, the textbook states that aldehydes show 2 characteristic absorption’s in the range of 2720-2820 wavenumbers. No such absorption’s were present in my sample. Therefore my final product was the oxidation of the secondary alcohol. My final product had a primary alcohol and a secondary ketone
The authority which Oedipus and Jocasta defy is the same. Both the king and his mother defy the authority of the gods by trying to evade their edict. The edict states that a son would be born to Jocasta who would marry his mother and kill his father, as Oedipus says, “How mating with my mother I must spawn a progeny...having been my father's murderer.” (OEDIPUS, Oedipus, 44). When Jocasta hears of this, she attempts to kill the baby Oedipus, thus trying to escape the prophesy. Similarly, when Oedipus, as an unmarried adult, hears that he would kill his father, he runs away from his home town, Corinth, never to return. Oedipus and Jocasta both defy the gods' authority, which in this case comes in the form of running away from a menacing prophesy. In the end, however, Jocasta dies and Oedipus is overthrown and ruined.
Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Trans. Robert Fagles. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Maynard Mack et al. 6th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 1992.
The police retreated, waited for reinforcements and then stormed the house, handing out severe beatings to the gangsters they found inside. They never discovered which of the men fired the shot from the window and Madden, still a minor, was released the next day on a $500 bond.
Kenedy, X.J., and Dana Goia. "Shiloh." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. Dana Goina and X.J. Kenedy. Eleventh edition. New York: Longman, 2010. pg. 569-578. Print.
The next project deliverable is a robust, modernized database and data warehouse design. The company collects large amounts of website data and uses this data to analyze it for the company’s customers. This document will provide an overview of the new data warehouse along with the type of database design that has been selected for the data warehouse. Included in the appendix of this document is a graphical depiction of the logical design of the
Doctors work under intense pressure, and if a pill could fix a patient’s problems than many saw nothing wrong with that. What exacerbated the problem was that many hospitals also changed their modus operandi with regards to treatment. In some hospitals, “doctors were told they could be sued if they did not treat pain aggressively, which meant with opiates (95). However once the patient became addicted and could no longer get their prescription legally refilled, the drug dealers saw their chance. What is surprising is the fact that pharmaceutical companies acted in the same manner as drug dealers. Both sides did not care about the end user, and the problems they would have to deal with after using what was given to them. Their motive was purely to profit as much as possible, and they did not care about who would get hurt as a result of their
...re fully-realized self. The strong, modern woman exists in the complexity of character that perseverance brings. Not for her is suffering worthless, but rather meaningful in the fullest sense of developed character and triumphant renewal.
When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan and war continuously went on, many women faced hardships too hard to cope with. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, two incredibly strong women Mariam and Laila face many struggles such as harsh ruling, abusive husband and a war that seems never to end. No matter the hardships the women are obliged to endure and survive. Endurance takes strength, willpower and courage to endure a life with little freedom and stability in one’s world.
Boston: Pearson, 2013. 1396-1506. Print. The. Sophocles. “Oedipus the King” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing.
At the outset of Oedipus Rex no female characters are present; the reader sees a king who comes to the door full of curiosity: “Explain your mood and purport. Is it dread /Of ill that moves you or a boon ye crave?” When the priest has responded that the people are despairing from the effects of the plague, the king shows sympathy for his subjects: “Ye sicken all, well wot I, yet my pain, /How great soever yours, outtops it all.” Thomas Van Nortwick in Oedipus: The Meaning of a Masculine Life : “We see already the supreme self-confidence and ease of command in Oedipus. . . . exudes a godlike mastery in the eyes of his subjects. . . .”(21-22); such “godlike mastery” will be his undoing. The critic Ehrenberg warns that it “may lead to ‘hubris’” (74-75). Throughout the drama Sophocles draws out an ongoing contrast between the “godlike mastery” of the king and the softer, more balanced and selfless characteristics of Jocasta, his wife. She is a foil to Oedipus. Shortly thereafter Creon, Jocasta’s brother, is returning from the Delphic oracle with the fateful words of the god’s command: “...
The rate of death due to prescription drug abuse in the U.S. has escalated 313 percent over the past decade. According to the Congressional Quarterly Transcription’s article "Rep. Joe Pitt Holds a Hearing on Prescription Drug Abuse," opioid prescription drugs were involved in 16,650 overdose-caused deaths in 2010, accounting for more deaths than from overdoses of heroin and cocaine. Prescribed drugs or painkillers sometimes "condemn a patient to lifelong addiction," according to Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This problem not only affects the lives of those who overdose but it affects the communities as well due to the convenience of being able to find these items in drug stores and such. Not to mention the fact that the doctors who prescribe these opioids often tend to misuse them as well. Abusing these prescribed drugs can “destroy dreams and abort great destinies," and end the possibility of the abuser to have a positive impact in the community.
The two writers in tragedy showed what many writers couldn’t throughout the Greek tragedian era. Sophocles, who wrote “Oedipus Rex”, portrayed Jocasta as a caring mother who soon turned into a wife of her own son, while Shakespeare, who wrote “Hamlet”, used the same Greek tragedian tools and portrayed Gertrude as a naïve mother who made one decision that separated her son, Hamlet, from her. Gertrude was similar to Jocasta in that both were naïve but protective of their own sons. However Jocasta was more aware of the actions she took, even after the prophecy was told.
She realizes herself sleeping with her son and that they committed incest . Jocasta led to killing herself after about what happened to her sleeping with her son Oedipus . Jocasta says , “Do not concern yourself about this matter;(Line 813) listen to me and learn that human beings(Line 814) have no part in the craft of prophecy.
For centuries women have fought to obtain basic civil rights and today, they are still fighting to obtain equal rights. From the right to vote to their right to birth control, women have always been trying to assert their own independence in order to expand their freedom. While much progress has been made, there is still room for improvement. However, the evolution of women’s rights and the role of women is mirrored in literature and can be used to illustrate the progression throughout history. Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is no different. Through the character Jocasta, Sophocles creates a counterpart to Oedipus and uses her to reveal the oppression of women by contrasting her and Oedipus’ relationships and reactions to the prophecy. Throughout the play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles illustrates Jocasta’s vulnerability and supportive nature in order to women as fragile, doting, and obedient wives and mothers to facilitate the necessity of self-assertion.