Separated by almost 3000 years of literature, two plays can still contain similar elements and characteristics that tie the two together. This is the case between the two plays, Oedipus The King and its counterpart Death of a Salesman, one written approximately 430 BC and the other written in 1949. When first reading this book, one might question, what could these stories possibly have in common; one is about a king who discovers he has killed his father and copulated with his mother and the other about a salesman with suicidal tendencies and unattainable dreams. As the reader further analysis the story, the underlying similarities become more apparent even as one might say that there are no relations between the two stories. Looking into the main protagonist of both…
The fictional queen of Ithaca and and a woman in 1930’s Mississippi having anything in common might seem like a stretch but in fact, they are more similar than they seem at first glance. Penelope of The Odyssey and Penny of O Brother, Where Art Thou have much in common along with characteristics that set them apart from each other. Penelope is presented as loyal, distraught. Penny is presented as unapologetic and a more independent, strong woman when being compared to Penelope. The two women are similar in that they are both cunning and cautious. Many of these changes are made in order to allow the character to blend into the time period and, in the case of Penny, to create a stronger, more realistic female character.…
There are two great heroes from history, one from the bible, and one from Homer's book The Odyssey. They both relied on a higher power to give them the abilities to do many things. More specifically they relied on the higher powers to confront family members that they have been separated from for many years. They also had to do something for the good of their families. Both men had a point in their lives that they had to reveal their true identity to their family, but each situation is very different. Both men were considered heroes, but for two very different things.…
A hero is different to every person. However, societies normally have similar views when it comes to a hero. Two American heroes, Edward Bloom and Chris McCandless are to some extent viewed the same way the Greeks viewed their own ancient Greek hero, Odysseus. These 3 heroes all have characteristics, traits, and projected ideals admired and pursued by their societies and for this very reason when both are compared, Chris McCandless is the better American hero when compared to Edward Bloom.…
Founding Father Thomas Paine , England born political philosopher and writer (1727-1809). He helped shape many of the ideas that marked the Age Revolution. In 1776, his high popular “Common Sense” was published and it was the first pamphlet to advocate American Independence. No other figure played a great role in moving the American People from a spirit of rebellion to one of revolution.…
Adversely the literature in the Renaissance illuustrated a vastly different viewpoint that humans and their lives on earth as the most important piece of existence Document B included an excerpt from Hamlet by William Shakespeare, which was written during the Reniaissance in 1601. In Hamlet, Shakespeare compares man to an angeles or gods (Doc B). He also refers to humans as “the pargon *of animals!” (Doc B). The word pargon means perfect model(Doc…
Great and tragic love is something that happens to everyone in their life time. In the two completely different stories of Oedipus and Batman they both have them same story line. Batman and Oedipus are two different types of heroes but the same when it comes to the archetype theme of tragic forbidden love. In this essay I will explain archetypes, themes, and what the themes of these stories are.…
The short story by the waters of Babylon and the movie planet of the apes were both futuristic stories. They also both showed the evil sides of today’s man and the chaos and mass destruction that we are capable of accomplishing. They portrayed today’s man as selfish, violent, and full of hate and rage. By the waters of Babylon was written from the point of view of a boy close to becoming a man who knew nothing of his past civilization. Whereas in the movie planet of the apes it was from the point of view of a man that had come nearly directly from that past civilization. The main people in charge keep knowledge from the public so they do not know the evils that they are capable of as to protect them from making the same mistake.…
to survive, which gives rise to evil. His attitude changes, and he gives in to…
Homer and Ovid are two of the oldest, most influential poets that have ever lived. Although they are both poets, they have several differences in their writings. Homer, a Greek poet, is most famous for his epic poems Iliad and Odyssey. Ovid, a Roman poet, is most famous for Metamorphoses a 15 book poem containing over 250 myths. To compare and contrast these two poets and their writing styles, I will use Achilles’ battle with Hector in Homer’s Iliad book 22 and compare it with Achilles’ battle with Cycnus in Ovid’s Metamorphoses book 12. The comparison of these battles will give us a better understanding of these poets different views on the Trojan War.…
The evolution of society and civilization has modernized the idea of humanity. Society and the people within it are affected by comely social customs. They require humans to act a certain norm, and it takes humans away from their natural instincts. However, withdrawing from society and having a lack of civilization leads humans back to their once barbaric behavior. Lord of the Flies demonstrates how isolation from civilization and society results in the concept of humanity returning to savagery.…
Two sonnets, “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Shakespeare’s own Sonnet 18. Both of them tackle the topic of the longevity of art, but their answers are not the same as one another. While both make excellent points, they both cannot be correct. Do things that are truly beautiful, like a masterpiece of art, last until the end of time, or do they decay, ruin, and warp until nothing but dust is…
The noble savage in antiquity is often characterised by the traits of the golden races accounted for by Hesiod in Works and Days and Ovid in Book I of the Metamorphoses. The two accounts mark the decline in human moral behaviour from the idealistic and peaceful Golden Age to their contemporary violent and competitive Iron Age world. Accordingly, the so-called noble savage is always discussed by the Graeco-Roman authors from an ethnocentric world-view wherein the spaces most familiar to them were deemed the most civilised while the places further from them become increasingly natural or primitive. In this way a reading of the noble savage is mostly negative for not only does it highlight the social and technological ineptitude of the people…
What is more important to the hero than his men? Both Beowulf of “Beowulf” and Odysseus of The Odyssey of Homer have the all important asset of men at their disposal, Men who follow them as leaders and accompany them on their travels. While Odysseus greatly values his men and treats them very loyally and emotionally, his men, in turn, give him the same loyalty and respect back. Beowulf is far more self-driven. While his men are mostly present throughout, they often take more of a spectator role due to the fact that Beowulf’s actions and decisions often don’t require the assistance of his men. He has a very neutral personality when it comes to his men, and only really has passion for himself and his own glory. In response his men are not nearly as loyal of those of Odysseus, and often act as if they don’t have confidence in Beowulf’s abilities.…
In the first chapter we talked about the first early humans and how they went from underdeveloped civilizations or communities to becoming the first early civilizations. While in the second chapter a new age begins as the Bronze Age begins to transition into the Iron Age as the Middle Eastern culture and values became widely shared Amongst the Egyptians and the Mesopotamians which was known as the cosmopolitan era.…
