Reflection

During class Mrs.Whitley was discussing with 12N about Oedipus fulfilling the prophecy without even knowing. At that moment, Macbeth came to my head as clear as day when Macbeth first met the witches. The witches told Macbeth he was going to be king and if I can recall correctly how he was going to die. Between these two men, the late king Laius and Macbeth, they sealed their faiths once they let the fear of dying get a hold of them. Self fulfilling prophecy is "any expectation, positive or negative, about a situation or event that affects an individual behavior in such a manner that it causes that expectation to be fulfilled."Apollo and the witches did not have to do anything for Macbeth and the late king Laius to really destroy themselves.

Also, Mrs.Whitley brought up her favorite part in The Odyssey with Odysseus's dog dying after he saw his owner that one final time. I took that scene as the dog's final wish before he could actually move on in peace. It reminded me of many movies with similar situations, such as newly mother passing away after she hears her baby cry and knowing her baby is healthy. "You have everything you need for complete peace and total happiness right now."

Wayne W. Dyer

Penelope, Strong or Nahhh? (The Odyssey)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/buenosaurus/3584159555/

PENELOPE, STRONG OR NAHHH?

   That picture up there, yeah that is how I am seeing Penelope right now, as a damsel in distress. In the beginning, Penelope was this strong and smart lady who stayed loyal to her husband, whose been gone, for twenty years. I am pretty sure it's really difficult to be away from your hubby for that long, while living with a whole bunch a men who desperately want you. So why crack under pressure now? 

   I was rooting for Penelope to keep doing her thing, I thought she didn't need a man; until she turned herself into a grand prize. She says to the suitors:

"... suitors indeed, you commandeered this house to feast and drink in, day and night, my husband being long gone, long out of mind. You found no justification for yourselves- none except your lust to marry me. Stand up then: we now declare a contest for that prize." (393: 70-75)

There were also many episodes of Penelope continually crying for her husband or just very depressed. Don't get me wrong, I am not blaming Penelope. From what we know about Greek mythology, women always manage to turn into weak, needy women. Penelope represents what most men thought about women in that time period (and today); that woman can't survive without men, or that women are depressed when they are destitute of a man. Even worse, they think women throw themselves unto another man if their husband is away for too long. THIS IS NOT TRUE... well at least not for some of us. Penelope turned into a damsel in distress; she loses herself worth by turning herself into an object to be won by these disgusting men that did nothing but disrespect her in her home. WHY can't a woman in Greek mythology remain a strong, normal woman without falling into these stereotypes.

Poor Penelope

No 20/20 Vision

While reading the different mythology plays I have noticed that selective blindness has been an important theme all throughout. In the story, Oedipus the King, Oedipus isn't literary blind, until he stabs his eyes, of course. In the beginning of the play, he is told by Teieisias that though he can see he cannot fully see. He blinds himself from the truth and only sees what benefits him. Just like Oedipus, we also have selective blindness. I have found myself doing it quiet often as well. We only focus on what we want to be true, however, we don't look at the whole truth of it. For example, I have a friend in which I have known since 6th grade. Lately, I have noticed how much she has changed but as stubborn as I am, I denied she had changed. I thought maybe it was just me, and so I pretended everything was fine. I didn't want to think that maybe our long term friendship might be coming to an end, for no apparent reason. However, I now noticed that everything happens for a reason, we must always have our eyes open and look at the whole aspect, not only what we want to believe.

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Selective Blindness: Detrimental or Beneficial?

     

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  I'm sure by now we all should have at least a clue about what selective blindness is, but for those of you who may have missed it; selective blindness is choosing not to see the things in life that aren't in your favor. Let's be clear, it doesn't mean you are actually blind just choosing to avoid the undesirable. Through out the course of the week we have been talking about Oedipus and it is clear that he is very keen on using his selective blindness. In part one of Oedipus The King, Oedipus seems to be blatantly unaware of anything going on around him even though the obvious was right in front of him. We were all sitting there reading like, "Hello man! Don't you know that you're the problem?!" Well at first no, he didn't; and even if he did he was suppressing the knowledge. In Oedipus' case the selective blindness was not the best choice and was clearly detrimental, not only toward him but to the entire kingdom who continued to suffer from the plague. 
        The real question is, is selective blindness ever really the answer? In my opinion, no. Now am I saying that we haven't avoided things from time to time? Absolutely not. I think that it is in our human nature to try and avoid the things we can't seem to handle (or do not want to handle), but it's not a solution for any problem. When we choose to be blind to something, it seems like we've solved the problem but in reality we probably have made it worse. In studying Oedipus I think we can see that if we are faced with a problem or issue that seems difficult, we should face it head on. Ignoring things does not make them go away and the moral of the story is, ignorance is not bliss.

Selective Blindness Shown Through Macbeth and Oedipus

In the story Oedipus the King and Macbeth, Oedipus and Macbeth show selective blindness. Selective  blindness is when a person psychologically can choose "one message from a mixture of messages occurring simultaneously." (**Note from Ms. Whitley - This is a dictionary definition).  In the story Oedipus the King, Oedipus shows selective blindness when Tiresias, a man known for his great wisdom, tells him he is the murderer of the king. On page 441 lines 404-405 Tiresias says, "I say you are the murderer of the king whose murderer you seek," but Oedipus chooses not to see the truth in what he says by condemning his knowledge and wisdom because of his physical blindness.Oedipus says, "It has no strength for you are blind in mind and ears as well as in your eyes" (441, lines 416-418).

Macbeth shows selective blindness when the witches deliver his prophecy. Macbeth doesn't take time out to interpret all of the messages being told to him by the witches. Macbeth only sees the surface of the witches prophecy which allows him to be oblivious to the things that potentially took him down. Both characters have the flaw of selective blindness which potentially leads to both of their downfalls. 

Oedipus and The Story of Joseph

This week as we discussed the story of Oedipus the King, I really enjoyed it. I thought hard about things I could connect it too, but I ended up with the same results. Nothing! ... Until I sat with my niece to watch the cartoon version of the bible story of Joseph. While I was watching the movie it hit me, Oedipus and Joseph although very different are so much alike. In the myth, an oracle announces that Oedipus will someday kill his father and marry his mother. Laius and Jocasta decide that the best way to escape this fate is by killing their son. Oedipus escapes his death when he is given away, but he is still exiled from his family. Although Joseph’s departure is different, the results are the same. Due to jealousy, Joseph’s brothers want to kill him, but instead they sell him off to a caravan heading to Egypt. Just like Oedipus, Joseph barely escapes death and he too is exiled from his family.

In both stories, there is a predicament. The way in which these characters solve the problem is very similar. In the Oedipus, he saves the entire city and frees them from the clutches of the Sphinx by solving a riddle. As a reward, the city of Thebes makes Oedipus their king. Some time after, the oracle that Oedipus has tried so hard to escape has come true. Oedipus has killed his father and married his mother. Thebes is stricken with a plague that forces them to get rid of their king, the pollution of the land. In the story of Joseph, he is imprisoned. While in prison, he interprets three dreams, one being the dream of the Pharaoh. Due to the accuracy of his interpretation, the pharaoh rewards Joseph. He gives him a high rank, which allows him to rise up the social ladder, exactly like Oedipus. You can say the gift they both shared of solving riddles helped them immensely to reach their respected positions. Even though these characters experience very different destinies at the end, they share similar facts that connect them.

Oedipus and the Sphinx

The Tradition of Women and Ownership

Last week as we discussed the female characters in myth, beginning with Persephone, the issue of the etymology of the word "rape" as connected to "theft" left me thinking about the many different ways in which thievery takes place in regard to the women in these stories.  When gods intervene in the lives of women like Persephone, Daphne, Psyche, and Eurydice, these girls are quite literally stolen from the fathers and husbands who can claim ownership over them.  However, it seems in each of these tales that some thing else is stolen as well. These female characters are robbed of a choice about the direction of their young lives. They are robbed of happiness.  They are robbed of the innocence they are depicted as personifying at the start of their respective myths.

As I drove to school last Tuesday morning, I was reminded that these issues of ownership and womanhood, which seem so antiquated to western women who are by and large free to plan their lives and pick their own partners, are very much alive in other parts of the world.   The reminder came through a story on the radio that caught my attention. NPR's All Things Considered was doing a segment on child brides focusing on young women and girls who had been given away to men by parents who felt, for a variety of reasons, it was time for them to be taken care of by someone else. When I went to find the segment to write this post, I found yet another on child brides in Yemen  accompanied by startling images.  It can be difficult to listen to the stories of these girls, especially when one considers that they are the same age or younger than peers, younger siblings or cousins, and for me, all of you.  Despite this difficulty, I hope you will listen, look at the images, and read the associated stories.

I meet many students who have a distaste for the female characters in stories of the past.  It is common, and frankly all too easy, for us to judge them as weak, naive, or unable to think for themselves.  However, this is because we will never be owned and given away or stolen the way they have been. I have long felt these characters are deserving of our empathy and serve as a reminder of how far western women have come. As for the girls who still live in societies with similar doctrines regarding women's roles in determining the course of their own lives, their true stories remind me of all the choice, happiness, and innocence that is still stolen from so many young women today.

Which came first? The Shakespeare or The Myth?

After reading the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, I was reminded of how much it resembled the story of Romeo and Juliet.

 

Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. 

(Prologue, Shakespeare)

Like Romeo and Juliet, Pyramus and Thisbe lived very close together, in similar homes, only separated by a wall. They were in love, but forbidden by their parents to be together. However, they still interacted lovingly with each other.
The deaths of these lovers is slightly different, but still has the same principle. Thisbe secretly escapes to a tomb to meet Pyramus and leaves upon the arrival of a lioness, dropping her cloak. The lioness tears the cloak apart, covering it with the blood dripping from its mouth, which then makes Pyramus believe that it's killed Thisbe. He kills himself and once Thisbe discovers this, she kills herself too. Now, in Romeo and Juliet, Romeo sees Juliet in her sleeping state, believing she is dead--killing himself. Once Juliet wakes and discovers Romeo, she commits suicide as well.
So we can all agree that both of these stories have the running theme of forbidden love, suicide and stupid, infatuated teenagers. Although they could not be together in the flesh, they will forever be together after death.

 

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"Love cannot be forbidden. Love can always find a way."

 

Katie Couric Interviews Sarah Palin (One of the best SNL skits of all time)

For the past couple of days I've been mulling over what to write on my blog. I love Greek mythology, and my favorite Goddess is Athena (sorry Ms. Whitley) so I decided to go with that. Most of you may know, I LOVE politics, that's when Athena comes in. She's the Goddess of Wisdom, she's Zeus' favorite kid, she's just as great as Apollo, and she's the head of the Virgin Goddess'. She's basically the bomb.com. However, the best quality about Athena is her favor for peace. In Ancient Greece, Athena was almost always found near the Political center of the town. It was because of the fact that she was a benevolent goddess, selfless, and for the most part always ethical. "She is the embodiment of wisdom, reason, purity".(p 30)She was all of these things, and she was a woman, but who cares because the Greeks loved her. Nowadays, and I can argue this forever, there are very few political leaders we can trust. IMAGE IS NOTHING PEOPLE, FACTS ARE EVERYTHING. When you think about women in Politics, a few names come to mind; Hilary Clinton (Secretary of State), Sonia Sotomayor (Supreme Court Justice), Angela Merkel (Chancellor of Germany), Dilma Rousseff (President of Brazil). These women are some of my favorite political leaders, but something plagues them all. Every time they are mentioned in the news the words "butch", "hard", "pusher", "nag" are used. WHY?! God forbid I call Barack Obama a pushover, or Joe Biden useless. (I have done all of these things)  My point is, why do some of strongest leaders of our time, have to be downgraded simply because they are females? Why have we never had a female president? When will the time come when these women can present their strong opinions and not be called "PUSHERS"? This is not to say that the Greeks are all go feminism, Hera was constantly painted as a jealous crazy wife. BUT, the Greeks at least believed that a woman was just as capable and even better than her counterparts at making politically sound decisions. No one doubted that Athena would make the right decision, credit was given to her when due. All I ask is that you do not fall into the trap that the "news" presents to you. Even the most branded women in politics like Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin have done something, but you wouldn't know until you checked. Also here is the hilarious skit that was my blog title. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE-OCDexYrU

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Greek Mythology ?

So, Greek Mythology is supposed to explain the unexplainable and natural occurrences. When I first started reading these stories, I thought they were so boring and a bunch of nonsense (no offence Mrs. Whitley). But then I came to a realization that in some way or another I know these stories are just interpreted and told in a different way! For example,  as my group and I talked in class about the creation story and Pandora's box, I kind of made a connection to the story of Adam and Eve from the Genesis creation story in the bible. Pandora was given a box that was said to have "marvelous things" inside but was told not to open it. But she did so anyway, which let out evil into the world. Whereas Eve in the Genesis creation story was told specifically not to eat off the tree of knowledge of good and bad which she did by her eating this forbidden fruit she welcomed sin into the world. The second connection to another story that I’ve read the connected to Greek mythology was "The fisherman and the Jinnee" from 1001 nights, I found a connection with the Greek mythology story of "how the world and mankind were created” Prometheus wouldn’t be cruel to humans so Zeus sent an eagle to pick at Prometheus liver for generations. I connected Prometheus to being the fisherman because she was being merciful towards humans just like the fisher man was merciful towards the jinee. The jinnee in a sense is like Zeus because he wasn’t merciful and understanding towards Prometheus. Knowing these connections has somewhat helped me in understanding Greek mythology and I have warmed up to it a little this past week and actually found the Demeter story very interesting. So, the moral of the story is even though you may not understand something at first, try other ways to try and come to somewhat of an understanding instead of giving up and saying “I didn’t understand so I didn't bother reading". 

Greek Mythology: It's Everywhere!

If you’re like me, you have been exposed to Greek mythology symbolism on a regular basis - and you didn’t even know it. Let’s explore some connections I made while reading Mythology.

On page 67 in Mythology by Edith Hamilton, we are introduced to the children of Mother Earth and Father Heaven. Start from the last sentence on page 66, “Just as we believe that the earth was once inhabited by strange gigantic creatures (Dinosaurs, anyone?), so did the Greeks … They had the shattering, overwhelming strength of earthquake and hurricane and volcano.”

In the 1997 animated film Hercules, we see Hades, ruler of the underworld, releasing these men-like, yet “unhuman” creatures. 

Disclaimer: Now, remember, this is a film - a Disney film at that. They make these films to appeal to children and their plots must appeal to them, too, regardless to whether it is historically accurate or not. In the book, it is said that Zeus was the one who released The Titans. Clearly, we can see here that it is Hades who released them. 

Watch an excerpt of their destruction: 

Another connection I made was in the television show 30 Rock starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. I could not help but put two and two together as I was reading the passage about Atlas, brother of Prometheus. Check out the top of page 69 where it is described what Atlas' punishment is for going against Zeus, 

"Prometheus' brother Atlas suffered a still worse fate. He was condemned to bear on his back forever the cruel strength of the crushing world and the vault of the sky. Upon his shoulders the great pillar that holds apart the earth and heaven , a load not easy to be born."

So, I'm at home thinking, "I've seen something resembling that description; a man holding a globe." I tried not to get confused with the Emmy Award - which is a woman holding an atom, not a globe, I learned. There's a statue of Atlas in front of Rockefeller Center that quickly appears in the opening credits of 30 Rock.

I've made a billion connections to Greek mythology to everyday life. I have more, but these were my favorites. What do you think? How do you like Greek mythology so far?

Day Dreaming (The Combined Philosphy)

 

 

 

We all have day dreams of better times. We want a world where we can experience the desire simply to observe it like in Taoism. We still want to have some type of structure in our life like. We are ashamed and embarrassed if our words outrun our work like the Confucianism. And even though we do not want to leave behind the life we worked hard at, we accept that we do not live forever, as the common vampire might, like in Buddhism. We must go where out fate lead us. 

 

 

 

We are not everlasting in this body,

We are not forever in one moment.

Just as life must move on,

So shall we.

We must not dwell on one moment,

As if it defines us.

They say when in Rome,

Do as the Romans.

Going with the flow,

enjoying the simple things that you have,

and always have a back-up plan, structure baby.



 

 



Does nature have a soul?

Early Friday morning, one of the most dangerous typhoons in history- Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines. When I heard about the typhoon, I began thinking about Shintoism especially the belief that everything including nature has its own soul or kami. Does nature have a soul? It depends on your definition of what a soul is. One definition of a soul is a person's deeply felt or emotional nature. Based on this definition, natural disasters like typhoons could be nature's way of showing its inner conflict! Although these natural disasters cause destruction and death, shouldn't nature have the ability to express its emotion? As people we have the ability to express our emotions with words or actions that could be destructive to other people. The destruction we can cause though it may not be as large as a typhoon's damage, is just as significant. So maybe we should view natural disasters differently; though they are destructive, based on the Shinto principle we should respect nature's soul and they way it deals with conflict.

Do you think nature has a soul?

Read here for more information on the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan

Self Reflection

                                                          

       

 This week in class we learned about the upper class life in Japan during the Heian Age. We read a pros piece The Pillow Book (a collection of personal notes, diary). One section of this diary was “Nothing Can Be Worse” where the author talks about how nothing is worse than her servants, drivers, or anyone working for her to be unkempt because it is a direct reflection of her. I connected this to our society. It is often said that people are a reflection of those closest to them. If you hang around with negative people who hate their lives and say depressing things, you are most likely to be the same as them because you have more negative than positive influences in your daily life. In the author’s case she does not want other people to see her workers and have a bad impression on her. Mrs. Whitley in class the other day was saying how when she was younger she would wear her favorite shirt that had holes in them to school. Her mother didn’t want her to wear the shirt because Mrs. Whitley was a representation of her family. Look at the people who you surround yourself with because they are a direct reflection of you.

             

Blackface Disaster!

Julianne Hough dressed as "blackface" for Halloween

In case you missed it! Julianne Hough, famous for her dancing role on ABC's Dancing With the Stars, dressed up as a black character from the famous Netflix series Orange is the New Black. Personally, I am offended. I don't understand why she had to paint herself brown in order to convey to the public that she was Crazy Eyes (name of character in show). This made me think about a quote from "The Analects," "A gentle man is ashamed to let his words outrun his deeds". I believe this means to let your actions speak louder than your words and clearly Julianne did not think before stepping out of her mansion. Although Julianne apologized and said it wasn't her intention to offend anyone, how can we accept her apology? An apologetic tweet is not enough for a thoroughly thought out racist costume, but also "The Analects" teaches us how to not judge others because of their wrong doings, but to look into ourselves for the reason why we only see the bad in that person. So rather than being upset about Julianne's clearly racist stunt, I will accept the fact that some people in our society are not knowledgeable about black culture and the struggle for equality.

Read the article here! (I am not responsible for anything lower than the Julianne article)

Reflection

Reflection

Yesterday in class while reviewing the Bhagavad - Gita one of the  the topics of discussion was that when you complete your Dharma, your soul will go on and join the universal soul. But can we compare this to our lives and beliefs that God puts us on earth for a reason we may not know what that reason is or why, but we are here and have to complete this life live right, learn by our mistakes, and be able to love one another and you will go to heaven. A question came up in class asking would there be a hell in the Indian culture that you would go to if you don't complete your dharma. This had me thinking is there a heaven for a saved sinner? I was taught that if I had sinned or did something wrong that God would always forgive me no matter what and would not love me any less. But say if there was a man that committed a murder, will he still go to heaven even if he committed this crime let's say 20 years ago when he was young and stupid. But this man has now gotten his life together and now has God in his life and has been saved. Will the same God welcome him into the gates of heaven with open arms ? Or will this now saved soul be sent to hell ? It says in the bible and I quote " Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come ! 2 Corinthians 5:17 what my interpretation of this means that whoever is saved and knows Christ is now a new person. But in Revelation 20:8 it says " But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murders, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death"

My question is will this now saved soul be welcomed into the gates of heaven with open arms or will he be sent to hell because of this major mistake he has made in his life ?

- This blog was not intended to offend anyone or their beliefs but just used as an outlet for my thoughts and reflections thank you !

Making tough decisions in our lives

Making tough decisions is not always easy for everyone to do. We all stress about what would be the right decision to do in a certain situation versus choosing the wrong decision. Everyone has trouble choosing right from wrong because in a certain situation, we wonder what should we really do and how it will affect us and others. In the story "The Bhagavad-Gita," Arjuna is faced with the dilemma to fight in battle because it is his duty, but if he chooses to fight, he must kill his relatives who are on the opposing side of the battle. Krishna tells Arjuna that he must fight without being concerned for the results to come after the battle is over, but Arjuna is worried about how he would feel for the rest of his life killing his own family members. Would he choose fame and riches to come if he fights or will he sacrifice all of the fame and fortune for the life of his relatives? And I thought choosing a pair of shoes was hard! No dilemma can be as bad as Arjuna's dilemma. Even though death is the circle of life to all living things, I do not think anyone would want to face the death of a loved one or even having to choose family over other things. Whether good or bad decisions, we must remember that every action we choose to do will always have positive or negative affects and we must accept what will come next.

Wearing the Shoes of an Ancient Hindu Story Character

I know I'm a bit late, but better late than never, even though never late is better. I'd like to elaborate and blog about the subject of indecisiveness, such as the indecisiveness in the Bhagavad-Gita that Arjuna faces. Now, you think you have a dilemma when you don't know whether to choose the Cookie Dough ice cream or the Chocolate Fudge ice cream in Shoprite? Yeah, there is absolutely no comparison to Arjuna's dilemma. This guy is hesitant to fight in this important war because, well, he kind of DOESN'T want to kill his respectable family members who happen to be on the opposing side. When we learn about ideals such as dharma and read these kinds of stories in English class, it's easy to say "He needs to get over himself and fulfill his dharma and kill who he needs to kill, gosh", but if we really sit and think about what is going on in his mind, I suppose we should get kind of a stomach-churning feeling inside of us, because I think you are all asking the same question: What would I have done? Someone asked me (I don't even know how we started talking about this? Haha)  and a bunch of people if they would slap their mother for a million dollars, and trust me, you don't even want to hear the answers my poor ears had to listen to. But this connects to Arjuna and his concern for his dharma, and if killing his elders and family is really worth the outcome in the next life if and when he fulfills his dharma and when he is reincarnated. So when in class you think Arjuna is being a wuss puss for not fulfilling his dharma, stop and evaluate yourself and try to put yourself in his shoes. Peace in the middle east! ;) Enjoy my decision-making face below

Forever and Ever

While sitting in class and listening to the Indian's belief of reincarnation, I could not help but connect their belief to the death of my Great-Grandmother. The Indian's believe that as long as you fulfill your dharma, you shall be reincarnated into another body of a higher rank. How does this relate to my Grandmother? Although she is no longer here physically, I feel her presence through my younger brothers. While alive she tried her very best to give each and every one of her grandchildren all the love she could possibly give. After her passing I felt terrible because I was unable to spend as much time with her as I wish I could. I believe because of that, she shares her love through my brothers so I do not have to feel guilty. With this idea I was able to find closure for my own sake.

I am not part of the Indian culture, but it is so fascinating how two cultures can be completely different and yet share the same values. My great-grandmother is no longer physically present on earth but her spirit will live on for eternally.

Changing things

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear  "No one has the power to change the Changeless" (177).  To me it mean that no matter how strong someone thinks they are, they don't have enough power to change something that can't be changed. People fight everyday to change the world but yet things are still the same. It's hard to change something or someone that does not want to be changed. Just like in the story "The Bhagavad-Gita" when Sri Krishna tries to convince Arjuna to fight in the war by telling him it's his dhrama. Its hard to change Arjuna, because he's to worried about fighting against his cousin instead of fulling his dhrama. Or what about the struggles our president Obama goes through to change the U.S? We have to realize that we live in a world were the "people up top" are greedy for money,and don't really think about the people underneath them.

Dharma.

So we've been talking about our duties in class. Our dharma. Long ago, our dharmas were already decided for us based on your position on the caste system. Theoretically, the caste system still exists but you may rise and fall as you please. Now you may be asking 'where is she going with this?' or something along those lines. Well before I answer that question, let me ask you some of my own. What is your dharma? Will you rise above or fall under the position you’re in now? Is your dharma basically to succeed in life? Or is there more to it? I say this because after the writing prompt we had in class on Thursday, I realized I did not know what my dharma is. I thought it was to basically succeed in life and prove those who doubted me wrong. But really, is that all there is to a dharma? Honestly, I think we'll never know what our duty in life is. You might think you do but realize that later on, near the end of life, your purpose was far different than what you thought it would be. Food for your thought.

What does mercy mean to you?

(Mercy is compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.)

One of my favorite examples of how mercy should be shown was in a tale called The Fisherman and the Jinnee. The Jinnee was furious because he's been locked up in a bottle, that the fisherman found by chance, for 1800 years. Even though the Fisherman set him free from the small, cramped bottle, he was ready to kill him without any hesitation because no one else freed him over the years. The poor Fishermen begged for mercy "Spare me, mighty Jinnee, and Allah will spare you; kill me, and so shall Allah destroy you!" (130) but the Jinnee refused to show him any pity for something he did not do. So the fisherman found a clever way to trick the Jinnee, by asking him how could he fit in the bottle. The gullible Jinnee fell for it and was put back into the bottle and begged for mercy so that he would not be put back in the ocean. Now you see that's where I became dumbfounded. How could you ask someone to show you mercy when minuets prior, you refused to show you any? As Hilda said in her blog the other day, "Mercy is when forgiveness is given to someone/something that does not deserve it",and the Jinnee definitely does not deserve any form of mercy from the Fisherman. So in the end he's thrown back into the ocean to await Judgement day.


As the golden rule says: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I understand that letting go of grudges can be hard, I have a hard time with letting them go too, but we have to learn. WE CAN LEARN. Showing forgiveness/mercy may be hard at first but I'm sure we all can do it. 

So before I go, I have a question. Mercy, to me, means to give the benefit of the doubt; to forgive and or let go. What does mercy mean to you?

"Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better."

"Anything you can do i can do better. ."

This week we spoke about the Persians. We noticed how during that time women were not seen as equals to men just like how society is today. However, these views are different from how the Egyptians viewed their women. In the ancient Egyptian society, women were seen as being equal to men with equal roles. They also had the same rights as men. I found this to be extremely ironic! Think about societies before ours and then think about how society is today. 

In the old fashioned days, women were just stay at home wives, only good enough to bare children. Now we as women are able to go out and be successful and have careers. However, in our society today men and women are still not seen as equal no matter how equal our rights are. Men still have that mentality that women are too emotional and sensitive to handle certain jobs. Even the term, "you hit like a girl!" is another way of implying women are weak. Am I the only one that thinks this is "b.s"? Women can be just as strong and assertive, even more, than men. Our roles and contributes are just as important. If the ancient  Egyptians could realize this so long before our becoming, why can't our society view male and female the same? 

"I can do anything better than you!"

The Golden Rule

    This week and a little bit of last week, we were assigned to read 1001 nights. I just want to say that out of all the cultural stories we've read so far, this is by far my favorite! (: I just love the way there is a big story that's framed around a bunch of little stories. It's like putting pieces of a puzzle together, each little story is related to another part of another story. Also, just like a puzzle, when you piece everything together it reveals one big picture. 

     My favorite story within 1001 Nights was the story about the king and the physician. The physician cured the king of his leprosy and the king rewarded him with riches. The vizier was jealous and sought out to ruin the new friendship. When he approached the king, the king was angry because the vizier was speaking bad about the physician who saved him, so he told the vizier the story of the "king and the bird". Later, the vizier managed to get the king to turn against the physician  The king sentenced the physician to death. Long story short, the physician got back at the king by tricking him into turning pages in a book that gave him poison ivy. I like how from this one little story, you can learn a general life lesson. The lesson being "do on to others what you want done to you", meaning treat others as you would like to be treated. (:

 This also reminds me of this lifetime movie I watched called "girlfight". In the movie, there was this group of girls who we're mean. This outsider girl who wanted to be in their group really bad because they were popular and she was an outcast that no one liked. So, the girl (i don't remember her name so I'll just call her Sammy) made fun of her own friend so the group would notice her and make her apart of their group. So after Sammy did this, the popular girl of the group was impressed by her dissing her friend and allowed the Sammy to be apart of the group. After a while, the popular girl started to like Sammy better than all her friends. So the other friends got jealous and told the popular girl that Sammy was trying to get with her boyfriend (which was a lie they made up to sabotage the friendship between the popular girl and Sammy). So of course the popular girl got mad and the whole group decided to attack her and video tape it and post it online. Sammy tried to reason with her and explain that she didn't do those things but the girls still attacked her anyway. Long story short, Sammy ended up getting the girls arrested for online bullying. I feel like this relates to the physican and the king because the popular girl listened to her friends lies instead of believing the Sammy. And just like the king, the popular girl was punished, with the exception that she received jail time rather than being poisoned. I feel like this also goes well with the quote I posted above because if the popular girl would of showed MERCY to Sammy and not been so quick to judge based on what her friends said, she would not have had to go to jail! 

(Btw I'm sorry it's so long, I tried to summarize my thoughts as small as I could!) 

MERCY

The word mercy means "kind or forgiving treatment of someone who could be treated harshly". 

Let us ponder that for a brief moment.

Mercy is when forgiveness is given to someone/something that does not deserve it. We could treat them harshly, but because of the mercy we hold in our hearts, we choose not to. We choose to let them off of the hook. We choose to not punish our trespassers.

Forgiveness and mercy are two very hard and complicated concepts. From small children, aging seniors and everything in between, we have all held a grudge now and then. In some cases, holding a grudge can be healthy. If someone in your life is causing you constant worry and headache, it would seem rational to keep your distance and acknowledge the conflict that said person is causing in your life. I am not against holding grudges as long as there can be a time of admitting personal failures and, yes, forgiveness. If a grudge prolongs enough that it interferes with your mental, social and psychological health, that is when you may need to do some self-analyzing.

In general, showing someone mercy after they have done you wrong is hard. We all have to learn the skill, myself included. We should look to the fisherman in "The Fisherman and the Jinnee" for inspiration and guidance if we have trouble doing so. It is not easy, but I think it makes us stronger people - accepting those who wrong us.

Open To Interpretation

        In 12S, we have spent the past couple of classes discussing pastoral poetry, which, surprisingly, I enjoyed. They were so cute! All about the ups and downs of being caught up in a passionate relationship, from the happiness of being newly committed, as in The Voice of the Swallow, Flittering, Calls to Me, to the possible theme of heartbreak and betrayal in I Think I’ll Go Home and Lie Very Still. Despite references to a lifestyle much different from the present day, the poetry carried within it themes that are still very human and relatable, even after all these years. It is interesting to realize that even people, who lived thousands of years ago, in a time much different from my own, still felt and acted in ways much similar to myself and people that I know in the present day. But besides being cute and relatable, the thing I most enjoyed about reading the poetry was hearing the different interpretations that we all had. For example, the poem I Think I’ll Go Home and Lie Very Still, I interpreted to be about a person who was heartbroken, staying in bed out of sheer bitter and depressed disappointment, and his love gloating knowingly over his heartache. Kimoy, on the other hand, felt that the man was feigning illness in order to be able to see his beloved, who smiled knowingly because she knew the real reason behind his false illness was to see her, and she appreciated the gesture. Two very different interpretations, the same exact text, and both had textual support! I thoroughly enjoyed being able to think about a reading from multiple perspectives. Also, Mrs. Whitley’s genuine encouragement to make our own interpretations, even if they were contrary to each other’s and even her own, as long as we had support, made the class a lot more engaging and enjoyable.

Then vs. Now

Throughout our first month in Mrs. Whitley's english class, we have spent a majority of our time discussing ancient civilizations and the cultural values of the time. From Gilgamesh and the Mesopotamians to the Egyptians, we have continuously compared one era to another. All the talk about past societies made me realize that there are many parallels between those ancient times and the present

Another example is the pyramids which reflected the social ladder for the Egyptians. This can also be compared to our own society. For the Egyptians, the top of the pyramids represented the Pharaohs, the bottom represented the slaves and peasants, while the middle was the working class. Our current social ladder has almost the exact structure. The only difference is that instead of a Pharaoh at the top we have powerful CEO's and members of the government at the top.

We know that the past can teach us about the present and even our future. However, we rarely get to study the history of such ancient civilizations, we never get to notice how different or similar today's society is to the past. But since studying these different eras, I've been able to see some of the connections between the past and present.

Happiness or Misery ?

Like most people, I went to a catholic elementary school and I go to church every Sunday. I never thought of The Creation and The Fall as the basis of our society today. We live in a patriarchal society as Mrs.Whitley stated earlier in class. Ever wondered what would really happen if Adam and Eve never ate the red fruit? Where would we be and how would our society be like ? Well, I thought of those questions after class. I've been told that we would still be in the garden of Eden living a very happy and carefree life. But I believe that it wouldn't change so much. I mean Adam and Eve would've still found a way to bring pain and a disappointment to our lives today.

Which brings me back to the patriarchal society. I am a feminist so I am all about equality. But after Adam and Eve's sin, women had to bear children with excruciating pain and they must stay and take care of the house and children. Women are also considered inferior to men (I don't agree with it at all) as God had stated. Men has to work endlessly to provide for their family and be the head of the household. I think this is applied in today's world. Women aren't getting paid equally no matter how hard they work and Men are judged harshly if they dare go outside the box. Both males and females have it bad due to Adam and Eve's mistake.  Without Adam and Eve committing their sin we wouldn't have specific jobs for each gender and everything would be equal, unlike today.   :)

Let's Be Real

Today, in class, we spoke about what we learned from Chapters 2 and 3 of the Genesis story. Mrs. Fraiser pointed out how we acknowledged Eve's punishment for eating the red fruit; she was going to suffer and feel pain when she gave birth. However, we never acknowledged the punishment Adam received for sinning. His punishment was that he will have to work really hard to get bread for his family. If you think about it, the jobs that were created for men are not easy at all. They usually require lots of hard work and sweat. I relate this to our daily lives. We usually ponder about how much a woman goes through, from monthly periods to the pain of child bearing. However, we never think about how much a man has to suffer. Yes, woman may have it harder, but we never think that a man can suffer just as much. Giving birth to a child is not a daily task for a woman unlike a man has to work hard each and everyday to be successful and provide for his family. I believe that men should receive their recognition once in a while. Don't get me wrong girls, I know we go through a lot but I am just trying to be fair and realistic.

Ride or Die

Earlier this week Mrs. Fraser was observed by one of her teachers from the College of Saint Elizabeth. When she first told us she was coming to observe we all immediatley whether it was silently or verbally said " Don't worry, we got you." We all had this ride or die mentality. What this means is that no matter how we were feeling that day, we would come through for Mrs. Fraser. It shows how much we've come to respect her, in only 3 weeks of teaching us. We all have become attached to her like a big sister but, respect her as an authority figure. Than it made me think just how attached we are to one another. If one of us needed something or felt in danger we  would be there for her with no question because it's ride or die.  Ride or die isn't always literally, most of the time it is emotionally. It is being there at all cost, even when you don't feel like it. This is what inspired me this week. 

Power Struggle 101

As I sit on my bed and ponder on what I can possibly blog about that would make sense....the thought of this epic power struggle between God and Man came upon me in a revolutionary way. I searched through my notes and fell upon a circled "Power Struggle 101" next to my notes.  Next to that in my notes I wrote,
"The Creation and the Fall was beginning of the epic God vs. Man, where humans try to be God."

Mr. Hogan in our sophomore Scriptures class gave us this idea of Adam and Eve  wanted to be gods and that is why they allowed the serpent to deceive them, they could have called God and told on the serpent. I only say "they" because there could have been multiple ways both Adam and Eve handled the situation. At the time we were reading it from a more religious view so it made a little  hard for me to really comprehend that people wanted to be God.

When Mrs. Whitley told us that we will be reading the bible from a literary perspective I was a little hesitant about the idea of because I read this story so many times. I just couldn't figure out what I could possibly learn that was new. As I read I stumbled on these lines, it made me change my opinion.
And the Serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.

⁵ For God doeth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened: and ye shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.

 

This is the exact proof that shed some light on the idea of  Man wanting to be Gods. If we look back at The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh's whole goal was to become immortal which would ultimately make him a god. Now this may not be a great example but it begins further thinking and questioning. Another example is the divine right of kings, and how it became a long standing symbol of this ultimately heavenly pedestal kings people put these kings on. Think about some more examples and comment down below! Where else do you see this "power struggle 101" happening?
 

 

 

Women these days.

While listening and observing our class's summer reading presentations, I have noticed that most of them revolve around women before they were given rights. They were known as nothing more than sex objects, baby making machines, and a house wife. In class we made a connection about "The Scarlet Letter" with the color red. Ms. Whitley explained to us how the color "red" was (or still is) represented as passion, lust, ect. So for all the women in the book "Handsmaid Tale" you're able to do a lot of comparing with the main character from "The Scarlet Letter" and start to actually understand "WHAT" the women's purpose really is for wearing the color red. Also, in "Memoirs of a Geisha" men were VERY Superstitious about females  being in their boats because they thought it would be bad luck. One of the fishermen went as far as beating his daughter for playing in his boat and took it to some priest to get it cleansed. We have come along way... Well that's what most say. If you actually look outside of the lies and look beyond the truth you will be able to see that "WE" as women are STILL fighting for our rights. The sad thing is... It's in our face everyday and all the time we just don't notice it anymore.

 Women these days...

Leave Your Biased Opinion at the Door

I don't know about most of you, but I feel that the hardest thing about correlating a story to the bible is the fact that I'm openly biased about what I believe to be the "truth". Mrs. Whitley is trying to get us to separate the misconceptions from the fact in the Creation story. So one day, I'm in class taking notes and we're talking about how the apple isn't really an apple and that it's probably a pomergranete and I'm like cool cool interesting. And then she goes on to say how Eve is often wrongly portrayed as a seductress and I'm like yeah yeahh that's true. BUT THENNNNNN she says no where in the bible does it say that the serpant is the devil and Lorena and I are like whattttttttt????????? Surely it says the serpant is the devil. I mean all my life I've been taught serpent+deception=devil. That's simple to understand right? It makes perfectly good sense right and NOBODY likes snakes so it makes even more perfectly good sense ;).But then I realized that in the western world snakes are usually seen as a negative thing but what about in other cultures?? Then she pointed out how the serpant or a dragon is a good sign in some Asian cultures. Which brings me back to my title "Leave Your Biased

Opinion at the Door". When we read literature we often bring to it our ideals, beliefs, and the social norms of the time. But contrary to what we believe not all works of literature were written for us to teach only our time period and era. Maybe the writer or reader at the time shared beliefs that we now can't relate to. So that's why it's so important to understand the history surrounding a piece of writing because in doing so we can better understand the writing itself. Use history to escape the societal beliefs of this day and age and explore new ones openly but more importantly leave your biased opinion at the door.

Why Gilgamesh Had to Die

Now that I've got your attention with my title ;) ... I want to further elaborate on exactly what I mean. I know we've moved on from The Epic of Gilgamesh, but I thought the events leading up to the death of Gilgamesh were very important in understanding why his death was almost foreshadowed and practically inevitable. An important part in understanding the death of our Epic Hero is understanding the role the gods play. The gods in this story often have a hand in human affairs and use their power so that most future events work in their personal favor, RIGHT ???? In that case, the reader could have predicted Gilgamesh's death even before he EPICALLY failed at achieving immortality. Recall in the beginning of the story when Mrs. Whitley was giving background information she described the relationship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh. Enkidu was created by the gods to balance Gilgamesh so there futures were interdependent on one another, so by Enkidu dying in the battle of Humbaba, Gilgamesh had to die. How could he live while his "other half" had died? Therefore, Enkidu's death was a foreshadowing of Gilgamesh's epic downfall and demise. (DROPS MIC)

The History Within Literature

   

 I thought back to last year when we read The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible.  We had already learned about the puritan's strict Christian beliefs so we understood the book better and had a deeper analysis on the book. I had never thought about it but without my knowledge from the history I would not have understood the actions of the characters. Knowing the background of a text is essential to having a deeper understanding of the story. 

  I never really realized how important it is to understand the history in Literature.  When we received our first assignment I wondered, "Why are we reading a history lesson instead of reading the story?" I didn't understand and was a bit worried that I would be taking two history classes this year. However,without reading about Mesopotamia I would not be able to fully understand The Epic of Gilgamesh. I realized how important it is to understand the history and the origin of the text before reading it.  Without taking the time to read the history we would not have known of the Mesopotamian's belief of their gods or the importance in their value of perfection and beauty. With this foundation of the history we can have a deeper understanding of the story.  Now knowing how much the history of the Mesopotamians helped me with The Epic of Gilgamesh, it makes me wonder about other novels as well. Thinking about the history of literature has changed the way I analyse and view a story. 

     

     

Assumption Equals Evil

Are you evil?

We discussed in class how the physicality of a person often determines whether or not a character is evil. Many times if the character does not live up to what the culture considers normal, he or she is evil. I believe this happens outside of the stories as well. For example, if we see someone wearing all black, we immediately assume that they are Gothic, dark, evil and worship the devil. Well, did you ever stop and think maybe they just love black for some reason? It does not matter the reason why, but its the assumption.

When I was younger, I remember watching an adventure movie by the name of The Goonies. There was a specific character who was deformed and  in captivity with evil people. However, he was not really evil. And when the kids saw him, they feared him because of his facial features. It was not normal to see someone with deformed features. His deformity determined he was evil. The children eventually made friends with him, and he help them overcome the very people that had him in bondage.

Can you be considered evil from assuming? There is a cliche that states, “Never judge a book by its cover.” And I believe it is a human flaw to judge. We do it sometimes and do not even notice it! Just by the way a person walks through a door, we automatically have a thought of the person having attitude problems. But that is the same thing as looking at someone and assuming they are evil! So lets think of the last time we looked at someone and had a negative thought! Remember we are just as evil if we assume. Test the waters before you miss the best swim of your life!