Isn't Love

    


 In Canto V of Dante Inferno  Francesca say's "love, which permits no loved one not love, took me so strongly with delight in him." In this quote she is blaming love for her actions. The idea of you can't help who you love came to mind. I believe that it is true that you can't help who you love.In the dictionary the meaning of love is a deep ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude towards a person. For example, in Romeo and Juliet Romeo fell in love with Juliet the moment he saw her at the Capulet's ball. Romeo was willing to do anything just to be with the one he loved. Another example will be how Aria Montgomery from Pretty Little Liars fell in the with her English teacher Ezra Fitz, and now struggles to get over him. Love is something you can't avoid this is why I believe that you can't help who you love.

Getting Through the Struggle

The narrative Dante's Inferno uses the literacy device of an allegory. An allegory is a story with two levels of meaning one symbolic and one literal. The literal aspect of the narrative is that Dante does journey through hell, purgatory and heaven. The symbolic meaning of it is that a man must go through the worst of times to get to the best of times or real happens. I connected the symbolic meaning to a strong belief that I have. I believe that you must go through a struggle to receive your blessing and that what you've been through makes you the person you are.

I have realized that the people who have things handed to them without having to work for them appreciate very little. Then the start to believe that the world owes them something. However, the people who have had been at rock bottom, I mean almost losing everything but, hold on to faith are the ones who make the biggest come up. These people tend to make the biggest come up after going through because they have experienced not having anything. Not having anything and being at the lowest part of your life makes you stronger and more able to make it out of  the situation. And they must have that they will get through, just how Dante was brought the deepest parts of hell on faith. If he can be brought the deepest ends of hell, than getting through any struggle is possible. 

Who lives? Who dies?

Who lives? Who dies?

When reading The Odyssey  by Homer, the book shows a special case of disloyalty and loyalty shown by many characters. Only a few were loyal and they received their reward. Many were quick to turn on the King of Ithaca, and there was a special consequence given to them. The country of Ithaca reminds me of a specific country. The country of The United States of America. Throughout the American history people have suffered a great consequence of death or prison for committing any form of treason against the country. In other words, if you were disloyal to your government in any way you were punished for it.

During World War I, there was a law passed by the name of Espionage Act. This law defended the U.S government, if any citizen was to speak against the great throne of our President and his decisions, would be sentence to prison or fined. Ithaca citizens were in Odysseus’s home speaking terrible about him and his family, trying to take his wife’s hand in marriage, and more. It was a simple judgement for them, death.

Today the Espionage Act still continues. The United States can be considered the country of Ithaca. If you speak out or act in anyway that is against the throne of the United States you will suffer in some way. Being in prison is a form of death because one is not allowed to do whatever one pleases. Might have thought you were free from the wrath of Ithaca, but you live in Ithaca(U.S) even now. So, who lives and who dies? Remain loyal, and mercy will be shown unto you. Show disloyalty,and we all know what will happen…….

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)

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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.