Author Archives: amanda

In Afghanistan women are not left with many choices. Live a life of cruelty and oppression or attempt suicide in the hopes of never having to live a life of helplessness again. Unfortunately many Afghan women resort to the second of those choices and set themselves on fire as a way to both embody their inner-suffering and set themselves free from their undesired lives. These women are often living with untreated mental illnesses due to their extremely cruel treatment. A woman Farzana said, “I felt so sad and such pain in my heart and I felt very angry at my husband and my father- and mother-in-law, and then I took the matches and lit myself.” These women have nowhere and no one to turn to. They have no outlets of expression and therefore are forced to do the unthinkable and set themselves on fire.

The Pillowbook written by Sei Shonagon displays a similar situation. Women did not have the power to express their thoughts during this time period. They faced oppressions much like what the women of Afghanistan face in the present. Sei Shonagon had a diary which was kept hidden from the public because a woman doing such a thing was frowned upon. It was Shonagon’s unique way of expressing her inner emotions in her oppressive society. “Whatever people may think of my book, I still regret that it ever came to light.” (A, 258) She never wanted her diary writing to become publicized. She wrote these notes in her diary when she, “…though no one would notice what [she] was doing.” (A, 258)

In both examples women are facing oppression. However they ways in which they overcome such cruelty differ a great deal. Although the Afghan women’s choice may seem more dramatic the point is that these women saw no other choice but to act in the ways that they did.

Works Cited:

In The Prince, Machiavelli states that “…those princes who have accomplished great things are the ones who…knew how to manipulate the minds of men with shrewdness…” (C, 236) Princes are able to achieve the most success if they are cunning and very crafty. According to Machiavelli there are certain qualities such as compassion, faithfulness, integrity, and kindness that a prince must appear to possess. “It is not necessary “…for a prince to have all the qualities mentioned above, but it is certainly necessary that he appear to have them.” (A, 237) The image projected of a prince enormously affects his or her popularity with the public. Machiavelli emphasizes that appearing to have the desired image wanted by the public is the key.

On December 1^st the NY Times featured an article entitled, “The Governor of New Jersey Becomes a Star on YouTube”, which dealt with Governor Chris Christie’s unique use of videos and manipulation to gain the support of voters. According to Machiavelli these videos and the efforts being made by Governor Christie would be a great example of projecting a virtuous image. Although Christie is being made famous for his talking tough in the videos, he possesses the quality of being able to “…use scolding and ridicule strategically.”  Most politicians don’t use YouTube in the way that Christie does. His over 163 videos have allowed to him to prevail as a republican leader in a predominantly democratic state. Christie has obtained a “myriad” amount of fans and the numbers continue to grow. This is a great example of a modern day prince, or political figure, using and applying Machiavelli’s observations and words to its fullest.

Works Cited:

On November 16^th the NY Times published an article entitled, “Diana’s Ring Seals Prince William’s Marriage Plans”. In the article we learn of Prince William’s future wife Kate Middleton. She is a highly educated college graduate of the prestigious University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where the two first met. “Miss Middleton is a different sort of royal bride from Diana…” One of the major differences pointed out were their differing education levels. Middleton, if made queen one day would be the first in British history to actually have obtained a college degree. This alone says a lot about her “…tough and savvy…” personality, she is much stronger than Princess Diana in many aspects. Middleton’s future marriage to Prince William definitely creates an aura of eeriness due to the history of where her ring originates from. Princess Diana, was killed tragically and without any knowledge that it was to happen.

There are many comparisons that can be made between Kate Middleton in this NY Times article and the character of Shahrazad in “The Thousand and One Nights”.  Shahrazad “…had studied historical reports, and was acquainted with the sayings of men and the maxims of sages and kings.” (B, 414)  She was a very educated woman who along with Middleton has a tough edge. Shahrazad is putting herself in situation which is very questionable in wanting to marry the king. The king has women put to death the morning following their marriage and Shahrazad wants to marry him? She wants to marry the king to try to save more women from being killed, but in doing so she is putting herself at risk of a possibly tragic outcome.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/world/europe/17royal.html?scp=2&sq=diana&st=cse

“Throne of Blood”, a play from Ping Chong, had a great story line but a lack of excitement. The only part of the play that really caught my attention was the scary ghost and the annoying voice of Lady Asaji. I thought it was interesting how the play was an adaptation of a film; hopefully in the future upon viewing it I may be able to compare the two.  My favorite part of the play was the amazing display of the ghost in the forest. I think I can speak for everyone that was sitting near me and say that the goal of setting the spooky mood was a success. From the costume to the sound effects the atmosphere was just perfect for these ghost scenes. The play over all I felt was a bit rushed, I got a bit confused at some points and if I had not had previous knowledge of Shakespeare’s Macbeth I may have not been able to understand what was going on. Especially towards the end of the play I was very confused and I strongly believe it was due to the fact that it was rushed. The beginning of the play was much more slow moving and easier to follow.

Charles Isherwood, the theatre critic for the New York Times, recently reviewed “Throne of Blood” and definitely did not hesitate to incorporate his many strong disliking’s of the play. He felt that the stage was too bare, the language was not all there, and basically the costumes were the only thing he saw as beautiful.  Isherwood mention that, “The kimono first worn by Lady Asaji (Ako), Washizu’s wife, features a design of rich red dripping off the shoulders, foreshadowing her murderous ambitions.” I had taken notice to the red on the kimono because it was so vibrant, however I did not realize it was foreshadowing towards what was to come. It is interesting now to think back and understand that indeed it was. The highlight reel that was above the stage he felt was barely noticeable and not able capture the necessary atmosphere and I cannot argue against that. Isherwood felt that the ghost “…with his stark, kabuki-style makeup and waterfalls of white hair surrounding a tuft of bangs, the spirit seemed to me a vision of the quirky fashion designer Betsey Johnson in her dotage, more kooky than creepy.” I found this to be hysterical because I love Betsey Johnson, but I could not agree more!

Overall, I agree with Christopher Isherwood that the play was not all there. However, my disliking’s were definitely not as strong as his. I did enjoy the play and am very pleased to have seen it.



The New York Times on October 13^th featured an article, “Across the U.S. Long Recovery Looks Like Recession”.  Currently we are making a slow recovery from the recession in the United States. They have done as much as they can do already, but what more can be done? And if the government steps in and does more, will that just make the economy worse? At the moment there is still a low unemployment rate and not enough jobs to go around. Foreclosure although improving is still pretty high and the housing market is still down as well. The best thing at this point for the Fed to do is to wait it out.

In the scene of the Odyssey with Circe and Odysseus we see a comparable situation. Odysseus learns from Circe that he has 2 terrible encounters ahead of him and that he must choose one. The choice is between Scylla and Charibdys. No matter which path Odysseus chooses these two monsters will lead to impending death. Circe advises Odysseus that the best choice would be to steadily row straight through Scylla because, “[b]etter by far to lose six men and keep your ship than lose your entire crew.” (A, 402) If he chooses Charibdys the entire ship would be engulfed by the whirlpool. Odysseus initially questions his ability to fight of Scylla, but Circe advises him that the best course of action is to just row straight along through the monster. This is similar to the situation spoken about by economist Barry Eichengreen of the University of California: “But we’re going to be living with the overhang of our financial and debt problems for a long, long time to come.”  These unavoidable hardships we are to face in the U.S. as a result of the recession create a great parallel to the previously mentioned situation from the Odyssey.

In the Book of Job we are introduced to a prosperous character, Job, who is always careful to avoid any wrongdoing.  Job is blessed with what many people hope for such as a wife and many healthy children, herds of animals, and a profound appreciation for God. Satan believes and challenges God that if he were to punish Job, Job would curse God’s name. Although faced with many hurdles so abruptly, with the sudden death of all of his children and livestock, Job did not curse Gods name.  Unsatisfied with Job’s reaction Satan “…afflicted Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.” (A127) Job proceeded to curse the day of his birth, “Let the day perish wherein I was born…” This story tells us of a man who is forced to experience terrible and embarrassing hardships and how he reacts to them. Job is a strong and upright man who loves God, but we see following these hardships that he is left contemplating his life.

In recent news, a student at Rutgers University was placed into a completely mortifying situation. Tyler Clementi was an accomplished 18 year old student who unfortunately was faced with must adversity due to his sexual orientation. He was secretly filmed during a sexual encounter with another male by his roommate, Dharun Ravi. His roommate proceeded to broadcast this footage online for the world to see. Dharun Ravi posted on twitter, “Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly’s room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude, Yay.” (NY Times) By broadcasting this private footage, Ravi was in a sense punishing Tyler for his actions simply because he was different. Just like Job, Tyler Clementi was left questioning what he could have done to deserve such terrible treatment. Unfortunately, unlike Job, Clementi was unable to come to grips with himself and ended up choosing suicide to heal his pain. This again relates to the Book of Job because it left the public curious and wondering, why do so many terrible things happen to so many accomplished people with promising futures?

Upon reading the Epic of Gilgamesh and the first eleven chapters of the Book of Genesis many comparisons arise. The strongest of these would have to be the globally destructive flood which is caused in both by Gods as a punishment for the behavior of the human race. In the epic Utanapishtim tells Gilgamesh the story of his survival during the great flood. “The hearts of the Great Gods moved them to inflict the flood.” (Epic of Gilgamesh, 91) The people of Uruk had basically gotten on the nerves of the great gods by making too much noise and this was motivation to destroy everyone. The only person to know of the flood was Utanapishtim and he built a large boat by the commands of Ea, “…Make all living beings go up into the boat. The boat which you are to build…” (Gilgamesh, 91) This situation is comparable to what happens in Chapter 6 of Genesis. In the book God exclaims, “I will wipe out the human race I created from the earth, from human to cattle to crawling thing to the fowl of the heavens, for I regret that I have made them.” (Genesis, 34) God is frustrated with the evil ways that his creations are acting and in order to wipe them out he creates a world-wide flood. Just like in Gilgamesh, God selects a one person, Noah, whom he will save by warning him to create a boat. God commands Noah, “…two of each thing you shall bring to the ark to keep alive with you…” (Genesis, 34)  If you notice, the God or Gods in both stories tells their one chosen hero almost the exact scenario and actions to take.

– Amanda Trexler

The Epic of Gilgamesh can in many ways be compared to a recent article from the New York Times entitled, Gates to Meet with Russian Defense Minister.  In the epic, Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s relationship starts off rocky to say the least. Enkidu feels he must teach Gilgamesh a lesson for the way he treats his people. They proceed to battle, however in the end become the best of friends and wind up having a unique and brother-like relationship. This is a great comparison to the enemy-like relationship between the United States and Russia during the cold war. However as acknowledged in the article, Defense secretary Robert Gates of the U.S. and Anatoly E. Serdyukov of Russia are working together to combat a similar burden.  The article states, “…they are expected to find common ground on a topic that would have been unimaginable during the cold war.” (NY Times) Gilgamesh is a king with much experience on the battle field and who knows how to handle his armies of men as stated in the epic, “He walks out in front, the leader, and walks at the rear, trusted by his companions” (A60) Enkidu on the other hand was bred from the wild and therefore has never been able to gain experience of the sort. Robert Gates of the U.S. has had many years of familiarity with military business and knows has had experience of his own. The New York Times reveals that Mr. Serdyukov of Russia has no knowledge in the necessary field, in this case the military, and therefore he is left with little or no experience similar to Enkidu. These are just a few of the many comparisons that can be used in discussing both the Epic of Gilgamesh and this recent article of the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/world/europe/15military.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=gates%20and%20russian%20counterpart&st=cse

In the Epic of Gilgamesh we witness firsthand the start of a very strong bond between two men, a brotherhood. We are introduced first to Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk, who is two-thirds god and one-third man. Although he is considered to be the greatest of all men his actions towards his people are not very becoming of a king; raping brides on their wedding nights is an example of this. “Gilgamesh does not leave a girl to her betrothed!” (A60) To counteract Gilgamesh’s magnificence, Enkidu is created. These two men become friends and throughout the epic we are able to experience the growth of their brotherhood from the hardships that they overcome together. When death comes upon Enkidu, Gilgamesh is struck with an enormous amount of grief.  “I mourn for Enkidu, my friend. I shriek in anguish like a mourner… an evil demon appeared and took him away from me!” (A,30)  They had become like one or as we would say in modern times “two peas in a pod”. To lose this dear friend left Gilgamesh confused. The death of a loved one is never easy and often may come as a surprise; As a result family and friends are left to mourn and often with many unanswered questions.

Recently in East New York, Brooklyn a final match of an international soccer tournament took place involving St. Lucia and Jamaica. As many people know when you are part of a team you become family or like brothers/sisters with your fellow teammates. Well that was the case for Phillip Tisson who was a player for St. Lucia who had scored the winning goal bringing them to the Finals. Unfortunately Mr. Tisson was shot and killed not too long after the qualifying game and was never able to compete at the finals in Brooklyn. His father, teammates, and fans mourned the loss of this peaceful man. “His teammates spent the week mourning, training, and searching for answers.” The killer is unknown and many are left wondering why someone would elect to shoot a man of such excellence following his dreams. A father and a son and a man and his team both have unique bonds that when broken due to an untimely death leave people to mourn and ask why this has to happen.

In the past, the present and future death has and will always be the source of great pain for many individuals because death is inevitable. The reason for this is that it often leaves many people questioning; why here and why now? A big reason for these questions is because people have an underlying fear of death and believe it is never the right time. This was clearly present in the Epic of Gilgamesh when Gilgamesh was faced with the death of his best friend, an experience that had been completely alien to him. He was left asking himself why here, why now? Although we may all experience it differently, this feeling of sorrow is present in all humans in the experience of a loss.

“At Soccer Game, Remembrance for a Fallen Player”  New York Times, September 6, 2010