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Author Archives: bbourne
Posts: 7 (archived below)
Comments: 1
The Prince and Toddlers
In The Prince, Nicolo Machiavelli tells his readers what characteristics a great leader should have. He does not teach anyone, but merely gives his opinion. Though it may require violence and lying at times, it also requires studying and beginning at a young age. This idea is also present in the New York Times article “For the Goal-Oriented Parent, A Jump-Start in Toddler Sports” by Mark Hyman.
In order to become a prince, Machiavelli believes one should start as earlier as possible and have them study not only other princes, but sports. Machiavelli states, “A wise man ought always to follow the paths beaten by great men, and to imitate those who have been supreme, so that if his ability does not equal theirs, at least it will savour of it.” According to the article, “The Little Gym… begins classes for children at 4 months old.” Though entrepreneurs behind these gyms say they are not trying to make these children ESPN stars, once junior high school cones around, these children are quite athletic and familiar with the sports in their schools.
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Throne of Blood
In The New York Times article “Sprawling Cinema, Tamed to a Stage”, author Charles Isherwood claims that the play, Throne of Blood, was quite boring. Throughout the entire article, he has negative comments about the play except for their “fancy samurai getups”. Isherwood states in the beginning of his article, “Were it not for the gorgeous costumes– sweeping silken kimonos and samurai armor made of glistening black patent leather– Ping Chong’s “Throne of Blood,” a new production from the Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, would be as boring to look at as it is to listen to.”
This critique was pretty harsh towards Chong’s “Throne of Blood” play. It wasn’t the best play, but it was pretty enjoyable. There was humor, which made it easier to watch. The bits of Japanese added a nice touch.
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Many Stories
In The Thousand and One Nights, Shahrayar was a king who went mad and killed many women in the kingdom due to his wife’s infidelity. He would spend the night with a woman and kill her the next morning. Shahrazad, the vizier’s educated daughter, tells her father to marry her to Shahrayar so that she may have an opportunity to change his ways through storytelling. Storytelling as a way to teach lessons is prominent throughout The Thousand and One Nights and in an article in The New York Times “An Israeli Novelist Writes of Pain, Private and Public” by Ethan Bronner.
The New York Times article explains the novel To the End of the Land written by David Grossman around the time of his youngest military son’s death. This story, which can somewhat be compared to Grossman’s own life, teaches the lesson about the “importance of home.” Though Shahrazad tries to teach Shahrayar different lessons, there is an overall lesson being taught. Shahrazad is trying to teach him that killing women the morning after he spends the night with them is wrong.
In the article, Grossman “entertained the illusion that by writing…, he was somehow protecting his children.” In The Thousand and One Nights, Shahrazad was also telling these stories as protection. Shahrazad tells her father “I would like you to marry me to King Shahrayar, so that I may either succeed in saving people or perish and die like the rest.” (B, 414) She is telling these stories not only to save her life, but to save the lives of the rest of the women in the kingdom.
Posted in The Thousand and One Nights
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Book of Job and Haitian Letters
In the Book of Job from the Bible, Job is a wealthy man who praises God and gives him sacrifices to try to save his children. He is tested by Satan to see whether he is really God’s follower, or if he just praises God to keep his riches. The way he suffers is similar to how Marjorie Saint Hilaire suffered in Haiti.
First, Job lost everything. His camels and oxen were taken away, and his sheep were burned. Also, his eldest son’s house fell, killing all his children. Then, “the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.’”(pg127) So Satan filled his skin with sores. Although Job’s been through much trauma, he still does not sin or curse God.
In the NY Times article, Saint Hilaire starts off her letter by giving thanks to everyone concerned and acknowledges the ones who are trying to help solve many of the problems the people of Haiti have since the earthquake. She lost her husband in the quake, and even though Job lost his children, they both lost family members that they cared for. She is still suffering now, along with her children. Even with the lack of food she states, “I give glory to God that I am still alive — but I would like to stay that way!”(NYTimes) She has not cursed God, but she praises him for allowing her to live.
Both Job and Saint Hilaire have lost their family and are suffering though very tough times. They praise God no matter what they went through because they still have their lives.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/world/americas/20haiti.html?ref=americas
Posted in Book of Job
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Utanapishtim and Noah
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the story of Utanapishtim is similar to Noah from the Holy Bible’s first book, Genesis, in a few ways. Both Noah and Utanapishtim face the same problem, the flood that wipes out humanity. Utanapishtim is given a blueprint from the gods of an arc he must build. God also tells Noah how he must build his arc, even though his is much bigger than Utanapishtim’s.
Noah is also instructed by God to bring “… his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives…” and every animal, each with a mate. (pg. 35) Utanapishtim brings similar people and animals, but with a twist. The Epic states,
“I had all my kith and kin go up into the boat,
All the beasts and animals of the field and the craftsmen I had go up.” (pg. 92, lines 80-81)
Utanapishtim brings along the craftsmen so, when the flood is over, they can rebuild cities. Noah is not interested in bringing craftsmen. He only wants to follow what God orders.
God believes humankind is evil and regrets creating them, so he must cleanse the Earth with a flood. Genesis states, “And the LORD saw that the evil of the human creature was great on the earth… And the LORD said, ‘I will wipe out the human race I created from the face of the earth… for I regret that I have made them.’” (pg. 34) This was not the case with the gods from the Epic of Gilgamesh. Utanapishtim says, “
“The hearts of the Great Gods moved them to inflict the Flood.”
The gods did not create the flood because humans were evil. They did it because they wanted to and they thought it was the right thing to do.
Even though the gods and God created the flood for different reasons, Utanapishtim and Noah went about saving themselves in similar ways.
Posted in Genesis - Gilgamesh
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Gilgamesh vs Nadal
There are many stories in real life that can compare to the Epic of Gilgamesh. One article is “Nadal Savors His Latest Role: All-Courts Player” from September 15ths New York Times.
In the Epic, Gilgamesh is victorious. Along with his best friend Enkidu, he takes down the mighty Humbaba on his quest to the Cedar Forest, and kills the Bull of the Heavens when it tries to go after him. Rafael Nadal is just as victorious. This past week, he won the United States Open, a very competitive tennis tournament.
There is no one as strong and triumphant in Uruk than Gilgamesh and Enkidu. The Epic states,
“We grappled with and killed the Bull of Heaven,
we destroyed Humbaba who lived in the Cedar Forest,
we slew lions in the mountain passes!” (p87, lines 47-49)
The same is for the world of tennis. Nadal, along with Andre Agassi are “… the only men to have won the four majors, the Davis Cup, and the Olympics.” (B16) There is no one else like these two tennis players.
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Gilgamesh
In the Epic, Gilgamesh is a powerful man with great authority. The Gods decide to make Enkidu, a man of the wilderness who is as powerful as Gilgamesh, to compete against him. Enkidu declares,
“I will challenge him.
Let me shout out in Uruk: ‘I am the mighty one!’
Lead me in and I will change the order of things. . .”
Enemies at first, they become friends and join together with a common goal, to take Cedar from the Cedar Forest, which is protected by the beast Humbaba. This is similar to the Israel and Palestine leaders in their compromise of peace and land. The New York Times article states, “The leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority held more than two hours of face-to-face peace talks in this Red Sea resort on Tuesday, delving into several of the core issues that divide the two sides but not breaking an impasse over Jewish settlements.” Even though they may not be allies, the Israelis and the Palestinians are trying to find a peaceful way to get what they want.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/world/middleeast/15mideast.html?ref=world
Posted in Gilgamesh
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