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Author Archives: lauren.daquila
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Final question
How does Sei Shonagon use her advanced knowledge differently in The Pillow Book than Shahrazad does in The One Thousand and One Nights?
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The Prince
The Prince is basically Niccolo Machiavelli’s guide to what he believes makes a successful leader. Machiavelli clearly believes that honesty is not the best policy. The Prince states, “And so, a wise ruler cannot, nor should he, keep his word when doing so would be to his disadvantage and when the reasons that led him to make promises no longer exist (C, 236). Machiavelli writes that the most prestige rulers are not always loyal to their people, and that the trick is to be good at deceiving. The Prince also says, “And men, in general, judge more according to their eyes than their hands; since everyone is in a position to observe, just a few to touch” (C, 237). This statement is saying that it is important to appear to have certain characteristics because the majority of people will judge you on how you look to be and only few will have the ability to figure out who you really are.
An article titled A Nazi Is Exposed, but Did He Have Anything to Hide? was published in the New York Times on December 7th. This article is about a man, Mark Gould, finding out about a former Nazi, Bernhard Frank. The article describes how Gould became fascinated with the Holocaust and decided to do research on the event in Germany. Though his findings he accused Frank as being a Nazi who aided to a very powerful man during the Holocaust. Gould believes that Frank should be penalized for what he was a part of years ago, however Frank denied ever playing a part in the tragic event years ago. Although Frank has written a book on his experiences and there are taped interviews of him talking of his experience, he still denied being involved. The article states, “In a telephone interview from his home in Frankfurt, Mr. Frank said he knew nothing about the Holocaust, a statement that seems doubtful given his administrative role in Himmler’s office. ‘I’ve never done statements concerning the Holocaust, because I just don’t exactly know much about it,‘ Mr. Frank said. ‘You have to be careful with statements. Do you understand?’” This article compares to The Prince because Bernhard Frank acted exactly the way the book says he should have. Frank denied all of the accusations against him and attempted to deceive everyone about his role as a Nazi. Although it is certain Frank played a major role in the Holocaust he still would not admit to it because he knew of the consequences. Machiavelli says that when telling the truth would come as a disadvantage to yourself that is when it is acceptable to be dishonest.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/world/europe/08nazi.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=world December 7, 2010
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Asian Literature
The New York Times article, For Afghan Wives, a Desperate, Fiery Way Out, it discusses how the woman in Afghan feel as if they have no way out. Their lives are controlled by their husbands, or their husband’s family. They are seen as inferior to the men they are married to. Some of these woman are arranged to be married very young and to cater to their husbands. These woman are constantly subjected to emotional and physical abuse from their husbands, their in-laws, and even their own families. The article proves this, “It is shameful here to admit to troubles at home, and mental illness often goes undiagnosed or untreated. Ms. Zada, the hospital staff said, probably suffered from depression. The choices for Afghan women are extraordinarily restricted: Their family is their fate. There is little chance for education, little choice about whom a woman marries, no choice at all about her role in her own house. Her primary job is to serve her husband’s family. Outside that world, she is an outcast.” They feel the only way out is to set themselves on fire and burn to death. These woman are normally in a deep depression and are not able to receive help. They believe that the only way to be able to end their depression and abuse is to burn themselves.
The Asian literature we are discussing in class shows how woman live in societies where they are seen as inferior to men. Males are portrayed as the greater gender and females are constantly reminded their place in society. One example of this is in The Book of Songs. The Book states, “So he bears a son, And puts him to sleep upon a bed, Clothes him in robes, Gives me a jade scepter to play with. The child’s howling is very lusty; In red greaves shall he flare, Be lord and king of house and home. Then he bears a daughter, And puts her upon the ground, Clothes her in swaddling-clothes, Gives her a loom-whorl to play with. For her no decorations, no emblems; Her only care, the wine and food, And how to give no trouble to father and mother” (A, 1040). This shows the difference in where the males and females are placed in society. The boys are to grow up and be kings and the girls are to grow up and their only worry is to take care of their husband. Woman are shown in the Asian literature to only do as they are told and to be under complete control of a man. The article from the New York Times shows that the culture has no changed drastically. Today woman are still seen as inferior and are not entitled to the same rights as men. It is very depressing that woman are now going as far as burning themselves to get away from the lives they are born into.
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Throne of Blood
The play, “Throne of Blood” was very confusing to me, I mainly understood the parts that seemed to have a comparison to Shakespeare’s “Macbeth“. However, the theater review in the New York Times I do not completely agree with. I agree that the costumes were very nice and that the scenery was not extravagant. What I do not agree with is that the critic is comparing the play to the movie, and although I did not see the movie, I do not believe that is a fair comparison. Also the critic did not like the spirit in the play and did not think it was creepy. I really enjoyed that part and I enjoyed the costume and the voice they gave the spirit. The article also says, “I spent a fair amount of time asking myself how Mr. Chong would manage to recreate the movie’s celebrated last scene, in which Washizu staggers around like a death-defying human pincushion after his own soldiers have sprayed him with arrows. The answer was uninspired, an appropriate anticlimax for an ill-conceived theatrical enterprise.” I believe that is a little harsh, even though the story line was confusing for me and I had a hard time following what was going on, overall I thought that the actors and the way the story was portrayed was not that bad. The scene the critic is talking about is actually one scene I understood and thought was made very clear. He is making too many comparisons to a movie, where effects and camera angles make telling a story much easier. Overall I thought the play was interesting and put together nicely.
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The One Thousand and One Nights
In The One Thousand and One Nights, the story discusses how woman are betraying their husbands. In one instance Shahrayar’s wife is caught cheating with a slave. She is able to get away with this by using the veil that woman are told to wear in their society. Woman are told to wear the veils to cover up their beauty in public, however women realized to use this belief in their favor. In The One Thousand and One Nights the woman are shown as using their veils to cover up their identity and provide them with freedom. It is very hard to tell woman apart when they are completely covered up and this makes it very easy to secure their identity. Shahrayar’s wife uses her veil to make herself blend in with the slave girls and the men they are sleeping with wear the veils to make them appear to be slave girls as well. The Thousand and One Nights says, “…[A]nd there emerged, strutting like a dark-eyes deer, the lady, his brother’s wife, with twenty slave-girls, ten white and ten black. … Then they sat down, took off their clothes, and suddenly there were ten slave-girls and ten black slaves dressed in the same clothes as the girls” (B,410). After Shahrayar sees what is going on he decides to never trust a woman again. He comes up with a plan to sleep with a new girl every night and then put them to death. That way they will not be able to sleep with anyone else. This is Shahrayar’s attempt to control woman.
In the New York Time’s, recently there was an article, Google Sees Rules Violations in Limits on Internet Access. This article discusses how China, and other countries, are attempting to control the internet by blocking what people are allowed to access. The internet, since it was created, always provided freedom. Users are able to access any site and are able to obtain any information they are looking for. Some people used the internet to cover up their identity because anybody can be whoever they would like to be online. Also there are many websites now with information that users are allowed to put up, like Wikipedia. The freedom on the internet is endless, or so it was. Now Google is saying that government is attempting to control the internet by blocking what users are allowed to do. The article states, “The Google policy paper said that more than 40 governments around the world now to some extent restrict freedom of information on the Internet — which it said was more than a tenfold increase in the last decade of governments with such restrictions.” Most of the governments that want to go about this are from the East. Google is arguing that blocking the free flow of information on the internet is against human rights and will block economic growth. This article is similar to the story, The One Thousand and One Nights because as woman are using the veils to allow themselves freedom, the internet has provided users with freedom. Now the government, similar to Shahrayar, is attempting to control the rights given to people, or these women. The government is attempting to use censorship to control internet uses, and Shahrayar is killing women, so that they will have absolutely no freedom after him.
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Scylla and Charybdis
In the Odyssey, Odysseus is faced with making a decision where both choices have dreadful outcomes. Circe informs Odysseus that on his voyage back to Ithaca he will come across two sea monsters, Charybdis and Scylla. Scylla is a six headed monster that will kill six of Odysseus’s men regardless of what they do. Charybdis is a whirlpool that will swallow the entire ship. Going through either of these monsters will result in devastation. After Odysseus asks if he will be able to fight off Scylla, Circe tells Odysseus, “Can’t you bow to the deathless gods themselves? Scylla’s no mortal, she’s an immortal devastation, terrible, savage, wild, no fighting her, no defense– just flee the creature, that’s the only way. Waste any time, arming for battle beside her rock, I fear she’ll lunge out again with all six of her heads and seize as many men” (A, 403). She tells him basically that the death of six men is impossible to avoid, but attempting to fight will just result in the unnecessary death of more men. The best way for Odysseus to handle the situation is to row as fast as possible and just go straight through Scylla.
The New York Times posted an article with a similar situation, Across the U.S. Long Recovery Looks Like Recession. This article talks about how the United States is in a recovery at the current time, though key components of the economy are still going downhill. There are still not enough jobs, the housing market is down, and foreclosures and debt are serious problems. The government had to make a decision, like Odysseus, between doing nothing and have things never get better or attempt to fix the economy where things may get worse before better. Attempting to do more than what is already being done will just make the economy worse, the only way to get through the recession is to wait. This is similar to the Odyssey because although Odysseus wants to fight Scylla to save his men, the best thing for him to do is nothing. Even though the economy does not seem to be getting any better, the article shows that it will over time. The article states, “This dreary accounting should not suggest a nation without strengths. Unemployment rates have come down from their peaks in swaths of the United States, from Vermont to Minnesota to Wisconsin. Port traffic has increased, and employers have created an average of 68,111 jobs a month this year.” This shows that the situation may look bad, however it is improving. Just as Odysseus has to go through Scylla and lose six men, the outcome of just going through will end up in the best possible way. The economy has to get through the rough part of the recovery to end up successful.
Posted in The Odyssey
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midterm questions
1. Compare Odysseus’ leadership to Gilgamesh’s ledership. Who was a more successful leader?
2. What are the differences between the God in the Book of Job and the God in Gensis?
3. How does God’s punishment given to Job compare and contrast to the punishment God gives to Eve?
Lauren D’Aquila, Limor Shalev, Steven Katz, Brittany Dourne, John Paredes
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The Odyssey
In The Odyssey, while Odysseus and his men are on sailing back to Ithaca from Troy, they venture over to the land where the Cyclops lives. This was Odysseus’ idea to go over to the island and see what is over there. In the Odyssey, Odysseus says, “’The rest of you stay here, my friends-in-arms. I’ll go across with my own ship and crew and probe the natives living over there. What are they– violent, savage, lawless? Or friendly to strangers, god-fearing men?’” (Odyssey, Book 9, 361) Although he knows the Cyclops is on the island he still decides to sail over there with his men to explore. When Odysseus and his men finally arrive and are face-to-face with the Cyclops they realize the danger they are in. The Odyssey states, “Lurching up, he lunged out with his hands toward my men and snatching up two at once, rapping them on the ground he knocked them dead like pups– their brains gushed out all over, soaked the floor– and ripping them limb to limb to fix his mean he bolted them down like a mountain-lion, left no scrap, devoured entrails, flesh and bones, marrow and all!” (Odyssey, Book 9, 364) Odysseus comes to the realization that they are not going to be able to escape from the Cyclops, which means that, in time, they will all be killed at Polyphemus’ mercy. Odysseus’ decision to journey over to the island has now put himself and his men in great danger, and he now decides to devise a plan to escape. Odysseus brings the Cyclops wine in attempt to get him drunk. When the Cyclops asks who he is, Odysseus answers that his name is Nobody. The Cyclops becomes intoxicated enough to fall over, when this happens Odysseus stabs him in the eye until the eyeball bursts. When the Cyclops’ friends hear screaming they call out to Polyphemus, however he answers that it is Nobody. This answer makes his friends believe that there is nobody hurting him and that it must be a plague sent to harm him. Which results in the success of Odysseus’ attempt to escape the Cyclops and be on his way home.
This part of the Odyssey is very similar to an article in the New York Times, Tangled Tale of American Found in Afghanistan. In this article an American man, Mr. Owuo-Hagood, made a conscious decision to go to Afghanistan for money purposes. The NY Times states, “They said that he had tried to make money traveling to China and Turkey to buy clothes for resale back home, and that he had been drawn to Afghanistan by revelations of its untapped mineral wealth.” However when he got there and began meeting with the Taliban he started to put Americans in danger, similar to the way Odysseus put his men in danger after willingly going to the Cyclops’ island. Mr. Owuo-Hagood began telling villagers and the Taliban about the American military, where to shoot them to do the most damage, teaching them about maps, and how to fire rockets into American bases. Then, after Mr. Owuo-Hagood was in Afghanistan for a short while, his father received an e-mail which caused him to believe his son was being held against his will. The article says, “Mr. Owuo-Hagood’s father said that sometime in August, he received an e-mail supposedly from his son, but written by someone whose first language was clearly not English, saying he was ‘under control of the Taliban.’” Which shows another similarity between The Odyssey and this article, an American man is being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan and Odysseus was being held by the Cyclops on his island. Mr. Owuo-Hagood has recently escaped and returned to his home in the United States unharmed. The article says, when he encountered American troops, “He asked for their protection, saying that he had been abducted by the Taliban and held for months but had finally managed to escape, according to Western officials in Kabul.” The last similarity between the story and this article is that, just like Odysseus, Mr. Owuo-Hagood was able to escape.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/world/asia/12taliban.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=us
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The Book of Job
The Book of Job tells a story about a man who is “blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil.” He, Job, seems to have a prosperous life and is seen as one of the greatest people of the east. Job has ten children, an abundant amount of livestock, as well as numerous servants. In order to test his loyalty to God Satan takes away everything he has to see if he will blame God. Satan takes away his livestock, his servants, and his children, also Job develops blisters all over his body. Satan believes that Job only fears God and turns away from evil because he is blessed.
After all the good in Job’s life is taken away, Satan assumes that Job will curse God. However The Book of Job states, “Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God, and die.’ But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” (Job, 127) Which shows his beliefs are much stronger than assumed. This part of the story is similar to an article in the New York Times, For Female Marines, Tea Comes With Bullets. The article describes the women who are in the marines and their lives. The Book of Job and this article have many similarities based on with the way in which they deal with tragedy and coming to terms with the horrible casualties that happen. One female marine states in the article, “It’s not the living conditions, it’s not the mission, it’s this,” she said, gesturing toward a memorial display of boots, rifles and dog tags belonging to the dead Marines. She was, she said quietly, “too much of a girl to deal with these guys getting killed.” This female, in particular, quit the marines after seeing one of her male friends shot and killed. This shows how death, and dealing with death, can alter a persons beliefs and faith. These woman are surrounded by death and need to be able to not let it affect them.
This article and The Book of Job are also comparable on another aspect. In The Book, Job’s friends come to visit him after hearing about the evil that was brought upon him. One of his friends, Eliphaz, says in Job, “Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or where the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of this anger they are consumed.” (Job, 129) This excerpt shows Eliphaz thinks that people that are evil are punished and those that are virtuous are exempt from punishment by God. Eliphaz says this to Job because he does not think that God would have allowed the horrible events that happen to him if he had not done wrong. This would mean bad things do not happen to good people, which is not always the case. Many people chose to have this belief because it makes life easier to deal with. This is seen in the New York Times article as well, one female marine talks about her belief in God and her hopes that he will protect her. The article elaborates, “But she readily says that she has relied on daily prayers — she is the daughter of a Minnesota stockbroker and a flight attendant who went to church every Sunday — and faith in God to get her through. Out on foot patrols, she said, ‘my life’s in his hands.’” This belief is common among religious people, they believe that God has full control over everything that happens. Which is why when horrible events take place, like death, people believe there is a reason for it.
Although The Book of Job and For Female Marines, Tea Comes With Bullets article are alike, there is one major difference. In The Book, Job does not choose to deal with loss and pain, it is brought upon him to test his beliefs. Where as in the New York Times article, the woman marines chose to go into the military and knew what they would have to deal with. However, dealing with pain and death is not easy either way and in both situations keeping your faith is important.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/world/asia/03marines.html?pagewanted=1&ref=world&src=me
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Genesis vs Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh discusses the story of how Gilgamesh and Enkidu became friends, going against what the Gods wanted, and then how Gilgamesh dealt with the death of his new friend. Genesis is the story of how one God created mankind, along with everything else on Earth, and what punishments He put upon them when they acted wrongly. Although these stories seem very different they have many similarities within them. The most obvious comparison would be that in both stories there was a vast flood. In Gilgamesh this flood was created by the Gods because they were angry with the people. Only Utanapishtim was told to build a boat so he could save himself, other living beings, and the animals. The Epic states, “Tear down the house and build a boat! Abandon wealth and seek living beings! Spurn possessions and keep alive living beings! Make all living being go up into the boat.” (Gilgamesh, 91)
Likewise in Genesis a flood was created by the Lord because he felt “the evil of the human creature was great on earth.” The Lord advised Noah, whom he favored, to build an ark that would protect himself, his family, and the animals. In both cases the floods seem very alike, however they do differ in ways. When Utanapishtim loaded his boat for the flood he not only brought his family and the animals with him, he also brought the craftsmen that built the boat. This shows he wanted to preserve the knowledge and skills of mankind. In contrast, Noah did not bring his craftsmen. He brought only what the Lord told him to save, which was himself, his wife, his sons, their wives, and two of each animal. Another difference was the way the flood was brought to the land. The gods in Gilgamesh created a storm that made the river overflow and flood the land. This storm lasted for six days and seven nights. Where in Genesis it was a long period of rain that flooded the land. Genesis says, “’For in seven days’ time I will make it rain on the earth forty days and forty nights and I will wipe out from the face of the earth all existing things that I have made.” (Genesis, 35) There are other differences in these texts aside from the flood as well. In the Epic knowledge of the people is encouraged and appreciated. They have acquired the skills to build and grow food. “Go up the wall of Uruk and walk around, examine its foundation, inspect its brickwork thoroughly. Is not even the core of the brick structure made of kiln-fired brick, and did not the Seven Sages themselves lay out its plans?” (Gilgamesh, 59) This extract from the Epic shows how vast their knowledge is to build such a wall and how much it is appreciated. On the other hand, when the people in Genesis start to obtain the knowledge of crafting this angers the Lord. When He sees what they are doing he creates multiple languages so that they do not understand each other and scatters them over the land. The Lord does not see these skills as an advantage and He does not want them to have any knowledge. Another main difference in these tales is that they both have supernatural characters in them. The difference is that in the Epic of Gilgamesh there are multiple Gods being described, showing polytheism. In Genesis there is just one single God, the Lord, which resembles monotheism. This just shows some of the similarities and differences these stories share.
Posted in Genesis - Gilgamesh
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