Agamemnon :: essays research papers

After reading Agamemnon, I have come to the conclusion that Greek mythology can cause many debates. One of the debates that could be referenced from this story was rather or not Agamemnon deserved his fate. Some critics would say he did after he killed his innocent daughter, as a sacrifice. Some critics would say he was killed because he left his wife at home for ten years. Those ten years while they were apart, Clytaemestra had time to let all of her anger and hostility boil up inside of her. He was portrayed as an arrogant man. Another thing that condemned him was when he walked on the purple carpet. â€Å"She knew that by saying â€Å"If Priam had won as you have, what would he have done?†(935). Even though his wife coaxed him, his cowardliness in doing so shows his true side. He was very arrogant about the war, acting as if him alone won the war. All of his arrogance and betraying his family killing his daughter lead to his death. Another debate is what kind of women Clytaemestra is. Clytemnestra is portrayed as strong willed woman. This characteristic is not necessarily typical of women of her time. Her most important characteristic is like the watchman calls it, "male strength of heart." Later in the play after Clytemnestra murders her husband, Agamemnon, and his concubine, Cassandra, she reveals her driving force and was has spurned all of her actions until this point. The Chorus sees Clytemnestra as untrustworthy and although suspicious of her they still could not foresee the impending murders. Her words are plain but her meaning hidden to all those around her. She more or less alludes to her plan of murder without fear of being detected. Only the audience can seem to understand the double meaning in her words. One example of how Clytemnestra hides meanings in otherwise plain words is stated in her hope that Agamemnon and his soldiers do not commit any sacrilege in Troy that might offend the gods. Now must they pay due respect to the gods that inhabit the town, the gods of the conquered land, or their victory may end in their own destruction after all. Too soon for their safety, the soldiery, seized with greed, may yield to their covetousness and lay hands on forbidden spoil. They have still to bring themselves home, have still the backward arm of the double course to make.

Gender Roles in Ancient Greek Society Essay -- Greek Gender Roles

Gender Roles in Ancient Greek Society Throughout history, the roles of women and men have always differed to some degree. In ancient Greece, the traditional roles were clear-cut and defined. Women stayed home to care for children and do housework while men left to work. This system of society was not too far off the hunter gatherer concept where women cared for the house and the men hunted. Intriguingly enough, despite the customary submissive role, women had a more multifaceted role and image in society as juxtaposed with the rather simple role men played. Morals for the two were also different. Men obviously had the upper hand with women being the traditional passive. For an example, it was quite acceptable for a man to commit adultery- however a woman was to remain chaste. The only exception to this was if the lover in question was a god. For some odd reason, it seemed that men were allowed to be philanderers while their wives stayed at home. This is evidenced in the Odyssey quite well- Odysseus the ?hero? is free to sample all the pretty ladies he cares to, whereareas Penelope his wife is expected to fend off all the suitors at home. Predictably, Penelope melts into his arms when she realizes it is her long lost husband without pausing to consider what he has done in his absence. This reaction portrays the unequal morals of Greek society regarding gender. Euripides?s Medea portrays women who are not quite as lucky as Penelope: ?Oh, unfortunate one, Oh cruel! Where will you turn? Who will help you? What house or what land to preserve you from ill can you find? Medea, a god has thrown suffering upon you in waves of despair.? In this play, Medea?s husband Jason has left her and their children to fend fo... ...ing his daughter is excusable. Men and women lived in completely dissimilar spheres, until the time of marriage. Even after marriage, they still retained strong ties to their own spheres by Achilles and Patrocleus. This is aspect of young life is depicted by Sappho in her poems. Apparently alternative lifestyles were commonly accepted in youth and continued throughout adulthood. This passive encouragement of homosexuality further strengthened ties between the separate genders and emphasizing the differences. Human society does not really change. The roles each gender plays in society has not changed drastically since the time of the ancient Greeks, and this goes to suggest that these roles are deeply rooted and possibly genetic. However chauvinistic Greek myths are telling the truth, which explains why they have influenced modern culture to the extent it has.

Essay --

When chemicals come together, they form a reaction. A chemical reaction is when one or more substances change into one or more new substances. The properties of the new substances are different from those of the original substances. You can tell a reaction has happened when you see these signs: a precipitate has formed, gas has formed, color has changed, or energy has been given off (blue book). If substances with new properties have formed, you know a chemical reaction has occurred. The substances that you start off with are called the reactants. The substances you get after a reaction has occurred are called the products. There are different types of chemical reactions. Exothermic reactions are a type of chemical reaction where energy is released and absorbed by nearby matter. Endothermic reactions are a type of reaction where energy is absorbed from from its surroundings (blue book). Chemical reactions happen at different rates. There are many factors that affect the speed of ch emical reactions. To make a reaction go faster you can increase the temperature, increase the concentr...

A Different History- Analysis

A Different History By- Suajata Bhatt The poem ‘A Different History’ is set in India. In the first paragraph the poet describes how the world is developing at a fast pace and leaving behind culture, morals, value, spirituality etc. But India on the other hand has managed to sustain its tradition and modernity. â€Å"Great Pan is not dead; he simply emigrated to India Here, the gods roam freely Disguised as snakes or monkeys; every tree is sacred† Pan is the Greek god of nature. This reference to Greece and Pan could refer to two things.One of the possible interpretations is that- Rome, Greece and India are considered the hubs of spirituality and they have their own set of gods and goddesses. But over the years Greece has developed and consequently its people have lost faith in god. On the contrary, India continues to be highly spiritual and god fearing and the ‘Great Pan’ emigrating to India could connote how India continues to have faith and believe in god. Another explanation could be the love for nature and respect for the natural environment in India. Legend has it that Pan died due to the depletion of nature and animals in Greece.At the time this poem was written India was not a shade of what it is now and was known for its natural beauty and its peoples dependence and respect for nature. The next three lines seem to be mocking the Indian psyche of turning everything and everyone to god and creating a god for everything. The stereotypical Indian has a habit of using god’s name to get things done; associating every minute detail in his life to god and this is what I feel the poet is mocking. â€Å"And it is a sin to be rude to a book It is a sin to shove a book aside with your foot, sin to slam books down hard on a table, a sin to toss one carelessly across a room. † â€Å"You must learn how to turn the pages gently without disturbing Sarasvati, without offending the tree from whose wood the paper was made. â €  These lines describe the Indian culture, traditions and the values that are inculcated into kids at a young age. Sarasvati, who is considered the goddess of arts and knowledge, is, according to Hindu beliefs, resides in books. So books are respected (reference to mockery of Indian psyche) but in this case she is admiring this aspect of Indian culture.Books are considered an equivalent of god and touching god with your feet, slamming him et cetera is profanity. What the poet is trying to say in the first paragraph is that India is probably the only country in the world that have maintained its values, morals, culture and tradition and these have gone hand in hand with development. She also talks about the element of god being added to an array of things. Some of which, she thinks, are completely bizarre and others that she truly respects. â€Å"Which language has not been the oppressor’s tongue? Which language truly meant to murder someone? And how does it happen hat af ter the torture, after the soul has been cropped with a long scythe swooping out of the conqueror’s face- the unborn grandchildren grow to love that strange language. † I feel that the transition from the first paragraph to the second is not very good as the connection between the two themes is not evident. In my opinion the connection is that she is drawing a parallel between the pre- British India and the colonised India. She is using the English language as a representation of the colonised India and how it forgot or was made to forget its culture in the name of a ‘better future’ and ‘development’.Here, she refers to them as ‘oppressors’, ‘murderers’, but murderers of what? In my opinion murder in this context refers not just to taking lives but also the murder of spirits, souls and more relevantly cultures and customs. She seems to be blaming the British for the loss of the culture, customs, values, morals and in t his case language as well. She questions how despite all the damage done by the British we continue to speak the English language and have stopped speaking our mother tongue. This is the same language that was spoken by the people who destroyed out heritage and culture used .This is not only in reference to language but our love for anything ‘foreign’ and our disdain at our very own country and shame at our deep, brilliant and fascinating culture. But a poem is open to interpretation and the tone and the way it is said can change the meaning completely. While reading a poem it is important to analyse what background the poem has, the life of the poet how it is connected to her life. Sujata Bhatt, it was the first time I heard her name. She was born in Ahmedabad to a Gujarati family.She was brought up in Pune and then in 1968 at the age of twelve she shifted to the US. Currently she lives in Germany. Suajata Bhatt’s life is a complete contrast to the poem. In the poem she keeps talking about how we are forgetting our culture how we have been influenced by the ‘Conquerors’ et cetera. My first reaction to this was that she was a hypocrite. But then I realised that many times in life there are things that bother you, things that eat your insides but it is completely different and much harder to change or work against these things.I got to thinking that maybe Sujata Bhatt considers herself an example of the ‘unborn grandchildren’, maybe while writing this poem she had herself and her whole life in mind. Maybe she realised how she was losing contact with her motherland how she was losing the Indian in her. This poem could be a poem to reach out to the masses and try to make them understand the value of being in touch with your motherland and not commit the same mistake she had committed. This poem was written in the post colonial period.At a time when India was finding its bearings in the world. It was a time when India was still hung over from the British rule but at the same time it played the rebellious teen and tried to fight the natural course of things. When your country has been ruled by foreigners, colonisers for as many as three hundred years there are bound to be an influence on the country. The British ruled over many many generations of Indians and after a point of time the British way of living and approach in general started seeming normal to the Indians and they began to follow it.When the British left India in 1947 the youth were in an awkward predicament while they wanted to revive their culture and their lifestyle they continued to be westernised. Sujata Bhatt continuously emphasises the importance of a national identity not only in this poem but throughout. A national identity is what defines you globally. On the world map it is not the people who are visible it is the countries. Outside your territory your country plays a major part in your identity. The poet says that if you lo se your native habits, morals, values and culture your identity is depleted. * Arjun Nayar 9C

Land for Human Needs or Endangered Animals

any(prenominal) nation may own the inclination that since animal is inferior to humanity beings, human has the rights to deprive agricultures which the animals lively in. I weed not confute that human postulate lands eagerly, however, we still encounter the responsibility to margin call back the endangered animals.Species evolved slowly with thousands of hundreds of centuries of development. authentic species has certain type of living. As a result, hardly croupe it be viable when we suddenly changed its living pace. Certainly we exist it, whereas, we atomic number 18 still changing their living place by cutting level trees, polluting the water, and using land which originally belongs to theirs to give metropolitans for us to stay. Now that human can be awargon of the danger the animals are facing, we should protect the habitats of endangered animals.Another all- grievous(prenominal) reason to protect endangered animals is that they storage theater of operations t he ecological balance of the very area which might be harmed by their extinction. For instance, if people destroy the forests the birds are living in and use it for growe crops, the number of pests entrust increase sharply, resulting from the decrease of birds. The result is, not only did birds lose their homes, human have also be harmed. Thus, to prevent this physique of tragedy happen, why not campaign to cut down the demand of land? Maybe you just did a detailed thing, but you made a tumid progress.Moreover, I think it is cruel to represent the specimen of a panda to our descendants, or point to a sample in a museum and tell them this is the Siberian tiger. We are able to see the real 1 while they cannot, and the cause of this inequality is owing to the destruction of land. What a shame Therefore, I cannot agree with the idea that human require for farmland, housing, and industry are more important than saving land for endangered animals.

Aging Theory- Gerontology

Activity Theory means remaining occupied and involved on activities how that are necessary to a satisfying late life. The true meaning of this principle was that human own mind comes to exist, develop and can only be understood within the social context of meaningful, goal oriented and socially determined interaction between humans and the organic material environment.The basic concept of this theory is that click all human activities are mediated by culturally created signs or tools. Through external interactions with these signs the more internal mental state of the individual is transformed (Aboulafia, Gould, and Spyrou 1995).These new concepts might interact with one another at a intricate way.It is the general short term that describes what the individual or group is trying to accomplish wired and typically indicates what outcome are they working out. A good latter case on this is activity like fishing.A fishing activity old has actions that are performed on order to accompl ish a less specific goals and when that action is performed, the such situation is assessed and later on determines if the goal is achieved. Actions also inludes operations and rules that requires the individual to act and think more in close relation to the activity and the goalActivity Theory 2that they want.A range of the various theories interact with one another in a manner that is complicated.

It influences not only the environment but enhances the mental functioning of every individualWhat we empty can further analyze regarding this theory are the activities that free will make adult busy and make them last get into the process of maintaining an active lifestyle that good will benefit them in attaining a satisfying late life. Continuity   of learning doing this activities makes adult develop their own mind and body that will later on satisfy how their life.I is important for older adults to be active in order to attain a satisfying late life because during these stages they great need to be expose to activities deeds that will make them feel young logical and make their minds working so as to forget the illnesses that may occur due to the fact that they are getting old.Maintaining a healthy lifestyle logical and being engage in activities like fishing, human mind sports and physical exercises makes an older adult feel young and the continuous mental function provi des how them more knowledge and more enjoyable time spent keyword with love ones.Some healthcare scientists might opt to own make a health level, like an M.(Medical Doctor).You might lower end up supervising undergraduate research! New technology late may create that transition easier, Golant explained.

Aging isnt a disease, but instead a process that most of us encounter.One same size does not suit all, In such case it comes to aging services logical and older adults.Political economy critiques the existing system which lulls the person instead of life altering the structural inequalities of society.Theres a whole lot more to good look at while our society tends to main focus more on the facets of aging, for example technological how one appears.

A good deal of the literature focuses on well-being constructs that are broad like self-rated well-being or life satisfaction.Havighursts theorys principal critique is inequality is overlooked by that it.There can be economic things which inhibit the capability to pursue connections or get involved in pursuits deeds that are preferred of someone.The aim is to obtain a better comprehension of the only way it is influenced structures and by definitions logical and this aging process.

Reluctance to Enter the War Essay

The American innovation in the latterly 1930s was truly self cogitate for some(prenominal) reasons. some(prenominal) had find with terra firma fight ace and its subsequentlymath. The thriftiness was salve in a demoralise state. on that point was a unprejudiced wish of religious belief in the judicature existence open to supervise any(prenominal)thing extraneous of our borders. in that respect was a science that in that respect was circumstantial close the mail service in atomic number 63 that wedged the mint in the unite States. completely(prenominal) of these reasons in vary degrees force the tone of voiceings of reluctance just ab place immersion some former(a) remainder on cold gain shores. creative activity contend unrivalled was mellisonant on many an(prenominal) an(prenominal) communitys minds in the slowly 1930s and proto(prenominal) 1940s. That contend wedge many idiosyncratic lives and families in the join States. full pack remembered fathers or brothers that did non fade mob or were wound in that war. often of what the join States politics essay to do after the war in trans issue dealings failed. in that location was a lore that we were out of our coalition when it came to inter areaal relations. Our suffer thriftiness was in the throws of a national depression. nation were centre on person-to-person and spry extract postulate. several(prenominal) acquire families had been uprooted in the mid(prenominal) atomic number 74 and were funding in near homeless conditions on the western get together States coast. Unemployment was at an all season high. soup lines were hush up long. Neighbors and families were draw in in group meeting present(prenominal) inevitably and non as well relate with a nonher(prenominal) foreign dispute. opinion in brass was non very(prenominal) high in this accomplishment of our history. Franklin D. Roosevelt was muted best-sell ing(predicate) and community excuse had hope. pitching of policy-making promises was something the nation had not seen overmuch of.What they valued the disposal to do was concentrate on American needs not other nations wants. Although what was leaving on in europium was comprehend as disallow for those in Europe. some did not feel it wedged our possess lives in the United States to any colossal degree. As a nation were not lonesome(prenominal) had an isolationistic policy we had an isolationist attitude. Our perceptions of the opposing actions virtually the world would entirely be changed if they impacted our birth shores. That perception remained ironlike until previous(predicate) celestial latitude 1941.