Aristotle Greek Tragedy (Journal 5 Oedipus)

Sophocles evokes the emotions of pity and sorrow through the ridiculous plot of Oedipus the King. The plot is so far off from the average life of a person it seems awkward and strange, it displaces them from their comfort zone and brings them into an area of pity and sorrow felt for the main character (Oedipus). The plot also touches on some social taboos, such as incest and murder, in a society where these acts are looked down upon they solicit an emotion of empathy and regret for Oedipus who was destined to have this happen to him. The circular structure of Oedipus the King also evokes the feelings of pity and sorrow in the audience. Through out his life Oedipus always tried to avoid the prophecy by leaving his home. He then defeats the Sphinx and becomes the hero of Thebes. Oedipus accomplished a lot of good things in his life, but as a result he fulfilled the prophecy. When the prophecy is fulfilled his life spirals out of control; his wife/mother kills herself and he blinds himself. His whole family is negatively affected and this brings out the feeling of pity in the audience. Sophocles uses this type of literature (tragedy) to touch the audience personally so they may reflect on their own lives and see the truth about the human condition and see how it plays out in Oedipus.

Greek Tragedy (Journal 4 Repeated Images)

Through out the tragedy of Oedipus the King there is a reoccurring idea of sight and truth. The city is in ruins at the beginning of the play. "Our city- look around you, see with your own eyes- [...]" (160). The priest from Zeus tells Oedipus about how the city of Thebes lay in waste. Sophocles uses the words "see" and "eyes" to relay the desperation of the society to the ruler, Oedipus. The priest directly talking to Oedipus and his own eyes show how Oedipus is directly connected to the city and its problems. This adds to the theme that not all insight and truth is good. In the next quote Tiresias speaks about the truth he sees. "How terrible-to see the truth when the truth is only pain to him who sees!" (176) Tiresias adds to the idea that truth can be negative and painful. Tiresias as a blind prophet contributes to the idea that having no sight may be helpful and less painful. Through out the play the concept of sight and truth is held in bad light. In the last quote Oedipus gouges his eyes out. "[...] looking straight up into the points, he digs them down the sockets of his eyes, crying [...]" (237) In the ending scenes of the tragedy Oedipus takes away his ability to see. Oedipus takes away his sight to show dramatically the truth affected his life. By taking away his own sight he reveals a theme, seeing the truth may not always be a good solution.

Greek Tragedy Journal 3 (Gender Roles)

Sophocles establishes a unique gender role when he introduces Jocasta into the play. When Oedipus mentions Jocasta he talks highly about her and how they both rule equally as a king and queen. In one part of the play Oedipus even tells Jocasta how he prefers her over some men; this lends to the idea that women have some power but men are still the major power players in this Greek society. When Jocasta is introduced into the play she seems like a good role model for women. She seems to act as a peace keeper between Creon and Oedipus; she even goes onto help both sides of the argument to help settle the feud. In the end of the reading though she seems to go hysterical as she puts the pieces of the story together and realizes what she has done (some could argue this as a warning to women, but her actions seem justified by the situation she is put in). Jocasta also seems to take a more sensible approach to problems compared to Creon and Oedipus; the men seem to make decisions based on the current information at hand while Jocasta wants to learn about all aspects of the story. Through out the story Jocasta is spoken to very politely; sometimes Oedipus can be very abrupt with her though. Jocasta in the beginning seems to be the voice of reason but later breaks as she learns about the horrible truth. With this being said Jocasta is not a good example of a gender role considering her social rank as a queen

Greek Tragedy (Oedipus Leadership)

The leadership of Oedipus changes through out the story. In the first reading he seems like the savior for the city. The priests and citizens gather around him and he seems capable of fixing the city from its troubles as he sends out Creon to go find guidance from the Oracle. Oedipus also vows to find the murderers of King Laius so he may bring peace back to the city. His word choice in the first reading seemed like that of a caring person looking out for the masses rather than himself.

In the next reading Oedipus seems to change as a leader and as a person. First his word choice becomes a lot more negative as he addresses the people he formerly trusted. He also seems to only care about himself as Teiresias tells him that he is the problem plaguing the city. Oedipus also turns on his friend Creon; he insults him and then wishes to have him killed because he does not agree with him. A dramatic change in personality and leadership compared to the beginning of the book

Greek Tragedy - Oedipus (was absent when assigned)

Summary

Page - 159: King Oedipus wonders why the people of his city have come to him and what may be troubling the city.
Page - 160: A priest comes to Oedipus and tells him about the negative things happening to the city and how all the people in city are being affected.
Page - 161: The priest then goes on to ask Oedipus to help fix the cities problems and return the city to its former greatness.
Page - 162: Oedipus expresses his views on the city and then tells the priest that he has sent Creon to the Oracle in Delphi for guidance.
Page - 163: Creon arrives back to the city from Delphi and brings news about the city from the oracle.
Page - 164: Creon tells Oedipus that the murder of King Laius must be avenged in order to bring back the peace to the city.
Page - 165: Oedipus is shocked by the murder and wonders why the people of city did not pursue the men guilty of the crime.
Page - 166: According to Creon a band of thieves killed Laius and the Sphinx persuaded the people of the city not to venture any further into the murder.
Page - 167: Oedipus vows to find the killer of Laius so the peace in the city can be restored.
Page - 168: The citizens gather around and pray to the Gods for help and assistance.
Page - 169: People continue to pray and reflect upon the negativity in the city.
Page - 170: The people then pray to certain Gods for help.

Literary Devices

Allusion

A Sphinx is a mythological creature. It usually stands guard of something and asks a riddle to adventurers. Using a Sphinx in this story can create the effect of something greater to come since it watches over something prized.

Personification

"And black Death luxuriates in the raw, wailing miseries of Thebes". (37-38) This sentence shows how a dark force took over this town and how it is just festering in it. This creates a problem for the main character.

Motif

Gods were mentioned a lot through out this story. This sets up a certain atmosphere for the story. The people acknowledge that there is a greater force controlling them and this may affect the story.

Metaphor

"Our ship pitches wildly, cannot lift her head/from the depths, the red waves of death..." (29-30) The city is being mirrored to a ship out of control and how it struggles to break free of this evil bond.

Dystopian Novel Journal 3 (Brave New World topic B)

An important character in Brave New World would be John the Savage. He is the child of Linda and Thomas; since natural pregnancies are looked down upon in the new society John is already at a disadvantage when it comes to conforming with it's ideas and rules. John was an outcast at the savage reservation do to his mother coming from an outside world, he was often made fun of by the other savages. John is also well read, this is highly frowned upon by community. He often recites lines from Shakespeare, this confuses the citizens of London since they take every concept literally. John first seems to like the new society; it was clean and orderly. Then as time set in more and more people wanted to see him. This annoyed John because they were just interested in his savage nature. Since he grew up in a savage reservation he has a different out look on life so most of his actions are not understood and usually taken humorously by the London community. At the climax of the book John the Savage revolts against the society by throwing out bottles of soma through a hospital window. After this John meets with the world leader, Mustapha Mond. They discuss the community and the boundaries set in it and why. John does not seem happy but accepts it. He is then seen living on his own, soon after he is rudely interrupted and hangs himself because he was overwhelmed by the new society. In both communities, new and old, John is an outcast.

Word Count: 262

Thesis Statements

Patterns (repetitions)

Analysis Notes and Observations: -The use of soma regularly, citizens of London take soma everyday to go on a holiday and to relieve all of their stress and bad feelings. -How mechanized everything is in the book, from the music to the food. -Technological advancements such as the "Bokanovsky Process", the helicopters, and the feelies. Sex is also emphasized in the book and how everyone is shared.

Significant Literary Questions: -Why does Huxley bring back the drug soma through out the book? -Why does Huxley depict the setting as highly sophisticated, mechanically. -With a large portion of the machines taking over what we would usually do today. - What is Huxley trying to tell us with the technological advancements in this book, how do they affect the people in the book.

Thesis Statement: -Through the extreme use of the drug soma and the advancements in technology, Huxley uses Brave New World as a warning of what our world might become. With this being said we see Huxley's negative out look on technological advancements in the future.

Word Choice

Analysis Notes and Observations: -When describing the story Huxley uses long words. -The dialogue is very short and concise. -Huxley also uses scientific words to describe most things. He talks about people and the social classes honestly. -A lot of describing words. -Repetition of words. -The citizens learn rhymes about soma and other things.

Significant Literary Questions: -Why does Huxley use short words to describe people and long words to describe the setting, and machines? -Why does Huxley not use a lot of literary techniques, besides imagery? -What is the purpose of adding in the rhymes taught through sleep learning?

Thesis Statement: -Huxley's contrasting word choice between dialogue and setting creates a detached sense of life for the technologically advanced citizens of London. -Proving the point that technology does not create community.

Structure

Analysis Notes and Observations: -The story goes chronologically from beginning to end. In the book there is one flashback in which we learn about the Savages life and his mother, Linda. -There are also not a lot of shifts in time and the pace of the book is pretty steady.

Significant Literary Questions: -Why does the author only have one flashback in the book about the Savage? -What is the point of putting the structure chronologically? -Why are there no big jumps in time in the story?

Thesis Statement: -Huxley structured Brave New World chronologically with a steady pace to show how monotonous each passing day is, showing that a society with many restrictions cannot grow or change.

Narrators

Analysis Notes and Observations: -The narration type in this book is third-person omniscient. -We know all of the characters thoughts. -The narrator also focuses on a few main characters (Bernard and the Savage). -We also see the views of Lenina, Helmholtz, and Mustapha Mond, but not in great detail.

Significant Literary Questions: -Why is the narrator all knowing? -Why does the narrator focus on Bernard and the Savage? -What is Huxley trying to prove by focusing just on Bernard and the Savage? -Why did Aldous Huxley incorporate the ideas of Lenina, Helmholtz, and Mustapha Mond in the story?

Thesis Statement: Aldous Huxley narrates the lives of two outcasts from different societies to show how universal acceptance is (in this case nonacceptance). This shows that the fundamentals of two completely different communities are still the same even though they may have grown in opposite directions.