Paper

Brett Strawn

Brett Strawn 10-15-11

English II Period C Greek Gods Final Essay

When you read these stories you tend to think about what love really means to gods and people. Or even what is love? How can a gods love others? What does love mean to gods? As you read through these stories those questions pop up in your head frequently. But the biggest question is, when gods love someone else is the love on the person on the inside or outside? Is it moral trait? Evidence from he book will prove my point that love is on the outside and god’s marriages moral. Throughout reading this story I have noticed significant details on how each god, love’s one another because of the persons beauty on the outside. You will notice in the story that the Aphrodite is a very beautiful god. All the gods love her because of her beauty, but do they really know exactly what kind of person she is? I certain gods stories her name pops up a few times, in my perspective she has been cruel every single time. In the story of Eros and Psyche, Psyche is a very beautiful woman. Anyone that is kind would acknowledge that and like it. But not Aphrodite she grew very jealous and would not stand for this. “I’ll teach that little upstart” (91) Aphrodite said because of the jealousy kicking in. Later on in the story Aphrodite sent her son Eros down to shoot her with an arrow she was so jealous. Luckily the plan did not work, but Aphrodite was furious saying that “he must get out of her sight.”(93). Personally I think that is really bad when someone is that jealous that they have to resolve to what she thought of. After reading this it changed my whole perspective on the type of god Aphrodite is. Only if the other gods knew this about her, she would have no one wanting to marry her. This proves my point on how gods only see beauty on the outside and not the inside, they do not get to know the god very well. The next point is when gods do get married their love is moral. Although gods may not get to know each other very well, when they do get married they have healthy relationships. I say this because I look at the Hephaestus and Aphrodite marriage. When Hephaestus was born no one celebrated because his family wanted him to be nice looking. Unfortunately this was not the case, Hephaestus was considered “ugly.” Although he was ugly, the god that people consider most beautiful in the world chose him over other gods that were better looking than him. He said to her, “I would make a good husband for a girl like you. I work late.” Aphrodite thought about it then kissed him on the lips. They were married later that evening and still live a happily, healthy marriage. Unless you end up with a marriage you are unsure about, for example Psyche’s marriage. She thought she knew her husband very well. Yes, he was nice and such but she had no idea what he was up to. Her eldest sister tried explaining to her that she married a monster, Psyche said, “Not a monster, but the most beautiful creature in the world!”(99) Her sister replied by saying, “Beautiful creatures like to be seen.” (99). She still did not listen to them and later on she accidently poured hot oil on him and he pushed her away and said, “Wretched girl- you are not ready to accept love. Yes, I am love itself and I cannot live where I am not believed.”(101) She went in the woods that night and never came back, there are different stories on what people think happened to her. Up until that point even though she may have had a thought that her husband was a monster they still had a healthy marriage. But that also ties back in with how beauty is on the outside and not on the inside because she could not tell whom her actual husband was. These were two great examples that I think proves my point how love is moral. All in all I stand by my reasoning’s and believe that each are right. Do you think I have a right perspective? How do you feel about the both perspectives. Evidence from the book will prove my point that love is on the outside and god’s marri

Paper topics 11-11-11:

P- Point (state a main point) E- Evidence (Quotes.Citations) T- Terms/Techniques E- Expand/ Elaborate R- Response (Personal Connections)

Compare/ Contrast Paper 11-14-11:

Point- O and A

1 SImilarities

2 Differences

3.Connects A and O. Preferences of color, size, price (Personal connections) Based on these, i prefer... Talk about different peoples personal views Consider age into your response and personal views.

Conclusion: (Response to summarize...... New ideas) Introduction: (why is this body paragraph significant?/context between oranges and apples) Use personal experiences from your life You can use "I" Incorporate five senses Use hints about what you might write about later on in your essay (But do not give to much detail) (Example) Start out with apple- Where are they grown? Color? Size? Price? Compare those topics with oranges

Example Paragraph:

After reading this story it has opened my eyes to see the intelligence of Antigone. Whenever she spoke she made sense of the point she was trying to make. She always believed in what she thought was right and never questioned her self. For an example when Antigone is speaking to the people that think she is not innocent she says, “Then let me go, since all your words are bitter.” (Fitts 227) This quote represents Antigone’s intelligence because she knows that she is innocent but does not care very much about what other people have to say. Eventually those people will realize Antigone is innocent and she knows that the people will feel that way because she is intelligent. The way she talks also sounds very intelligent and you can always understand her talking and understand her point of view. For an example when Antigone was talking with Ismene about her brother’s funeral she says, “Creon buried our brother Eteocles with military honors, gave him a soliders funeral…. was right that he should;” (Fitts 190) This quote is clearly explained by Antigone about her brothers funeral and what Creon did for her brothers funeral. I have a relative just like Antigone, she always states her points and stands by it no matter what other people think of her. That is why I consider her to be a very intelligent person just like Antigone. After reading this story those are the reasons why I think Antigone is very intelligent throughout the story.

Oedipus and Antigone paper edits:

Brett Strawn

What comes to mind when you think about Oedipus Rex and Antigone’s intelligence? Was Oedipus smart for following his fate? Or do you think he could have overcome that prophecy? Oedipus is aware of what he was going to do and chose to go his own way. What do you think about Antigone? By doing what she believed in, do you think it was intelligent? Who was more intelligent, Oedipus or Antigone? By using information from the story Oedipus Rex, I will compare and contrast the two characters Oedipus and Antigone.

This story has opened my eyes to see the intelligence of Antigone. Whenever she spoke she made sense of the point she was trying to make. She always believed in what she thought was right and never questioned her self. For example, when Antigone was speaking to the people that think she is not innocent she said, “Then let me go, since all your words are bitter” (Fitts 227). This quote represents Antigone’s intelligence, because she knows that she is innocent but does not care very much about what other people have to say. What made me think that Antigone did not care is how she carried on with her strong beliefs. Eventually those people realized Antigone was innocent, and she knew that the people felt that way because she was intelligent. The way she talked also sounded very intelligent and you could always understand what she said and understand her point of view. For example, when Antigone was talking with Ismene about her brother’s funeral she said, “Creon buried our brother Eteocles with military honors, gave him a soliders funeral…. was right that he should” (Fitts 190). In his quote was clearly explained by Antigone about her brother’s funeral and what Creon did for her brother’s funeral. I have a relative just like Antigone. She always states her points and stands by it no matter what other people think of her. That is why I consider her to be a very intelligent person just like Antigone. After reading this story those are the reasons why I think Antigone is very intelligent throughout the story.

Oedipus was a good man and had intelligence throughout all his life. Unfortunately he took his life tragically by following his fate, which he thought was right. Personally, I believe he could have overcome this phase in his life. When I think of Oedipus the first thought that comes to my mind is a king or ruler. His intelligence level is very high, because he had the knowledge of running an entire city. Having that role, it takes a lot of skill and preparation as well. These opions first came to my mind when Oedipus answered the Sphinx’s riddle, since that moment I knew Oedipus was the person to run a city. Running a city also takes knowledge so you know what to do in every type of situation. When Oedipus spoke with much authority and many people respected him for that. For, example when Oedipus was talking with Teiresisas he said, “Out of this place! Out of my sight!” (Fitts 23) This quote represents how he had to deal with all the crime that went around in his city and was strict about it. At first Oedipus did not like Creon. Over time Oedipus used his knowledge and to get know who Creon actually is. At first I was confused why Oedipus was trying to get to know Creon, it turns out that getting to know Creon wasn’t a bad idea. As a result, Oedipus trusted Creon enough to leave him with his city and daughters. Oedipus said to Creon “But my poor daughters, who have shared my table, who have never been parted with their father- take care of them, Creon do this for me.” (Fitts 77) This quote explains the knowledge level and trust Oedipus has for Creon because he loved his daughters so much and he had enough knowledge on Creon to trust him. Oedipus was a great ruler. What happened to him was tragic. Oedipus and Antigone are two very smart and knowledgeable people. Each of these characters used their knowledge in a different way. Oedipus had his knowledge for running a city and Antigone had her knowledge for standing up for what she believed in. Personally, I would rather have Antigone’s for these reasons. I like the fact that she stood up for what she believed was right. I would have done the same thing. When people tried to talk her out of what she believed in, she would not listen. As for Oedipus, he was a very knowledgeable man, but I think he exaggerated his fate a little. For an example Oedipus would be very depressed a lot because deep down inside he knew that he was going to have to take his life eventually. “Drive me out of this country as quickly as may be to a place where o human voice can ever greet me” (Fitts 76). I would consider Oedipus’ death as a hamartia because he was considered a hero to some people and his death was tragic. All in all these two characters are very knowledgeable people and both of their deaths were tragic. It was very challenging to pick who was more knowledgeable because both of these characters are very smart. Although I personally think Antigone is a little bit more knowledgeable, Oedipus still is a very intelligent man. I personally believe that he could have lived a great life if he overcame his fate. Antigone’s character did not change much throughout the story. She was always standing up for what she believed in and did not listen to anyone else. Do you think Antigone was innocent?

Acknowledgements: Marissa Monahan for peer editing and idea and Mr. Yim for help with the paper, paper outline and paper topics. Word Count: 913 words