Some people say that ignorance is bliss. In some cases, however, that may not be true. In Sophocles’ tragic play Oedipus Rex, the author uses a motif of sight and blindness through foreshadowing, in conjunction with Oedipus, and through irony to convey the idea that when someone thinks they know what is right but are actually ignorant to the truth, that will most likely cause their downfall. Sophocles foreshadows Oedipus’ future using the motif of sight and blindness through prophecies and…
Fiction reflects the thoughts, aspirations, and struggles of its author. Through literary works, one can come to understand a cultural consciousness previously unbeknownst to them. With this in mind, historians have learned to use rather than ignore literature as an aid in their studies. Vernacular and modern tales of the Congo region capture both the fantastical and factual elements. Epics, like The Mwindo Epic, echo the foundation of Congolese culture form which thereafter conflict has arisen…
After our class discussion with Dr. Greenberg—regarding William Blake’s background and the societal context that influenced his poetry—I began to form various connections between Blake’s Introduction to the Songs of Innocence and Jean-François Lyotard’s The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. With regard to The Postmodern Condition, I was intrigued by Lyotard’s argument that examined the method by which individuals acquire knowledge through their own societal perspectives. Lyotard’s…
Gender Performativity: Reading Mahasweta Devi?s Draupadi and Luisa Valenzuela?s Other Weapons In this paper I propose to read and discuss two short stories, Luisa Valenzuela?s Other Weapons and Mahasweta Devi?s Draupadi under a comparative spectrum. This apparent unlikely comparison from two distinct social, political, linguistic and cultural paradigms, as diverse as Latin America (Cuba?) and Bengal, is the result of my curious attempt to decipher Laura and Dopdi on the lines of Judith…
Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl is a short story that creates a wave of emotion to the reader. Mary, the protagonist, is a complex character and seems to be a different person as the story progresses. The story’s involvement with a murder scene, a gruesome story would be expected, but instead Dahl puts a twist to the story which makes it not horrifying. The story begins with Mary shown as a devoted and loving wife. This and the constant reminder that Mary is pregnant makes me feel as…
Allusion is a "reference to a statement, a person, a place, or an event from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, science, or pop culture" (Schemer). Allusions are very obvious in Huxley's Brave New World. Shakespeare is the one who inspires Huxley while writing this novel. The name of the novel is taken from Shakespeare's the Tempest as John says "o brave new world, that has such people in it" when he is forced to discover the new world (139). This is originally Miranda…
give answers to the question that Spurr rises: ‘how does the Western writer construct representation out of the strange and (to the writer) often incomprehensible realities confronted in the non-Western world? What are the cultural, ideological or literary presuppositions upon which such a construct is based?’ The act of looking that is supposedly normal when making a report about a particular subject or place, takes in a different dimension in the eyes of the Western writer. By examining…
his life and take the throne back. In act 5, scene 5, Macbeth is starting to realize that the end of his life is about to come. Shakespeare uses a Soliloquy to explain some of the final thought of Macbeth. ”Soliloquy, the speech by a character in a literary composition, usually a play, delivered while the speaker is either alone addressing…
Taran Bedi Mr. Curnett English 9 Feb 17th The Correlation of Ignorance, Sight and Truth in Oedipus Rex Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex was written over 2,500 years ago. Although this play may seem ancient and irrelevant to today’s society, its themes and actions are relevant to modern society. Sophocles’ play Oedipus revealed many ideas that are now used in western drama. Sophocles’ use of dramatic irony became a new method for artists who wanted to create tension in the plots of their work.…
Journal Entry #1 The use of a quest in order to progress the development of a character is shown not only in How to Read Literature Like a Professor, written by Thomas C. Foster, but also but Aleksandr Pushkin in his novel in verse, Eugene Onegin. In Foster’s novel, he stresses the importance of a quest to further not only the character’s plotline, but also building a character arc, determining who they will be at the conclusion of the work. Pushkin, by creating a character so stereotypical to…