Medea Journal 2

In Medea, the chorus interacts and speaks directly to her. In Oedipus, the chorus speaks to the audience and to the gods, asking for their aid or mercy to Oedipus's plight. Another difference is the fact that the chorus in Oedipus uses foreshadowing to tell the future while keeping a running commentary on what is happening in the current scene, giving their feelings toward the events. The chorus in Medea represents, at the moment, the women of the city, allowing the audience to gain a sense of female empowerment as they join together to right the wrong a man has done onto her.

Medea Journal 1

Pity and fear are both subtlely evoked in the passage read, even if it was only ten pages. When the nurse foreshadows something terrible will befall the children by Medea's hand, stricken by her terrible anguish and fury, the audience is fearful. The children are portrayed as normal young boys, not even speaking in the play, allowing the audience to connect them to any boy they know. This creates a fear and sympathy for them that the mother will do something regretful to them. Pity is felt when we see the utter hatred Medea has for her former husband, who she loved. As she recounts the tales of things she did for him, such as murdering her own brother and chopping him up, the fact he left her is all the sadder.

Oedipus Journal #4

"Apollo pressed it on us- he should name the killer."

"[Apollo] sent his answer back: '...Uncover the murderers of Laius, put them to death or drive them into exile.'"

"Apollo, my friends, Apollo- he ordained my agonies"

"Apollo was explicit: my son was doomed to kill my husband"

Apollo is the god who ordains it fate that Oedipus will kill Laius and marry Jocasta. Through the play he plays the role of the patron god and as a symbol of fate. His will conflicts with Oedipus, who represents chance since he belives he can avoid his destiny. The theme of chance vs. fate is an important one of both the play and the time period. Apollo dictates what will happen during the play, and by trying to defeat his fate Oedipus seals it. This irony makes the fall of the hero even more tragic, as his own drive brings about his downfall. If he hadn't been so fearful of betrayal and so determined to bring justice and glory he wouldn't have suffered his fate.

Journal 3, prompt 1

The gods serve two purposes in the story. The first is as things of worship, religious deities whose supernatural abilities create a prophet who is always right, or an Oracle who can predict the future. Without the gods these people would not exist, and parts of the story would go unfufilled. How can the story shed light on man's struggle against fate, if there is no predetermined fate to conquer? The second is that whatever god they pray to serves a specific function, and by knowing what the gad is the patron of may shed light on the mood or other aspects of a character. The priest and Oedipus share a unique connection to themselves and the gods, whether it be through worship or by believing the gods conspire against him, dooming him to this fate. Overall the gods are metaphors for what they represent in the world and fate itself.

Oedipus journal #2

I think Oedipus is somewhat to assured in his own power, but only because he is the answer so often to everyone's solution. He's learned to be self dependent as seen by his word choice in constant use of I and me. He is self reliant and uses his own wisdom to solve his dilemmas. Creon and Teiresias are the wise counselors of Oedipus, whereas he is somewhat rash and headstrong, they are methodical and counter his youth and strength with advice and planning. Often they warn him or give him information on things they've uncovered on their own.

Pages 159-170

159: City is plagued and Oedipus has come to help the city.
160: A priest asks for his aid, as the city is dying.
161: Oedipus is the greatest of men, so only he can help.
162: Creon was sent to Delphi to speak to the Oracle.
163: Creon takes them aside to tell them what the Oracle told him.
164: He says that their murdered king must be avenged, punishing whoever is responsible.
165: The murderer is in Thebes.
166:The Sphinx persuaded the people to ignore the murder of their king.
167: By killing the murderer Oedipus also protects himself.
168: The people cry out to the gods asking to be forgiven for their sins, offering sacrifice.
169: Millions of people are dying in Thebes.
170: Oedipus prays to the gods to give him strength.

There is repitition of gods and their power through out the story. They are a crucial aspect of Greek culture, since they believed almost everything was done by the gods, and nothing could be stopped by mortals. This brings interesting aspects of destiny and fate versus choice. They are also symbolic, each one representing certain aspects of life. The symbolic purpose of specific gods can't be ignored.

Dystopia Journal C

In Brave New World Aldous Huxley is warning us about two issues. The first is a fear of giving our government too much power. In the novel the people are completely run by the government, but how did it end up this way? There was no grand takeover or mind-control ray, the people must have, at one point, willingly given up their rights as citizens in order to feel safe and happy. Huxley understands that once we give up the right to choose, we lose our power as a citizen. He made this point because at the time of writing the book communism was on the rise in Asia, with China and Russia taking it on as a new form of governing. In order to prevent America from ever becoming this way Huxley used this book as a satire on communism. Everyone is the same in the story with the same activities to choose from, the same lifestyle to live, even sharing the same partners. Except for separation among the classes, like in communism, there is no true distinction except for the specific career you choose. After awhile the people of the story run together as meaningless blurs of character. The second warning Huxley was making is the choice to follow God and art, accepting whatever consequences come with it, or to choose science and happiness. He highlights the idea that happiness in itself isn't so grand, but only if there are struggles beforehand to make the reward sweeter, and that painful things like love have a bitter sweetness to them. When John the Savage and Mustapha Mond are speaking, we see the contrasting ideas between these two worlds, and the pros and cons of each. But Huxley isn't telling us which is better, as neither side truly wins. John hangs himself and Mond is trapped in his own twisted world. Huxley wants us to decide for oursleves. By arguing that happiness itself isn't wonderful Huxley conveys his message well, and offers a future that is basically a continuation of our current system. We must choose to be miserable in order to be happy, in a strange paradoxical manner.