Thursday, January 30, 2020

The god-like Achilles Essay Example for Free

The god-like Achilles Essay In the Iliad, there were many characters that exhibit god-like or superhuman qualities. But one character stood out. He has this god-like strength and superhuman courage to fight and risk his life for his people and allies. He has also been a descendant of the god themselves. And it was no other than Achilles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Achilles was the hero of the famous Trojan War where Helen of Troy is said to be the main reason for that bloody war. Achilles parents were Peleus and Thetis. Peleus, the king of Myrmidons, was a mortal. Thetis was an immortal sea nymph. From Achilles’ parents, it can be seen that Achilles belongs to the line of gods.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout the epic poem, Achilles portrayed anger which resembles the gods. In the first part of the epic poem, Achilles’ anger was described. This shows how much revenge he wants to those who have done wrong to him. â€Å"Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another.†(Book 1 Verse 1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Also in Book 1, during the intense argument exchange of Agamemnon and Achilles, Achilles got angry and tried to attack Agamemnon. Achilles’ rage was uncontrolled and this drives him to attack and tried to kill Agamemnon. This show how prone to anger Achilles was. It is a good thing that Minerva was sent to stop the raging Achilles.It is shown through the following lines in Book 1: â€Å"The son of Peleus was furious, and his heart within his shaggy breast was divided whether to draw his sword, push the others aside, and kill the son of Atreus, or to restrain himself and check his anger. While he was thus in two minds, and was drawing his mighty sword from its scabbard, Minerva came down from heaven and seized the son of Peleus by his yellow hair, visible to him alone, for of the others no man could see her.†(Book 1 verse 19) Achilles’ overwhelming strength is also described by Agamemnon when he said that:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"That man (Achilles) is worth an entire army,/ the fighter Zeus holds   dear with all his heart..(Book 9)† Achilles was compared to an entire army which is commonly described when mortals would battle a god. Gods are like an entire army and is very hard to defeat.   His great strength is truly feared by many and so like the gods who are also feared by many mortals. Achilles also showed no mercy when Book 21, Lycaon asked for mercy to spare his life. But the outraged Achilles answered: Idiot, said he, talk not to me of ransom. Until Patroclus fell I preferred to give the Trojans quarter, and sold beyond the sea many of those whom I had taken alive; but now not a man shall live of those whom heaven delivers into my hands before the city of Iliusand of all Trojans it shall fare hardest with the sons of Priam. Therefore, my friend, you too shall die.† (Book 21 verse 6)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Achilles’ rage led him to give no mercy to the devastated Lycaon. This instance shows how fiery Achilles just like the other gods.   During Hector’s death, he asked Achilles that his body shall be returned to the Trojans. But Achilles refused and said to Hector:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Dog, talk not to me neither of knees nor parents;    would   that I could be as sure of being able to cut your flesh into pieces and eat it raw, for the ill you have done me, as I am that nothing shall save you from the dogsit shall not be. (Book 22 Verse 22) Achilles, just like the other gods, showed great pride. Achilles stated that even the wealth of Egypt shall be offered to him, he would no change his decision. This can be seen through the following statements he said:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"he may offer me gifts as the sands of the sea or the dust of the plain in multitude, but even so he shall not move me till I have been revenged in full for the bitter wrong he has done me.† (Book 9 verse 20)    Achilles was also described to be godlike through symbolisms. One is when he wore his armor in Book 1 and was described to be blazing like the sun. His comparison to the sun was just like that of the god Helios. The brightness of the fire would signify great divinity and power. Another is the manner of the creation of Achilles’ armor and shield. They were both created by the smith Hepaesthus, the god of fire. The shield was filled and forged with intricate designs suitable for a god and the armor were made indestructible and were also suitable for a god. These items were made special and deserve only the rightful owner and that was the mortal Achilles. This shows that Achilles has god-like qualities that made Hepaesthus create an armor and a shield for him. From the above examples and citations, we can say that among the characters in The Iliad, one mortal stood-out to possess superhuman and god-like qualities such as selfishness, great rage due to anger, and overwhelming pride, and that was Achilles.    References Homer. The Iliad Trans. Robert Fagles: Penguin Group, 1990.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Correcting Librarian Stereotypes Essay -- Library Career Profession

What do picture when you think of librarians? Librarians are often stereotyped as being conservative, orderly, thorough, and passive (1, 2, 3)? Perhaps the best known librarian stereotype is the "spinsterly and authoritarian naysayer over-concerned with regulations and maintaining a hushed library environment" (4). But where do these stereotypes come from, and are they really true? Perhaps librarians' professional invisibility is to blame for some of the stereotypes. Most people think that everyone who works in libraries is a librarian, and that librarian duties consist mainly of shelving and checking out books (5, 6). Think again! Librarians are not usually involved in shelving and circulation responsibilities. Much of the work librarians do isn't visible to library users. And even a children's story time involves behind-the-scenes work and knowledge. The history of libraries and librarianship may also contribute to these stereotypes. Public libraries were often started to "improve" working people, and librarians often really were "goody two shoes" (7). But although they still take their social responsibilities seriously, the librarians (and libraries) of today are very different. Keep reading to find out what librarians really do and who they really are. But first, follow me on a technological history of librarians. Where did the original stereotype of librarians as bun-wearing "shush-ers" come from? Let's think low tech--before the days of advanced communication technology, ideas were spread through word of mouth and writing. So did these traditional images come from interactions with real librarians which were then communicated amongst people and accepted into our society's lore of the librar... ...w.outsights.com/systems/dikw/dikw.htm>. In "Module 3: Introduction to Information and Digital Representations." LIBR 500: Foundations of Information Technology, Web CT Reading, Mary Sue Stephenson. 22. Stephenson, Mary Sue. "Module 3: Introduction to Information and Digital Representations." LIBR 500: Foundations of Information Technology, Web CT Reading. 23. Rybash, John M., Paul A. Roodin, and William J. Hoyer. Adult Development and Aging, 3d ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1995. 24. Scherdin, Mary Jane, and Anne Beaubien. "Shattering Our Stereotype: Librarians' New Image." Library Journal 12 (1 July 1995): 35-8. 25. Houdyshell, Mara, Patricia A. Robles, and Hua Yi. "What Were You Thinking: If You Could Choose Librarianship Again, Would You?" Information Outlook 3 (July 1999): 19-23.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Language Background and the Speech Community

Being born in Russia, Russian is my native language. According to the Refugee Council, Russian is extensively used as a language for communication of all the Slavic languages. Statistically speaking, most people in the Russian Foundation and other independent federations are speakers of the Russian Language. (Refugee Council, 2008) Moreover, the Russian language is distinguished by the United Nations as one that belongs to the list of six official languages all over the world. (Today Translations, 2008) To illustrate the far-reaching influence of the Russian language, let us enumerate the countries with major Russian speaking populations, such as Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Moldova, not to mention Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Russian is not considered as the official language in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, however it is popularly used in, most especially in business and government communications. Other countries, like Finland for example, also have a Russian speaking population composed of the minority inhabitants. (Infoplease, 2008) The Russian language does not follow a formal system or rules. It concentrates on the reproduction of sounds and stress that is stated in variation with the attached denotative or connotative meaning of the words in a statement. Russian language, together with the Ukrainian and Belarusian languages have emerged from the Slavonic language that originated from the East. (Today Translations, 2008) Since the Russian language is more focused on the phonetic aspect of speaking, the language is primarily based on the Russian alphabet or what historians call the Cyrillic Alphabet. Apparently, the alphabet originated not from Russia, but from Greece. The onset of Greek missions who happened to arrive at Istanbul proliferated the use of the Cyrillic alphabet that is primarily based on the Greek alphabet. Needless to say, the Russian language traces back its influences from Greece. (Orbislingua, 2008) I belong to a community that upholds discipline within the self and as a citizen of Russian and the maintenance of the good of all the citizens, not just oneself. Just like our political system, everything is organized and judged in our every day life according to what is good for all. Close relationships between others is evident in how we deal with others and our way of welcoming them with affectionate actions and gestures. In addition to this, most of us are cynical and distrustful. The uniqueness of the Russian language may be traced to the distinct sentence patterns and sounds and stress produced in speaking Russian. The structure of the sentences does not follow a particular rule or pattern, but is dependent on how the speaker wants to say it. For instance, to emphasize an adjective, it goes first in the sentence. On the other hand, if the noun is emphasized in the sentence, then it goes first. (Orbislingua, 2008) In addition, the use of articles, transitional or connecting phrases and words (such as is, are, a, an, the, etc.), does not really apply in speaking the Russian language. Therefore, if a native Russian speaker attempts to speak in English, then it would be difficult for native Russian speakers to create a complete and a grammatically sound and correct English statement due to certain deficiencies.   Furthermore, most consonants in the Russian language produce sounds that are almost similar to the â€Å"s† sound and utilizes the movement of the tongue in speaking. This greatly contributes to the unique nature and phonetic aspect of the use of the Russian Language. (Orbislingua, 2008) The similarities of the Russian language to the English language, for instance, is evident in the three tenses of English verbs that also applies to the verbs of the Russian language. At times, it also follows the order and structure of the sentences in the English language, however the Russian sentence order and structure is more accommodating to the situation in which two Russian speakers are talking. (Orbislingua, 2008) References Infoplease. (2008). Languages by Countries. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from HighBeam Orbislingua. (2008). Russian language. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from Orbislingua.com. Website: http://www.orbislingua.com/eaha.htm Refugee Council. (2008). Language background of major refugee groups to UK. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from Refugee Council. Website: http://languages.refugeecouncil.org.uk/top_navigation/Language_profiles.htm Today Translations. (2008). Russian Language History. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from Today                  

Monday, January 6, 2020

Comparison Poetry Essay - 2397 Words

Poetry Essay Each one of the poems offers a unique view upon love. The first poem by Robert Herrick, To the Virgins to make much of Time, focuses upon the idea of carpe diem. The poem stresses the idea of marriage while love and flesh are still young and believes this gift of virginity to be a great waste if not given while it is still desirable. Marvell also uses the carpe diem theme to his poem ‘To His Coy Mistress,’ however with three certain sections within the poem. The first part elaborates on the idea of unlimited time; this then evolves a ‘but’ into the poem that everything must come to end and death catches up upon us. Then in the last third of the poem the word ‘therefore’ comes into play as the poet says that we should enjoy†¦show more content†¦Herrick tries to scare the reader into marriage, he does not with for them to be without protection but the carpe diem theme also suggests that they must go and seize the day, while they are still in prime and youth, so they are not wasted. This is summed up in the fourth and last stanza of the poem ‘for having lost but once your prime, / you may for ever tarry’. Marvell also uses the carpe diem theme to his poem ‘To His Coy Mistress,’ however with three certain sections within the poem. The first part elaborates on the idea of unlimited time; this then evolves a ‘but’ into the poem that everything must come to end and death catches up upon us. Then in the last third of the poem the word ‘therefore’ comes into play as the poet says that we should enjoy the time we now have with one another. The main point of the poem is for Marvell to persuade his coy mistress ‘to sport’ (now let us sport us why we may) and at first glance appears to use conventional methods to get his time of pleasure. The ‘Coy Mistress’ within the title may imply a complicated relationship with coy meaning a shy, quiet reserved person, not the sort of person that one would imagine ‘to sport’. Also the word mistress derives from the word ‘master’ and gives a sense of authority. During the first stanza of Marvell’s poem he tries to persuade his mistress, praising her using conventional ways ‘to walk and pass our love’s long day’. Marvell explains that they will live and love one anotherShow MoreRelatedA Comparison of Poetry Essay967 Words   |  4 PagesA Comparison of Poetry In this essay two poems will be juxtaposed. One of the poems is called My parents kept me from children who were rough. This poem was written by Stephen Spender. 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