No matter where you went to elementary school, odds are you learned the same lesson that would stick with you the rest of your life. The idea that each individual is different and you must always be yourself. It is during this critical junction in our lives in which we first discover who we really are, and what we’re going to be like as we make our journey towards adulthood. There are many aspects of our lives that we may try to change as we mature, but no matter what everyone will always have a “fwame wesistant” part of your personality, it just may be smaller or larger in many cases.
As the most complex being on earth, it is almost human nature to crave to be perfect. Whether it be trying to get into an Ivy League College, playing a Division I sport, or just winning the school’s QuizBowl. It is in this pursuit of perfection that we often encounter parts of our lives that were essential in our development as an individual, but may not be desirable as life goes on. It is this “fwame wesistant” suit that serves as a constant reminder of what we truly are on the inside
From a personal standpoint, I’m perfectly fine with, and might even prefer, my suit being completely “fwame resistant”. Before you go and think I don’t want to change or improve myself as an individual, because I do, I just want to do it with the principals and morals I truly believe in. While there are probably be things here and there I might want to change, for the most part I’m proud of who I am and the journey it took to get here. I don’t want to have to change anything about myself to become any more “socially acceptable” than I already am. If a friendship or a relationship with a peer or role model is based on parts of your personality that you may have fabricated or don’t fully support, you’re not getting the most out of it, and the friendship you make might be as fake as the characteristics you tried to construct. If people don’t accept me for who I truly am, I probably don’t even want to get close to them anyways.
If I WERE to make any alterations to my Spiderman suit, I’d add some clever designs to it rather than try to burn it. Burning it seems to me like you're desperately trying to destroy or completely do away with a part of your true colors that shaped you as you journeyed through adolescence. What if you work so hard to burn a trait that took so long to develop, and later on in life you change your mind? All you’ll be left with is ashes and a vital part of what makes you different will be scattered all over the floor. Rather than burning your suit, you should try to add on certain qualities on top of your fundamental principals. This way you have a solid base that you have a close personal attachment to, and it allows you to make small adjustments and slowly branch out according to your personality. Growth as an individual is the most ideal ambition, not subtraction. (543)
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Traits of a Tragedy
In being one of the most successfully written tragedies, Antigone embodies many essential traits that set the precedent for other plays of the same genre. Based on the Oedipus Myth in the Royal House of Thebes, Antigone presents its audience with two very different types of Greek tragic Heroes. Creon serves as a variation of a traditional tragic hero while Antigone serves as the model of a Sophoclean tragic hero(ine).
Upon discussing the fundamental elements of what makes a piece of work a tragedy, we were presented many different characteristics Sophocles used to devise his plays. One approach he always takes is that he cleverly creates a character that possesses a fundamentally virtuous quality that leads to his/her downfall. In Antigone, this is overtly apparent throughout the entire plot revolving around the burial of Antigone’s brother, Polyneices. Antigone is strong willed to say the least, and it is this courageous devotion towards what she believes in that leads to her imminent demise. While she does succeed in stirring the pot with Creon and the law, it ends up costing her her life, as well as her fiancé’s.
This “tragic flaw” is what makes the play worth reading and discussing. Had Antigone not pushed so hard for the ceremony for her brother, we wouldn’t have had any plot twists or a reason to continue reading. It also allows the audience to personally engage in another critical aspect of Sophocles’s writings. As we view Antigone’s inner character, we, as an audience, feel the sensation known as catharsis. It is not uncommon for the audience to pity the main character in a tragedy, and Sophocles succeeds in creating a feeling of sympathy towards Antigone.
Even though the play is titled Antigone, that certainly doesn’t mean she’s the most prevalent character, or, for that matter, the only tragic hero. Creon serves as a perfect example of the notion that a tragedy is a story of a person’s fall from greatness. While he does not want to disrespect the Gods, he is taken over by his own ego and dictates that his laws are to be followed no matter if they are right or wrong. It is this mindset that essentially leads to what becomes his downfall. This only occurs to him after the blood of Antigone and his own son, Haemon, is placed on his hands (Figuratively). This also solidifies his role as a tragic hero because he recognized his own responsibilities for his behavior and accepted his fate with dignity.
All in all, it is easy to categorize Antigone as one of the most successful tragedies written to date. (436)
Upon discussing the fundamental elements of what makes a piece of work a tragedy, we were presented many different characteristics Sophocles used to devise his plays. One approach he always takes is that he cleverly creates a character that possesses a fundamentally virtuous quality that leads to his/her downfall. In Antigone, this is overtly apparent throughout the entire plot revolving around the burial of Antigone’s brother, Polyneices. Antigone is strong willed to say the least, and it is this courageous devotion towards what she believes in that leads to her imminent demise. While she does succeed in stirring the pot with Creon and the law, it ends up costing her her life, as well as her fiancé’s.
This “tragic flaw” is what makes the play worth reading and discussing. Had Antigone not pushed so hard for the ceremony for her brother, we wouldn’t have had any plot twists or a reason to continue reading. It also allows the audience to personally engage in another critical aspect of Sophocles’s writings. As we view Antigone’s inner character, we, as an audience, feel the sensation known as catharsis. It is not uncommon for the audience to pity the main character in a tragedy, and Sophocles succeeds in creating a feeling of sympathy towards Antigone.
Even though the play is titled Antigone, that certainly doesn’t mean she’s the most prevalent character, or, for that matter, the only tragic hero. Creon serves as a perfect example of the notion that a tragedy is a story of a person’s fall from greatness. While he does not want to disrespect the Gods, he is taken over by his own ego and dictates that his laws are to be followed no matter if they are right or wrong. It is this mindset that essentially leads to what becomes his downfall. This only occurs to him after the blood of Antigone and his own son, Haemon, is placed on his hands (Figuratively). This also solidifies his role as a tragic hero because he recognized his own responsibilities for his behavior and accepted his fate with dignity.
All in all, it is easy to categorize Antigone as one of the most successful tragedies written to date. (436)
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