counterfeiting, or concealing one's true feelings, is part of this motif. everyone seems to lie; good characters as well as evil ones engage in deceit as they attempt to conceal their feelings: beatrice and benedick mask their feelings for one another with bitter insults; don john spies on claudio and hero; don pedro and his 'crew' deceive benedick and beatrice. who hides and what is hidden? how does deceit function in the world of the play, and how does it help the play comment on life in general? a central motif in the play is trickery or deceit, whether for good or evil purposes.
The aberrant perspective of Gilgamesh which I am presenting may seem divergent and atypical when analysed in accordance to our modern values and principles, but to Gilgamesh this would be quite natural. The values and ethics that contemporary readers hold shape their perspective of characters as they respond in various ways to the adventures that said characters undertake. A perfect example of this is when the narrator speaks of the state of Uruk and says “No son is left with his father, for Gilgamesh takes them all”. From this, the contemporary audience frames Gilgamesh as an immoral tyrant, as their value of free will is being challenged. However, Gilgamesh’s intentions were in the interest of the people, as he moulded the sons into warriors to protect the city.
In the play Oedipus Rex, Oedipus cannot recognize the truth that is right in front of him. Many people tell Oedipus about what is going on. His own character flaws, pride and ignorance blind Oedipus. Oedipus leads himself into his own downfall. He ends up facing exile or even execution.
Sir Gawain’s questioned honor made him step forward and become a real knight. Chivalry is basically a code of behavior for a knight. Qualities idealized by a knight, such as bravery, courtesy, honor, and gallantry toward women. Sir Gawain being a knight and nephew to King Arthur is obligated to stand forth for his king and take control of the situation to prove his loyalty. His loyalty is tested when he admits to be the weakest amongst the court but still insist on stepping in.
How far do you agree that The Great Gatsby is sordid tale of deception, adultery and murder? Firstly, sordid as far as I can see, it is a word for dirty, unethical, degrading or morally unsound actions. When looking at the plots and themes of The Great Gatsby I would agree with this view. Throughout the Great Gatsby there is murder, disloyalty and lying. However, it seems to me that this view does not take into account what F. Scott Fitzgerald is trying to tell us about human beings, that we may have many faults but that most of us are just trying to do the right thing.
It also displays how he let other factors in the world decide his essence, instead of making his own. Grendel is a character that struggles to find his essence in the world and has a disturbed existence because of the way he lets others impact his life’s choices. Looking through the eyes of Sartre, Grendel would be considered as living an inauthentic life. This is because over and over again in the story he struggles to find who he is in the world and denies who society “says” he is. In chapter 6 Grendel says, “I was Grendel, Ruiner of Meadhalls, Wrecker of Kings!
After reading this essay would someone think that Beowulf is a hero? Beowulf certainly meets the requirements of being a hero that is mentioned in this essay. Beowulf does in fact battle in responsibility to those who are unable to battle to save them selves and in addition, Beowulf does use courage to his advantage to receive great recognition in
“Ugh,” I am infuriated when he is intentionally ignorant. I approach the liar and inquire about the situation at hand and as always he denies everything. The back-stabber continuously speaks untruths with no regard to others feelings. Jealousy has driven this deceiver to the psychotic state. The devil invited his self into things that were not any of his concern.
Commentary by Cervantes is both biting and affectionate, but ultimately a criticism of idealism. Quixotism, a word derived from Don Quixote, is defined as the impractical pursuit of ideals. Quixote was once a gentleman from La Mancha, but books of chivalry have corrupted his mind, making him temporarily mad. In the book Don Quixote, Quixote’s misadventures are described in detail. One of the first indicators of the depth of Quixote’s madness is his attempt to fight a field of windmills he mistakes for giants, declaring, “Do you see over yonder my friend Sancho Panza, thirty or more huge giants?” (Cervantes 36).
Lao Tzu and Machiavelli disagree on some other beliefs. In Article 67, Lao Tzu states that he believes in three traits of leaderships; simplicity, compassion, and patience. Machiavelli however writes a prince “…needs to appear to be merciful, faithful, humane, forthright, religious…” (49), but to actually practice all the above traits at all times would be harmful to a prince’s power. Reading both views of such a highly discussed topic tugs your own view. While I understand the views of both men, I believe that Machiavelli’s perspective is more prevalent and useful in the world today.