Epic of Gilgamesh

After reading the Epic of Gilgamesh I put great thought into the meaning and exactly who was tamed. I think this epic is about the taming of nature and man. To me, Enkidu represents nature he was created as a wild man and â€Å"he was innocent of mankind; he knew nothing of the cultivated land. † He is animal like in the beginning of the epic and it takes the advancement of the harlot to make him a man. Once Enkidu has slept with the harlot his animal brethren no longer accept him because he now has the stench of humanity. Another example of nature being tamed is the killing of Humbaba, Lord of the Cedars. I think Humbaba is a symbol for nature that must be tamed if humanity’s civilization is to grow. â€Å"While Gilgamesh felled the first of the trees of the forest Enkidu cleared their roots to the banks of the Euphrates. † This sounds to me like clearing of a forest in the name of progress. It seems like they are making the land suitable for use by humans for farming. No regard is given for the forest, the animals that live in the forest or any future implications from this clearing. I do think Gilgamesh ends in journey tamed, he realizes man is part animal and we still need what nature provides. I think in modern day society we still find ourselves trying to tame nature. With the clearing of rainforests for development and to the taming of animals. I think in today’s society we waste the land and the benefits we get from nature.

Oedipus and the Sphinx Essay

â€Å"Know Thyself† is sage advice. â€Å"All Things in Moderation† is also a wise saying. King Oedipus, subject of the most tragic story ever written, brought about his own downfall because of his excessive obsession to know himself. And, try as he might, the more he tried to escape his tragic Fate, the closer it got†¦ Thus, some say that the moral of the story is, Even if you try to thwart your destiny, you won’t succeed. The concept of predestination plays a large role here. For example, if the gods know what will happen, and events are pre-ordained, how can people make free choices or have any semblance of free will? If the gods put challenges in our way that we fail to rise to, are we responsible for the consequences? Would knowing the future, as Oedipus does, cause us to act or behave any differently? The ancient scribe Sophocles wrote â€Å"Oedipus the King† (between 441-427 B.C.E.) for the annual festival where playwrights competed for prizes. These festivals were major civic occasions, with attendance expected of all noted writers. In his play Sophocles goes out of his way to present Oedipus as an extremely capable, beloved ruler. It should be noted that Sophocles never suggests that Oedipus has brought his destiny on himself by any â€Å"ungodly pride† (hubris) or â€Å"tragic flaw† (hamartia), common themes in Greek tragedies. Sophocles also makes a special effort to explain that Oedipus killed King Laius in self-defense, and a major theme in the tragic play is whether one can believe in oracles and seers. The title of the play, from which is derived the story, is often given in its Latin translation (â€Å"Oedipus Rex†), rather than in its original Greek (â€Å"Oedipus Tyranneus†), since the Greek term for king is the English â€Å"tyrant†, which means a monarch who rules without the consent of the people. THE TRAGEDY BEGINS Laius and his wife Jocasta (or Iocasta) were King and Queen of Thebes, a prosperous and famous city state in ancient Greece. King Laius, as many people did those days, consulted Apollo’s revered oracle of Delphi for advice and to find out what the future held for him. What the oracle announced shocked the royal couple — The Delphic oracle said that the King’s son would grow up and kill him! To make matters worse, it was prophesized that the son would marry his mother and produce offspring by her. King Laius and Queen Jocasta were understandably aghast! A short time later Queen Jocasta became pregnant and gave birth to a darling little baby boy. Remembering with fear the oracle of Delphi’s words, the royal couple of Thebes had the infant’s feet pierced and tied together — that’s the meaning of the name Oedipus, â€Å"swollen feet†. (Myth Man’s note: this mythical detail makes no sense. It must have been introduced to expla in the hero’s name. (Hold everything, I stand corrected. Here is an informative note sent by reader Adam Johnston on July 1, 2011.) Hey there, Just thought I’d let you know that the ‘pointless mythical detail’ about Oedipus’ feet being pierced and tied together actually has dual function. It was to ensure that the baby would not survive when exposed to the wilderness. But, more importantly, it is a detail that helps him decipher the answer to the sphinx’s riddle later in life. He is a crippled man who walks with a cane, and scholars see this as the assistance he needed to understand the part of the riddle regarding the 3 legs. Just thought you should know! ~Adam (Many thanks to Adam for taking time to bring this to my attention.) Laius and Jocasta knew that their baby son had to be destroyed, but they didn’t have the heart to do so themselves. They instructed their most trusted slave to expose the hapless baby on Mount Cithaeron, a wild and beast-filled place where the infant surely would perish. In those days, it was usual to leave an unwanted or defective baby in the wilderness. However, the slave glanced down at the innocent child and took pity on it. Knowing that the royal couple of the nearby city state of Corinth was childless, and desperately desired a son, the slave left the crying infant, its feet still pierced and bound by a pin, in a place sure to be found. Sure enough, a kindly shepherd discovered the baby and brought the foundling for adoption to King Polibus and Queen Merope of Corinth. Oedipus was raised as a son by Polibus and Merope and grew to be a handsome, clever and brave young man, even though he walked with a slight limp from the wounds he suffered when his real parents pierced his feet. One day, while playing with his adolescent friends, he got into an argument with them. They insisted, as mean children sometimes do, that he was a fake son, and not the real child of Polibus and Merope. When Oedipus confronted his â€Å"parents† about this, they denied that he was adopted and swore that he was their legitimate child. They told Oed ipus to forget what the mean kids had said, but now he was intrigued. To discover the truth for himself, Oedipus journeyed to Delphi and asked of the oracle, â€Å"Who am I?† The oracle, cryptic as always, replied: â€Å"You are the man who will kill his father and breed children by his mother.† Confused and devastated, the young man started to head back home. Nearing the crossroad, Oedipus decided never to return to Corinth and go to Thebes instead. He dearly loved his parents and thought that by never returning home he would keep them safe and thus overcome his Fate according to Apollo’s oracle. As he was approaching the crossroad between Delphi, Thebes and Corinth, distraught and deep in thought, Oedipus came upon an old man in a chariot, escorted by a few attendants. It was a narrow passage between two rocks and hard to navigate safely. The crabby old man in the chariot shouted: â€Å"Get lost! Go away! Get off this road!†, striking Oedipus with his long scepter. Adding further injury, the rude, regal old man ran over the young man’s sore foot with his chariot wheel. Oedipus angrily grabbed the staff from his tormentor’s hands and hit him on the head, killing the old man. The same fate befell the attendants, who tried to attack and arrest Oedipus – he valiantly fought and killed them too, save for one servant, who ran away in panic when the battle broke out. Hey, he just wanted to cross the narrow passage, that’s all! Besides, Oedipus was simply defending himself, and he got there first! Little did Oedipus suspect that the old man he had just slain was his own father, and that the first part of the oracle’s prophecy had come true†¦

Gender and crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Gender and crime - Essay Example This stereotype and discrimination has gone as far as to the criminals who do not consider women cops in the same bracket of authority as male cops and hence undermine their authority as well as openly defy them. This has led to many policewomen contemplating to quit the force (BBC News, 2012). There is widespread failure by policemen to protect women from gender-based violence. Research indicates numerous cases of rapes that either go unsolved, take a long time to solve as well as the rapists having a lower conviction rate as the years advance. This is also the case with domestic violence cases where the voices of the violated women are not heard and the policemen are not doing much about the situation (Guardian, 2010). Maybe the situation can change if women cops are given more authority power and respect to handle such cases. The criminal justice system has the mandate to make policies regarding crimes and criminal behavior and the people it directly affects which in this case are the policemen and policewomen. The justice system should enforce the policies that are related to equal jobs distribution and upholding of ethics of conduct for both men and women officers serving in the police force. If there are no existing policies on the issue, they should formulate and pass such a policy (Barton & Johns, 2013). This will ensure to protect the women officers from discrimination and harassment in the workplace as well as provide them with equality status and respect from the fellow officer and the criminals as well as to all the civilians. On the issue of domestic violence and rape cases conviction cases, the criminal justice system should enhance its policies on conviction from the moment of investigation to the prosecution. It is the slow process of investigation that leads to destruction of evidence which is crucial in these cases. The

Communication Game Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Communication Game - Essay Example ses into words when acting so, before the game starts, you can give them time to plan on their secret codes like showing the ring, middle and point fingers up to denote ‘W’ for word and making a fist to tell the group members that they are to guess for a phrase. Sticking out the point finger can mean the first word or syllable and raising two fingers mean the second word or syllable, and so on. No actor is allowed to make sounds or let his/her group mates read his/her lips, that is the lips of the actor should never move. Pointing to a thing to give away an answer is to the teacher or host’s discretion if it is allowed or not. The time limit for each actor should be given. Three minutes is ideal or can be adjusted to cater to all participants at a given period of time. If there many participants, you can lessen the time for each participant to act. To reach the aim of improving verbal communications of the participants, guesses can be required to be in sentences and not just words. For example, instead of just saying ‘word’, the guessers should say, ‘Is this a word?’. Appropriate punishments must be explained before the game starts to avoid misunderstandings during the game like, if an actor is caught moving his mouth, the group will have deductions from their score. Scoring should also be well-defined. For instance, a group guesses correctly in two minutes and one second to three minutes, they will have a score of 1, if they correctly guess the answer in one minute and one second to two minutes, they will be credited 3 points but get 5 points if they answer correctly in one minute or less. More punishments can be imposed depending on the discipline the teacher or host would like to draw from the participants. After giving all the instructions and rules, the game can start with one actor from each team playing alternately until all have acted. The actor picks a strip of paper where a word or phrase is written. The actor is the only one allowed

Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Analysis - Case Study Example Even more importantly, however, is the fact that a business will face innumerable set-backs, and passion is required to keep up drive in the face of failure. 3. Though this can often lead entrepreneurs down the wrong path, perhaps someone should have thought to ask why no one was monetizing these sporting events in ANY way. Furthermore, if people get to watch professional sports on TV, will they pay for amateur sport commentary? People tend to be very unwilling to pay for media that is usually ad supported. 4. I think that the basic business model of YouCastr was flawed, which means saving it would have taken a basic re-thinking of how things were done. One possibility: monetize through inserting ads in the broadcast, more like other traditional sports media. 1. There are a number of reasons that this company was successful – one of which was certainly a bit of luck – they hit on a formula that people didn’t just like, but loved. They never would have had the chance to get lucky, however, without persistence – persistence that came from a love of what they do. Their love for game making was apparent – doing it first as a hobby, entering into contests, and then making a remarkable 51 relatively unsuccessful games before the launch of angry birds. 2. Part of it is good design – the game features bright, funny characters that are enjoyable to play with, a funny name, and game play that encourages people to play frequently and not put it down. More important, however, is probably that people picked it up and made it go â€Å"viral† – it was at the right place at the right time, and tickled people to the point that they showed their friends. 3. I think that, given something I was enjoying doing, I definitely would have been able to hang in there. The trick is that one must realize that rejection and

The effects of the 2008 financial crisis on the investment in the Gulf Essay

The effects of the 2008 financial crisis on the investment in the Gulf area especially on Qatar - Essay Example The high unemployment rate and the collapse of the financial institutions cumulatively limited the potential of individuals and corporations to invest. The Gulf Area experienced a period of oil-boom during the period between 2003 and 2008, a time when the economy grew by double figures. Qatar was a major distributor of oil in the world and the rising demand underpinned the increase in its sales during this period. The impact of this is that there was reduced unemployment, rise in economic class and the growth of the gross domestic product (Khamis, Senhadji, Hasan, & International Monetary Fund, 2010). On the other hand, the economic development resulted to increase in the public confidence and hence increased borrowing from monetary banks. The public’s incentive to invest and take advantage of the growing business opportunities led to the increase of loans from both public and private sector. As a result, the year 2007 marked the peak of economic debts in financial institutions. During this period also, the international monetary funds and the World Bank encouraged financial institutions to provide low interest loans for the local people to inspire investment (Siddiqi, 2013). The negative impact of this is that the potential to invest became much higher than the available business opportunities, leading to business failure. The global recession affected the world at large and this resulted to an adjustment of the world economic situation. The reduction in the value of local currencies resulted in the decline of the purchasing power. The impact that this had is that there was reduced economic exchange in the international business market. Qatar experienced a period of reduced demand for oil from western countries, which resulted to reduction into its national income. Consequently, the country experienced retarded economic growth, and the GDP

Analysis of Ethnic Conflict in KOSOVO Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Analysis of Ethnic Conflict in KOSOVO - Essay Example Furthermore, the area needs proper management of these diverse societies so that such conflicts can be avoided since these altercations might escalate into a bloody civil war2. Such is the case of Kosovo, formerly a province of Serbia which have erupted into a bloody war towards the latter part of the 90’s. The carnage in the area was only halted by the intervention of NATO. Although this temporarily stopped the fighting and an independent state seems to be forming, the area remains in a precarious ceasefire as relative tensions remain between the Albanians and the Serbians wherein the secession resulted in the breakaway of an Albanian dominated Kosovo. This left the remaining Serbians in a quandary since they may be subjected to discrimination. The fear of possible persecution threatens to drive the Serbs away from Kosovo in effect dislocating them from their homes and towards a life of uncertainty3. Part 1 Kosovo Ethnic Conflict History has been teeming with ethnic conflicts and there have been numerous cases of violence that bordered on genocide. Through each of these conflicts, the diversity of culture as well as past excessiveness and offenses of one culture to another serve as fertile grounds for multi-ethnic conflicts to escalate into bloody wars. In Kosovo, the people of the neophyte state have been trying to lead a life of normalcy but as mentioned, considerable tension remains. After the breakaway, Kosovo was held by the majority Albanians that through the years have accumulated in the area. However, these people have experienced severe persecution when the autonomy of the then Serbian province has been revoked. There had been an apparent attempt to cleanse the area of Albanians when the ruling Serbs massacred numerous Albanians. This did not spare women, children and the elderly. Likewise, summary executions, kidnappings and arrests were rampant.4 The memories of these horrible events have been seared deep within the Albanians that now control Kosovo. As mentioned, there is a lingering anxiety within the remaining Serbs that have been relegated into the minority in the area. In a statement by Dr. Covic in front of the UN Security Council in New York over half a decade after NATO intervened and an uneasy ceasefire ensued, he advanced the concerns that the agreements have yet to be met by the Albanian authority. Dr. Covic lamented on the over 200,000 internally displaced Serbs and called on the council to act on these problems along with the need to implement court decisions in order to return properties to heir rightful Serbian owners. He likewise mentioned the seemingly disturbing solid line up of Albanians in the governing body of the area which may be detrimental to non-Albanians5. Hence, this essay will look into the situation of the now minority Serbs in Kosovo and the persisting multi-ethnic tensions between the two groups. Divisiveness and Scars of the Past The Albanians have constituted the majority of the populat ion in Kosovo long before the province split from Serbia in a bid to become independent. Previously, despite the lack of economic prosperity which was instrumental in driving most of the Serbs out of the area, the Albanians enjoyed a respectable degree of autonomy. This was shattered by the revocation of this autonomy paving the way for conflicts to arise. The human rights violations intensified and the massacres heightened to almost genocide