ANALYSIS OF AGAMEMNON BY AESCHYLUS

ANALYSIS OF AGAMEMNON BY AESCHYLUS The themes in this play are centered on the argument which stipulates human minds in very violent and problematic aspects due the following; the lust for power and the violent acts associated with it, the chauvinistic clash male against female dominance, crime and its penalty, sensation versus motive; tribal alienation versus democratic idealism; contamination and purification. These have been emphasized because of their prevalence in the family set-up. The center point is Apollo puts a curse on prophetess Cassandra for refusing to give her a hand in marriage, she willingly accepts the responsibility for the outcomes of Apollos curse (Fagles, 2010). Prophetess Cassandra had entered into an agreement that required him to give her gift to prophesize in return for her; however after getting the power to prophesize she did fulfill her promise which prompts Apollo to punish her. This is enough evidence of arrogance defiance to a god by women. Historically, there are political issues that involve leaders, wars, and maintenance of law and order. The Furies plays the judicial role by punishing those involved in terrible crimes through tormenting them by irreversible curses. In this case a person is not punished by human laws, the gods do the task. Through the Chorus the Greek soldiers are warned of the possible punishment for being too much violent on Troy because that shows lawlessness. Apollo with his powers can not save the prophetess Cassandra from the eminent murder threat from Clytaemnestra, therefore she is very upset. She was cursed to see future events but she can not have control over them. The power of the gods is evident when Agamemnon and prophetess Cassandra are pronounced to death but no human powers are able to change. Clytaemnestra torments Agamemnon by cleverly convincing him to walk across the red carpet an act which is signifies his demand for recognition of the role she played in the Greek victory. This is an offence to the gods. As with Cassandra, Clytaemnestra believes in the ideas that justice is best achieved through revenge An eye for an eye, she believes that more murder can be a possible cleansing for the sins caused by the earlier murders (Wilson, 2010). Politically The play fits into its time politically by carefully a portraying a pattern in change where that it is still possible for the less powerful class of the society to continue to play their normal roles in the society. This play is an avenue through which the Athenians to are able to understand recent political changes and be able to understand them (Aeschylus Et al. 2004). This pattern of change shows the drastic changes that are left behind by various that the people leave after them. This is evident when Athena persuades Furies to give up their violent pursuit of Orestes for revenge of killing his mother. Furies are therefore helping maintain the cosmic order by enforcing laws that the father of gods and men administer hence they are not viewed as being anarchic and primitive spirits of violence. They are therefore feared and honored just as Artemis because they are concerned with justice in the society. The play also fits into its time politically as it was written a time when tragedy was an order of the day in ancient Greeks politics especially when it was under tyrant Pisistratus hence playwright had to restructure their contents to portray the state of the politics of the time. In Oresteia drama therefore was used to magnify political issues of the time by embedding to the tradition of the Athenians. The habit of arrogance is termed as a crime that has the consequences of a heavy punishment. The old men had a tough warning that being excessive and full of pride. Paris didnt hit to this advice and therefore became guilty because he arrogantly caused violence to Menelaus trust, more worse he proceeded to kidnap Helen, Menalaus wife. This act led to terrible suffering though his own death and the subsequent destruction of his city and lineage. Sociologically The play fits it its time in that it describes an era when women could be seen to take leadership role sin the society and the author portrays women as being strong and powerful just as men are, for example Clytaemestra rules Argos while his husband is away in try and also manages to connive him to walk on the red carpet despite the fact that is only meant for gods. Clytaemnestra is a woman who exhibits the behaviour of a man despite the fact that she is of a weaker gender, this caused the Chorus of Elders to be upset. She performs different tasks that women were not supposed to do, for instance she is a murderer and his mannerisms were weird because he could talk back them, she even goes to the extent of admiring to be the ruler of Argos (Slayford-Wei, 2010). However she did every thing what was not supposed to be done by other women, she was a murder, she was talking back to men and she wanted to rule Argos which all this were meant only to be done by men. From the Mens Chorus Helen and Clytaemnestra are depicted as creatures that are extremely evil because they bring destruction and wreck to the ways of men. The belief by Cassandra is that women should have respect for their husbands and always try being good wives. She doesnt believe that Clytaemnestra has the right to brutally murder her husband, although Clytaemnestra is angry because of the death of Iphigenia. Cassandra is so disgusted that she compares Clytaemnestra to a very hideous animal. The Chorus of old men clearly ignores her warnings but she is confident of what will happen she therefore chooses to remain calm with a passive acceptance of her death. The Chorus of men is in disbelief of the fact that a woman like Clytaemnestra could actually dare to perform such an act of murder because of her woman wood. Clytaemnestra dares them by proving her animosity as she proudly explains to them how she performed this violent act with her own bloody hands. In their response, they say that she will be crushed to death by the bitter feeling of men, this is partly due to the fact that the deadly crime was committed by a mere creature which is a woman. Spiritually The author argues that there is a thin line between humans and beast and thus allows human to transform to beasts to try and show that the people that leaved at that time were as in human as beast would be fro instance the wife of the king who eagerly anticipate to the return of his husband so that he would murder him and continue ruling (Wilson, 2010). This is further clarified when she finally hideously murders his husband upon his return from Troy. Athenians at the time of Agamemnon showed little or no loyalty to their women and mostly never involved them in the making of family decisions. For stance when Agamemnon is given a chance to make a decision between giving wind to his men and saving his daughters life ,he respects his men more and even goes ahead to sacrifice his own daughter without consulting his wife, Clytaemnestra. The elders in the chorus are fast to blames Helen for what has befall Argos had termed her to a typical woman who causes trouble and the one who caused the Trojan war. They are not ready to pass the blame to the man who kidnapped her simply because he is a man and she has to take the blame because she is a woman. More so the king Agamemnon blames Helen for all the deaths that resulted from the etojan war. The Chorus shows high respect for the gods by fearing beings such as the goddess Artemis. The gods as are very powerful, Goddess Artemis at one point demands for Agamemnon to make his daughter a sacrifice in order for the Greek ships to sail to Troy. The old men make their appeal for help from Zeus (gods king) and Artemis brother Apollo. Apollo with his powers can not save the prophetess Cassandra from the eminent murder threat from Clytaemnestra, therefore she is very upset. She was cursed to see future events but she can not have control over them. The power of the gods is evident when Agamemnon and prophetess Cassandra are pronounced to death but no human powers are able to change. Clytaemnestra torments Agamemnon by cleverly convincing him to walk across the red carpet, an act which is signifies his demand for recognition of the role she played in the Greek victory. This is an offence to the gods. Philosophically The play indicates that Athenians respected their older gods even after they have been overthrown by the younger gods. This is shown by the appearance of the Cronos in the Oresteia despite the fact that it was no longer worshiped. This play therefore insist that when there is change there is bound to be losers and winners but the losers are contented for the good of the greater society (Slayford-Wei, 2010). The play shows that Athenians believed in existence and inheritance of curses. This is evident in the adage sins of the father are visited upon the son. Aegusthus father evokes a curse to Atreus his Son, when he was fed on the butchered children. Also Athenians had the thinking of violence begets violence meaning that revenge was seen as the only normal and right way of avenging against once defaulter. An eye for an eye was the way to societal justice. Agamemnon avoids being perceived as unmanly due to the excessive obedience to womanly wishes. He therefore distrusts her because of her attempts to use womanly ways in convincing him. He tries to imply that women are typically manipulative creatures however Clytaemnestra shows her prevalence over this man when he willingly to walks on a red carpet. She holds really power over men, her husband also included. Towards the end of the story, there is role reversing between men and women, Clytaemnestra, remains as the only woman in charge; she bosses to Aegisthus and the Chorus as the only male characters around her, these two characters acts like women despite the fact that they represent men (Slayford-Wei, (2010). The chorus of men was initially disrespective to her; Clytaemnestra can now belittle all male characters. Therefore, the Greek society questions the reversal of roles and its effects to the mens position. Clytaemnestra behavior is typically that of a man, this upsets the Chorus of Elders. By doing everything in a manly manner she believes that she has finally delivered justice to Argos, she manages to end the curse of bloodshed that had been in force for several years. In the chorus I swept from these halls/the murder, it is enough evidence for her belief, According to her, the murders of Agamemnon and Cassandra marks the erasure of previous generations bloodshed.

Examine The Weakness Of Different Types Of Documents Used In A Sociological Research

Documents are secondary data developed by individuals, groups, and organisations, in which sociologist may find particularly advantageous in their research. Taking that into account, there are two types of documents both personal and public. Public documents are items such as letters, diaries, autobiographies, notes and photo collections. Personal documents may be noted as unrepresentative, because some groups are unlikely to produce personal documents such as diaries and letters, because they have got limited leisure. Therefore, their views may not be represented, whilst those with the time and literacy skills may be overrepresented.When it comes to examining the personal documents, it somehow lacks the authenticity. There may be possibly missing pages, or someone must have reproduced another copy, making it seem fake. For example, there was claim that Hitler diaries were fakes. Personal documents may also potentially lack the credibility. Documents may be difficult to believe, when considering the author's sincerity. For example, politicians may write diaries that inflate the own importance. The availability of personal documents may be difficult for researchers to gain access to. For example, private†¦Social classes are groups of people who share a similar economic position; which is based on a person's occupation, income and ownership of wealth. People in the same social class can be identified by having similar levels of education, status (prestige), lifestyle (for example living standard or consumer goods e. g. plasma TV 52†² inch) and power. Traditionally the UK's class structure is associated with three-levels: the upper class, the middle class and the working class. However sociologists have noticed a change in this type of class structure and have suggested that the UK is moving away from this class formation.In this essay I am going to outline the traditional class structure (briefly) and talk about the various changes that have occurred to each social class; then I will seek to critically examine a number of sociological explanations for the changes to the class structure. The tri-level traditional class structure is comprised of: the upper class, which is the smallest of the social classes and consists of the crà ¨me de la crà ¨me of society e. g. Aristocracy or also named the â€Å"blue bloods†. These members are usually the wealthiest. Examine the weakness of different types of documents used in a sociological research Documents are secondary data developed by individuals, groups, and organisations, in which sociologist may find particularly advantageous in their research. Taking that into account, there are two types of documents both personal and public. Public documents are items such as letters, diaries, autobiographies, notes and photo collections. Personal documents may be noted as unrepresentative, because some groups are unlikely to produce personal documents such as diaries and letters, because they have got limited leisure. Therefore, their views may not be represented, whilst those with the time and literacy skills may be overrepresented.When it comes to examining the personal documents, it somehow lacks the authenticity. There may be possibly missing pages, or someone must have reproduced another copy, making it seem fake. For example, there was claim that Hitler diaries were fakes. Personal documents may also potentially lack the credibility. Documents may be difficult to believe, when considering the author's sincerity. For example, politicians may write diaries that inflate the own importance. The availability of personal documents may be difficult for researchers to gain access to. For example, private†¦Social classes are groups of people who share a similar economic position; which is based on a person's occupation, income and ownership of wealth. People in the same social class can be identified by having similar levels of education, status (prestige), lifestyle (for example living standard or consumer goods e. g. plasma TV 52†² inch) and power. Traditionally the UK's class structure is associated with three-levels: the upper class, the middle class and the working class. However sociologists have noticed a change in this type of class structure and have suggested that the UK is moving away from this class formation.In this essay I am going to outline the traditional class structure (briefly) and talk about the various changes that have occurred to each social class; then I will seek to critically examine a number of sociological explanations for the changes to the class structure. The tri-level traditional class structure is comprised of: the upper class, which is the smallest of the social classes and consists of the creme de la creme of society e. g. Aristocracy or also named the â€Å"blue bloods†. These members are usually the wealthiest.

Veni Vidi Vici Vimy (Vimy Ridge for Canada)

Veni, Vidi, Vici Vimy (following the outline plan given in 3. 10) Introduction Paragraph: – World War 1, defining moment for Canadian nationalism. Did not escape unscathed, but the participation in the war gave a stronger sense of nationhood. – Canada's contributions into WWI led to international recognition; other countries must recognize you as sovereign. – The effort also brought acknowledgement to Canada's contributions and heroism on the battlefields of Europe, giving Canada the shot to be a more-mature, experienced nation because of the sacrifices made by their armed forces. The Battle at Vimy Ridge was the greatest assertion in Canadian sovereignty in WWI. Body Paragraph 1: – Canada stepped up to the plate because of their ties to Britain; originally, wanted nothing to do with the World War, but a sense of duty and owing Britain their help through the war persuaded them otherwise. – Alliances and history tied many countries together. If one g ot pulled into the war, others did too. Something like a chain-reaction. Canada did not have much reason to fight, other than Britain called for the aid they had promised earlier; Canada thought they might escape untouched by the war, but they lost many citizens, materials, family, loved ones and experienced the financial loss that war brings. Canada also had to bear knowing many of their people were overseas, far from home, fighting for someone else's war. – Fought and participated in many battles, with one of the most prominent being their victory at Vimy Ridge. Body Paragraph 2: – From July to mid-November 1916, the Battle of the Somme claimed 24,029 Canadian casualties.Greater loss than expected. It also gave Canadian units the reputation of a formidable assault force. – Canadians' first taste of the Battle of the Somme occurred when they were asked to secure the town of Courcelette, France. November 11, the Canadian Division finally secured most of the Germ an trenches in Courcelette and then rejoined the Canadian Corps at Vimy Ridge. – Prime Minister Lloyd George: â€Å"The Canadians played a part of such distinction that thenceforward they were marked out as shock troops; for the remainder of the war they were brought along to head the assault in one great battle after another.Whenever the Germans found the Canadian Corps coming into the line they prepared for the worst. † Body Paragraph 3: – April 12, Hill 145 fell, Vimy Ridge was won over by Canadian troops. The whole plan was entirely devised by Canada and was independent of British thoughts. – The success in the capture of the ridge earned Canada a reputation of great strength and accomplishment, and it was also the first time that Canada had ever planned its own attack without British help. It was the first step towards Canada's independence and sovereignty. Even under British rule, Canadian troops planned, rehearsed, followed through, and defeated th e Germans at Vimy Ridge under the command of Canadian officers and officials. – Although the victory came with a great cost, with more than 10,000 killed and wounded, it helped prove Canada in front of other world countries. Concluding Paragraph: – I believe that the effort put into it by Canada gave the world a chance to recognize Canada's contributions and heroism after the battles they fought and won on the European battlefields. Canada was given the chance to be perceived as a mature, wiser nation through the sacrifices it made during the war. – The Battle at Vimy ridge was the exceptional proclamation of Canadian sovereignty in WWI. – World War 1 was an interpreting moment for Canadian nationalism in many ways and instances. Although Canada didn't make it through the war untouched or without dissension, our role in the war gave us a greater and stronger sense of nationhood.

Essay about Racial Profiling by Police is an Unjust Practice

Up to now, Americans have witnessed the abolishment of slavery, the fight against segregation, and a slew of civil rights issues that brought war to the courtrooms. Recently however, an issue has surfaced that will yet again be a definite landmark in the timeline of our nations history. The only problem is that no one is positive that it even exists, which leaves us with one very important question: Does racial profiling exist in the politically-correct world of today? The answer to this question is of great importance to the legal well-being of minorities across the country, as the existence of a program that prejudges on basis of race and demographic is a complete abomination of the bill of rights. Wars have begun over less, and if†¦show more content†¦One example is a testimony from a Mr. Alberto Lovato, a 29-year-old Latino man that who was pulled over for allegedly using a turning lane to pass other vehicles, even though police records show that the area the police o fficer stopped Mr. Lovato was more than 15 miles away from the site of the alleged violation. The police officer apparently drew his pistol, held it on Mr. Lovato, and ordered him to get out of the car and lie face down on the ground, where he was put in handcuffs and dragged toward the back of the police car. He was then held in custody based solely on his race, and questioned about gang activity, and drug and weapons trafficking. He spent several more hours in jail even after interrogation; reportedly stopped on the side of the road because of passing illegally. Why should anyone care about racial profiling? The injustice caused by labeling criminals before they act is something any American citizen should feel wronged by. It is an infringement of the rights expressed within the constitution of the United States and its amendments; a conflict that wars have been started over. Prejudice on the governments behalf is something nobody would be happy to hear about as discrimination is something most Americans make a conscious effort to avoid. One thing that comes to mind is the recent debatesShow MoreRelatedRacial Profiling in Canada Essay examples1300 Words   |  6 Pagesis dispute regarding what defines racial profiling. Critics ask Is it racist, or is a necessary part of law enforcement. Racial profiling is identified by Adele Cassola in her article as unjust whereas Denyse Coles argues that racial profiling is necessary and is not considered racism. 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