Sophocles The Women of Tarchis :: Sophocles Women Tarchis Desire Essays

Sophocles' The Women of Tarchis Sophocles’s The Women of Tarchis tells the story of the desires that killed Heracles and Deianira, his wife. Heracles desires another woman, Iole, and, off stage, destroys her father’s kingdom so that he can have her and then sends Iole to his home. In response to this, Deianira, desiring Heracles to love her, and not keep another woman in their house, uses a deadly poison, which she believed was a love potion, hoping to make him love only her. Because of this, he dies, and she kills herself out of remorse. Both of them desire, both of them act on their desires, and both of them die because of desire. However, the way these desires are discussed and understood by the characters and, presumably, the audience are very different. Heracles desire is very direct. He desires people and acts on that desire. In other words, he sees what he wants and he goes and gets it, destroying anything that stands in his way. Deianira, on the other hand, is not the active agent. She desires to be desired by Heracles. Even the grammar used to talk about her situation is passive. When she does act on her desires, it is not straightforward, but through trickery and love potions. Later, when the potion’s true form is revealed, her actions are attributed to Nessus, the centaur that tricked her into believing the poison was a love potion. These descriptions reveal assumptions about desire, and what form it takes for men and for women. Heracles and Deianira, in Sophocles’s The Women of Tarchis, exemplify desire’s gender difference. An important aspect of desire in ancient Grease is that a deity represents this set of feelings. Eros, the young son of Aphrodite, it the imp the rules everyone’s hearts. Deianira describes his control over mortals when she publicly responds to the news that Heracles has fallen in love and literally taken a new wife: "How foolish one would be to climb into the ring with [desire] and try to trade blows with him, like a boxer. For he rules even the Gods as he pleases, and he rules me†¦You see that I would be altogether mad to blame my husband, because he suffers from this sickness" (441-446). She explains that it is foolish to fight with desire, but that desire will rule everyone at some point, including herself and Heracles.

Frankenstein Blade Runner

Frankenstein Blade Runner Essay Analyse how ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Blade Runner’ Imaginatively portray individuals who challenge the established values of the time. In your response, refer to both excerpts below. i) ‘Slave, I before reasoned with you, but you have proved yourself unworthy of my condescension. Remember that I have powers, you believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. You are my creator, but I am your master;-obey! ’ ii) the still of Roy holding Tyrell’s faceThrough the relationship between the characters of Victor and his creature, Shelley challenges nineteenth century values about the role of science, the benefits of ambition and fame and the dominance of nature by man. Similarly Scott develops the characters of Roy and Tyrell to challenge the same assumptions about science and nature but he does so in a context of technological development that allows multinatio nal corporations to exploit on a massive scale. Both texts also explore the larger issue of human values, asking what potential lies in a human and whether we can readily define human nature.In Shelley’s novel, Victor’s portrayal challenges the assumptions of the previous eighteenth century that the progress of science is the most important human pursuit. He is the ‘The modern Prometheus† a Greek mythological human who stole fire from the gods and brought it back to earth. This story like Shelley’s questions the benefits and consequences of ambition. In Shelley’s Romantic context science is seen as a threat towards nature and Shelley conveys this threat through the hubris of Victor.Shelley explores Victor’s blind ambition to â€Å"penetrate into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding-places†. Victor’s character is seen as self-absorbed and his ambition is fueled by selfish reasons â€Å"A new species would bless me as its creator and source†¦would owe their being to me†. Victor’s character is obsessed to the point of moral blindness but when the creature is not perfect it quickly turns to hatred. Shelley’s imagery suggests decay rather than new life. â€Å"I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open†¦ How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe†.This characterisation of Victor and his lack of morals and blind ambition are all warnings against science and its unbounded progression. Similarly Roy’s confrontation with Tyrell, his creator, explores the powerful consequences of playing god with genetics, a new frontier of scientific experimentation. Scott challenges the established values, which worship science and the profits it can bring. Scott portrays Tyrell’s character as god-like, through the use of cinematic techniques, costume design and lighting. He is filmed from high angled shots empowering him in almost every sc ene.Scott uses a series of shots of Tyrell corporation over shadowing Los Angeles to build the image of Tyrell’s power and how much it dominates all. This corporation fueled by ambition is linked to the issues relevant to Scott’s context, the drive of the capitalist world and what the consequences may be if this ambition is not met with moral guidance. Scott uses costume design, with the thick lensed glasses as a metaphor for Tyrell’s moral blindness. The motif of eyes, used throughout the film, represent the window to the soul and Scott is saying that Tyrell’s window is damaged.Tyrell and Roy meet in Tyrell’s palace- like room, Tyrell is dressed in a huge kingly robe with candles bathing the room in a golden light, contrasting with the fake incandescent light that dominates the movie. Like Frankenstein’s creature, Roy has been made physically and morally superior to Tyrell his creator. In this scene the audience sees the creation come back to end the creator and the idea that science has progressed so far that is supersedes its creators is seen. This asks questions about the direction science should head in.Through the development of Victor and the creature’s relationship, questions are raised about the responsibilities of the creator and what values make us human. Victor makes a creature that he abandons to the harsh world where he is not understood. This shapes the way the creature is developed and supports the ‘blank slate’ idea of Shelley’s context. Shelley challenges the values that assume we are born with a certain fate and those who are bad deserve bad lives. She puts forward the Enlightenment idea that humans are ll born with the potential to be good. Shelly shows this through the relationship between Victor and the creature, who both need love and compassion; aspects of human nature that are given through nurture. The creature had been capable of impulsive acts of kindness as he res cues a child from the river and does acts of kindness for the De Laceys. Shelley uses this to represent the potential for good in human nature and that people are not predetermined but can be turned to evil if neglected: â€Å"I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend†.These are the results of Victor’s blind ambition, self pity and disregard for his responsibilities, all unfavorable aspects of human nature. With neglect, the creature is doomed to only find pleasure in the acts of hate towards Victor, but even these acts are not satisfying as he is morally just, causing the creature to be constantly unhappy. Similarly, Roy’s development from a child-like selfishness to maturity, capable of love and compassion, challenges the belief that science can control its creations and that they are only valuable for profit.Tyrell’s corporation represents the greed and ambition that drives the world of Scott’s context, it represents the negative consequ ence of a world bent on profit at the expense of moral justness. The commercialization of science is seen as profitable, but as Scott shows, commercialization of science doesn’t take into account the act of giving ‘life’ and the responsibility due to the creation, it only works on profits and losses and as a result, the replicants are seen as a quantity. When science is commercialized, greed and ambition blind the morals that science needs.Scott shows this through the act of Roy, like Shelley’s creature, killing his creator, in revenge for neglect. The replicants’ ability to absorb experience and change, challenges the values that assume humans are the supreme measure of everything. Scott draws upon modern psychology to portray the replicants’ development as a means of discussing human nature, Ironically the genius replicant Roy proves Tyrell’s slogan â€Å"More human than human† when he gradually develops into a better human be ing than the humans themselves. Roy is firstly portrayed as a child as he compliments J. F’s toys and plays a sort of hunting game with Deckard.Like the creature Roy is new to life and â€Å"emotionally inexperienced†, but through his development of memories and experiences, he becomes â€Å"human†, learning empathy and love. This development in the replicants’ emotions is a strong parallel to the creature with the effects of neglect and the ability to be morally educated. The four-year life span is a guard against emotional development triggered by experience. Memories given to the replicants are â€Å"creations† that allow for control: â€Å"If we gift them the past we create a cushion or pillow for their emotions and consequently we can control them better. Roy’s development of love and compassion is expressed with Pris, this is shown through his howling and stuttering over her name after she has been killed. Roy also develops empathy wh ich is seen in saving Deckard. Scott uses Roy’s monologue to fully express to the audience how Roy has become â€Å"human†. He does this through dialogue â€Å"all these moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain† expressing loss and a desire to preserve memory. Through the metaphor of the dove ascending into the heavens, his spirit is released through the only living creature seen in the movie.Both the novel Frankenstein, and the film Blade Runner imaginatively portray individuals who challenge the established values of the time; both discuss the role of science, the benefits of ambition and fame and the importance of nurture. The characterization and the development of relationships between creator and creature holds the key in both texts to not only challenging the contemporary values of the 19th and 20th century, but also issues and question about life and humans that have been dwelled upon over many centuries.

A Sociological Imagination Of An Environmental...

I started the day with the mentality of an environmental sociologist, that society and environment are interrelated (Bell, 2012, p. 2). Using my sociological imagination I was able to conceptualize my interaction with the environment on a local scale. I was able to see how I impacted the environment, even when I wasn t consuming or wasting, versus what would occur if I was wasting. I realized that I impact the environment in more ways than just purchasing and disposing of goods, and I truly saw this in the change of lifestyle for a day. I began this day knowing I would need a piece of motivation and sentiment. I put on a necklace that my mother got me last year. Every time I put on the necklace I know she is right next to me and that Hau, the spirit of goods, is linking us together. Hau places a sense of sentimental experience that is attached to this particular good (Bell, 2012, p. 53-54). Prior to taking this course I could never put a name to the feeling I got what I had my mother ’s necklace on, but a spirit of goods that links souls together is a perfect explanation. Our social relationship is very important to me as I typically wear this necklace for good luck. In terms of consumption, no being can exist without interacting with the environment. There is an ecological dialogue that is in constant motion between us as human beings and the environment. 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