Allexa Bonner Essays (1230 words) - Greek Mythology, Mythology

Allexa Bonner English 3410 Dr. Hague 10/07/2015 T heseus Reincarnated "Man born of woman cannot outrun his fate" (Renault 332). This expressive retelling of the legend of Theseus is anything but predictable. The King Must Die both revitalizes Theseus' story as well as allows for a legitimate human connection. We are not given a modern update on an ancient tale, but we are thrown into the past. From Theseus' perspective almost everything is the hopefulness of a child . Poseidon may or may not be his father , and the Gods may or may not speak to him. For Theseus, the signs and warnings from the Gods are very much real. He is living in a world of fat e, belief , and destiny. The title itself is referring to the tradition of the year-king being sacrificed to the Gods to ensure the prosperity of the people. Renault has really brought together the enticing authenticity of the past and the down to earth reality of the present. Even when Theseus comes to learn that he may not actually be the son of Poseidon, he never really loses his connection to his beliefs. The all-encompassing religious power of the Gods and Goddesses is infused with the story though they are not, in so many words, definite characters. They are simply indications of how people interacted with the world. Renault has managed to add realism and practicality to the unfamiliar past without sacrificing the essential actuality of ancient Greece customs and the heroism of Theseus himself. Almost every aspect of daily life within Theseus' home-life feels authentic. Renault has taken objects from the Mycenae: the Cretan necklaces and face paint, the ox and the tripod, and the women. The combination of myth and fact has given the legend a new light. Though all the elements of myth are presentthe Minotaur, the declining reign of Minos, the labyrinth, and the hopeless love interestRenault has subtly transformed them into an ultimately human experience. Renault states that "a fairy-tale gloss may have disguised human actualities" (333). These changes make Theseus more plausible, understandable, and relatable as real experiences of growth; however, they do not lose their everlasting importance and impact as a mythological tale . It is natural and not much is implausible. Renault writes as if Theseus were a real individual in search of his place to belong , not a mythical being, by using history and a profound understanding of the cultures to set Theseus in a much more representative setting. Her descriptions of the lifting of the stone, the wrestl ing match in Eleusis, Theseus' arrival at the palace in Athens, and particularly his experiences in becoming a bull dancer bring the time period vividly to life in ways that are reliable with history. Theseus' devotion to and respect for Poseidon reflects his appreciation towards his own inconsequential self in comparison to the gods, and his glorification of the gods important to each of the kingdoms he visits show how Greek religion has progressively combined gods and goddesses to explain the increasingly complex mysteries of the world and of life in general . Theseus and his history are in no way incomprehensible. "A man is at his youngest when he thinks he is a man, not yet realizing that his actions must show it" (89) . Theseus is a credible and charming character. In the beginning he wishes nothing more than to grow and to be the epitome of a God's son. He feels that he is much too small and must prove himself in the most dramatic of ways. Nevertheless, h e is a fearless, natural leader that is willing to put his fate in the hands of his beliefs. Though the Gods may not expose themselves directly, they are believed to be completely authentic. Theseus himself has an electric energy about him . Pylas declares that he has "a strong life thread. Where it crosses other men's it frays them" (105). He is a strong-willed hero who seems to have a natural ability to seek out adventure and has no trouble finding companions. More than anything, this is a story about a boy coming of age. Throughout his journey, Theseus grows

The main themes of the story Christmas Carol Essays

The main themes of the story Christmas Carol Essays The main themes of the story Christmas Carol Essay The main themes of the story Christmas Carol Essay Essay Topic: A Christmas Carol Furthermore, Dickens uses effective language to give us a vivid picture of what the character of Scrooge is like. Firstly, he uses present participles to show the reader how important money is to him. Scrooge is described as a squeezing, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner. The verbs all emphasise that money means everything to Scrooge by associating with hands and thereby showing his desperation ; he is a money grabber. The rhythmic use of these verbs which are repeated could also imply that the list does not stop and that Scrooge is even crueler than depicted. This already makes the reader think negatively about the character from the beginning of the story, because it gives him the idea that he does not value important things in life, like family and friends, but that money takes precedence for him. Furthermore,Dickens uses cold words when describing his character to emphasise that he is not a kind person ; a frosty rime was on his head and his eyebrows and he carried his own temperature about with him. It tells us that he is a cold-hearted person, and that there is nothing warm or friendly about him. It also allows us to picture his features- they are cold and sharp, making him appear unapproachable. He does not care about what state other people are in; he only cares about himself and money. Dickens also makes use of pathetic fallacy to describe Scrooges character. In the first stave he again uses weather to give the reader insight into his character; The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet, could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. The harshness of the weather reflects Scrooges character; its as though wherever Scrooge goes, the atmosphere becomes cold and harsh. Scrooges character can be explained through his past as when he was young he had a tough life because he grew up without any love from his father. These descriptions of Scrooge reflect his unforgiving, unwelcoming and heartless personality. Lastly, Dickens used similes to demonstrate to the reader how unsociable and cold-hearted Scrooge is. They encourage interpretation as they let the reader imagine Scrooge in his own way. The first simile he uses is: as solitary as an oyster, which shows how unsociable he is. An oyster lives in a shell in its own little world; Scrooge is the same- he likes to be isolated away from the rest of the world and he avoids contact with other people as much as he can. It could also imply that he is a good person inside, but has a hard shell around himself and does want to get close to anyone. His enjoyment of isolation can be explained through his past as he was abandoned by his father when he was young, so he got used to being on his own. This brings in the theme of change, as the reader sees that Scrooge is like this because that is how he grew up and he didnt know any different, not necessarily because that is how he wants to be. It shows the reader that if Scrooge learned how much better it is to socialise with other people he would want to change and spend more time with his nephew. Moreover, the simile hard and sharp as flint tells the reader how heartless and uncaring Scrooge is. Flint is a piece of rock that is very sharp and hard and nothing can get to it. .The characteristic hardness of flint links to Scrooges character, showing how Scrooge is just as unchanging: nothing will make him feel sympathetic towards poor people, and nothing will make him a nicer, more caring person. It emphasises that he is very callous and only cares about how he is doing and how much money he has, but he does not care the slightest about other people. You can tell a lot about a character by observing the way they behave and by other peoples attitudes towards them. Firstly, we get to know that Scrooge does not like to socialise and be pleasant to people. We get to know this as we see that he is miserable towards his only relative- his nephew. When he invites him to Christmas dinner, Scrooge repeats Good afternoon to show that he is not interested in socialising and he does not wish to discuss it. He is infatuated with money, so on Christmas he wants to be in his office working. He also thinks that love is ridiculous, and he criticises his nephew for marrying for love: Because you fell in love growled Scrooge, as if that were the only thing in the world more ridiculous than a merry Christmas. Scrooge thinks love is ridiculous because when he was younger, his fianci e Belle left him because he became obsessed with money and started to love it more than her. He now does not have any time for love because it gets in the way of making money.