In The Odyssey, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Jane Eyre, there is a universal theme of justice, morality, nobility, and virtue. With reading all three texts, many questions, some unanswerable, can be posed: Is revenge justice? Is justice revenge? Does justice exist? What differentiates a nobleman from an ignoble one? What is this nobility? Is virtue absolutely imperative to nobility? What is virtue? These kinds of philosophical, unanswerable, debate-sparking questions all originate from one place: ancient Greek philosophy. The ancient Greeks left a kind of a mental artifact, with the introduction of new-found studies and ideas. It inspired many creative movements, both literary and fine arts, and also scientific and mathematical movements.
When asked to write a comparison essay between “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien and “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte, one could wonder how that was possible. While both novels were intriguing, their plot lines were rather different. Tim O’Brien wrote about his experience in Vietnam and his time as a soldier – although he makes the reader question the believability of the entire book. Charlotte Bronte, on the other hand, wrote an autobiography about Jane Eyre, a young girl who grew up in Europe and experienced personal conflicts throughout the novel. If a reader were to analyze both stories, they would find more differences than similarities.
The ‘Odyssey’ is a well known book based around Greek myths and Odysseus’ journey back home as he attains help from the Gods. In ‘The Odyssey’, Homer is able to use figurative language to express a recurring theme of vengeance. In Homer's ‘Odyssey’, he manages to express a theme of vengeance by how Odysseus is struggling with the consequences of revenge and how he deals with that. In book twenty-two Odysseus confronts the suitors about trying to seduce his wife while he was gone, when he reveals himself as Odysseus some of the suitors immediately try to compensate for the wrongs they’ve done.
ustice, fairness, and decency, abstract concepts that are innate in society and human nature. However, despite their near universal status in humanities mid, they often have different meanings for individuals. Aeschylus uses The Oresteia in order to explore these issues as characters in the play try to determine what it means to be just, what ought a just actor do, and what is the best model for achieving justice. The characters discuss ideas such as vengeance, reciprocity, balance, moderation, and finally the end result of the implied debate leads to a jury system. In this paper I will go over two of the several different interpretations of justice used in the Oresteia and compare and contrast them in order to demonstrate which is the best
This movement inspired a rise in African-American artists and gave them a way to express their feelings in many art forms. Langston Hughes, a popular writer from this point in history, used his magazine to lift young African-American artists on to
“On wrongs swift vengeance awaits” (Pope). Agree or not, these wise words from Alexander Pope describe well what Homer’s The Odyssey is about. In this novel, characters often seek vengeance for things or people they have lost. This is shown through Poseidon’s actions to Odysseus and his men after they stab the Cyclop’s eye, Odysseus’s men being killed by Zeus after they eat Helios’s cattle and Odysseus killing all of the suitors once he returns to Ithaca.
Jane Eyre Discussion Questions Mrs. Amato Honors English 11 Gabby Sargenti CHAPTERS 1-4 1. Review the details Brontë provides about the weather in the opening chapter of the novel. How does this establish the mood of the story when it begins? “Cold winter” “Leafless” “Cloud” “Chilly” “Protruding rain”
IV: Revenge v. Justice Revenge and justice could be compared to a rope; these two terms convolute as they are employed synonymously, yet they noticeably overlap each other, all while still carrying a clear distinction between each other. One could draw this distinction by setting forth the notion of fairness; justice is, revenge isn’t. To that, I would respond that the mens rea of revenge could make it fair in many cases just as it could be unfair in other cases. Revenge is the central topic of Homer’s Odyssey, it also explains why Odysseus has a perilous journey home. Paradoxically, it also seems to be one of Odysseus’ main motivators.
While Odysseus’ actions taken to punish the suitors may appear immoral in modern society, by considering the ways in which modern society differs from Homeric society, Odysseus’ actions are just in the context of the poem. As violence has an extremely negative connotation in modern society, the use of the death penalty is morally ambiguous, and is a highly debated topic; however, violence is far more legitimized in the society of the Odyssey, and therefore, death is a far more acceptable form of punishment. This idea is exemplified by the way in which violence is discussed between characters within the Odyssey. In particular, this general acceptance of violence is demonstrated through the fact that many of the characters within the Odyssey share an almost unanimous belief that the suitors should be put to death to pay for their crimes.
There is a close relationship between literature and film and we can see that more and more films come from literature in recent years like Pride and Prejudice, Romeo and Juliet, Jane Eyre, a science fiction film named Arrival and so on. In fact, Jane Eyre is a popular story that a number of directors used it as adaption to a film and the 2011 version is the No.35 version of adaption. During to search with key words “Jane Eyre” “movie” and “adaption” on the Internet, I found the 1944 version and 2011 version have more comments. Most audience consider the 1944 version is the best adaption and more classical because this version is closer to the literature, showing the romantic, Gothic and depressed during the Victorian. However, the 2011 version is the newest version, it is with more details so that it can help audience to understand the mental activity of Jane and have more feeling of the actual environment Jane lived.
The actions inspired by vengeance and justice in Homer’s Iliad shows how detrimental the effects can be on others. The Justice seeked by warlike Menelaus causes pain and suffering to many on all sides of the war. Paris by abducting Helen hurt Menelaus’s pride, “Menelaus had in mind taking revenge on the man who’d injured him” (Homer, Iliad 3. 26-27). Seeking this revenge Menelaus
Analogously, the term justice is defined as a quality of becoming fair. It is notable that different philosophers also contributed to the topics in question. This owes to the truth that Thrasymachus, Cephalus, and Polemarchus discussed justice. This paper not only analyzes philosophies from Plato and Aristotle who discuss justice and happiness respectively, but also highlights the similarities between the two philosophers. Prior to Plato’s analysis of the term justice, different philosophers had communicated their opinions on justice.
Bronte 's Jane Eyre transcends the genres of literature to depict the emotional and character development of its protagonist. Although no overall genre dominates the novel exclusively, the vivid use of setting contributes towards the portrayal of Bronte’s bildungsroman (Realisms, 92) and defines the protagonist’s struggles as she grapples with her inner-self, and the social expectations of her gender. The novel incorporates Jane’s frequent conflicts, oppression, isolation and self-examination as she defends her identity and independence. Set amongst five separate locations, Bronte’s skilful use of literal and metaphorical landscapes, nature, and imagery, skilfully intertwines with the plot and denotes each phrase of her maturity.
In Charlotte Bronte’s novel “Jane Eyre” Edward Fairfax Rochester plays a contributing role in Janes development and growth as a character and human being in the Victorian time period. Not only does he play a large role in her independency, but in her emotional and spiritual growth as well. She grows around him whether she likes it or not. Due to Edwards manipulative and seductive nature, jane has to grow and develop in a way that has her frequently questioning her own ideals, whether that be spiritually or morally, and strengthening her independence by constantly refusing her feelings for him and adapting to punishing situations. Edward also opens Janes eyes to a world that is bigger than she realized due to his company at the house, wealth, and opportunities at the favorable Thornfeild manor at which she was employed by him.
Individualism is the political and social philosophy that emphasizes the moral worth of the individual. It is the idea that the individual’s life belongs to him and that he has an inalienable right to live it as he sees fit, to act on his own judgment, to keep and use the product of his effort, and to pursue the values of his choosing. It’s the idea that the individual is sovereign, an end in himself, and the fundamental unit of moral concernIndividualism in a novel refers to characters’ unique qualities as well as the way in which they express themselves. It is also called non-conformity, which implies standing out from the rest. Societal expectations in a novel refers to standards of behavior set and accepted to be “normal” by the society
Rebecca West once said, “I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat”; feminism and other social issues are fundamental to literature, with them commonly being a driving force behind both modern and classic works of fiction. Feminism is everywhere, with women still fighting for gender equality in modern day Britain as demonstrated through Emma Watson’s United Nations speech which was broadcasted in September of 2014 where she differentiates feminism from ‘man-hating’. Feminism has developed considerably over time as general attitudes have been swayed through literature, political movements and women’s portrayal of themselves. In 1847, Charlotte Bronte released her novel ‘Jane Eyre’ which was viewed as very radical for its time as Bronte uses Jane to exhibit her resentment towards society. Jane is presented as a morally strong, determined character who, when she falls in love, embraces the notion instead of the label and profits which are associated with it; she states that she “cares for [her]self” and that “more unsustained [she is], the more [she] will respect [her]self” as she is not tempted away from her self-respect.