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This
is a 3-page paper on the role of Greek and Roman literature and the role it
plays in today’s society.
THE
ROLE OF GREEK AND ROMAN LITERATURE
Over the years, literature of ancient
Greece
and
Rome
has affected art, religion, philosophy, science and mathematics, medicine,
drama, and poetry profoundly. It
has served as a basic model for the development of later European
literatures and, consequently, the writings of the historians, geographers,
philosophers, scientists, and rhetoricians are read today as sources of
historical information and enjoyment.
Alfred Whitehead, the famous
British philosopher-mathematician, once commented that: “[A]ll philosophy
is but a footnote to Plato” (Comptons Encyclopedia). A similar point can
be made regarding Greek literature as a whole.
The Greek world of thought was far ranging and ideas discussed today
have been previously debated by ancient writers.
In fact, until recently, in Western culture, an acquaintance with
classical Latin (as well as Greek) literature was basic to a liberal
education. Roman literature such as epic and lyric poetry, rhetoric,
history, comic drama and satire (the last genre being the only literary form
that the Romans invented) serve as today’s backbone for a basic
understanding of expression and artistic creativity, as well as history.
Greek comedies such as those
of Naevius and Andronicus, as well as historical writings in epic poems
(First Punic War), tell the story of
Rome
and its conquests and served as prototypes for Aroman epics.
Later poets imitated early Roman writers as they used these early
writings for springboards into further development of drama.
For example, Plautus’s lively plays were a model for much
subsequent European comedy and are still performed today (encarta.msn).
Epic Greek poetry was exclusively in verse, but evolved from the folk
ballads of early people of
Greece
who had an oral literature composed of songs about the actions of their
heroes. Mythical and heroic
events that are not celebrated in the Homeric works became the subject
matter of a number of subsequent epics.
Many of these epics, composed from the 8th century to the
6 century B.C. by unknown poets called the cyclic poets, concerned the
Trojan War and war of the Seven Against Thebes.
Historians have learned a great deal about Greek life through poems
such as Hesiod’s major work Works
and Days, which draws from everyday life of a Boeotian farmer (encarta.msn
2).
Tragedy in drama as we know it today is said to have been originated
in the 6th century B.C. by Attic poet Thespis, who is credited
with spoken passages for actors to complement the lyric utterances of the
chorus. Sophocles and Euripides,
Greek playwrights, used psychological insight into their characterizations.
Comedy, grouped in two divisions (Mid
dle
and New) from 400-336 B.C. and 336-250 B.C. replaced satire with social
comedy which involved family types, plot and character development, and
romantic themes. Menander was
the chief writer of New Comedy and his work had a strong influence upon the
Latin dramatists of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC,
notably Plautus and Terence. Extensive
portions of many of these plays survive today.
Plato and Aristotle were two major Greek philosophical writers.
Plato developed some aspects of Socrates’ philosophy and expressed,
in written dialogues, the philosophy later called idealism.
They are also literary masterpieces, having many qualities common to
poetry and drama. Aristotle, a pupil of Plato, wrote a large number of works
on logic, metaphysics, ethics, rhetoric, and politics.
These writings are read and analyzed by many people still today (encyclopedia.com).
Greek culture was very widespread in the Mediterranean world during
the Hellenistic Age, 4th century to 1st century BC.
Literary schools that came into being and the greatest library of
antiquity were located in
Alexandria
,
Egypt
. Alexandrian poetry
concentrated on foreign customs, names of months, and local nomenclature.
It was at this time that Callimachus perfected the epigram, literary
didactic poems and pastoral poetry. Others
followed him in pastoral verse that is cherished even today (encyclopedia.com).
Theological writings after the fall of the
Byzantine Empire
in 1453 attacked the various heresies that arose during the first millennium
of the Christian era. Accounts
of saints’ lives were also published, i.e., Acts of the Martyrs by
Metaphrastes and Fathers of the Church by Saint Gregory of Nazianzus and by
Cosmas of Jerusalem in the 86h century.
These were filled with beautiful poetry, dramatic forces and easy
flow of vividly descriptive colloquial idioms.
Ancient Greek and Roman
literature has affected literally every phase of societal intelligence over
the years. As noted, this is
evident in areas such as medicine, history, geography, philosophy, science
and mathematics, drama, poetry, and religion.
Even today, mankind frequently refers to early Greek and Roman
writings for knowledge and expertise in directing their creative talents in
a more precise and meaningful manner.
References
Greek
Literature.
Comptons
Encyclopedia. Online.
Available at: http://www.comptons.com/encyclopedia
Greek Literature.
Comptons
Encyclopedia. Online.
Available at: http://encarta.msn/index/conciseindex
Greek
Literature.
Comptons
Encyclopedia. Online.
Available at: http://encarta.msn.com/kind.print
Latin
Literature. Encarta
Encyclopedia. Online.
Available at: http://encarta.msn.com/find/rint
Philosophy
of Aristotle: Aristotle’s Life and Heritage.
Monarch Notes Aristotle; 01-01-1963.
Encyclopedia.com
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This
three-page undergraduate paper is a literary analysis about discrimination
in the book To Kill a Mockingbird.
To
Kill a Mockingbird:
An
Analysis of Discrimination
The
most important theme of the 1960 Pulitzer Prize winning novel To
Kill a Mockingbird is author Harper Lee’s tenacious exploration of the
moral nature of people. Lee
tenaciously explores the moral nature of human beings, especially the
struggle in every human soul between discrimination and tolerance.
The novel is very effective in not only revealing prejudice, but in
examining the nature of prejudice, how it works, and its consequences.
One of the ways it accomplishes this is by dramatizing the main
characters’, Scout and Jem’s, maturing transition from a perspective of
childhood innocence. Initially,
because they have never seen or experienced evil themselves, they assume
that all people are good by nature and tolerant of others.
It is not until they see things from a more realistic adult
perspective that they are able to confront evil, as well as prejudice, and
incorporate it into their understanding of the world
(Castleman).
As a result of this skillful literary portrayal by Harper Lee of the
psychological transition from innocence to experience to realization, To
Kill a Mockingbird succeeds admirably in portraying the very real threat
that hatred, prejudice, and ignorance have always posed to the innocent.
Simple, trusting, good-hearted characters such as Tom Robinson and
Boo Radley are tragically unprepared. They
are ill-equipped emotionally and psychologically to deal with the unexpected
depths of the prejudice they encounter -- and as a result, they are
destroyed. Even Jem is
victimized to a certain extent by his discovery of the evil of prejudice and
its hidden power over so many people during and after the controversial
trial (Bergman and Asimow).
In the end, Scout is able to maintain her basic faith in human nature
despite the shock and unfairness of Tom Robinson’s courtroom conviction.
However, on the other hand, Jem’s faith in truth, justice and
humanity is very badly damaged. He
does not understand why all of this is happening.
Prejudice and racism do not make any sense to Jem as they are so
foreign to his nature that he had assumed they did not exist.
When the shameful courtroom proceedings are over he retreats into a
troubled state of deep disillusionment.
In contrast, Atticus Finch has experienced and understood evil
throughout his life. He has been confronted with prejudice and racism, but
has not lost his faith in the human capacity for goodness. Atticus
understands from his own experiences and reflection that, rather than being
simply creatures of good or creatures of evil, most people have both good
and bad qualities. Jem and Scout only learn this after their troubling
experiences with racism and prejudice during the trial.
When they do, it is a revelation which eases some of the burden of
their discovery of prejudice.
One of the most powerful scenes in the novel is when Jem asks, “If
there’s just one kind of folks, why can’t they get along with each other
? If they’re all alike, why do
they go out of their way to despise each other ?”
He sadly declares, “Scout, I think I’m beginning to understand
something, I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed
shut up in the house all this time. It’s
because he wants to stay inside.” In Jem, the sadness is deep and lasting
(Lee 240).
Lee proceeds to demonstrate the range of prejudice and tolerance in
people by emphasizing the point very effectively through the sheriff’s
explanation that, “I’m not a very good man, sir, but I am sheriff of
Maycomb County. I’ve lived in this town all my life an’ I'm goin’ on
forty-three years old. Know everything that’s happened here since before I
was born. There’s a black boy dead for no reason, and the man responsible
for it’s dead. Let the dead bury the dead this time, Mr. Finch, let the
dead bury the dead” (Lee 290).
Lee goes on to say through Atticus that the important thing in life
is to appreciate the good qualities and understand the bad qualities by
treating others with sympathy and trying to see life from their perspective.
He tries to teach this ultimate moral lesson
to Jem and Scout to show them that it is possible to live with conscience
without losing hope or becoming cynical. For example, in this way, Atticus
is able to admire Mrs. Dubose’s courage even while deploring her
prejudice. In much the same way, Scout’s progress as a character in the
novel is defined by her gradual development toward understanding the lessons
Atticus Finch tries to teach her, culminating when, in the final chapters,
Scout at last sees Boo Radley as a human being. Her newfound ability to view
the world from his perspective ensures that she will not become jaded as she
loses her innocence.
In conclusion, in To Kill a
Mockingbird, author Harper Lee tenaciously explores
the moral nature of human beings, especially the struggle in every
human soul between discrimination and tolerance.
The novel is very effective in not only revealing prejudice, but in
examining the nature of prejudice, how it works, and its consequences.
Bibliography
Bergman, Paul, and Asimow, Michael. Reel
Justice. New
York: Andrews and McMeel, 1996.
Castleman, Tamara. Cliffsnotes’
Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. New
York: Cliffsnotes, 2000.
Lee, Harper. To
Kill a Mockingbird. New
York: Harper Collins, 1999.
To Kill a Mockingbird.
Dir. Robert Mulligan. Perf.
Gregory Peck, Mary Badham,
Crahan
Denton, Philip Alford. Universal-International,
1962.
At
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essay will analyze the themes of religion, slavery, and democracy in the
book Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. By exploring these themes that
lie behind the book’s veneer, we can see how Twain had an objective when
he wrote this book. That is, he
hoped to achieve a wide symbolic scope. By unveiling the themes that are
present in the book, we can see what Twain stood for and why he wrote this
novel in the period he lived in.
An Analytical Essay on
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
This
essay will analyze the themes of religion, slavery, and democracy in the
book Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. By exploring these themes that
lie behind the book’s veneer, we can see how Twain had an objective when
he wrote this book. That is, he
hoped to achieve a wide symbolic scope. By unveiling the themes that are
present in the book, we can see what Twain stood for and why he wrote this
novel in the period he lived in.
Religion is sarcastically reflected in Huckleberry Finn by
Twain’s sense of storyline and the way his characters talk. A predominant
theme, and probably one of Twain's favorites, is the mockery of religion.
Twain tended to attack organized religion at every opportunity and the
sarcastic character of Huck Finn is perfectly situated to allow him to do
so. The attack on religion can already be seen in the first chapter, when
Huck indicates that hell sounds like a lot more fun than heaven. This will
continue throughout the novel, with one prominent scene occurring when the
"King" convinces a religious community to give him money so he can
"convert" his pirate friends.
Twain’s
skeptical take on religion can be elicited because superstition is a theme
that both Huck and Jim bring up several times. Although both of these
characters tend to be quite rational, they quickly become irrational when
anything remotely superstitious happens to them. The role of superstition in
this book is two-fold: First, it shows that Huck and Jim are child-like in
spite of their otherwise extremely mature characters. Second, it serves to
foreshadow the plot at several key junctions. For example, spilling salt
leads to Pa returning for Huck, and later Jim gets bitten by a rattlesnake
after Huck touches a snakeskin with his hands.
Another
theme that is dealt with in this book is slavery.
In fact, slavery is one of the main topics that has been frequently
debated in regards to Huckleberry Finn since it was first published.
Twain himself was vehemently anti-slavery and Huckleberry Finn can in
many ways be seen as an allegory for why slavery is wrong. Twain uses Jim, a
slave who is one of the main characters, as a way of showing the human side
of a slave. Everything about Jim is presented through emotions: Jim runs
away because Miss Watson was going to sell him South and separate him from
his family; Jim is trying to become free so he can buy his family's freedom;
and Jim takes care of Huck and protects him on their journey downriver in a
very materialistic manner. Thus, Twain's purpose is to make the reader feel
sympathy for Jim and outrage against the society that would harm him.
However, at the same time that Twain is attacking slavery, he also pushes
the issue into the background for most of the novel. Thus, slavery itself is
never debated by Huck and Jim.
Moreover,
the other slaves in the novel are noticeably minor characters. Only at the
very end does Twain create the central conflict concerning slavery: Should
Huck free Jim from slavery and therefore be condemned to go to hell? This
moment is life altering for Huck because it forces him to reject everything
that "civilization" has taught him.
In the end, he makes the decision to free Jim based solely on his own
experiences and not based on what he has been taught from books.
The
themes of thievery and freedom also come up in the book, in that Huck and
his gang are free to whatever they want. They are on the wrong side of the
law and have no one to tell them what to do. Consequently, the themes of
robbery and freedom are ones that permeate the novel. They are first
introduced in the second chapter with respect to Tom Sawyer's band: Tom
believes that “there is a great deal of freedom associated with being
robbers.” This theme can be
traced throughout the rest of the book. Huck and Jim encounter robbers on
the shipwrecked boat and later they are forced to put up with the King and
the Dauphin, both of whom "rob" everyone they meet and free to do
as they wish. Tom's robber band is also paralleled by the fact that Tom and
Huck both become literal robbers at the end of the novel. They both resolve
to steal Jim out of slavery and have the freedom to do so.
In
conclusion, many various themes run through this novel. Tom has an
anti-slavery sentiment, which tells us what Twain thought of slavery. Also,
skepticism of religion is demonstrated through all of the hysterical
mockeries Twain makes of organized religion. Additionally, the element of
freedom is also encompassed, as the main characters are free to roam as they
please.
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