Ashley's Lit Blog

The Best Class Blogger i have read this term would be.... If i were to be frank, i think my answer might be a little unfair seeing as i have not read some peoples blog Posts. However, i have been on some and commented on most. But i cannot say that i have read everyone's Blog posts this semester. Unfortunately my opinions would only therefore be based on those who i have had an opportunity this Semester to Visit their blog sites and make comments on their blogs. Some once and others more than once.  Now from those whose Blogs i have read and commented on, i would say Isaiah Williams has the best blog i have read this semester. I chose him because in each of his blog posts in he went into detail and provided reasons for why he wrote about a topic or why he was in support of something. For instance in his Post 19, he talks about Dante's hell and goes on to support his belief by saying, " We still acknowledge that punishment and suffering is necessary to deter evils, albei...

We have read so many stories this semester. I enjoyed some, some not so much. Some were really long and others nice and short. But if i had to choose one story i wouldn't mind repeating, that would be Rumi's love Poems. For both Research documents we did for this class, i choose to use The Wife of Bath's Tale because  i found the main character to be very interesting and almost refreshing to read about. But i would not want to reread this story. Call it cheesy! but the poems have been my favorites to read this semester, most especially Rumi's. Well apart from the obvious fact that he wrote love poems. Rumi writes in such a provocative and Mysterious way that gives the reader a chance to interpret and define so many of his poems in their own way. His poems give us a a description of what it is like to feel so Alive and in love. And the same time telling the reader to go out and have those experiences for yourself. Take for Instance, The Silence of Love, in which it say...

Dictionary.com defines a hero as someone who is noted for courageous acts or nobility of character: I do believe that Hamlet is more of a modern hero than an ancient epic hero. When we think about Ancient epic heroes such as Gilgamesh, Hercules, Achilles and many others who might have had extraordinary super powers or even just very exemplary warriors. Unlike these characters Hamlet is just a Prince looking to avenge his fathers death. Unlike the Ancient Epic heroes, Hamlet behaves in the same manner many of us act today. Prior to him finding out from his fathers ghost that his uncle  Claudius killed him, Hamlet has the same type of relationship we see today with most children in families where a separation has happened. For example, though his uncle is now King and married to his mother. Hamlet shows his dissatisfaction with how quickly after his death their union happened and makes this known by saying :  "...That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature Possess it ...

Throughout the entire semester we have read some really amazing stories and poems. From The Wife of Bath who brings a whole new meaning to the word Feminist, Gilgamesh King of Uruk and  brave warrior, Poets like Rumi who write the most mind blowing love poems or even Li Po whose use of imagery in his writing brings every poem to life. When we read Shakespeare's Hamlet Prince of Denmark ,  i tried to think of what other character from any of the stories we have read this semester has some similarities to him. That Character would be Oedipus  from  Sophocles'  Oedipus The King . The first and the most obvious similarity between Hamlet and Oedipus  is that both characters are part of a royal family. Oedipus is the King of Thebes and Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark. We start to see more similarities when we look at the motives that led up to the tragic endings in both stories.  Both characters are fueled by the lost of their fathers and on a quest to find...

Thomas More's Story Utopia stands for  nowhere or no place  when translated.   The perfect Society! But can the United States be compared to Utopia? Many have seen it as a criticism of Contemporary European Society. But Utopia was also seen as the perfect society, something which would and can never happen because perfection in an entire country is not so easily achieved. Though most things might not be realistic,some are more or less true in the United States today. For example in Utopia it says those "who were of the nobility of their country, were in cloth-of-gold, and adorned with massy chains, earrings and rings of gold; their caps were covered with bracelets set full of pearls and other gems—in a word, they were set out with all those things that among the Utopians were either the badges of slavery, the marks of infamy, or the playthings of children. It was not unpleasant to see, on the one side, how they looked big, when they compared their rich habits with the p...

In Machiavelli's  The Prince  he talks about what it takes to be the ideal ruler. From the Elections to now, i would say that based on Machiavelli's teachings Trump has not been a good leader. According to Machiavelli, "the prince must consider, as has been in part said before, how to avoid those things which will make him hated or contemptible; and as often as he shall have succeeded he will have fulfilled his part, and he need not fear any danger in other reproaches." (252) Since being Elected president Trump has not done anything to make the people not hate or find him contemptible. He has also equally failed i fulfilling any of the promises he made prior to him taking over  as president of the United States. Apart from not coming through on any of his promises, President Trump has also been known to have a deeply misogynistic attitude. His vulgar, rude and insulting comments about women go against everything Machiavelli talked about. As a leader, "It make...

Don't touch my hair is a song by Solange Knowles. The song can be seen as an Ode to Black girls. A very significant verse of the song goes as follows : Don't touch my hair When it's the feelings I wear Don't touch my soul When it's the rhythm I know Don't touch my crown They say the vision I've found Don't touch what's there When it's the feelings I wear  Solange lays out these rules and speaks for many Black people when they say they want to be left alone and BE. The song is very empowering especially for those black girls who have learned or are just learning to embrace their natural hair. The song represents a journey to self-acceptance of one's hair and understanding that you're beautiful in the strands that you wear. It is your hair, it's the rhythm you know, your soul and your crown. Not something for people to marvel at because it doesn't fall under the eurocentric ideals of beauty. We didn’t come so far f...

They Say Beauty, Lies in the eyes of the beholder. Don't' wear Makeup. Why doesn't she have on makeup? Don't dress too Provocatively. WOW! she's so plain. Don't be too Loud, be more competitive but not too much Be thin but not too thin. Have perfect skin, Clean nails and white teeth. And above all always smile. The world created Perfection to make us feel more imperfect. But when I stopped and looked around. I saw the Imperfections with what was expected, and saw the beauty in Myself. So many have succeeded in having it all, but what's the point when you don't know how to love yourself. it is never a selfish thing to love oneself. In a world full of Kardashians, there is So much beauty in being you.

Should Socrates be in hell? In the Divine Comedy every sin has its own circle. In the First Circle, Limbo reserved for Pagans and the unbaptized. Many of the shades in Limbo are not really sinners, but people who were born before Christ, "and if they were before Christianity, in the right manner they adored not God..."(72) and had no opportunity to choose between good and evil. These virtuous pagans live forever in a place of their creation.They lived by wisdom, philosophy and thought, not religion. In the Apology when describing what he thinks death would be like Socrates says, "I will tell you: what has befallen me appears to be a blessing... for to die is one of two things: for either the dead may be annihilated, and have no sensation of anything whatsoever; or, as it is said, there are a certain change and passage of the soul from one place to another.And if it is a privation of all sensation, as it were a sleep in which the sleeper had no dream, death would be...

To better understand Dante's concept of hell and the appeal of punishment and suffering in our modern age, we have to first understand what life for him and society were like when he wrote The Divine Comedy: Inferno . Dante Alighieri made the switch from writing love lyrics to writing about spiritual love when Beatrice a woman he had loved from afar died of one of the plagues in Florence. She then becomes his muse in the Divine Comedy. In his journey to the afterlife, he meets to talks to the souls of the dead. From hell, to Purgatory, then paradise.Those that are wicked are punished in hell: "There sighs, complaints, and ululations loud Resounded through the air without a star, Whence I, at the beginning, wept thereat. Languages diverse, horrible dialects, Accents of anger, words of agony, And voices high and hoarse, with sound of hands, Made up a tumult that goes whirling on For ever in that air for ever black, Even as the sand doth, when the whirlwind breat...

Jesus or Isa in Arabic (peace be upon him) is of great significance in both Islam and Christianity. However, there are differences in terms of beliefs about the nature and life occurrences of Jesus. Unlike the biblical interpretation, the Quran  teaches the Belief in all of the Prophets and Messengers of God as being a fundamental part of the religion. Thus, believing in Prophets such Adam, Moses, and Muhammad. The Quran states that Jesus is a Messenger:"The Messiah (Jesus), son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger before whom many Messengers have passed away; and his mother adhered wholly to truthfulness, and they both ate food (as other mortals do). See how We make Our signs clear to them; and see where they are turning away!" (Quran 5:75, pg 265) A person claiming to be a Muslim who, and believes otherwise is said to be committing blasphemy and not a Muslim. Moreover, the Quran does not view Jesus as the son of God saying "He is God[ who is] one,God, The Eternal re...

The Quran and Bible possess many similarities and differences respectively. They consist of narratives, teachings, poetry, and rebuking. Many narratives contain the same basic events and figures. They both teach the creation of the world by a single almighty, omniscient God who commands humans to follow the morality set out for them. Muslims believe God dictated every word of the Quran . The Quran, therefore, is perfect in every way as God is perfect. Most Muslims believe the Quran is applicable to every person regardless of context. Christians believe the Bible is completely true, but in a different way. The Bible is the record of God’s revelation to the Jews and through Jesus. It is written by humans together with God through a process called Divine Inspiration. Both the New Testament and the Quran have similar teachings. Both share the same belief in regards to resurrection and the accountability of our actions. In the new testament it says " Rejoice and be exceedingly glad: ...

A Government official should definitely lead by personal example and high ideals. When your practice what you preach or by walking your talk. You don't come off hypocritical to people and people start to see you as a leader and turn to you. But yet that is hardly the case, because we see government officials these days advocating for certain bills to be passed, or some new policy. But when we dig deeper, you will realize that they do not follow those same rules, or live that way. They do not have that health coverage or drive that energy saving vehicle. But when a government official who uses that health plan, drives that car, supports the Bill because it also affects he or she's life then that becomes a good form of leadership.

When it come s to the role of the US president, it is general knowledge and consensus that he or she is the Head of State, Commander and chief of the armed forces, and the Head of the Government. Both Socrates and Confucius  had similar beliefs. Confucius taught propriety which is perhaps a more socially-oriented equivalent of temperance and self-control. For Confucius the rules of propriety were the social controls for the proper behavior of a gentleman. They maintained the social graces and guaranteed appropriate refinement in manners and conduct which is exactly how we expect a president should act. In the Analects, it states that "Where the solid qualities are in excess of accomplishments, we have rusticity; where the accomplishments are in excess of the solid qualities, we have the manners of a clerk. When the accomplishments and solid qualities are equally blended, we then have the man of virtue"(349). In other words a person should have an equal blend of excellence and...

Ancient  g ods reinforced and created what was and wasn't moral. The gods in ancient stories also  demonstrate that they are in no way more divine or sensible than mortals. They too make mistakes and go through some of the problems mortals deal with such as love, hate, pride, jealousy and sometimes cruel nature . Take for instance the Epic of Gilgamesh , where  Gilgamesh and Enkidu discover, in some ways their divine powers make them even more childish and irrational and capricious than their human cou nterparts. Also  note how Ishtar tries to tempt Gilgamesh to sleep with her  when she is overcome with lust. Gilgamesh points out the irony of this in his open rebuke to her: the goddess of love has become enslaved by the passion that she herself is, in theory at least, in charge of: Modern In today's society we do not have gods like the greeks or Romans do. But we have those we deem as Super heroes or celebrities who many worship.Our modern day gods...

According to the council on foreign relations( cfr.org) , t he Bush administration argued that, in the 12 years since the end of the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein defied the will of the United Nations by failing to fully disclose his suspected arsenal of  weapons of mass destruction  and cooperate with U.N. weapons inspections. The administration also said Saddam had formed alliances with terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, that could use Iraqi weapons against U.S. targets. Yet to date no such weapons or ties have been revealed.  Based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita’s teachings and moral of the story. The war in Iraq was justifiable because based on the Bhagavad Gita " to whom comes joy of battle, comes as now glorious and fair, unsought; opening for him and a gateway unto heav'n,but, if thou shunn'st this honourable field-a kshattriya- if knowing thy duty and thy task, thou bidd'st duty and task go by-that shall be sin!"( 479) The Bhagavad Gita teaches th...

When i think of a Tragic figure in the news, Micheal Jackson is always the first name that comes to my mind. A man born with such an incredible talent, achieves unimaginable success early in his life. A glorious future is predicted, but instead, his life is a series of ever more strange events, culminating in his untimely death. Michael Jackson is known as called “The King of Pop,” but he is one of the most well known and loved tragic hero of our times. Who was he, really? Michael Jackson has been both the most public and the most private figure of the last half-century; . He guarded his privacy ferociously; sometimes going to bizarre lengths to hide his own and his children’s appearances.A t a very young age he and his brothers became world-famous, but right from the start his tremendous charisma singled him out as the star.  But as we all know, there is a price to fame especially Fame and Stardom at such a young age. There were early signs that things weren’t right. He didn’t d...

The day before had been great. It was the beginning of the Summer so you know the weather was not nasty hot as it can be, making it perfect enough for me.That Friday Night, we had made plans to go see a movie at the Movie theater but somehow we ever got to it. So we decided to stay up late, get some chips, candy, pop a few bags of popcorn and watch the movies at their place. When we finally got home it was almost 3:00am and i am pretty sure i slept throughout the movie. This Saturday morning will be one of the worst days ever. There was a loud Banging on the door, followed by a yell. Thinking nothing of it after staying up really late. I drew the blanket more over my head to drown out any noise that might interrupt my sleep. Then i heard all these familiar voices talking in a panic tone in my living room.  I decided to wake up and go see whats going on. When i walked into the living room, everyone had this panicked tone in their voices and i am sure some people were crying. 'Foam...

After reading most of my classmates blog post on an Epic hero, i do agree with Almost everything they had to say. In Ms. Gilmore's blog she talked about the characteristics of an Epic hero and i do agree with her. There are some characteristics that i do believe almost all classical and modern heroes have or are associated with. In her blog post she mentioned traits such as Devotion, loyalty and weakness. In my post i mentioned how superman was an Epic hero because he had super strength, was devoted and loyal to the human race even when he didn't have to. Yet with all that power, he still had weaknesses. Having a weakness to me is not a flaw for a hero, but rather can be seen as a strength. Ms.  Stafford's points were also very Valid. I do believe our Soldiers, Veterans and anyone who risk their lives and sacrifice their well being for that of others or another person is a hero. To me heroism has nothing to do with special abilities and superpowers, Even th...

To start off on this topic, we have to first and foremost define who an epic hero is. Google defines an epic hero  as a character in an  epic  poem who is noble and brave and is affected by great events or admired for his achievements. I d efine an epic hero as, someone who sacrifices their comfort, well being and sometimes something as big as their own personal happiness for someone else or other people. They do not do what they do for selfish reasons or for praise and fame. They have strengths and weaknesses like us and that is what makes them so relate-able . But at a moment of need, lend a helping  her even if they might be equally as scared. In the past and even now when most stories are written about Epic heroes that person is almost always male. Very few women as cast in that role. But today we do see many female epic heroes such as Wonder woman, Katniss Everdeen, Selene etc, Superman is a great example of an Epic hero to me . Just like us  Superma...

For my Wikipedia article i chose ' The Wife of Bath's Tale,' firstly because of all Geoffrey Chaucer 's  Canterbury Tales this has got to be my favorite. it is th e most fascinating and interesting story for me, It is very evident that Chaucer put in a great deal of work and a lot of room for interpretation of the tale when he wrote this. The ' The Wife of Bath's Tale,'  is a story of a woman so far ahead of her time. A woman who isn't afraid of her own sexuality and is very open in her exploits and her love for 'sex.' Though a good deal of work has already been put into the Wikipedia article, i do believe that there's a lot more than can be added. The article opens up with a brief introduction the author and the author gives a reasoning behind which it is believed that Chaucer wrote the tale, and that reason would be 'guilt.' Then we move on to a short synopsis of the Tale, followed by a mention of all the themes covered in th...

According to Wikipedia, the idea of romantic love or 'courtly love' as it has been called was first developed in the aristocratic courts of Europe, China, India, and Japan  for the entertainment of the nobility. However, as time passed, these ideas about love changed and attracted a larger audience . Unlike today's modern day society which has become more sexualized, perverse in our thoughts and open with our romantic feelings towards one another, this was the exact opposite for a male or female living in medieval courts in Europe, China, India or Japan. Societies back then did not experience romantic love as we do. Everything was an arrangement and almost robotic in how it was carried out.  Marriage and family formation followed other rules. People were not allowed to choose their partners, especially women and were denied romantic adventures. Marriages were arranged by the parents, some even before they are born and were based on mutual sympathy, survival, and financial...

If I had to choose a modern song about eroticism to compare to Ovid's Metamorphoses and "The Wife of Bath's Tale." it would be Salt-N_PePa's  song titled “Let’s Talk About Sex ” After all, even the Bible tells us it’s good to procreate! Why not talk about it so everyone can do it better? Or as the Wife of Bath says, “They were made then upon a creature... and for procreation as well.”(29) The wife of bath is one woman who is very open and loud about her sexuality. The Wife is very explicit about wanting to have it often, and about trolling the world in search of its next source (in the form of potential husbands). For the wife of bath the most important reasons for marriage are money and sex, the Wife often links money  to  sex. For example, she calls her husband's genitals his "nether purse" and muses on the price her "queynte," or vagina, could fetch on the open market. When she says "Thus, i boast of one thing for myself: in the end...

                      I think it is safe to say that the wife of bath is more modern and a lot like us today than we realize, when it comes to her approach on sexuality and Romantic love. The wife of bath is very different from the subservient wives of her time. She seems to be a free thinker, she speaks her mind and has strength and motivation. Women in her day were totally dependent on men, whether it be a father, brother or husband for their livelihood. Most knew their place.In her lengthy Prologue, the Wife of Bath apparently feels the need to establish her authority in a more scholarly way. She imitates the ways of churchmen and scholars by backing up her claims with quotations from Scripture and works of antiquity. One could also argue that the Wife of bath, is not much different from your modern day feminist. When it comes to her interpretation of the bible and ...

When a symbol, Pattern, or model is used time and time again across various cultures and time periods. It can be defined as an Archetype. Metamorphoses is written by the Roman Poet Ovid, who tells a bunch of stories filled with archetypes and different characters. The first Archetype i noticed was  The archetypes of unrequited love and maiden goddess which are present in the stories about 'Apollo and Daphne.' Apollo was in love with Daphne, daughter of the river god. Apollo fell deeply in love with Daphne, however she did not return his love. She did not return his love for one reason.  ‘ Dearest father, let me be a virgin for ever!  Diana ’s father granted it to her.’ (734) She vowed to live an unmarried life like Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. She did not feel any love towards him.Both Archetypes can be seen in today's society, in our movies, books, lives etc. it has become a reoccurring theme. to love someone and they do not share or reciprocate those feelin...

An Archetype can be defined as a recurrent symbol or motif. This could also be seen as the perfect model for something, for instance if we see a girl with Long hair, a  sparkly big ball gown , a fairy god mother and a tiara we can immediately infer that she is the archetype of a fairy tale princess. An Archetype is almost always truthful and tell us things that are relate able to us as Human beings. They are not always factual but there is a moral behind it, a lesson to be learned. The most common type of Archetype in today's society is the Hero. we see this archetype more often in our movies, daily lives, books, news outlets etc  The Hero is also known as: The warrior, crusader, rescuer, superhero, the soldier, dragon slayer, the winner and the team player. My parents have always been my biggest support system, providing me with all i need. My mom especially has been my number one supporter. Based on the diversity of today's current definition of what a family really is, ...

Every Religion and culture in the world has a story about where we came from? How the earth came to be? who created us? And what is our purpose for being here? All these stories have similarities and differences that when taken into account have shaped the way we see the World. Creation stories help the way we see the world by giving us a sense of belonging, purpose, direction and meaning in our day to day lives and our interactions with one another. Nevertheless, its the reoccurring themes in each creation story that helps shape the way we see the world." Many of the stories either omit the role of women or condemn women. Izanami speaks first and spoils the first effort of Japanese creation. The female of the Upanishad is raped repeatedly. In the Hebrew story, Eve gets humanity expelled from Eden, and no other female is mentioned for generations thereafter. Young girls are likewise responsible for disaster in the Apache story."(UGA Summary of Creation Stories) This brings ...

I was raised as a catholic and now that I am older, I no longer attend the catholic church with as much frequency, if  not at all, as I did growing up. When it comes to creation, I am very aware that there are many different versions out there out there about how the earth came to be. But my view has always been in accordance with the Christian view of things. When I think about creation, I think back to the book of Genesis and how it was declared that God made the earth , rivers, mountains, weather and sky, man and animals. In my opinion the Christian view is more consistent with today's reality .  For instance, it is very obvious that the earth has been around for a very long time. I know that this topic is very controversial for those who take have a more scientific view of creation, with the belief that evolution was driven by blind, unguided natural forces without a goal. They follow Charles Darwin's theory of evolution of the s...