Personal Problems

Personal Problems George Orwell’s â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† is a simple essay with a strong message. Throughout the piece, the narrator faces the same conflict day after day and was â€Å"hated by large numbers of people† (Orwell 377). This level of hatred causes the narrator to make a decision against his beliefs and in favor of the imperialistic society. This decision is not based on the right thing to do, but to simply fit in. Orwell uses his perplexed narrator, a simple plot, and detailed setting to explain how individuals choose self-image over self-satisfaction.Orwell speaks in first person as a participant taking on the role of a European police officer in an anti-British colony, and is the perplexed individual caught amongst the action. The officer faces unforgiving natives who often meet him with â€Å"sneering yellow faces †¦ [and with] insults hooted after me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Orwell 378). Yet in irony, those same citizens expect protection from a raging elephant on the loose causing an internal barrier. The officer explains, â€Å"They did not like me, but with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching† (Orwell 380).It was at that moment when he realizes he is just â€Å"an absurd puppet† and is being used by the natives for whatever purpose they need. The plot in the essay is simple, straight forward, and follows the basic plot elements: the who, what, where, and why. In the first sentence, Orwell presents the narrator as the main character and the roles of the supporting characters. He describes the officer as an outcast, often targeted by the natives for amusement. Orwell wastes no time with deep rising actions, but quickly reaches the climax, exposing the internal conflict.The officer exclaims, â€Å"but even then I was not thinking particularly of my own skin, only of the watchful yellow faces behind,† and continues to describe how he was more afraid of looking like a fool in f ront of the natives than of the tyrant elephant (Orwell 381). Orwell keeps simplicity throughout his essay yet supplies great details; allowing the reader to feel the emotion and atmosphere of the setting. He uses plain language and few words to describe the cultural setting that is shaped from religious and political views. The officer often mentions the British rule and how the Buddhists and natives of the land were the worst (Orwell 379).The cultural differences between the British rule and natives were far from the same. Not only did this contribute to the internal conflicts of the officer, but to external conflicts of other British people in the colony. Orwell supports his theme of self-image over individual morals by using all the elements of literacy. The narrator’s conflict within himself was brought upon through his own actions and thoughts. As an officer he had a right to carry out the laws of the land, but would rather go against his beliefs to avoid ridicule wanti ng to fit in and not be laughed at.Nonetheless, even after he did what he thought the natives wanted, the officer still faces the same issues of internal conflict. He was trying to justify what was done to make him feel better, yet continues to have a guilty conscience. The officer even admits he â€Å"had done it solely to avoid looking a fool† (Orwell 382). In conclusion, Orwell presents a humble approach to a common problem of today. Although doing the moral thing is correct, most humans do what they feel is expected because someone’s eyes are always watching.Orwell cuts right to the point and wastes no time on useless material. The complicated character jumps out in the beginning and forecasts a simple plot. By using details about the location, Orwell supports his plot and places the essay in the middle of Southeast Asia. The location is important and better explains the relationship between authority figures and the religious differences. However, the choice is in the main character’s hands and instead of sticking to his beliefs, he would rather be a follower than forever a fool.

Importance of Greek Mythology Essay

â€Å"Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and their own cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars referred to the myths and studied them in an attempt to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece and, in general, on the ancient Greek civilization. † (citation) Mythical narration played a very large, and also important role in the lives of the ancient Greeks, they relied mainly on the mythical stories to guide them through crisis and gave them something to believe in; as many people follow God’s words and the Holy Bible in our current time. The epic poems â€Å"The Illiad† and â€Å"The Odyssey† are the oldest known literary sources from the mythology time that we know of. These poems include very many important life lessons such as spiritual growth, loyalty, and perseverance; but these are only a select few of the main themes in the epic poem, â€Å"The Odyssey. † Homer does an excellent job in relating this message through various characters, adventures, and obstacles throughout the book. In the epic poem, â€Å"The Odyssey,† Homer shows the importance of spiritual growth through many instances. Odysseus begins on Calypso’s island and he has been led to believe he owns everything, except for the most important thing, happiness. Odysseus’ becomes depressed because he realizes how much he misses his home land. Homer introduces Odysseus at a bad time to emphasize the growth of Odysseus’ spirit from beginning to the very end. If Homer would have written about Odysseus in high spirits from the beginning, then the growth would not have seemed as prevalent. Odysseus seems to brighten up quite a bit as he sees the light in sailing home. He is brutally tested Poseidon nearly kills him when on the coast of the first island that he reaches, Scheria. The Odyssey says, â€Å"and trapped within that backwash of the brine, Odysseus would have died before his time had not gray-eyed Athena counseled him. † This is only one instance of many that seems to shows the lesson of spiritual growth in â€Å"The Odyssey. † This epic poem also portrays loyalty in very many different ways from characters to situations. In The Odyssey, there remained three main characters that stood out and showed their trustworthiness to Odysseus while he was away fighting in the Trojan War and trying to make his way back to Ithaca. It seems that out of all the characters, the most loyal person to Odysseus could have been simply overlooked, but it most definitely would have been Odysseus’s wife, Penelope. She remained faithful to her husband even after almost twenty years apart from him. She refused to marry one of the suitors that hassled her day by day; so it came as a surprise to learn that Odysseus is most unfaithful to his wife. This part of the epic poem represented the human-like personality of Odysseus in showing that even he could make mistakes, and also wasn’t anything close to perfect. Telemachus, at one point, shows his loyalty to Odysseus by joining him on going on a voyage to learn more about his father, Odysseus. There are a lot of different meanings for each tale and in the Odyssey itself, and there are many more understandings than just one interpretation. From this perspective, one of the main themes of the Odyssey is perseverance. Perseverance is a very important theme and is one that is seen quite a lot throughout the entire epic poem and definitely by more than one character. First of all, there is Odysseus and he was greeted with perseverance in the very beginning of the story. He was held captive by Calypso on an island, when later visited by Athena, Odysseus develops an even stronger desire to go home. In spite of Calypso’s persistence, he then decided to leave. Odysseus also had an encounter with Circe, and was presented with very many different types of temptation. He took the sea once more with his son and wife in mind, and proceeded home. Odysseus and his men end up running into the lotus-eaters. The lotus plants provided an excellent, relaxing feeling for all of the crew, and no one wanted to leave except for Odysseus who stayed his course. Perseverance is also displayed in his way of thoughts, and also his desire to survive and at times conquer, are qualities that promote his perseverance. For example, when Odysseus finally returns home, he plans to kill all of the suitors that have been courting his wife and ends up doing so. Homer’s epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey have let us get a bit of a taste of the importance Greek Mythology for the ancient Greeks. His writings have let us see how much they believed in the Greek mythology and how they applied the life lessons to their personal lives. I found many comparisons to the Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology to our God that many people believe in today. Their words and stories were as important to us as His stories are to us today. Homer’s epic poem, The odyssey included many obviously important life lessons that the ancient Greeks learned from and took from the stories in the way they lived their lives.