Theme Of Identity In The Tale Of Sinuhe

The story of “Gilgamesh” depicts all of the heroic triumphs and heart-breaking pitfalls a heroic narrative should depict to be able to relate to today’s audience. However, “Gilgamesh” was once considered a lost and forgotten piece of literature for thousands of years, so there is a tremendous gap between the time it was created and the time it was translated into language that today’s audience can understand. That gap in history makes several aspects of the story of “Gilgamesh” strange and unfamiliar because what we now know about ancient Middle Eastern cultures and languages is a lot less than what we know about the cultures that prospered after ancient Middle Eastern cultures. Much of the content in the story of

Gilgamesh, written by David Ferry, illustrates a story about a man who knows everything, but continues to try and learn more. Although Gilgamesh may be arrogant, he still remains a great ruler and commander of Uruk. Throughout the book, the adventures of Gilgamesh fit Joseph Campbell’s idea of the hero’s journey. After analyzing the pieces to the hero’s journey, Gilgamesh is proven to be a true hero because his journey parallels that of the hero’s journey described by Campbell. The latter part of this paper will prove Gilgamesh is a hero using Campbell’s model, by analyzing the pieces of the hero’s journey: separation or departure, the initiation, and the return.

In the very beginning Desiree was left on a stone pillar at the Valmonde estate; it is also here that Armand Aubigny sees her and falls instantly in love with her. The stone pillar is a symbol of firm, forced male dominance in a patriarchal society. It is how men were of superior to anybody else. Desiree grew into a beautiful and gentle-hearted young woman and soon found a wealthy suitor asking for her hand. This young suitor was Armand Aubigny. He had known of Desiree’s past but was in love and did not care. Armand Aubigny’s character in this story was racist and despicable but the young bride was in love and looked past his faulty character.

One of the foremost themes of the novel is the concept of belonging to a place, in particular the connection to a homeland. A disturbance in the main environment signifies as the stimulating factor for the disruption of the man’s sense of belonging. There exists an fragmented sense of existence in the old land, something that is established primarily by the ominous, malicious serpent like figures that

Marjane Satrapi’s memoir Persepolis is considered a “coming of age” story based on her experiences growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. This graphic novel explores the life she lead in Tehran which encompassed the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. Undergoing life with such a chaotic environment, it took Satrapi courage to act and live as her “authentic self” and explore what it meant to her to be authentic. Similar to Aristotle, May and Medinas Persepolis examines the concept of courage, through the view of innocence; through Satrapi’s childhood.

Individuality is the supreme catalyst that guides people to feel self-worth and become emboldened in their pursuits. It is the mentality that gives humans clarity and uniqueness that make the world interesting. It is what allows each person to be respected in his/her own way. In the stories Night and Persepolis, the motif of individuality is emphatically expressed. It is portrayed as essential to the hope of the masses. When individuality is suppressed people lose virtues/self respect/humanity, motivation/will to live and faith. In essence, they give up the idea of anything else except their suffering. As thousands die, the protagonists (of Night and Persepolis)

The fact that Desiree derives her happiness from pleasing Armand shows that she is not only his slave, but also that she helps to put herself into this position.  “When he frowned she trembled, but loved him” (317).  Desiree’s simultaneous fear and love of Armand elevates him to a god-like status in

Desiree?s words show that her life depends on the race, notions, and social class of her husband and consequently, she feels obligated to obey his every desire. Desiree is presented as vulnerable to whatever Armand wants and tells her to do when she says, ?Do you want me to go?? (177). Desiree displays through her actions that in many ways, her happiness only comes from pleasing her husband. Therefore, Desiree must decide whether to live completely separate from Armand, or to live with him in constant fear and unpleasantness. Desiree achieves personal freedom and independence from Armand when ?she disappeared among the reeds and willows that grew thing along the banks of the deep, sluggish bayou; she did not come back again? (177). It is not even an option and is unheard of that Armand, being a male holding a respectable background, could possibly be black. Consequently, Desiree feels compelled to leave because she wants to please him. When Desiree decides to kill herself and her child, she shows that she is sensitive and vulnerable to her husband?s thoughts and actions.

passionately divides his kingdom for. Despite his efforts to show love and passion to his daughters,

In Chaucer’s “Franklin Tale” the plot revolves around a married couple: the knight, Arviragus, his young wife, Dorigen, and a young squire, Aurelius who importunes and attempts to Dorigen. The characters can be said to oscillate between desire and their ego honor which affects what they say and do. Lacan’s definition of desire tells us that we desire for recognition from this “Other.” Our desire is to become what the other person lacks. Duby’s model of courtly love is a concept that focuses on chivalry, nobility and women being at the center. In this paper, I will examine what the story reveals about the relation each character has to his or her desire, how they act in accordance to their desire and the role magic or illusion plays in the plot and how it affect characters’ relation to desire.

Camus explanations of the Myth of Sisyphus, presented the concept of the absurd by outlining the beliefs that an individuals life has worth but only his live in a world that denies such worth to survive. Therefore, the absurdity in the statement, explains the fact of a clash between the orders through which an individuals mind hard for, likewise the lack of order that we as humans find in the world.

In the very beginning Desiree was left on a stone pillar at the Valmonde estate; it is also here that Armand Aubigny sees her and falls instantly in love with her. The stone pillar is a symbol of firm, forced male dominance in a patriarchal society. It is how men were of superior to anybody else. Desiree grew into a beautiful and gentle-hearted young woman and soon found a wealthy suitor asking for her hand. This young suitor was Armand Aubigny. He had known of Desiree’s past but was in love and did not care. Armand Aubigny’s character in this story was racist and despicable but the young bride was in love and looked past his faulty character.

beliefs. Sober uses the example of lightning. He points out that according to the Greeks,

A resistant reading of the poem uncovers the idea that religion, specifically the Judeo-Christian religious tradition, is intrinsically harmful and retrogressive in nature. If the ‘snake’ is interpreted as a synecdoche for Judaeo-Christian religious tradition as a whole, a profoundly negative opinion of such an ideology is formed throughout the poem. Without the ‘snake’ that is this religion, there would be no “pain and suffering”. The poem asks, “what could bear such a weight”, interrogating the conscience of religion, implying guilt on its behalf. Furthermore, the imagery suggested in the second stanza surrounding the snake’s “shadow” evokes negative ideas concerning the nature of the religion, which is further bolstered by its ability to “separate itself” from this shadow, and to “move on

Desiree has a genuine love for people. She is the wife of a slave owner but is saddened by the cruelty inflicted on the slaves by her husband. After the birth of her their son, Armand grows kinder and is not harsh to the slaves. She whispers to her mother “he hasn’t punished one of them, not one since the baby is born” (540). Desiree loves her husband unconditionally, despite his occasional negative behavior. She also loves her son despite the negative murmurings from others. She is an individual who loves others despite the ultimate betrayal from her husband, Armand. I can identify with Desiree because I am a person who loves family. I enjoy helping others, and sometimes my efforts go unappreciated. Loving others and providing assistance does not mean your efforts/deeds will be appreciated or reciprocated. I cannot change my personality or my desire to help others. My desire to help others is what makes me what I have become, a good man.