A Reputation Contradicted Essays - Odyssey, Ancient Greek Religion

A Reputation Contradicted A Reputation Contradicted To many, a ?hero? is someone who saves something or someone else. Although Odysseus seems to be the hero in Homer's The Odyssey, his name problematizes the nature of his heroism, and ultimately, of his identity. In Greek, the proper noun ?Odysseus? also functions as a verb meaning ?to be against or to oppose.? Paradoxically, then, the protagonist of The Odyssey is also an antagonist; the hero is also the character responsible for causing the greatest harm. When Odysseus leaves Ithaka to fight in the Battle of Troy, he does more intimate damage than he will ever realize until he returns to find his home in a state of chaos and subsequent destruction. When Odysseus leaves, he leaves behind a son that will never have a secure understanding of who he really is until he himself takes a journey to find his true identity. For the twenty years that Odysseus is away, Telemekhos has no assurance of who his father truly is or if he really is Odysseus's son. All that Telemekhos wants is a father that will grow old in his house, will act as a father acts, and be there as a father is: ?Friend, let me put it in the plainest way. My mother says I am his son; I know not surely. I wish at least I had some happy man as father, growing old in his own house--- but unknown death and silence are the fate of him that, since you ask, they call my father.? (Book I, 258 - 264). Odysseus has caused emotional damage to Telemekhos by not being there like a father should be. Odysseus also left his wife Penelope with Telemekhos as a baby when he went to fight. He left Penelope with the intention of returning but there was no guaranty. After so many years a wife can only imagine the horrible fates her husband may have encountered. Penelope's emotional status is in a state of suffering and depression due to the fact that her lover has left and doesn't seem to be returning. Penelope, stays in her room and weaves and unweaves a shroud in hope that he may return before she has to choose a new husband. She sits in her room all day and she weeps and weeps for Odysseus's return: ?Sill with her child indeed she is, poor heart,/ still in your palace hall. Forlorn her nights/ and days go by, her life used up in weeping.? (Book XI, 204-206). Although Odysseus is out playing hero for many, within his internal environment, he is causing sever damage. The pain and damage that he has caused however, is not limited to just his wife and his child. Odysseus also has harmed his mother and his father. The emotional damage that Odysseus has done to his mother, is so extensive that she dies not of an illness but of loneliness: ?...not that illness overtook me---no true illness wasting the body to undo the spirit; only my loneliness for you, Odysseus, for your kind heart and counsel, gentle Odysseus, took my own life away.? (Book XI, 123 - 127). Odysseus also damaged his father emotionally. After Odysseus left, he no longer held his disposition of a king and began to fall into a state of depression. When Odysseus goes to the underworld, his mother tell him: ?But your father is country bound and comes to town no more. He owns no bedding, rugs, or fleecy mantles, but lies down, winter nights, among the slaves, rolled in old cloaks for cover, near the embers. Or when the heat comes at the end of summer, the fallen leaves, all around his vineyard plot, heaped into windrows, make his lowly bed. He lies now even so, with aching heart, and longs for your return, while age comes on him.? (Book XI, 210-219). The intimate damage that Odysseus has done is so extensive that he has caused depression, and even death. When Odysseus reaches Troy, he becomes hero to one segment of the population, but will always remain a destroyer to another segment of the population. To his fellow warriors, he is a hero for his strategy in defeating the trojans: ?And as to stratagems, no man would claim/ Odysseus' gift for those. He had no rivals,/ your father, at the tricks of war.?

Habitat Destruction Essay

Habitat Destruction Essay Free Online Research Papers There are many species in the world. The majority of them lived in bodies of water and many are on land. But these living organisms have been threatened and others have been extinct because of habitat change due to shifting climate. Scientific methods have been applied by major scientists to prove that from the last two hundred years, the earth’s temperature began to increase steadily on a rate of 1 Fahrenheit per century. Society believes that this issue is not a true concern. But in reality, the heat that’s being trapped in the atmosphere causes climate changes to occur. These sudden changes make it harder for living organisms to survive. The result of burning of coal and fossil fuel, desertification, and deforestation are the reasons why the heating and changes of the earth is taking place. When will all of these man made activities end? Technology itself is not even close to solving this problem. Societies invent better ways to make energy more efficient. But in the most part, their work only takes them back to using the same natural resources (fossil fuel, coal, uranium), which are harmful to the environment. Today, the burning of fossil fuel, coal, and the mining of uranium are the only way we can make energy for the use of our society on a large scale. There are abundant demands for these natural resources and they are becoming more scarce. If society continues in this direction and the climate around the world begins to change, there will be the end of millions of species living in both land and bodies of water. â€Å"Habitat Destruction† is beginning to take place in some parts of the world. I believe that this example would be crucial to those who lived in this planet. Unfortunately, the prospects of big business groups are more concern about the less important issues in hand. The â€Å"Kyoto† proposal was denied by a majority vote. Why is this th e case? These so called â€Å"intellectuals† who runs our government doesn’t even show a slight interest on the extinction of these species. Its arguable I suppose. How are we able to know if the climate fluctuations are either normal or not? Is it fact that Cfcs are damaging the earth’s ozone layer? Are fossil fuel emissions harmful to earth? There are many questions regarding this issue and yet, there is no answer. It is difficult to analyze this problem especially when the environmental issues have no economic entity in the political system. Major governments are the only answer to this growing problem. They have the power to regulate and pass laws. They also have the required funds to come up with cutting edge technology to create more efficient energy. I always believed that one-day; someone in power would have enough integrity to look over this matter. If not, more species will become extinct. The solar caps will continue to melt causing the ocean level to rise and flooding the cities across the globe. Species that are not yet discovered will simply perish unless society begins to strive for another alternative on creating energy. Only time will tell. Research Papers on Habitat Destruction Essay19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraGenetic EngineeringPETSTEL analysis of IndiaThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenQuebec and CanadaAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Relationship between Media Coverage and Social andResearch Process Part One

Discusses a topical or current issue in microeconomics Essay

Discusses a topical or current issue in microeconomics - Essay Example Microsoft Corporation recently launched its latest innovation of the surface tablet at Windows 8 launch event with the aim of competing Google Inc and Apple Inc that are currently the main players in the computing market (Desai 46). Microsoft is attempting to reinvent the Windows personal computer in a new format to challenge Apple’s iPAD. It has twice the amount of storage capacity as the iPAD and costs the same price. The 32 GB Surface costs $499 while the full-sized iPAD of 16GB costs the same price. During its launch, Panos Panay, the head of the project demonstrated the tablet features such as the ultra thin cover that doubles up as the key board. He also dropped it on the floor to demonstrate its durability (Benassy-Quere 48). The question is to whether this innovation will convince consumers in this highly challenging economic time. According to Temi Reller, the finance and marketing director of Windows, 40 million licences of Windows 8 licences were sold in the first month. However, according to NPD research, Windows PC sales have dropped despite the release of the surface tablet (Desai 48). The sales have dropped by 21% by the 21st of October 2012 as compared to the 11th of November the previous year. The demand for windows 8 has not been commendable at all as remarked Asus CFO David Chang. In fact, Microsoft has had to reduce its order for Windows 8 down from four million to two million. During the time of Windows 7, it accounted to about 83% of PC sales. Today, only 58% of windows buyers opt for Windows 8. Despite the discrepancies, most marketers have elicited faith in the sales of these tablets. IHS iSuppli predicts over one million sales of the surface tablets in the last quarter of this year. In fact, the firm estimates a 1.3 million sale. It is undoubtedly a tough way forward for Microsoft to gain ground in the tablet market (Neely 46). The law of demand is experienced in