As Issac Newton said, every action has an equal or opposite reaction. Just like every decision has an equal or opposite consequence. In the story “Dear Justyce” by Nic Stone, the main character Quan is faced with some tough predicaments. These predicaments lead him to make some bad decisions. Such as stealing from a gas station or joining a gang.
Both A New Hope and Circe tackle this idea of how much a bunch of tiny choices can affect a person’s life. In A New Hope, Luke Skywalker makes a lot of tiny choices which have major impacts on his life. When Luke is picking out new droids for his Aunt and Uncle they pick out C-3PO and this other droid named Red. Red has a bad motivator which causes them to instead pick R2-D2. There was a reason why the Red droid broke down because fate had to make Luke become a Jedi and R2-D2 is one of the main reasons.
Every time we make a decision in life are we influenced by things around us? In Tim O’Brien’s story “On the Rainy River”, challenged Tim’s decision if he should go to war where there is violence or to flee to Canada where there is freedom; although, his final decision was to go to war he was influenced by doing the right thing and the shame or guilt he could have felt when being faced with the dilemma of going to war. When people are put into a situation when they have to choose over two places most will go with what feels right, but others will go with what will be the best for not only themselves but others around them too. A big part of this story and real-life situations is that people want to make others happy and content so they do things
The American actress Keri Russell said, “Sometimes it is the smallest decision that can change your life forever.” Russell means that a person should be thorough when making seemingly unimportant decisions because they can have serious consequences. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, many characters make unwise decisions. However, Friar Laurence creates many complex plans in order to help Romeo and Juliet. These unwise decisions lead to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
In Greek culture, honor was immensely important and the Cyclops has none. In contrast, Odysseus brags about the great feats of Agamemnon yelling, “So great a city he sacked, such multitudes he killed”(9.298-299) That Odysseus sees pride in killing, shows that the Greeks valued killing, but only if honorable. There is a stark contrast between the killings of the Cyclops and those of King Agamemnon. In the eyes of the Greeks, Agamemnon’s killings were for his country, his people, and the greater good of society. These murders had a selfless purpose.
In the end, this small war evolved into a war between the whole world, and thousands or maybe millions of people were dying every single day. Some say, that the battle lasted for months, even years. The gods saw all the death, that were happening in the war, and decided to end the war with a clash between Anatheus and
Ambitions In stories, such as The Iliad by Homer and The Life of Themistocles by Plutarch, two Greek characters were highly recognized as crucial to the Greek victory they both took a part of. In the Iliiad, the character Odysseus took a great role in the victories that led to winning the long 10 year Trojan War. In the Life of Themistocles, Plutarch spoke on how Themistocles also played a large role on the Greek victory in defeated the Persians. These two characters were highly alike in many factors in terms of skills, strenth and strategies as individuals and leaders but also distincitly different.
Indeed, too often they only create more grandiose problems in the long-term. Throughout classical literature acts of senseless violence have been a common thread. In Homer’s The Iliad several instances of such violence are revealed. As Trojans and Achaeans engage in a brutal battle, neither mortal nor immortal is safe from the conflict.
Throughout the epic, violence is evident in the actions and the decision making of the characters in order to obtain peace. The battles and suicides throughout the story are prevalent and gruesome, while moments of peace are minor and fleeting. The characters, whether man or god, result to violence as a primary way to manage their problems. Aeneas is strong, heroic, and seems calm; however, he does not receive true peace and calmness until he has killed his enemy, Turnus, to end the battle and avenge his friend, Pallas. Nonetheless, Aeneas is a noble character who overcomes bad odds and embodies Roman ideals, including violence.
One of the major consequences of war is the horrific tragedies that occur. In the Iliad, in book eighteen, when Achilles hears that Hector killed Patroclus he is filled with rage and enters the war seeking vengeance. His rage causes him to kill hundreds of trojans and seek
Athena is known as the goddess of war. Odysseus was aided by her ideas on how to regain power through her tactical skills. The fact that the goddess warrior was on his side through the journey home, reclaiming his land, and killing the suitors was a huge advantage. Athena is very intelligent in how she strategizes and won wars in the past. Some may argue that Odysseus is the real hero but there were many times throughout The Odyssey where he needed Athena’s protection and input of logical ideas.
The ancient historian, Thucydides, a realist and aristocrat by birth, gave the world The History of the Peloponnesian War, but with a questionably biased view of the happenings of the 5th century BC, specifically the causes of the Peloponnesian War and the key personality(s) that played an influential role to the end result, a deep understanding of his writing style and attitude towards history must be learnt to allow for his work to be viewed as a credible source. The writing itself was the most scientifically accurate piece of work at the time but readers are misled by the downplaying and ignoring of events that negatively portray the role Athens had in the war. This deliberate action has been the foundation for countless scholars’ analysis of the reliability of Thucydides as a historian. Even though Thucydides was significantly more advanced and accurate than other historians to date, his pro-Athenian attitude, specifically surrounding the causes of the war, resulted in a History that has proven difficult to view wholly as a credible source. The causes of the Peloponnesian War described by Thucydides as “the truest” are accurate but intentionally ignore the motives behind them that would insinuate that the true aggressor of the Peloponnesian War was in fact Athens.
The Odyssey, gods like Athena and Poseidon interfere with humans to satisfy their own desires, showing that they are just as imperfect and flawed as the mortals that they rule over. Athena favors Odysseus since he reminds her of herself. He portrays the same cunning, guile, and intelligence as she does; Athena had confided to him that “two of a kind, we are, contrivers, both,” comparing how similar they are. “Of all men now alive,” she says, “you are the best in plots and story telling.
“Wolves and lambs don’t share a common heart—they always sense a mutual hatred for each other” (Homer, Iliad 22. 327-329), this epic simile shows, Achilles’ actions brought on by justice for Patroclus’ death scream for blood. Achilles’ actions after killing Hector hurt Priam and his family, leaving them emotionally distraught and furious furthering the raging battle into Troy for fair Helen. Mortals have been shown to fight a war of vengeance and justice but the Gods also had a part in this
Iliad is recognized as one of the most famous ancient monuments of literature. The full understanding of this epic poem is hardly possible without thorough analysis of its main characters. Among all the episodes of the Trojan War, Homer chooses the moment of Achilles’ wrath and thus creates a poem in which he becomes the central figure. From the Ancient Greeks’ point of view, Achilles represents the ideal of manliness and pure heroism, for he is brave and fights for heroics, not profits. Today, one can agree with this interpretation, yet Achilles is probably the most controversial character because he combines various personality traits and acts in accordance with his ambiguous nature.
