The Honorable Hero of Ithaca

In Greek mythology, there is a brave warrior named Odysseus who was forced to help the Greeks destroy Troy. Although the war only lasted ten years, he was unable to go back home for another ten years. This is because, after the war against the Trojans, Odysseus thought that he had won the war all by himself. Due to his lack of humility, Odysseus was punished by the sea god, Poseidon, who had helped him during the war. However, even though Odysseus had been disrespectful, he was still a honorable hero of Ithaca. Despite his rudeness towards the gods, he has many traits of a modern hero. One of Odysseus’ heroic traits is his respect for his advisors, as shown during the episode Land of the Dead. Another heroic trait of Odysseus’ is his positivity, shown in the episode Scylla and Charybdis.

In the episode Land of the Dead, Odysseus speaks to a ghost who was once a prince of Thebes, Tiresias, who helps Odysseus show respectfulness to his advisor. Tiresias tells Odysseus in earnest that his kingdom is now filled with suitors courting his wife because they believe he is dead. The prince tells Odysseus that he must return to Ithaca and “‘make those men atone in blood!’” (l. 651). Odysseus dutifully follows Tiresias’s command and disguises himself as a beggar so he can insidiously kill the suitors. He successfully executes all the suitors as Tiresias told him to and starts to live a normal life with his family again. Therefore, in this event, Odysseus shows the trait of obedience to his guide’s words which is very important because if a hero only listens to himself, he may get into all sorts of deadly situations.

Another episode that proves Odysseus to be an honorable hero is from Scylla and Charybdis, because during this event, Odysseus shows his trait of positivity. During this event, Odysseus and his crew are on their journey homeward. Along the way, they face Scylla, a monster with six heads, each of which could eat one man if it felt like it was being attacked, and Charybdis, a monster who is a whirlpool and could eat the entire ship by sucking it down into the ocean. Odysseus’ entire crew all know about these two monsters because they were warned by the goddess, Circe. Although they know how the monsters are like, they are all still very scared. Odysseus sees the fear in his soldiers, so he vivaciously gives his crew hope for survival by saying, “Friends, have we never been in danger before this?” (191). By saying so, Odysseus gives his crew the hope of living. Being positive is very important role for being a hero. This is because if a hero is negative and only tells his soldiers depressing things, it could lead to the crew to not fight as well as they are able to. Additionally, Odysseus has the trait of positivity because he was able to get his crew to fearlessly to get past the two monsters.

Overall, Odysseus is an honorable hero because he has the two traits of a modern hero: respect for advisors who guides him to success and positivity toward those who works for him. An example of a modern hero who all has the exact same traits as Odysseus is the fictional character, Superman. As many know, Superman goes on missions to save those who are in danger. He goes to the policemen to see what is wrong and goes on his mission to help those who are in need. Therefore Superman takes guidance from the policemen and is able to successfully resolve crimes, dutifully doing his job as a hero. Additionally, Superman also stays positive by saying his slogan with a smile, “Have no fear, Superman is here!” Thus, Odysseus and Superman are both honorable heroes.  

It Was You All Along

I hated the way my room looked. The bed was the worst part of it all. I had this blanket case that was made from two old bed covers when I was little. Using that blanket case, I could either have fun baking with Strawberry Shortcake, or flip it over to a place where it’s always better, with the Little Mermaid, under the sea. Now, though, I was so sick of how my bed looked and begged my mom to get me new bed sets. I did not expect that to be the starting point of a tough decision.

My mom took me to Ikea because she was finally annoyed by my nagging. On the way there, I was so excited. I was like a little child going to Disneyland. In a way, Ikea is kind of like my happy place since I dream to become a interior designer one day. I would always go inside of the house displays to mess around with the cool modern furnitures, just like how a toddler would want to go inside of Aurora's castle to read about her story. However, I did not do that this time because I was on a mission: to find the perfect bedding set. We walked around for half an hour before reaching the mattresses section. Once we got there, I knew the covers couldn’t be far. I was right. They was right next to the mattresses, all lined up perfectly, waiting for me to choose one bring home.

I was only fifteen minutes into looking for my perfect bedding set when my mom told me that we had to go. I was not happy, I was not happy at all. How could she do that to me? My anger started to rage and I knew she could tell. With a little guilt, my mother gave me another fifteen minutes to search for the perfect bed set. With that time, I tried to hurry through the collection without missing a look at each one. Then, I came across two bed sets that I just could not let go of. One of the bed sets had white spots with red in the background--similar to Minnie Mouse’s dress. The other had a pink and white plaid pattern that I really liked because my pajamas were the exact same pattern. I liked them both so much that I could not choose one, so I brought it to my mom and asked if she would get me both. Knowing my mother, I knew she wouldn’t buy me both of the bed sets.However, I thought I could work my way through if I just added in some of my sweet talk. Once I ran to her and held up the two bed sets, she said the worst thing that any mother could say to to her own child at a store, with each hand holding something that the child desires. She said, “You can only pick… ONE.” I cowered as I looked at each of the bed sets. “How can I only pick one?” I thought to myself.

“I love this polka dotted pattern, it’s so pretty. But this one, I would be able to blend into my bed and hibernate! Mom, please may I have both?” I asked my mom. However she stuck to her answer like glue. In hesitation, I quickly took my phone out of my backpack and texted my best friend for help. That is when I learned that Ikea does not have service because the whole building is made out of iron. I tried over and over to send out that text message, but it did not work. I had to make the final decision on my own.

I couldn’t let go of the bed sets so I held both in my arms and thought really thoroughly as we walked to the checkout line. Each step I took, I worried about how little time I had to make up my mind. I kept trying to beg my mother for a little sympathy, but it was no help. We were getting closer and closer, causing me to naturally walk slower and slower till we were finally at the end where I must make up my mind. The white polka-dotted one with a red background, or the  pink and white plaid pattern? I couldn’t decide, I just couldn’t. So I closed my eyes and had my mom make the final decision. When I opened my eyes, I saw the pink and white plaid patterned bed sats in my mom’s hand, ready to put it on the checkout table. That is when I knew, the one with the white dots and red background was the one I truly wanted. I took the pink and white plaid patterned bed set out of her hand and placed my perfect bed set onto the table. I had a feeling that I would never forget. It was a feeling of 30 pounds off my back. I felt satisfied and no longer stressed out. So I put the mistaken bed set on a nearby shelf and walked out through the checkout line like a boss.

From this event, I learned that sometimes you may not know what you truly want until the very end and that is okay. However, I could have solved the problem in other ways such as buying both, or being given more time to choose. However, I’ve also learned that, if you are shopping with a mother, you will never be able to buy more than two things or have time to look at the things you want to look at.

Why To Kill A Mockingbird Both is and is not a “Time Classic”

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a story told by a nine-year-old girl of how her brother broke his arm when she was six. Despite its seemingly simple premise, Harper Lee weaves in the story of a white lawyer fighting for a black man who is accused of rape to let readers understand what it was like in the South when racism was prominent. Because of the racism at that time, even with all evidence proving that the African American defendant is innocent, he is still arrested at the end. To Kill A Mockingbird became a “time classic” and required reading for “three-quarters of America’s high schools” (Barra 1). However, not everyone agrees that it is a “time classic” novel. Allen Barra, a journalist and author who wrote, “What 'To Kill a Mockingbird' Isn't”, is one of the many who disagrees, claiming that the novel is “sugar-coated”, “has no ambiguity”, and is “a children's book”. I understand why Mr. Barra would think that the book is not a “time classic”; however, I do not fully agree with him because I believe he does not see the details of the lessons taught in the book.

One of Allen Barra’s arguments against the timelessness of To Kill a Mockingbird is that the book is a “sugar-coated myth” (Barra 2); however, I think he is missing the details of the book which point to the harsh realities of racism in the 1930s. He argues that the novel is too perfect with a character like Atticus fighting for a black man during that time. Indeed, when Atticus is asked if he is a man who likes colored people, he answers, “I do my best to love everybody” (Lee 144), which shows me how unrealistic the book is because the majority of the South at that time were extremely racist against blacks. Additionally, with both the characters and the plot, Barra claims the story is too much like a fairytale and that the book only achieved fame because Harper Lee released her book at the “right time… the year John F. Kennedy was elected president and the beginning of the decade in which the civil-rights movement began to change the South forever” (Barra 1). I agree with Barra’s claim that the book received its fame because of the time period during which it was published as it was rare for a white man to fight for a black man during the 1930s. However, I do not agree with all of it. If the story was perfect, then Tom Robinson would not have been found guilty and instead, would have been set free. In the scene where Atticus tells Scout, Aunt Alexandra, Miss Maudie and Calpurnia, he says, “They fired a few shots in the air, then to kill” (Lee 315) telling them how Tom Robinson was trying to escape from jail but got caught but by the jail guards. This cruel act shows readers that the novel clearly is not a perfect as Tom Robinson was killed unhesitantly. Fairy tales, according to Allen Barra, are supposed to be unrealistic. During that time, an African American was very unlikely to be vindicated if they were associated with a case, even if it was as mild as offering to shake hands with a white lady. This does not happen in the novel.

The second reason Allen Barra uses to prove that the novel is not a classic is that it has “no ambiguity” (Barra 3) which shows that he only focuses on the basic information of the book and does not recognize the plot twists of the story. Barra explains that a classic book should have unexpected events, whereas Lee’s novel contains basic information that is carried throughout the book. Allen Barra wrote that “At the end of the book, we know exactly what we knew at the beginning: that Atticus Finch is a good man, that Tom Robinson was an innocent victim of racism and that lynching is bad” (Barra 3). I agree with Allen Barra about how the novel is unambiguous, making it so all the readers know that Tom Robinson is innocent from the start. However, there are unexpected twists in the story. For example, as a reader myself, I certainly did not think that Tom Robinson would be killed. As mentioned before, he was shot while trying to escape from jail; Tom Robinson was found with “seventeen bullet holes in him” (Lee 315). At the beginning of the trial, I personally thought Atticus would somehow get the juries to side with him and have Tom Robinson found innocent. However, as it turns out, not only does Tom Robinson go to jail, but he is also killed for trying to escape. I was very shocked because I did not think the book would kill off an innocent man, especially since one of the lessons was that “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119). This lesson means that it is wrong to kill something that is not harmful because mockingbirds “don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119).

Lastly, Allen Barra says that the book is addressed for children to read, causing it to not be an adult book and therefore not a classic, but a children’s book would not contain the strong cursing the novel has. Mr. Barra said, “Harper Lee's contemporary and fellow Southerner Flannery O'Connor… once made a killing observation about "To Kill a Mockingbird": ‘It's interesting that all the folks that are buying it don't know they are reading a children's book.’" (Barra 3). This quote is a fact and in my opinion, to prove whether the book a “time classic” depends on how much people like the book. Barra also supports his claim by adding, “Fifty years later, we can concede both that Harper Lee's novel inspired a generation of adolescents and that Flannery O'Connor was right” (Barra 1). He says that because many schools in America require their students to read it. However, personally, I believe that this book requires a certain a maturity level to be read. This is because the novel contains many foul languages that are not appropriate to be used nowadays. For example, the word “negro” (Lee 11) is used in the very first chapter of the book by a nine-year-old. Many people nowadays do not like that word for being offensive to African Americans. But if one is mature enough to understand that during the 1930s, especially in the South, that basically everyone used that word, they should read the book. Another example of why one may be too immature to read the novel is if one does not recognize the lessons taught in the book. One very important lesson taught in the novel is to put yourself in other people’s shoes. However, in the novel, Atticus teaches the lesson in a slightly different way, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 39). If the readers at the end understand the lessons within the story, then those readers are the people who have the appropriate maturity level to read this novel.

In conclusion, I understand why Allen Barra dislikes the novel, however, I personally quite like the book because it teaches valuable lessons with great examples. When Scout gets mad at Walter Cunningham because he caused her to “start off on the wrong foot” (Lee 30) with Miss Caroline, she should not have gotten mad at Walter Cunningham because it was not entirely his fault. That part of the book teaches readers about how Scout does not look at things from Walter Cunningham’s perspective.  Learning from her mistake, I have put myself into Barra’s shoes and understand why he does not think that To Kill A Mockingbird should be a “time classic”. However, having looked at his perspective, I can tell that Allen Barra did not see the details that point to the lessons taught in the book.

Of Mice And Men Final Essay

The book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is about two migrant workers, George and Lennie, who travel together and dream of buying their own land and having better lives. However, they aren’t successful in pursuing their goals because Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife which leads to other violent situations. In today’s societies, such actions are considered illegal, but because the book takes place during the Great Depression, the violence in the novel was socially acceptable. Despite the different personalities of each character, Curley, Carlson, and George, all prove that violence was a characteristic of men in the 1930s.

Curley is one of the violent characters in the novel. From the beginning of the story he is introduced as, “‘pretty handy’” (26) which means that he likes to fight. Candy, the swamper, then further describes Curley to George and Lennie as someone who “‘ain’t givin’ nobody a chance’” (27). By “‘givin’ nobody a chance,’” Steinbeck presents Curley as a person who fights against everything he does not like regardless of the conditions. These two quotes in the story clearly show that Curley is a very violent person who loves fighting and is willing to fight anyone. As a small structured man, Curley hates those who are bigger than him. When he first meets Lennie, a man who is compared to big animals such as horses and bears, Curley instantly displays hatred towards the big, simple minded, “‘nice fella’” (40). Continuing this negative treatment, Curley antagonizes Lennie by hitting him for “‘laughin’ at’” (62) him, when in reality, Lennie was just daydreaming about bunnies. The event results in Curley having to go to the doctor in the middle of the night after Lennie crushes his hand. A little later after the fight, Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife. After all the men in the ranch find out that Curley’s wife is dead, Curley immediately has an excuse to get back at Lennie. Slim, the jerkline skinner, advises Curley to stay with his dead wife, but Curley would rather go shoot Lennie himself to have a taste of revenge, as he says, “‘’Course we’ll shoot ’im… I’m gonna get ’im’” (98). In his statement, Curley speaks in a very excited tone because he can finally take his revenge, though it’s not for his wife, but for Lennie breaking his hand. From that incident, it’s clear that Curley is a very brutal man for picking fights and in the end still needs to hurt others for satisfaction.

The next character that proves that men were violent in the 1930s is George Milton, the main character who wants to stay out of trouble so that he won’t have to worry about losing his job and not getting any money. George and Lennie are partners; they go everywhere together as migrant workers. As mentioned earlier, Curley does not like Lennie and gives Lennie and George a very unwelcoming impression when they first meet. This leads to George warning Lennie by saying,“‘You try to keep away from him, will you? Don't never speak to him. If he comes in here you move clear to the other side of the room’” (29) when he senses that Curley will create problems with Lennie. To stay away from trouble George tries to avoid every situation that he thinks may have bad consequences. When Curley thinks that Slim is with his wife and plans to catch them, Whit, another worker at the ranch, invites George to go and watch. George rejects him, saying, “‘I'm stayin' right here. I don't want to get mixed up in nothing’” (54). However, later when Curley picks on Lennie and starts hitting him, George screams, “‘Get ’im Lennie!’” (63). George wants Lennie to defend himself from Curley and gives him a little taste of his own medicine. Lennie ends up crushing Curley’s hand completely. Therefore, even when a man wants to stay out of trouble, he can not resist the temptation of violence when he thinks it can solve the current situation.

The last character who shows that men were violent during that time period is Carlson. His character supports this idea because his violence is exemplified in many different situations. There is evidence in the scene where Carlson tells Candy that his dog should rest in peace. Candy hates the idea of having his own dog die and as Carlson tells him, “‘ If you was to take him out and shoot him right in the back of the head’ - ‘right there, why he’d never knew what hit him’” (45), Candy’s eyes wander to meet others’, searching for someone who can see his lack of power in the conversation. Carlson only wants the dog gone because it smells bad. The quote shows that without considering Candy’s feelings, Carlson is insensitive toward his peers, and is willing to kill something that means a lot to someone else based on selfish reasons. Another example of Carlson’s approval of violence in the novel is at the very end of the book when Lennie has been killed by George. At the end of the book, Steinbeck writes to Carlson saying, “‘Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys?’” (107). The quote demonstrates how Carlson does not understand why George would be upset, because to him, what has been done is very normal. In Carlson’s mind, Lennie did a bad thing, therefore, Lennie’s death was the proper outcome of the situation. However, Carlson doesn’t have any sympathy for Lennie being mentally ill. Hence, Carlson is a very cruel person for not caring about his peers’ feelings and he shows it in his personality through violent thoughts and actions.

In conclusion, Steinbeck developed these characters’ traits to illustrate how men were like during the 1930s. Nowadays people cannot kill for revenge or shoot animals for any reason, and have everyone be okay with the violence. Even so, fighting for the purpose of self defence is still acceptable because it’s part of human instinct.

The Comparison of Slim and Curley

In the book “Of Mice and Men”, the author, John Steinbeck has two characters who live in the same ranch and how they are both leaders but one is respected and the other isn’t because of how they treat others. One of the characters is named Slim. He is the character that is well respected by others because of his humble and friendly personality. The other character who no one likes is named Curley. Curley is very pugnacious because he has a small stature. According to the book, he likes to pick fights with guys bigger than himself so that if he wins, he seems outstanding, and if he looses, others pity him.

A big part of how they are treated is based of off what their personality is like. Slim got this name from his appearance of being tall and handsome. His position in the ranch is the leader of jerkline skinners. When he was first introduced in the story, he was called a “good fella” (28) by the old swamper, Candy. Then when he appeared in the story, Steinbeck described him as the “prince of the ranch” (33).  The disliked character, Curley, got his name based off his “tightly curled hair” (25). Curley is the son of the boss of the ranch which gives him power around the ranch. He’s a former boxer and no one really likes him.

With that information, the two characters' contrasting personalities are also shown through how they treat new people. For instance, when George and Lennie, the main characters of the book who travel together as migrant workers, arrive at the ranch, Curley's attitude towards them was rudeness. According to the book, when Curley meets George and Lennie, “he glanced coldly” (25) at them. From that, Curley gave George and Lennie an unwelcoming feeling. George even said, “Say, what the hell's he got on his shoulder? Lennie didn't do nothing to him” (26) after Curley left the room. Slim on the other hand, gave George and Lennie a very friendly feeling after talking in the bunkhouse in chapter 3. George started the small talk to thank Slim for giving Lennie a puppy then and their conversation grew longer, Slim got to know the George and Lennie little bit more. “Funny how you an' him string along together” (39). From this quote, Slim approved of George and Lennie’s relationship which made George trust him a little more to tell him about his past.

Another reason why Slim and Curley are respected differently is based on the actions they took during the chain events that led to Curley having to go to the doctor’s. Curley always picked fights. When he couldn’t find his wife he falsely accused Slim for being with her. Then after everyone, including Curley, learn of Slim’s is innocence, everyone makes fun of Curley. But out of all the men, Curley targeted Lennie. He starts a fight with Lennie because Curley thinks Lennie is laughing at him for making a mistake, but in reality, Lennie was dreaming about tending his rabbits. From that event, Lennie breaks Curley’s hand by defending himself. That leaves Curley a little unconscious. Then Slim steps in to become George and Lennie’s hero. George is really scared they will get fired for breaking the boss’ son’s hand, so Slim says ominously towards Curley, “ I think you got your han' caught in a machine. If you don't tell nobody what happened, we ain't going to. But you jus' tell an' try to get this guy canned and we'll tell ever'body, an' then will you get the laugh” (64).

In conclusion, Steinbeck showed how two people who live under the same roof and have the same social status would still be viewed differently and the proof is in their actions and attitudes towards others.