Essay on Hector as the Ideal Homeric Man of Homers Iliad

Hector as the Ideal Homeric Man of Homer's Iliad        Ã‚  Ã‚   Homer's Iliad enthralls readers with its’ valiant heroes who fight for the glory of Greece. The Iliad, however, is not just a story of war; it is also a story of individuals. Through the characters' words and actions, Homer paints portraits of petulant Achilles and vain Agamemnon, doomed Paris and Helen, loyal Patroclus, tragic Priam, versatile Odysseus, and the whole cast of Gods. Ironically, the most complete character in the epic is Hector, enemy hero, and Prince of Troy. Hector is in many ways the ideal Homeric man: he is a man of compassion and piety, a man of integrity and bravery, a man who loves his family, and above all, a man who understands and fulfills his social obligations under the stringent rules of the heroic code.    Hector, returning to the city from a series of ferocious setbacks at the hands of the Acheans, is introduced as a man of compassion and piety. His behavior as a hero and as a son is markedly different from the behavior exhibited by Agamemnon and Achilles. When he enters the Scaean Gates, he is immediately surrounded by "the wives and daughters of Troy...asking about their sons, brothers, friends and husbands" (VI, 150-151). The very fact that the women approach Hector, intimidating as he must be in his bloodstained armor, is revealing. Up to this point, the women in the story have been silent victims of the raging tempers of the men around them. In contrast, the women of Troy display confidence in Hector's character by approaching him without fear. Though he himself is exhausted and discouraged, Hector patiently responds to the anguished women, demonstrating the compassion he feels for his fighting men and their families. So many ... ...ties serve as a foil against the cruelty, arrogance, and self-indulgence that cripples some of the other heroes in the Iliad. To the Greeks of Homer's time, Hector stands out as a symbol of what might have been... and a model for what could be.    Works Cited and Consulted: Clarke, Howard. Homer's Readers: A Historical Introduction to the Iliad and the Odyssey. Newark, Del.: University of Delaware Press, 1981. Goodrich, Norma. Myths of the hero. New York: Orion Press, 1962. Homer: Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1990. Nagy, Gregory. Concepts of the Greek Hero. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979. Richardson, Nicholas. The Iliad : A Commentary. Vol. VI: books 21-24. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1993. Segal, Charles. Heroes and Gods in the Odyssey. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994.   

Use of “n” Word in Huck Finn

Others debate that it makes people uncomfortable and prevents them from reading this great piece of American literature. The people who believe that the original text should be edited, focus their discontent on the racial tone of the language. The fact that the racial insult makes many people feel uncomfortable, is one of the main reasons they feel that way. In the article by Philip Rails, the scholar Alan Cribber says, â€Å"It's a shame that one word should be a barrier between a marvelous reading experience and a lot of readers†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ(Rails 1).That Is exactly what people feel the word â€Å"Niger is In Huckleberry Finn. It acts as a barrier for people who find It uncomfortable to read, and prevents them from comprehending the writing. In the article â€Å"Houck Finn goes clean In new publication† by Analyzer, an English teacher expresses why she doesn't think Its k to use the word. When you're using slurs – racial slurs, gender slurs, homosexuality slurs â⠂¬â€œ I think you're victimizing people† (Layer 3). It is very true that blacks in America could get offended if you say the word in a classroom or they read it in the novel.It probably reminds them of the hard times their ancestors went through or puts them into stereotype that they don't think they belong in. It is very easy for people to become uncomfortable with an insult like the word in Houck Finn. The English teacher in Layer's article also says, remember when I first read it in 1986 and I was thinking, ‘Oh, wow. The racial slur Is problematic† (Layer 2). Like many people, she feels as though â€Å"slave† would be more acceptable. It would make people feel more at ease and able to actually read the book without a distracting word.Teachers definitely do not want their students to be Immature about the n-word, especially if there are blacks in the classroom. If the students wouldn't be mature about it, it would be nice to have another choice. Readers, s tudents and teachers also should have a choice in what they want to read. If they have the book with in it and don't want it, they should be able to choose what they want. As long as they are comfortable and do not distract or offend the reader than the point of the book is shown. While the reasons for replacing the slur are reasonable, people are still tryingly against censoring Houck Finn.They feel as though removing the insult would compensate what had happened in the past. The way we treated the slaves was extremely harsh and this Is a way America can remember as well as refrain from making a mistake Like that In the future. Another reason readers don't want to censor the novel Is the fact that they are censoring a major novel. In the article â€Å"Why a new edition of Houck Finn Is†¦ † By Alexandra Petri, Petri discusses her displeasure with the censorship of the novel. She says, â€Å"This is like turning Death of a Salesman into room Heart of Darkness – or all the darkness† (Petri).Even Mark Twain himself said about the difference between â€Å"slave† and â€Å"Niger† is â€Å"the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning† (Controversy as new edition†¦ ). If they censor American literature, what will be next? Many argue that they don't know where the removing of all things bad will stop. Great deals of readers think that the racial slur is crucial to how the readers interpret the whole story. In the article, â€Å"Houck Finn goes clean†¦ † An English professor explains how important it is to be shaken and feel uncomfortable with the word â€Å"Niger† (Layer).It depicts the time period in which it happened accurately, and though it wasn't, and still isn't, something that is acceptable, it still brings out the point of the novel. Mark Twain put the word in there for a purpose, not Just to do it. He uses it to bring out some of the satire. Petri says in her article that reg ardless of the fact that slavery was in full throttle, â€Å"Mark Twain was still able to use satire to show how wrong it was† (Petri). Granted, the usage of the word â€Å"Niger† was normal in that time period, but now the satire Twain uses seems al the more relevant.His satire is still shown to this very day. Also, the characters would not have said â€Å"slave†, it is more realistic if Houck was to say â€Å"Niger† because, to him, that's what a slave was. It was completely normal, whether we think it was or not. All in all, the choice is up to the readers. If the reader feels that the â€Å"n† word is too offensive to read, the option to read a different word should be open to them. We can't distract people from the meaning of the story if they get disgruntled and embarrassed.No one has the right to deny someone fondness when reading a book. The novel is partially about striving for freedom. While freedom comes with a price, shouldn't everyone have the freedom to choose which way they want to read something? However, it is also important to know that the word was there in the first place. It is true that the story could lose its meaning by taking out what makes the satire so uncomfortable. The word is an important part of the story, but if people understand it than why are they not allowed to enjoy the piece that people admire so much?

Feminist theories dont add to the study of international law. Discuss. - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2148 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Feminism is a political movement that seeks to overturn gender inequalities between men and women (Blunt and Wills, 2000: p. 90). It is concerned with the power relations that influence not only how individuals relate to each other, but how spheres of life are gendered in particular ways. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Feminist theories dont add to the study of international law. Discuss." essay for you Create order Feminism is therefore, inherently linked to international law and is one of the ways in which it can be theorised. While the international legal system may be broadening in scope, it remains narrow in perspective. In particular, the boundaries and limits of international law can be seen from a critical and feminist perspective. Feminist legal theory is comprised of two broad strands. The first is to analyse and critically interrogate the implicit and masculinist assumptions of international law in theory and in practice. The second is to reform international law such that it might better serve the interests of women across the world. It has been argued that feminist theories have nothing to add to the study of international law (Hunter-Williams, 2009). However, despite this criticism, feminist theories have much to contribute to the study of international law. The importance of feminist theories in international law can be seen through the inadequacies of traditional theories of law and also in the application of feminist theories in areas such as human trafficking and refugee law. The absence of women in international law has distorted the disciplines boundaries and produced a narrow and inadequate jurisprudence that has, among other things, legitimised the unequal position of women around the world rather than challenged it (Charlesworth and Chinkin, 2000: p.1). Feminist theory acts to challenge this situation and thus offers a significant contribution to the study of international law. Traditional theories of international law have seriously failed to address the situation of women worldwide (Charlesworth and Chinkin, 2000: p.25). Feminist theories, however, contribute to our understanding of international law and the global inequality of women. As such, the remainder of this essay will refute the claim that feminist theories have nothing to add to the study of international law. It should be stressed that there is no single school of feminist jurispruden ce and the categories do overlap in some respects. Liberal feminists typically accept the language and aims of the existing domestic legal order. Charlesworth and Chinkin explain how liberal feminists insist that the law fulfil its promise of objective regulation upon which principled decision-making is based (2000: p.39). Their primary goal is to achieve equality of treatment between women and men in public areas, such as political participation and representation, and equal access to and equality within paid employment, market services and education (Charlesworth and Chinkin, 2000: p.39). Liberal feminism therefore, has something to add to international law in that it seeks to achieve equality between men and women. Charlesworth and Chinkin define cultural feminism to be concerned with the identification and rehabilitation of qualities and perspectives identified as particular to women (2000: p.40). Epistemologically, it is a standpoint theory in that it emphasises the impor tance of knowledge based upon experience and asserts that womens subjugated position allows them to formulate more complete and accurate accounts of nature and social life (Harding, 1986: pp.24-29). In this area, the work of Carol Gilligan is particularly relevant. Gilligan investigates whether there is a distinctively feminine way of thinking or solving problems (Gilligan, 1982). She identifies a different voice which bases decisions on the values of caring and connection in contrast to a style of decision-making based on abstract logic (Gilligan, 1982: p.24). The former is associated with women and the later with men (Charlesworth and Chinkin, 2000: p.40). Gilligans work has been useful to the critical analysis of legal reasoning, which lays claim to abstract, objective decision making. Accordingly, if legal reasoning simply reproduces a masculine type of reasoning, its objectivity and authority are reduced (Charlesworth, et al., 1991: p.615). This illustrates the contribution of cultural feminism to international legal theory. Radical feminism explains womens inequality as the product of domination of women by men. Catherine Mackinnon has been a consistent exponent of this view. Her view is that the law keeps women out and down (Mackinnon, 1987: p.205) by preserving a hierarchical system based on gender and sex. Radical feminism has paid attention to the public/private dichotomies that also feature in liberal thought. The public realm of the workplace, the law, economics, politics and intellectual and cultural life is regarded as the natural province of men; while the private world of the home, the hearth and children is seen as the appropriate domain of women (Charlesworth et al., 1991: p.626). This dichotomy has led to a debate amongst feminist scholars over whether this distinction often operates to obscure or legitimate mens domination of women. This dispute could be seen to weaken radical feminist theory. However, the awareness it raises of the domi nation of women by men and particularly the hierarchical system of international law outweighs its flaws. Feminist campaigns have not only been restricted to women from the Global North. The term third world feminisms refers to approaches developed by women from the Global South and women of colour in the Global North. These approaches explore the differences among, as well as between, men and women. For instance, Alice Walker coined the term womanism (1984, quoted in Blunt and Wills, 2000: p. 114) because many black feminists prefer the term womanism to feminism, as the later has been largely white and largely uncritical of its whiteness. Charlesworth et al. assess third world feminisms in terms of the notion of a different voice (1991: p.615) in international law. The authors argue that third world states have challenged international law as either disadvantageous to them or inadequate to their needs (Charlesworth et al.: p.616). However, they also suggest that although the cha llenge of the different voice of the developing nations to international law has been fundamental, it has focused on disparities in economic position and has not questioned the silence of half the worlds population in the creation of international law, or the unequal impact of rules of international law on women (1991: p. 618). Despite the limitations of third world feminisms, it still provides an important contribution to international law in that it highlights the application of Western feminist theories to third world communities and societies (Charlesworth and Chinkin, 2000: p.46). The importance of the contribution of feminist theories to international law can be seen in practice in relation to human trafficking. In December 2000, over 80 countries signed the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (the Trafficking Protocol), (Doezema, 2002: p.20). The Trafficking Protocol works to conceptualise an interna tional problem; it established the first definition of trafficking in international law and put in place a set of measures for international co-operation to address this problem (Sullivan, 2003: p.68). The Trafficking Protocol defines trafficking in persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion (United Nations, 2003: p.2). Trafficking in women for the sex industry is highly profitable for those running the trade. The UN estimated that 4 million people were trafficked in 1998, producing a profit of USD 7 billion for criminal groups (Sassen, 2002). Feminists and feminist organisations were particularly involved in discussions about the text of the Trafficking Protocol (Sullivan, 2003: pp.67-68). Feminist lobbying regarding the Protocol was split into two camps espousing differing views on prostitution. One group, the Human Rights Caucus, viewed prostitution as legitimate labour. The other, represented by the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW), considered all forms of prostitution to be a violation of womens human rights. Differences about the possibilities of distinguishing between free and forced prostitution divided feminists. Consequently, the definition of trafficking incorporated in the Protocol has some important weaknesses. Furthermore, the debate amongst feminists on this topic has fuelled claims that feminist theories have nothing to add to the study of international law (Hunter-Williams, 2009). However, the Protocol does have its strengths. The Trafficking Protocol has had significant worldwide impact on the status of women. As such feminist theory should be seen as making an important contribution to the study of international law. A further area in which feminist theories are viewed as important in international law is that of refugee law. Carving out territory for refugee women within mainstream legal realms has been one way t hat feminists have successfully redressed their invisibility within refugee discourse (Oswin, 2001). Efforts have largely focused on eliminating the male bias within the legal definition of refugee in order to incorporate the experiences of refugee women into refugee status determination processes. Emphasis has also been placed upon the recognition of violence against women as a ground of persecution. Those feminists who have sought to incorporate womens experiences into refugee law can claim success on a variety fronts. For instance, the UNHCRs Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women, adopted in 1991, emphasises the fact that gender-based persecution exists and should be recognised by refugee-receiving states as a basis for asylum (Oswin, 2001: p.350). In this way, feminist efforts have been instrumental in putting refugee womens experiences on the agenda of international refugee law. However, it could be proposed that feminist theories have not had a substantial involvement in refugee law as feminists have only been granted a small portion of what is already extremely finite territory (Oswin, 2001: p.347). A final example of the significant impact that feminist theory has had on the study of international law is that of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. SC1325 is an eighteen-point resolution that develops an agenda for women, peace and security. It calls for the prosecution of crimes against women, increased protection of women and girls during war, the appointment of more women to the UN peacekeeping operations and field missions and an increase in womens participation in decision making processes at the regional, national and international level (Cohn, et al., 2004: p.130). The resolution was unanimously adopted by the Security Council on 31 October 2000. SC1325 is highly significant because it is the first time the Security Council has devoted an entire session to debating womens experiences in conflict and post-conflict situat ions. The resolution was influenced by feminist campaigners and the case highlights the growing influence of feminist theories on international law. Women are on the margins of the international legal system (Charlesworth and Chinkin, 2000: p.48). Charlesworth and Chinkin comment that: Women form over half the worlds population, but their voices, in all their variety, have been thoroughly obscured by and within the international legal order (2000: p.1). Feminist excursions into international law have been reproved for criticising the male-centredness of international law while at the same time invoking the international legal order to improve the situation for women (Charlesworth and Chinkin, 2000: p.59). The implication of this is that feminists forfeit the right to invoke international law if they point out its biases (Charlesworth and Chinkin, 2000: p.59). Such claims have led to assertions that feminist theories have nothing to add to the study of international law. However, the development of feminist jurisprudence in recent years has made a rich and fruitful contribution to legal theory (Charlesworth, et al., 1991: p.613). This is highlighted by the inadequacies of traditional theories of international law, and the important contribution of feminist ideas both in theory and in practice, such as in the Trafficking Protocol and refugee law. Consequently, feminist theory can be used to reshape the way womens lives are understood in an international context, thus altering the boundaries of international law (Charlesworth and Chinkin, 2000: p.337). Bibliography Blunt, A. and Wills, J. (2000) Dissident Geographies: An Introduction to Radical Ideas and Practice, Harlow: Prentice Hall. Charlesworth, H. and Chinkin C. (2000) The Boundaries of International Law: A Feminist Analysis, Manchester: Manchester University Press. Charlesworth, H., Chinkin, C., and Wright, S. (1991) Feminist Approaches to International Law, American Journal of International Law, 85(4), pp.613-645. Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) (1999) Prostitutes Work, But Do They Consent?, available at https://www.uriedu/artsci/wms/Hughes/catw Cohn, C., Kinsella, H. and Gibbings, S. (2004) Women, Peace and Security: Resolution 1325, International Feminist Journal of Politics, 6(1), pp.130-140. Doezema, J. (2002) Who Gets to Choose? Coercion, Consent and the UN Trafficking Protocol, Gender and Development, 10(1), pp.20-27. Gilligan, C. (1982) In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Womens Development, MA: Harvard University Press. Harding, S. (1986) The Science Question in Feminism, Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Hunter-Williams, S. (2009) Feminist theories have nothing to add to the Study of International Law. Available at: https://simonhunterwilliams.wordpress.com/2009/3/16/feminist-theories-have-nothing-to-add-to-the-study-of-international-law/ Mackinnon, C. (1987) Feminism unmodified, Boston, MA: Harvard University Press. Oswin, N. (2001) Right Spaces, International Feminist Journal of Politics, 3(3), pp.347-364. Sassen, S. (2002) Womens Burden: Counter-Geographies of Globalization and the Feminization of Survival, Nordic Journal of International Law, 71, pp.255-274. Sullivan, B. (2003) Trafficking in Women, International Feminist Journal of Politics, 5(1), pp.67-91. United Nations (2003) Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, available at https://www .ohchr.org/english/law/pdf/protocoltraffic.pdf.