Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Essay on personal growth
Theories of Self Development Paper
Essay on personal growth
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Everyone has an ambition, but because of obstacles, not all can accomplish it. The film Mighty Aphrodite, by Woody Allen, and the play Pygmalion, by Bernard Shaw, have many related adaptations and transformations of Joseph Campbell’s myth archetypes. These occur to show that with guidance, one can reach their goal in civilization, but hope and tolerance are needed because there will be deception and suffering, which is a natural part of human experience, before achieving their
Change in Greek Art Greece is famously known world widely for its spectacular artworks. People are familiarized with its sculptures, paintings, and mosaics, but not many know how its art has been transforming from time to time. An explicit example would be the drastic changes from Aphrodite of Knidos to The Old Market Woman. The Egyptians had influenced Early Greek art for several years; it was during the time of war (Archaic Period) and art was not their top priority. Most of their sculptures were similar to those in Egypt and there was no sense of personal style.
The Ancient Greeks sought to define how humans should view their lives and how to create an existence dedicated to the basis of the “ideal” nature. This existence would be lived so as to create an “honorable” death upon their life’s end. Within their plays, both dramas and comedies, they sought to show the most extreme characteristics of human nature, those of the wise and worthy of Greek kleos along with the weak and greedy of mind, and how they were each entitled to a death but of varying significance. The Odyssey, their greatest surviving drama, stands as the epitome of defining both the flawed and ideal human and how each individual should approach death and its rewards and cautions through their journeys. Death is shown to be the consequence
HEPHAESTUS AND APHRODITE APHRODITE Aphrodite is one of the most famous figures of Greek mythology. Because Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and sexual rapture,1 she was desired by. nearly all of the Greek gods. Aphrodite was one of the twelve main gods on Mt. Olympus,2 and she was the most powerful goddess when it came to members of the opposite sex of the sex.
From the beginning of time, mythology has appeared to be one key method of understanding life’s confusions and battles. Within these myths lies a hero. From myth to myth and story to story, heroes experience what may be called a struggle or a journey, which lays down their plot line. Bearing tremendous strength, talent, and significant admiration, a hero holds what is precious to their audience, heroism. Over time however, no matter the hero, the hero’s role remains indistinguishable and identical to the position of every other hero.
The Aztecs built pyramids, the Egyptians built pyramids, the Mayas built pyramids, the Olmecs also built pyramids and all of these feats served a purpose; to tell a story of adoration and of power. The same goes for literature. All authors follow a simple yet infinitely complex scheme, to develop their characters and overarching story. Three different heroes, three different stories, but three identical paths; Chris McCandless from Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, Winston from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, and the Burmese police officer also from George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant each follow Joseph Campbell’s 17-Stage Monomyth to become a hero in search of happiness, acceptance, and redemption.
Aphrodite and Athena were both great powerful women who were revered as goddesses in greek mythology. They both were greatly worshipped, however due to their distinct personality traits they were worshipped and spoken about and very different ways. Both goddesses are immortal and female, and both seem to distinguish the incongruous gender roles between men and women throughout ancient Greece. What makes these two goddesses interesting, however, is their differences, which will determine how they will be reflected in myth. On one hand you have Athena, the androgynous goddess of war and wisdom. On the other you have Aphrodite, the goddess of love and sexuality. During this time, even among the immortals, women were seen as inferior and less
There is no more enduring theme in the truly Western body of literature, religion, and philosophy than that of the hero. Western thought apotheosizes the hero and the act of heroism. This practice is rooted in the heroic ages, where, as in the Iliad, the heroes of both sides have unique access to the gods and goddesses. The hero is the man who transcends with dirt under his fingernails and the dust of battle in his throat. He transcends through the savage wilds of Nature. In the West, too, the hero is known not only for physical skill or bravery, but also for inculcation of mental qualities, for cultivation of a superior sense of insight, a Higher vision and comprehension.
Imagine reading a prominent piece of literature that includes a substantial array of archetypes. These archetypes in this piece of literature fabricate the characters in the plot to a great extent and unravel an amazing tale of love and tragedy that appeal to twenty-century Americans. This stunning literary piece, known as Romeo and Juliet, is written by the great mind of Shakespeare. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses numerous conventional archetypes such as, star-crossed lovers, tragic hero, and mentor to create archetypal characters, therefore making Romeo and Juliet important to twenty-first century American readers.
The Greek myths, Phaethon and Daedalus and Icarus, have characters that exhibit pride as well as disobedience, which lead to their downfall, both figuratively and literally. Literary elements are used by the authors of both myths in order to describe and develop characters and events, and to teach a lesson. Through the use of characterization, imagery, and conflict, the mythical protagonists, Phaethon and Icarus, demonstrate a common theme that a prideful disregard of the warnings from those who are older and wiser is likely to lead to disastrous consequences.
The fact that everyone has goals and ambitions is what makes us all similar to each other, yet we differ by our motivations and willingness to sacrifice to attain those aspirations. This concept of ambition and motivation is depicted through the conflicts of the short stories “A Wall of Fire Rising” by Danticat, and “The Birth-Mark” by Hawthorne which stem from Guy and Aylmer’s impossible desires, respectively. Although Guy and Aylmer desire for unreachable ambitions at the cost of losing something important, both protagonists have different insecurities that drive them.
According to Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology, the word “Archetype” is described as “mental forms whose presence cannot be explained by anything in the individual’s own life and which seem to be aboriginal, innate, and inherited shapes of the human mind”. Jung was the first man to define this word, stating that the word archetype, in other words, are common types of characters whose appearance we see in mythology and everyday life. Although it is true, archetypes have been presented from ancient myths to the age of modern man. In Greek mythology, they were used to represent the gods and goddesses, who had different qualities and experiences. Nowadays, the use of archetypes remains very similar, since it classifies modern man according
The concept of a tragic hero is one of the most notable and widespread literary tropes, having been in existence for over some 2000 years. As defined by Aristotle in his Poetics, a tragic hero is someone who undergoes a struggle far more potent than deserved. Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, exhibits a tragic hero through its protagonist, Okonkwo. Achebe achieves this status through his tragic flaw of excessive pride, his ultimate demise caused by said pride, and his ability to evoke fear and pity within the audience.
In any context, ancient or modern, this is problematic as it has shades of grooming and there is a definite power imbalance in the relationship. My adaptation of the Pygmalion myth deconstructs the Pygmalion myth and examines the unhealthy relationship that develops from such an imbalance.
...ed in Pygmalion. In conclusion, Pygmalion is a great read on how people interact with someone because of their self presentation. The diction showed how it can change in ones being and how others can change towards one. It shows conflict in society and in one’s self by examining what one is used to and how one is treated. Lastly the book shows that the point-of-view depicted upon one is not always what one sees, but what one lives.
The play Pygmalion offers the readers a view on the theme of class distinction, and the problem of the barriers separating classes and people. Shaw reveals to us the truth about the artificiality of classes and how anybody can overcome them, He also shows us that society puts up high standards and that people are distinguished by their way of speaking, and their appearance alone and of course that's wrong.