Pygmalion's Obsession with the Statue of Cyprus
Pygmalion decided to portray women as he searched for the most perfect
being and he hadn't found any in Cyprus. He placed all his love and
wishfulness in his statues and so the most beautiful of his creations
was sculpted. Pygmalion, being a man, and having 'animal' urges, must
have wanted a partner to share his emotions and get frisky with, so
this was the perfect idea for him. What could be better, a woman with
beautiful looks, and never talks back or argues with you? Bliss. Since
no one came up to his expectations, it became an obsession that he
wanted the perfect wife. Or maybe he wanted to show off to his mates
that he had the perfect woman in Cyprus, even though it was ivory.
Does anything in the earlier part of the story help to explain Pygmalion's
behaviour?
Pygmalion's behaviour gets a lot more elaborate and somewhat more
perverted with each line. As the story progresses, his obsession and
passionate love for the statue gets stronger and stronger, until it
reaches the climax of what a man can do with a statue, sleep with it.
Nonetheless it is possible to retrace the reason for his perversion.
It is explained at the very beginning of the text. Ovid writes that
the women around Pygmalion spent their time in wickedness, and that he
(Pygmalion), was disgusted by their very many vices, which nature gave
to women's minds: "quas quia Pygmalion aevum per crimen agentes
viderat, offensus vitiis, quae plurima menti feminae natura dedit."
It was from this fact that Pygmalion's troubles started. Ever since
Aphrodite had turned the women of Cyprus into whores, Pygmalion was
never able to be satisfied by the real women on his island. This is
what had originally turned his thoughts into creating something
female, which was perfect in every way for him. His solution to this
was creating a sculpture of a woman. He made this out of white ivory,
and it seemed so real that people thought that it could move, and was
alive: "quam vivere credas et, si non obstet reverentia, velle moveri".
This perfection made Pygmalion fall in love with it, because it was an
ideal woman in every way.
From this point on Pygmalion's behaviour became more strange; he did
many odd things to the statue, for example he gave her presents,
kissed it and felt it. Basically Pygmalion became so desperate that...
... middle of paper ...
...wers of a thousand colours, lilies and painted balls
of crystal or amber. He adorned her body with clothes and decorations
such as jewels for her fingers, long necklaces for her neck, rings of
light pearl hanging from her ears and pendants over her breasts.
At this point in the story there is a turning point. He comes more
normal and real, in that he decides to ask Venus to turn her into a
real person. He seems to realise that he can't continue like this and
that it would be in his best interests if he had a real person instead
of a statue as his 'wife'. It seems at this point as though he is a
real person and has completely shrugged off his former madness, by
actually having a normal woman and not having anything else peculiar
about him. There is however one final moment of madness. When he
returns home, he doesn't at first believe that she is real and,
although he realises that she is warm, he does not dare to celebrate
lest he is proved wrong. Throughout the story he behaves very unlike a
normal person and acts very irrationally. However, the very last few
lines show that he did manage to overcome it and he did end up being a
normal and conventional person.
of which he knows, but he enjoys it being that way. He doesn’t seek the relational
Many strides in the African American journey towards freedom and equality came about in the mid-nineteenth century. The domestic slave trade separated families and created an even greater hatred toward slave owners by blacks. African Americans gained some semblance of freedoms through the task-based labor systems in some Southern regions and freemen fought for equal pay while serving admirably as Union soldiers during the Civil War. Freemen in the North experienced racial discrimination and segregation, but established Free Societies which were crucial in advancing the rights for equality with prominent whites. Although not completely equal to whites by the end of the century, African Americans, as a whole, were headed in the right direction.
that it is not entirely up to him. He also wants to make sure that
for him to lie to so what he says will be true, and this fact clears
Throughout history, children have always worked, either as apprentices or servants. However, child labor reached a whole new scale during the time period of the Industrial Revolution. Throughout the time frame of late 1800s-early 1900s, children worked long hours in dangerous factory conditions for very little wages. They were considered useful as laborers because their small stature allowed them to be cramped into smaller spaces, and they could be paid less for their services. Many worked to help support their families, and by doing so, they forwent their education. Numerous nineteenth century reformers and labor groups sought to restrict child labor and to improve working conditions.
The use of child labour was common in the 18th and 19th century but in the years of the Industrial Revolution exploitation particularly of children was rampant. Children were exploited due to their lack of knowledge and small bodies. Mostly children were aged between 6-15 years old and worked to supplement their family income. This practise was carried out mostly in the UK but it was commonplace in other countries as well. In addition, the sanitary measures that we have today were non-existent. Countless people died every day because of diseases and unchecked infections.
The Allegory of the Cave, and The Myth of Sisyphus, are both attempts at explaining some aspect of the way people think or why humans do as observed. Both stories illustrate the same idea: without necessary and proper exposure to change, thinking is limited and ignorance is the direct product.
For the purpose of this essay, Britain will be concentrated on to discover the historical approach to child labour along with compulsory schooling, plus the effects this had on the lives of children and their families. The last two hundred years from the 1800’s to 2000 are explored to recognize the issues surrounding prolonging childhood in mainly Britain. It was here child labour was initially recognised in factories, mills and mines in the early nineteenth century. This essay will demonstrate the various changes during this period, and the differences between the working class and upper class childhoods and the differences between the childhoods of two hundred years ago, and that of today. As a result, this essay will describe the changes in the experiences and opinions of childhood to the prolonging of childhood in Britain.
The kids under the age of fourteen were sent to go assist with the textile workers. They then would beat and verbally abuse the child. And if children would show up late, they would be weighted. Weighted means to put a very heavy weight on the child's back and have them walk up and down the factory aisles for hours, so other children can learn from it. This then resulted in back and neck injuries. (“Child Labor in Factories”) While this all seems really cruel, there were many positives that came out of child labor. Children were still able to contribute to their families. Money was a big struggle, and it had a major impact for poor families. Children were also getting a wide range of opportunities and work experiences for the future ahead. Although it might not be the best way to get experience, they were still helping out there families and showing respect towards them. This shows that during the Industrial Revolution, children were used harshly for labor, and the positives and negatives out of
were that if you did not support him, then you should not live. So it ended up
Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Adolescents A Research-Based Guide for Parents, Educators, and Community Leaders: In Brief. (2nd ed.). (2003). Bethesda, Md.: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Although children had been servants and apprentices, child labor reached new extremes during the Industrial Revolution, as the demand for labor increased. The need for child labor grew in Britain and even in the United States in the late 1700s and early 1800s. During the Industrial Revolution, many families had to find someone to work for or they would not survive. Industrialists saw child labor as a favorable form of labor due to certain benefits, while the opponents of child labor saw it as a violation towards human treatment.
that he is looking for mutual affection in his life. There is a lot of
Most people do not understand how a person become addicted to drugs. We tend to assume that is more an individual problem rather than a social problem. However, teen substance abuse is indeed a social problem considered a priority for the USA department of public health due to 9 out of 10 Americans with addictions started using drugs before the age 18 (CASA Columbia University). Similarly, 1 in 4 Americans with addictions started using the substance during their teenage years, which show a significant different with 1 in 25 Americans with addiction who started using at 21 or older (CASA, 2011).
...tute on Drug Abuse, (. (2009). Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use. Overview of Key Findings, 2008. National Institute On Drug Abuse (NIDA),