Medea Jouranl # 1

What is the role of the chorus in Medea? How is it different than in Oedipus?

The main role of the chorus in Medea is that it is a group of women from Corinth. The interact with Medea and sympthize with her and Medea tells her plan to them. Medea talking to the chorus is used to reveal information to the audience from Medea. Medea confides in the chorus and in a sense use the chorus as a way to confided into the audience drawing them into part of the chorus so the emotional response of the chorus play on the audience.

In Oedipus the chorus is the people of the town and they aren't really involved in the story they pray to the gods and they sumarize what happens to Oedipus in their speeches usally where they express their pity for Oedipus and his situation.

Sophocles - Oedipus Journal # 5

How does Sophocles evoke fear and pity in the reader/audience and what significance does this have?

Sophocles envokes fear and pity on the reader throught the structure fo the play and by his use of the readers knowlodge of the story. In Oedipus by revealing the prophecy first and having Oedipus being so defient of it it helps envoke pity in the audience. The audience know tht Oedipus is going to cause his own downfall but Sophocles add the element of Oedipus causing his downfall why the audience watches him and know what he is doing. Sophocles also use the audience's knowledge to envoke fear in them. The audience knows Oedipus fate and Sophocles plays on that by revealing that Oedipus struggles to escape the prophecy is what actually leads to him fullfiling it. It creates a fear that by trying to avoid a situation we might actually help cause it and this envokes fear in the audience.

Sophocles - Oedipus Journal # 4

Image of being blind.

"... Stone-blind, stone deaf-senses, eyes blind as stone!"(181 line 423)

"And if you find I've lied from this day onward call the prophet blind" (185 lines 525-526)

"Blind in the darkenss- blind!"(237, 1409)

Sophocles use the image of people being blind in regards to the facts and the truth. In the first qoute Oedipus accuse Teiresis of being blind to the facts and the truth and that what he is saying can't possiblely by true but in fact it is Oedipus who is blind to the truth and this accusation of this image of being blind to the truth helps to create a ironic situation. In the second quote Teiresis responds to Oedipus that if he is lying he can be called blind but not just in a literal sense but metaphorical that Teiresis would be blind to the truth and could be called such. In the 3rd quote the image of being blind is brought back up. The image is put forth by Oedipus about how he blind so he must be blind to ignore the suffering.

This image of being blind helps build to the idea of fate and not being able to see how it will unfold and not being able to stop it. It adds to the idea that men are blind and cannot see the truth of fate and how important in their live because they can't see it they think they have some control over it.

Sophocles - Oedipus Journal # 3

Who speaks to which gods and what does the connection suggest? How does Sophocles use metaphors and symbols? What do characters believe about the gods' role in society?

The main god that the people of Thebes talk to is Apollo. All the focus and praying is to Apollo and they always consalte his oracle at Delphi. The people and the chorus are not the only ones who pray to the gods Jocasta also expresses a desire to pray to the gods in a time of trouble when Oedipus is finally coming to terms with what he did. The prophet Teiresis and the Oracle at Delphi seem to have acloser relationship to the gods and so people seek their council for help.

"triple shield against death..." (185). This metaphor is used to convey that the gods are very real and can interact with people by using this meatphor of Apollo steping in with a sheild and protecting his people.

The character in the society that the gods are their to help them but they are also a large part of their trouble because tehy spite them for evil or to test them with prophecys and that they can curse a persons life to misserable.

Sophocles - Oedipus Journal # 2

Does Oedipus demonstrate the qualities of a proficient or deficient leader? Examine Oedipus' actions and word choice. As you continue to read, how does your impression of Oedipus change? How would you describe the personalities of Creon and Teiresias?

Oedipus deomostrates the qualites of a proficient leader in this passage. His focus on the welfare of his people is a good quality for a king and his desire to fix the problem any way possible is another good quality but Oedipus changes when he refuse to accept what Teiresias says or to even consider it when he is blamed. My impression of Oedipus changes with his harsh treatment of Creon and his accuations of treason to a family member. Oedipus had no merit for the accusation and he seemed parioned and i lost some respect for how ggod of king he seemed. I would describe Creon as loyal but as an under of achiver. Creon like to take the thing that come easy like haveing the king as a brother in law and he takes advantage of that instead of working for his respect in the kingdom he just takes it. Teiresias seems very frustrated with people not believeing him and it leaves him with a short temper and he gets very angry when people don't listen to his advice even though as the reader you know it is right. Teiresias also seems very set in who he is and he wont change for anyone.

Sophocles - Oedipus Journal # 1

159- The people of Thebes are dying and Oedipus doesn't believe it and the priests show up to talk to Oedipus.
160-The priest of Zeus shows up and asks Oedipus to recoginize that people are dying.
161-The priest ask Oedipus to do something about all the people dying.
162-Oedipus reviels he has done something he sent Creon to Delphi to talk to the oracle.
163-Creon returns and tells Oedipus that he has news.
164-Creon reveals what the oracle told him about what must been done to stop the plague
165-Creon reveals what the oracle told him about Laius death.
166-Oedipus is shocked that the people of Thebes did nothing to find out what happened to their king.
167-Oedipus vows to rid Thebes of the corruption that is causeing the play. The murder of King Laius.
168-The people of Thebes pray to the gods to protec tthem from the plague.
169-The people pray some more and ask for pity.
170-The people pray more to Zeus, Apollo, Artemis, and Dionysus.

Literary Techniques

Metaphor-"Here are boys, still too weak to fly from the nest,..."(16-17)
Compare the young men of the city to helpless bird that can do nothing to escape for danger, who need protection becuase they are so young.

Imagry-"you hurled the flames of pain..."(188). Very strong imagry about the situation of the city. Ask the plague to be taken else where.

Personification-"And black Death luxuriates in the raw, wailing miseries of Thebes" (37-38). Create an image of the complete satisfaction death gets in the misery of the people. Implies how horrible the plague is.

Metaphor- "laboring over many paths of thought."(79). This metaphor convaies that idea that Oedipus has struggled over many ideas and chosing one by comparing it to trying to figure out what path to take.

Rough Draft

Ben Harbolt
IB- JR English
Mrs. Wecker
April 1, 2009

Throughout the world today, many countries have decided to restrict the civil liberties of their people in order to gain security. Although people want to remain emotionally and physically safe from any kind of attack on them, balance of their civil liberties and security is essential. This idea is presented by Zamyatin in WE as well. Zamyatin uses the symbols of glass and The Great Operation, as well as the conflict between Mephi and The One State, to warn against the restriction of civil liberties in time of conflict for the addition of security. Instead, people need to be able to balance the protection of their civil liberties with security.
Zamyatin uses the symbol of glass to reveal the restriction of civil liberties the people of The One State face due to the conflict which has resulted from the 200 years war. The glass is a an example of how the society, in a time of conflict, gives up its civil liberties in order to feel secure. During D-503’s Fourth Entry, he talks of how, “At all other times we live behind our transparent walls that seem woven of gleaming air – we are always visible, always washed with light […] Besides, this makes much easier the difficult and noble task of the Guardians” (Zamyatin 18). D-503 talks of how everyone in The One State is always under constant surveillance, fearing that their security will be destroyed if someone’s civil liberties are given priority. This constant surveillance makes the Guardian’s jobs easier because without privacy, it is very hard to conceal things from The One State and the Guardians. Privacy is a civil liberty which should not be sacrificed during a time of conflict. Another point within the book where D-503 is talking of the transparency of the glass and its lack of privacy is during his Nineteenth Entry where he says, “Through the sun-drenched walls I can see far, both right and left and down, the empty rooms suspended in the air, repeating themselves as in a mirror” (Zamyatin 108). The ability for people to see into other’s rooms removes the privacy of individuals, and thus removes a civil liberty for the addition of security. Also, Zamyatin uses the word “through” to convey a helpless feeling, knowing that people were unable to hide anything from others. This complete lack of privacy allows for The One State to constantly spy on people while still offering complete protection to its citizens. Privacy is an essential civil liberty, and The One State lacks any sort of balance between this privacy and the security represented by the glass.
Zamyatin uses the symbol of the Great Operation to show how, in the most extreme manner, the civil liberties of citizens can be eliminated for the sake of happiness and security. When D-503 is speaking to a patient; “Absolute happiness should, of course, carry a minus sign- the divine minus” (Zamyatin 184). The patient uses a euphemism, in the creole of the One State that could be taken to mean that absolute happiness and personal freedom are mutually exclusive. The minus sign in this euphemism represents the lack of personal liberty (more specifically imagination). Absolute happiness is the desired state which all individuals should strive to achieve. Thus in order to achieve the desirable state of happiness, individuals within a society must surrender personal liberty. Zamyatin reuses the symbol of the Great Operation later in the book. After the failed attempt to seize the integral; “[…] everyone was to report for the operation” (Zamyatin 206). The quote uses the word “everyone” in order to emphasize the fact that no citizen can choose to escape the Great Operation. The passage also uses very forceful verb choice, ”was to,” in order to emphasize the fact that citizens cannot decide to not have the surgery performed; they have lost that right. In conjunction, this shows that citizens have completely surrendered all personal liberties to the state for the sake of happiness and internal security, thus dangerously upsetting the balance between liberty and security.
Zamyatin creates a conflict between the one state and the mephi in order to offer the idea that societies have a scale that balances security and civil liberties. The conflict Zamyatin creates is evident because of the word choice used by D-503, a member of the one state, while he is describing members of the mephi. D-503 has just entered the world outside the green wall, “In the clearing-people… Or-I don’t know what to call them-perhaps, more precisely, beings” (Zamyatin 155). Not knowing how to classify them, D-503 has just described these fellow humans as beings not as people but as beings. D-503 has just set himself and members of the one state as greater because they are people, which separates the two societies. This displays a conflict between them, since another society would classify the other as less than them. Depending on what is happening or has happened in societies, especially conflict, the balance scale may tip too much towards security or towards balance. Zamyatin attempts to give this idea of balance in society by creating a scale. D-503 has just announced his opinion on madness after someone in the audience regarded the rebellion as madness, “‘Yes, yes, madness! The sooner the better! And everyone must lose his mind, everyone must! The sooner the better! It is essential-I know it’” (Zamyatin 158). Members of the one state must be taught that security and protection are essential for humans to survive, or else the people would stand up for individual rights rather than societal security. This thought is imbued in their minds, it has become part of them and D-503 is stating that the people must lose their minds in order to rebel against the one state (need for security) to fight for civil liberty. Zamyatin is attempting to communicate the idea that in order to fight for liberty, one must give up the need for security, which assists in the idea that security and civil liberty are balance, equal and opposite. This idea of a balance scale contributes to a warning against having a total secure and protected society, since then civil rights would need to be abandoned or heavily restricted.
Civil liberties are the base of protection of oneself and Zamyatin stresses the need to protect these liberties in WE and not let the need for security allow for them to be restricted. Zamyatin use WE to urge people to stand up for their civil liberties and protect them when they are being restricted in the name of security.

Post paragraphs so we can put them together

Ben Harbolt
IB- JR English
Mrs. Wecker
April 1, 2009

Throughout the world today, many countries have decided to restrict the civil liberties of their people in order to gain security. Although people want to remain emotionally and physically safe from any kind of attack on them, balance of their civil liberties and security is essential. This idea is presented by Zamyatin in WE as well. Zamyatin uses the symbols of glass and The Great Operation, as well as the conflict between Mephi and The One State, to warn against the restriction of civil liberties in time of conflict for the addition of security. Instead, people need to be able to balance the protection of their civil liberties with security.