... the gift of sight into the spiritual world. This great gift allowed him to become a superior prophet, praised by the people as "god like" and as a person "in whom the truth lives." Therefore, it was no surprise that Oedipus asked the old prophet to come before the people to enlighten them as to who or what the cause of the plague decimating their country was. What Oedipus was not expecting, however, was that the sin he could not see himself was to blame for the judgement being poured out upon the country. The sin so hidden from Oedipus’ and the peoples’ eyes was quite visible to Teiresias. What Teiresias lacked in his ability to see the wor ...

... effective way possible, whether it be civil or violent ways of protest. August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, " The Piano", is set in the early 1930s at a time when racism was spreading like wild fire. The play takes a close look into two dynamically different approaches to overcoming prejudice in America. Although their strategies differ greatly, both Berniece and Boy Willie both find ways to combat the problems associated with living in a racist culture. Slavery is still fresh in the minds of many blacks and whites during the ‘30s and so are many harsh feelings. Berniece and Boy Willie tackle the racism of their time in the same way their parents ...

... associated traits is not tolerated by her society. Ibsen employs a reversal of traditional gender roles within Hedda and Jorgen Tesman's marriage to emphasises Hedda's masculine traits. Hedda displays no emotion or affection towards her husband Jorgen. This appearance of indifference is a trait that is usually common to men: Tesman - "My old morning shoes. My slippers look!...I missed them dreadfully. Now you should see them, Hedda." Hedda - "No thanks, it really doesn't interest me'. In another gender role reversal, Hedda displays a financial awareness, which her husband, Jorgen does not posses. Although Brack corresponds with Tesman about his honeymoon travels ...

... led France, King Louis or Napoleon. The citizens of France became divided by the two ruling parties. Royalists and the Bonapartist cut at each others throats in order to declare that their ruler was supreme. This situation has a profound effect on the events of the story. Dantes' enemies used the rivalry between the two parties in order to convince the Royalists that Edmond is a Bonapartist, therefore it is the basis for his arrest and inevitable captivity in the Chateau D'If.. Basic Plot: The Count of Monte Cristo is a story about a sailor, Edmond Dantes, who was betrayed during the prime of his life and career by the ...

... to return to the more primitive ways, to reject the churches hierarchy and ritual. Mary Rowlandson, a puritan in Lancaster, Massachusetts was captured by Indians, along with three of her children in the year 1676. In her narrative she relates the story of her survival in the wilderness for a period of three months. She is taken away from her home and husband, "all was gone (except my life); and I knew not but the next moment that might go too" (127). Benjamin Franklin's The Autobiography is an account of his life and begins with his boyhood life in Boston. He later flees to Philadelphia to escape his brother's rule over him. He relates how he was "dirty", ...

... her husband was permitted to bring her a cup of hot water. Nao Kao, her husband, could do this as long as he looked away from her body. Foua strongly believed that moaning or screaming would distract the birth, so she did not make a sound. An occasional prayer would be made to the Hmong gods and ancestors, to ease the pain. She was so quiet that all of her other children slept undisturbed a few feet away, and woke only when they heard the cry of their newborn brother or sister. After each birth, Nao Kao cut the umbilical cord with heated scissors and tied it with string. After the birth, Foua washed the baby with water she had carried from the stream earlier th ...

... The relationship that Jim and Will possess consists of interdependent opposites, and their interactions between each other develop a unity that consistently brings the two companions closer together. Jim and Will’s relationship is connected through opposites that go perfectly together. While this may seem like a paradox, it is proved time and again throughout the novel. "...Jim running slower to stay with Will, Will running faster to stay with Jim"(18). This comes towards the beginning when the two are sprinting home, one running slower than his normal pace and the other faster. Obviously running faster is an opposite of r ...

... out of her way to describe in detail how her mother lied to her about her past: As a teenage worker my mother had broken with a recently established tradition and on leaving school in 1927 didn't go into the sheds. She lied to me though when, at about the age of eight, I asked her what she'd done, and she said she'd worked in an office, done clerical work. Steedman then goes on to say how she had sought out and verified that this lie was true: . . .I talked to my grandmother and she, puzzled, told me that Edna had never worked in any office, had in fact been apprenticed to a dry-cleaning firm that did tailoring and mending. Steedman later on sought additi ...

... The stark irony of a rotten corpse in a backdrop such as the isolated chapel deep in the forest works well with its explicit detail and the realization it brings to Henry about just how real the war is. This also brings about a great feeling of loneliness, which is one of the many stages that Henry goes through during the story. Henry feels isolated by his cowardly actions. Trying to justify his act of running, he compares himself to a squirrel that ran from an acorn that he had just thrown. By saying that it was just because of the natural inclination of self-preservation, Henry makes himself feel a little better, but there is still that element of un ...

... wild; the side that is usually looked down upon. Although from his repulsive behavior, Caliban can be viewed as a detestable beast of nature, it can be reasonably inferred that Shakespeare’s intent was to make Caliban a sympathetic character. During the first encounter, Caliban comes across very bestial and immoral. While approaching Caliban’s cave, Prospero derogatorily says, "…[he] never/Yields us kind answer," meaning Caliban never answers respectfully. When Prospero reaches the cave, he calls to Caliban. Caliban abruptly responds, "There’s wood enough within." His short, snappy reply and his odious tone, reveal the bitterness he fe ...