Important Role of Prayer in Homers Odyssey :: Homer Odyssey Essays

The Important Role of Prayer in the Odyssey What is the importance of prayer or lack of prayer in the Odyssey? I think prayer and the lack thereof is very important in understanding this literary piece. In the beginning of the Odyssey prayer seems to be a pretty common thing, especially during the times of trouble. Telemakhos prayed numerous times that the gods would help him get rid of the suitors. While is prayer was not answered immediately, he was told what he had to do to find his father and get rid of the suitors. As long as Telemakhos followed Athena and did what she said, she was with him and helped him. She would disguise herself to help and protect Telemakhos as he began his journey. Penelope was the next instance of prayer. She prayed that the gods would ease her pain and protect her son. A higher being, possibly an angel was sent to her to tell her that things would be ok and to ease her mind. She was also usually put into a deep sleep. When Telemakhos and Penelope prayed, their prayers were heard and for the most part answered, maybe not in the way that they wished, but the way the gods felt would make Telemakhos a hero beside his father and give Penelope her dream of having her husband again. Odysseus on the other hand was a different story, he did not pray or just did not mention praying during his time of trouble. Why would he not pray? I believe Odysseus did not pray because of pride. I don't think that he could let go of his pride enough to pray. I think that he believed in the gods and trusted in them, but I think as a hero, he had to do things on his own. He wanted to be able to say that he did it just as he told the Kyklops in book IX: "'Kyklops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes; son, whose home's on Ithaka!' 1" Although prayer was a way to get things done, it was not a method used by all the characters in the Odyssey. Each character was different. Telemakhos was a boy and needed help from a higher being in order to defeat the suitors. Penelope was a woman who was strong-minded, but not strong enough to get rid of the suitors.

Alfred Adler’s “The Neurotic Constitution” Essay

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the most common negative attributes an individual possess is insecurity.   Common among adolescents, insecurity can be exhibited through either inferiority complex or superiority complex.   This paper would present Alfred Adler’s theory of personality which concentrated on the reason as to why an individual develops feelings of insecurity and why this remains part of the individual’s behavior despite them reaching adulthood or old age. Adler’s Individual Personality   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a result of debates with Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler (2007) developed his own theory of personality which he called as the â€Å"Individual Personality.†Ã‚   Adler believed that it is the motivations experienced by an individual that determines his or her role in society as well as being responsible for an individual’s uniqueness.   Under the Individual Personality theory, Adler presented two psychological conditions which he termed as â€Å"inferiority complex† and â€Å"superiority complex.†Ã‚   These conditions are commonly experienced by an individual during the early childhood years and would eventually lead to the individual to suffer neurosis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An individual suffering from either inferior or superiority complex requires an expedient to allow him or her to focus on the uncertainty of his or her existence.   By doing so, the individual is able to do a self-estimation of all evils and considers him or her to feel incompetent, inferior, degraded and insecure.   In order for the individual to find a guiding principle he or she uses either his or her parent who attributed his or her values to (Adler 2007). Based on the study of cause, behavior, manifestation and altered modes of activity, Adler (2007) discovered that there was a link between the individual developing an inferiority complex and the individual having underdeveloped organs resulting to the nervous system to compensate these.   As a result, the individual develops what Adler termed as somatic inferiority and eventually becomes a permanent compelling part of the individual’s psyche.   The only way this could be addressed is through the intervention of a psychologist. Another reason for the development of superior or inferiority complex among individuals is their desire to become what they consider to be great and strong.   This desire then influences their conduct, psychical and physical attitudes.   Oftentimes, individuals would experience temporary denials and discomforts, particularly during the early childhood years.   This leads them to seek the impulse to develop character traits that they would consider as common.    It is also during this period of time that individuals experience feelings of weaknesses, helplessness and feelings of anxiety.   At the same time, the development of these negative behaviors allows the individual to realize his or her strengths which results to the individual a sense of gratitude towards his strengths.   This, along with the development of obedience, allows the individual to develop an accentuation of his or her ego consciousness by assisting him or her to achieve the goal of his or her personality which is to strive for superiority (Adler 2007). Adler (2007) also stated that the parental neglect experienced by an individual as he or she grows up would result to the child developing feelings of aggression and contribution to the individual’s development of inferiority.   This is particularly evident among individuals who have been brought up in large families where the individual has a lot of siblings. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Insecurities are commonplace among each and every individual such that it would seem to be impossible to find an individual who does not possess any form of insecurity.   Adler’s theory provided valid explanations not only as to why individuals possess feelings of insecurity but also why certain individuals are more insecure than others.   Along with his theory, Adler presented factors that cause the emergence of insecurities among individuals.   The first is physical.   Many of people who are insecure are those who are inflicted with what society would consider as physical abnormalities.   They are viewed by society as different and as a result would make them to ridicule and bullying.   Another factor presented was the family.    On one hand, any children feel that they are pressured into following the footsteps of their parents which would let them feel that the only way to be accepted and considered as â€Å"doing the right thing† is if they would follow the footsteps of their parents.   On the other hand, because of the changes in lifestyles of most families, parents tend to have lesser time for their children.   The parental neglect causes the children to feel abandoned and as a result would develop insecurities which they would try to hide by creating an image that they are superior, hence the development of the superiority complex.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All in all, society has played a part in the formation of insecurities of an individual.   Most often than not, individuals are not even aware that they in fact possess feelings of insecurity which is why only through the intervention of a psychologist and an open mind would an individual discover these insecurities and work on these insecurities in order to develop a stronger personality which is the goal of an individual. Reference Adler, A. (2007). The neurotic constitution: the origin and development of the feeling of inferiority. In H. S. Friedman & M. W. Schustack (Eds.), The personality reader (pp. 42-43).   Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Essay on Womens Roles in Society - 2664 Words

Women’s roles have changed so much within the last couple of centuries. In the older years, women were the sole responsibility of taking care of the children, doing housework, and pretty much taking care of their husbands. â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† by Kate Chopin,† A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen, and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Gilman are all literature pieces talking about the roles women have in society. In â€Å"The story of an Hour, the main character is not happy in her marriage, and she finds out that her husband got killed, and she felt very free. In A Doll’s House, the main character is not happy with her marriage, because she feels that she is being treated like a childish, playful doll, and does not get any respect from her†¦show more content†¦Mallard having heart trouble, and how they had to be very careful telling her the news of her husband’s death. After her sister told her about her husband getting kill ed in a railroad accident, Mrs. Mallard ran off into her room, with no one following her. She sat in a chair staring outside through the open window. She started seeing everything outside come to life, and all of a sudden she felt something come across her. She told herself that she was â€Å"free.† She was happy to be able to live on her own and only be responsible for herself. Josephine was outside her door telling Mrs. Mallard to come out, because Josephine thought she was making herself ill. Mrs. Mallard came out of the room with her arms opened wide and put her hands around her sister’s waist. They both started going to the stairs, and Richards was waiting for them at the bottom. All of a sudden, someone was opening the door, and their stood Brently Mallard, who did not even know about the accident or there had even been one. Mrs. Mallard saw her husband, and the doctors said she died of a heart disease (cited in DiYanni, 2007). The conflict in the story is that Mrs. Mallard is way too happy about her husband dying. After going into the room and closing the door, she started looking outside and could see â€Å"the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life† (DiYanni 2007, p. 39). She is finally seeing the life to things now that her husband is dead. â€Å"She did not stop to askShow MoreRelatedRole Of Women In Society816 Words   |  4 Pages The role of women in society has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Some may say the changing of the role is a positive change, but some others may disagree. Women have changed their lives for men and their ways of life, women have been restricted from using their own money by men, and also women have had to deal with cleaning up everyone elses messes for years and also years to come. In the articles and plays that were read several of these roles were demonstrated. In the articleRead MoreRole of Women in Society2172 Words   |  9 PagesRole of Women in Society until 1500’s Roxanne Schmidt History 103 World Civilizations I Bremen Hentzel March 5, 2012 Role of Women in Society until the 1500’s A woman in today’s society is somewhat equal to a man’s, or any other person for that matter. Things back before the 1500’s were very strict for women, women basically had no rights. Women had no right to vote, no freedom of speech, women did not work back in the 1500’s they were stay at home mom’s, and took care of their householdsRead MoreThe Role of Women in Society1963 Words   |  8 PagesThe Role of Women in Society Spanning the history of humanity, groups of people have come together to fight for their civil rights and the chance at a better life. The United States had a series of revolutions with many wronged minorities demanding equality. Among these groups of people, women were a major group seeking liberation. The Feminist movement, both the First Wave and the Second Wave, achieved many of the goals its innovators sought to accomplish. Legally, women have gained much equalityRead MoreThe Role of Women in Society486 Words   |  2 PagesThe Role of Women in Society Women are important in our society. Every woman has her own job or duty in this modern society in which men are still the strongest gender;. We can ´t forget that women ´s life is a lot more complicated than a man ´s life. A woman has to take care of her own personal life and if she is a mother , she has to take care also about her children ´s life too. Marriaged women have lots of worries and believe it or not , they carry out a more stressfull life than marriagedRead MoreWomens Role Of Women In Society1383 Words   |  6 PagesWomen’s Role in Society: Puritan Era vs 2017 Self reliance is defined as reliance on one s own powers and resources rather than those of others. Taking place in the Puritan Era, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter tells the story of Hester Prynne and her crime of adultery, and punishment of public shaming. Puritan Society in the novel, and in real life history, is very different than our society today. Women were the property of the men in their lives. Women who sin, whichRead MoreSocial Role of Women in Society1675 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction The social role which I feel that I occupy and that I am going to focus on in this essay is the one of a women in this society. I believe I have been socialized into this role for numerous reasons. Throughout this paper I will explain how I think I have been socialized into this role. Social Roles; There are a variety of social roles in our society. They have been established since the early years. It is the people within our society that establish and portray these roles in their everydayRead MoreGender Roles : Women And Society897 Words   |  4 Pagesalways wonder how our society would be impacted if women have become gamers. In our society today, men are not the only gamers anymore. In many instances now, one can see women play a game that only men used to play once. Women s participation in gaming has led to several changes in the family and society. Since women now started to play video games, this changes our society as a whole. The question that arises is, since there are women gamers, how does this affect gender roles within our familiesRead MoreThe Role Of Women During The Society969 Words   |  4 PagesThe role of women in society has been constantly changing to meet the times, especially in family settings. In patriarchal societies, women took subordination and secondary roles in heterosexual marriages (day 35 family.) The man of the household was the breadwinner and in charge of everything. Women, who in ancient societies and historically were, and are still considered in some countries, the property of the man, on the other hand, were to do all the labor in the home and take care of the childrenRead MoreThe Roles of Men and Women in a Society967 Words   |  4 PagesThe Roles of Men and Women in a Society There is a complexity in understanding the role of men and women in a society. Scientists and biologists are challenging themselves to explain the mental and behavioral processes of genders. Natalie Angier born and raised in New York writes â€Å"Men, Women, Sex and Darwin† an essay about evolutionary psychology and the misleading perceptions it has women. She focuses on five topics that the theory argues proving them wrong, and using them for support. TheRead MoreThe Changing Role of Women in Society3189 Words   |  13 PagesChanging Role of Women in Society How was the status of woman and their rights represented in western society in the 1600 to early 20th century? For centuries, woman and their rights have been oppressed by the dominance of man. There has been continued struggle for the recognition of woman’s cultural roles and achievements, and for their social and political rights. It was very much a patriarchal society for woman, which hindered or prevented woman from realizing their productive and creative possibilities