Ok, so I don’t really like blogging. I’ve never been good at keeping up with one and although I have good intentions life gets busy and it’s easy to forget. I don’t have a blog of my own for that reason. The second issue is having something good enough to write about. (Which I find to be the case with this blog most of the time.) You think it would be easy to have something profound and interesting to say about the books we’re reading but honestly I find some of them really hard to get into. The Illiad, for example is one of those books that I read, but had a hard time getting into it. I have thought about what I want to write, but keep drawing a blank. I don’t think that just simply writing down what we talk about in class is good enough. Just sharing what we talk about in class shows I was listening, but doesn’t show any proof of engaging in the text. Maybe I’m wrong, and if that’s the case, please let me know. Maybe I'm making it harder for myself than it needs to be. But I’m going to keep trying to find meaningful connections in the readings and do my best to keep up with the blogs.
One interesting thought I’ve had the past week is the definition of fairness. Fairness is not treating everyone the same, but giving everyone what they need. This thought kind of connects to the Illiad because Agamemnon and Achilles whole fight starts over fairness. Agamemnon thought it wasn’t fair that he had to give his lady back, but he did for the good of the people. Even though he did a good thing, he was still upset about it and felt that he had earned his prize and deserved something to replace Chryseis. “Find me then some prize that shall be my own, lest I only among the Argives go without…” (Pg. 204) To make it fair he took Briseis from Achilles to make up for his loss. Achilles then cried out that it was unfair, and was sorely offended. “Now the son of Atreus, powerful Agamemnon, has dishonoured me, since he has taken away my prize and keeps it.” (Pg. 209) He felt he had earned his prize and not only that but that he did more work for it than Agamemnon did. “Always the greater part of the painful fighting is the work of my hands; but when the time comes to distribute the booty yours is far the greater reward, and I with some small thing yet dear to me go back to my ships when I am weary with fighting.” (Pg. 205) It’s just interesting to think about how people always think things have to be even to be fair, but true fairness is a world where everyone’s needs are met. (Word Count 482)
For anyone reading these blogs not in our class, the readings come from the Longman Anthology of World Literature: The Ancient World and the Medieval Era Edited by David Damrosch and David L. Pike.
ReplyDeleteNot to focus on what we're not really supposed to but I think the blogs are pretty fun I do sometimes feel that I shouldn't speak up in class so I have something to write though. But in regards to your view on fairness, it kind of seemed to me that they were doing it more for pride than to be fair.
ReplyDeleteThis is just fine as far as how to blog.
ReplyDeleteI think you have an interesting point about fairness. My kids will frequently make the same kind of complaint. It seems that it's not about real objective fairness so much as it is about fairness as I see it. I chose to go to grad school and sink all this time and money into getting a degree but I whine about how unfair it is that I'm just eking out a living instead of thriving. It's not fair. But a guy whose putting in the hours at a mechanics shop or on construction might think it's very unfair that I get to just sit around and talk about books all day and get paid for it. Sometimes, fairness can be very relative.