Sexist Views in The Bacchae :: Bacchae Essays

Sexist Views in The Bacchae Throughout my life, I've heard the phrases, "Women shouldn't serve in the Armed Forces; no, I wouldn't want a female president; a woman's place is in the home." Even though our society is drifting from these extremely sexist views, opinions like these are still widely held. Women were mistreated much the same in the ancient Greek civilizations. The views of our society, regarding the social and sexual roles of women, are mirrored in the ancient Greek tragedy, The Bacchae. The idea that a woman's place is in the home is all too common in our culture, just take into consideration the Southern Baptist Convention's declaration stating wives must be submissive to their husbands. This belief was held strongly in the Greek civilization as well. A woman's function was to bear and raise children, cook, clean and care for any other needs the family may have. They weren't entitled to the basic freedoms they deserved. This intolerant view was illustrated in The Bacchae when Pentheus, in a rage, was ranting on about how all the women have deserted their homes to run wild through the dark woods on the mountain (pg 19, ln 17). The imagery associated with the woods is black and evil, yet when Pentheus speaks of the home, he claims the women have "deserted," as if they were wrongfully leaving their duty. Obviously, he believes the home is the proper place for a woman. Another very common misconception about women is that they were created for the pleasure of man. The idea that a woman's body was not her own, merely a possession to be dominated by her master as he wished, is also present in The Bacchae. The instances where the Maenads drank themselves into insensibility then crawled into the bushes to lie down before lusting men shows what lack of control these women had over their bodies. They were continuously dominated by the male god, Dionysus, and the fact that noone spoke against this behavior as being morally wrong only supports the idea that women are objects. It's absurd viewpoints like these that lead to modern day rape and sexual abuse. Yes, the sexist views demonstrated in The Bacchae belittle the social and sexual roles of woman, and yes, they may be reflected in our society today, but I do believe we're progressing above those close-minded, ignorant ways of thinking.

Analysis of Alfred M. Green’s Speech

Persuasion is the influence of beliefs, attitudes, actions, intentions and other such things; it is a process aimed at a person’s or group’s attitude or behavior towards some event, idea, object, or person. Albert Green cleverly uses connection and inspiration to persuade his fellow African Americans to join the ranks of the military. He connects with them by not only using unifying diction but also by appealing to their emotions, namely by speaking of their common historical plights, their â€Å"sires† or fathers.Green, instead of separating himself as the speaker, from his audience, and singling out the individuals making up the audience, in attempt and hope of persuading each and every one of them separately through the appeal of logic, as done commonly in the execution of persuasive speeches, uses unifying diction to connect with his fellow African Americans. He does so by using such phrasing as â€Å"we† instead of â€Å"you† or â€Å"I† and â€Å"ours† instead of â€Å"yours. † This simple change in word choice makes his tone sound sincere and genuine.Through the use of the word â€Å"brethren,† Green is able to makes religious connection. â€Å"Brethren† is the formal word used for brother in many religious scriptures predating the 12th century. Green hopes to connect with them at an emotional as well as spiritual level through use of commonly labeled as religious diction that is familiar to the African American people of this time, of whom a majority are highly religious Christians. He also connects with his audience through references to their common history, concerning their â€Å"sires† or fathers, dating back to the times of Washington and the Revolutionary War.He brings to light the failures â€Å"to bring [them] into recognition as citizens† and abuse caused by the fugitive-slave laws, Dred Scott decisions, indictments for treason†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Green does not hide these acts of humiliation, injustice and abuse; he claims that it is their â€Å"duty †¦ is not to cavil over past grievances. † He tells his fellow â€Å"brethren† that they should not keep grudges over the past for it has already happened and cannot be altered.Instead, he pushes and attempts to persuade them through inspiration, to take action and charge of the present and change the future for the better. To truly inspire another, one must appeal to their deep emotion and character ad Green does in his speech. Green makes reference to one’s honor and values as he explains they â€Å"may again give evidence to the world of the bravery and patriotism of a race in whose hearts burn the love of country of freedom, and of civil and religious toleration. Green speaks of â€Å"duty† when telling them they must â€Å"endeavor to hope for the future and improve the present auspicious movement† to make new their â€Å"claims upon the justice and ho nor of the Republic,† nor let the â€Å"honor and glory achieved by [their] fathers be blasted or sullied by a want of heroism. † What Green means by this is that he and his fellow â€Å"brethren† should not sulk over the â€Å"rights and wrongs† of the past but instead take action to form and enforce better for the present and upcoming future. Green wants them

Essay about A Sociological Study of Timothy Mcveigh

Joseph Jordan Sociology 3/19/2006 A Sociological Study of Deviance: Oklahoma City Bombing The Oklahoma City Bombing was a very special event in American history, it was the biggest act of domestic terrorism until 9/11. The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which was an office complex in Oklahoma City, was bombed and 168 people were killed. Timothy McVeigh, the subject of my paper, was behind the bombings, and later executed. On April 15, 1995 Timothy McVeigh rented a Ryder truck in Herington, Kansas under the alias Robert D. Kling. On April 16, he drove to Oklahoma City with fellow conspirator Terry Nichols where he parked a getaway vehicle several blocks away from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. After†¦show more content†¦He wanted to get vengeance for the FBI/ATF’s firebombing of a ranch in Waco, Texas, that killed 79 civilians. WHY DID TIMOTHY MCVEIGH DO THIS? Timothy Mcveigh’s personality can be explained sociologically as being both ritualism and rebellion. Timothy McVeigh was part of what can be seen as the pinnacle of conformism during the years before the bombing, the military. McVeigh, by all accounts, was a soldier who won praise by taking orders very well and following all the rules, his medals won during the Gulf War prove this. However, like many other people who join the military (gang-members, racial nationalists, survivalists) Timothy McVeigh had perhaps not-so â€Å"patriotic† motives for joining. Nowadays people join the military for reasons other than because they believe in a countries value system, people like McVeigh join for the military training and knowledge of things like explosives, survival, discipline, etc. They in a way use the system against itself. At face value Timothy McVeigh did follow the means towards achieving societies goals, but he wanted nothing to do with the ends. He saw himself as a freedom fighter whose destiny was to overthrow the US Government. McVeigh, before joining the military, already had a long history in the survivalist movement. The Survivalist movement is well known by the federal government for its anti-government activities and beliefs, McVeigh shared these beliefs and was set off after theShow MoreRelatedIs There a Fundamental Difference between Religious Terrorism and Secular Terrorism?3859 Words   |  15 Pageshuge and consequent envy may have prodded desire to extinguish the West and knock Western superiority. In a similar way, Critical Security Studies (CSS) argues that much of the rage and violence of Islamic terrorism is a result of Western treatment of Islam. Using Frankfort Critical Theory, as seen through the lens of the Welsh School Critical Security Studies, Torros and Guning (2012) (in Jackson, Richard, 2012) ) suggest that terrorism is a socially constructed term that may be used to serve political