The Role and Structure of Greek Tragedy in Philip Roth’s Eli the Fanati

The Role and Structure of Greek Tragedy in Philip Roth’s Eli the Fanatic When one’s in pain—physical, mental, or emotional—one always believes it is worse than everyone else’s. Yet when an acquaintance bemoans a bad day, one still manages to wave it off: it could not be worse than one’s own pain. Even if it is a past pain and there are only scars, those scars are tenderer than the friend’s current sores. Individuals forget that anguish can be shared and another’s intervention can diminish it. This theme has been around for millennia and was particularly explored in the works of Greek tragedians. In Eli, the Fanatic Philip Roth employs structural and thematic elements of Greek tragedy to illustrate that human beings can be responsible for each other’s suffering. One of the essential elements of Greek tragedy, that of the chorus, can be filled in by Ted, Shirley, and even Miriam. They are the residents of Woodenton who call Eli. Traditionally, the chorus plays an active role and can be a sounding and advising board for the protagonist. Ted in particular tries to advise Eli and, like the customary chorus, he represents the masses, the people, in this particular case the town of Woodenton. As Ted informs Eli, â€Å"The Jewish members of the community appointed me, Artie, and Harry to -2 see what could be done† (276). The Greek chorus, in Greek tragedy, represents the masses and often serves to counterpoint the protagonist, and Ted’s near-fanatical grudge against the Yeshiva certainly counterpoints with Eli’s growing benevolence toward them. In Roth’s context, the residents of Woodenton, the Chorus, also serve as a counterpoint to Eli’s guilt. Eli becomes concerned over the Greenie’s happiness a... ...s Eli who, as he awakens to the laws of Gods, also becomes aware that just as there are laws beyond those he preaches, there is pain beyond his own. Greek tragedies were successful in that they taught viewers how to extend their compassion, and Roth duplicates this motive. He suggests that if one is willing to accept the laws of God, then one can also help others. It is an idealistic message perhaps, but when one is suffering, one wants to believe that others are concerned, even if they don’t physically share the pain. -7 Works Cited McDonald, Marianne. â€Å"Seamus Heaney’s Cure at Troy: Politics and Poetry.† Classics Ireland. 1996. University College Dublin. 13 Feb. 2006. ssics/classicsinfo/96/McDonald96.html> Roth, Philip. Goodbye, Columbus. NY: Vintage International, 1959.

Cell Phones and Teenagers Essay

Driving and talking on a cell phone is a major distraction and possible cause of car crashes. Cell phones and new technology is becoming the cause of more and more deadly crashes, especially when it is a teen driver. There were 3,092 deaths in distraction-related accidents in 2010, but the number is probably higher. Talking on a cell phone while driving can make a young driver’s reaction time as slow as that of a 70-year-old. While teenagers are texting, they spend about 10 percent of the time outside the driving lane they’re supposed to be in. About 6,000 deaths and a half a million injuries are caused by distracted drivers every year. Each year, 21% of deadly car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 was because they were on their cell phones. This result has been expected to grow 4% every year. Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) is an organization all over the country and is a recognized group that started out 30 years ago with a mission to prevent drinking while driving. In 1997, they changed their name because they wanted increase their focus into all areas of negative behaviors such as texting while driving, road rage, and teen crashes in general. The National Organization for Youth Safety (NOYS) is another countrywide organization that promotes empowerment and leadership for teens to take action and help save lives among their fellow road companions.

Conflict Between Two Cultures, The Chinese American And...

In American Born Chinese there is a constant struggle between two cultures, the Chinese American and the white culture. Their interaction yields constructive and destructive results in terms of their cultural integration. The characters can be separated into two distinct categories, empathizers and antagonists. Empathizers are the individuals that allow other cultures to exist freely within their city in the United States. They make no attempts to suppress other’s cultural identity, instead, they make decisions that promote the coexistence of multiple cultures. For example, when Jin Wang went out on a date with a white girl this would represent two cultures actively working to coexist (Yang 164). In this case, the girl would be considered an empathizer. On the other side of the spectrum, antagonists actively attempt to suppress cultures dissimilar to their own. They go out of their way to force conformity through the use of bullying and exclusion. Peter Garbinsky is an exampl e of an antagonist. His abuse of Jin Wang catalyzed Jin’s transition to conformity rather than identifying with his own culture. Yang represents both of these groups through their appearance in the graphic novel, more specifically their eyebrows. Empathizers are given two distinct eyebrows while the antagonists possess a unibrow. The unibrows represent our progress, or lack of progress, as a society towards cultural acceptance. Referring to the examples above, Jin’s date was given two eyebrows whileShow MoreRelatedThe Conflict Between Waverly And Her Mother1001 Words   |  5 PagesHowever, the conflict between Waverly and her mother is very realistic, due to the nature that many mothers and daughters have different views which causes disagreements. The people of Chinese descent have their Chinese heritage, but struggle to keep true to their traditions while living around American culture. The major conflict in the story, the clash of different cultures, leads to the weakening of the relationship between the two characters. For example, when Waverly reenters the apartment afterRead MoreThe Is My Heart And My Soul, America, My Mind And Spirit, By Leah Lee Essay1301 Words   |  6 Pagesone’s awareness of one’s own culture and a recognition of the social group to which one belongs in practice.† (117). Everyone has an identity that was created by culture. Everyone have a culture that they were born into, sometimes with a mix of two or three cultures. Each culture has different values and traditions that conflict a person’s decision in life. However, having different cultures make one interesting to learn about and explore the cultures. Cultures define my life with romance, traditionsRead MoreAsian American Identities Of Asian Americans Essay1380 Words   |  6 Pagesfact that Asian Americans have been in Hollywood for decades, there are very few positive representations of them in film. More often than not, theyâ⠂¬â„¢ve been depicted as stereotypical caricatures, and more specifically, as foreigners who can’t speak grammatically correct English. Moreover, the negative representations of Asian Americans in film has perpetuated certain misconceptions about their culture. Chan is Missing (1982) calls for more genuine representations of Asian American identities throughRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing Essay1571 Words   |  7 Pages It was third grade that I discovered that I wasn’t white. Don’t get me wrong, I was aware that I was Asian. I had a different culture at home from my friends. They didn’t eat rice nearly as often as I did. They didn’t see chopsticks as just another utensil for the table, but as an exotic tool. They didn’t speak Chinese at home. But race was never something that mattered in elementary school. People weren t black, white, yellow. They were classmates, friends. That is, until Peter arrived. It wasRead MoreFlower Drum Song By O. Y. Lee1468 Words   |  6 PagesCarlo Castaneda Professor Clark American Studies 23 November 2015 In Flower Drum Song Flower Drum Song was based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. It was the eighth stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The piece opened in 1958 on Broadway and was subsequently made into a 1961 musical film. The team hired Gene Kelly (famous for Singin’ in the Rain) to make his debut as a stage director with the musical and scoured theRead MoreThe Statue Of Liberty At Ellis Island991 Words   |  4 PagesAmerica is a melting pot of culture. The statue of liberty at Ellis Island has welcomed hundreds of thousands of immigrants into this country since the early 1900s. Although the immigrant families knew it was important to learn the American language and American culture, they also wanted to keep alive their rich heritage and pass it onto their children. This was often a struggle as their children attended American schools and picked up on the American culture ways quicker than their elder parentsRe ad MoreThe United States As A Melting Pot Of Nations975 Words   |  4 Pageshomogeneous yet varied culture. Although we come from different ethnic groups, we are usually bound together through our common English language. This becomes an issue, however, when immigrants are not familiar with English and American culture, and instead attempt to keep their own heritage alive. They are often torn between identities through language, the one they speak at home which they are familiar with, and the one they must adhere to in public. This often leads to struggle and conflict on both sidesRead MoreIs Canada A Racially Inclusive Society? Essay1621 Words   |  7 PagesCanada’s development there has always remained an emphasis on promoting the supremacy of the white race, and Anglo-Canadian culture. After further examination of evidence from the courses curriculum, one thing remains prominent in periods of racism, the government. In relation to immigration, periods of conflict, and large government initiatives, it can been seen that the government has used it power to promote white supremacy and ensure the oppression of racialized Canadians. A key challenge the ideaRead MoreConflicts Resolved in the Joy Luck Club1442 Words   |  6 Pagesadequately describes the posing conflicts in Amy Tan’s novel, The Joy Luck Club. The desire to find ones true identity, along with the reconciliation of their Chinese culture and their American surroundings, is a largely significant conflict among the characters of the novel. In the discovery of ones individuality develops a plethora of conflicts involving the theme of a lack of communication and misinterpretation of one another. Although, as time progresses, the various conflicts of the characters in TheRead MoreThe Jade Peony740 Words   |  3 Pagesthe Jade Peony. It is Poh Pohs most valued possession. She passed it to Sek Lung after her death. The Jade Peony symbolized Old Chinas culture and traditions. The Jade Peony was there for Sek Lung to keep his culture in Canada. It reminds all the people in this novel of their cultural roots. ⠝â€" The cat The most significant symbol in this story is the white cat, with its pink eyes. Pink is the color of her spirit. This â€Å"cat† symbolizes that grandmamma. Actually in China, cat is a kind of symbols