Medea Journal 1

The chorus in Medea differs significantly from that of Oedipus. The chorus of Medea offers much more insight to the situation of Medea and asks her many questions. One example of all the questions they ask Medea is on pg. 44, line 359 - 361, where they say, "Whom will you turn to? Where will you turn? What country, what stranger, what home for a haven? Who will receive you?". They seem to care about Medea's situation a lot more than the chorus of Oedipus, which seems to be narrating the thoughts of the people and their own problems. Medea also reveals to the chorus much more than Oedipus reveals to his chorus. The chorus of Medea also uses a lot of rhyming when asking questions, "What yearning for love on a bed of delight Could make you hurry to death, the night?" (Pg. 38, Line 152-153). This seems to add to the curiosity the chorus of Medea, for it sometimes seems as if they are telling a kind of riddle.

Oedipus Journal 5

Sophocles, throughout his play of "Oedipus the King", is able to arouse pity and fear in his audience through the structure of his plot. One way Sophocles is able to do this is by the path his story follows. When Oedipus consults the oracle at Delphi, it tells him that he is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. He attempts at escaping this fate of his by traveling away from who he thought was his father and goes to Thebes, where he defeats the Sphinx and becomes king. On his way though, he runs into King Laius and kills him, who, unbenounced to him, is his true father. This makes the crowd pity him and fear the situation. They pity him because Oedipus' hard decision to get away from Polybus and Corinth and travel to an alien land only ends in him killing his true father. This also evokes fear, because it shows how things may not always be the way they truly seem in life. When it was later revealed that Polybus was not his true father, he begins to worry, and the audience pities him for his misfortune and his emotional struggles. When the prophecy is finally brought to light by both Jocasta and Oedipus, the audience experiences fear because they realize that fate has had the final say in the character's lives and there was nothing that could be done to escape it. Also, later in the play, when Oedipus gouges his eyes out with a needle and Jocasta commits suicide, the series of events evokes pity in the audience, for they are able to see the emotional struggles and pains Oedipus now is going through after everything in his life has turned out so terrible.

Oedipus Journal 4

Sophocles uses various images throughout his play to help create a better understanding of his main theme. The image I chose to do was that of light.

"O god - all come true, all burst to light! O light - now let me look my last on you!" (1306-1308)

"But now for all your power Time, all-seeing Time has dragged you to the light..." (1340-1341)

The imagery of light is used to show how new facts are starting to reveal themselves to those in the play, especially Oedipus. Light is shown as truth, and truth has finally been reached by Oedipus after time has uncovered what has happened in Oedipus' life. He also tells how how it is the last time he would look on the light, showing how the complete truth has finally come out and there is nothing more to reveal about Oedipus. Nothing could stop this uncovering of the truth because time was eventually going to force the truth out of the situation, even given the fact that Oedipus was incredibly powerful, showing how the truth may be uncovered no matter what is done and can be done so to anyone.

Oedipus Journal 3

Sophocles establishes gender roles that contrast the typical man and the typical woman. With the confrontation between Oedipus and Jocasta, he shows how women should take a less involved role in a relationship. Oedipus is shown as the one who is interogating Jocasta, while Jocasta obeys him and answers all his questions while he also tries figuring out what happened. Sophocles most likely intends for Jocasta to be an example of the ideal greek woman, obeying their husbands and telling the truth. When both genders speak to each other, it seems to be very to the point and full of facts, showing how there must be a level of trust and honesty between both genders. Oedipus' actions seem to be frowned upon by sophocles because he seems to be portraying Oedipus in a negative light because of his bad judgement in killing Laius and his quick tempered thinking. Creon, on the other hand, seems to be the ideal greek man because he listens to rational thinking and believes in the strength of words rather than the strenght of actions.

Oedipus Journal 2

At the start, Oedipus seems like a very proficient leader. He seems to truly want the killer brought to justice by all means. He wishes the best for Thebes, and springs into action, trying to find out who the killer of Laius is and where he is at. He seems to be very knowledgeable as he seems to talk in a very intelligent way and uses words which seem as if he were very intelligent. As the story progresses, Oedipus seems to become harsh and abuse his power. He starts yelling at Tiresias because he wont give information and seems to only care of his own well being. He also begins to use words like "scum" and "spurn", a lower level of vocabulary than before, and becomes demanding. He also begins to become selfish, when Tiresias tells him he is the killer, he refuses to listen to save his own life from death or exile.

Tiresias seems to be very wise and initially does not want to hurt others, like Oedipus when they are speaking of the killer of Laius. He does not strike out unless struck upon, such as when Oedipus begins to yell at him for not telling him the truth. He uses the power of words, not actions, to help his cause.

Creon seems to be less powerful than Oedipus, yet offers good words of advice. He seems to be the exact opposite of what Oedipus makes him out to be. He seems to be wise and kind-hearted, and uses words to act rather than actions.

Oedipus Journal 1

Pg. 159: Oedipus is at the royal house of Thebes and is absorbing the terrible sights he sees after a plague has hit his city and many people are dying. A priest has come to talk to him.
Pg. 160: The priest talks of all the city of Thebes plights and reveals how the crops are bad, many people are dying, as well as their cattle.
Pg. 161: The priest asks Oedipus to help and call on the gods as well to help out the people of Thebes.
Pg. 162: Oedipus tells the priest that he too is suffering. He has sent Creon to Delphi to try and see what they can do to save the city.
Pg. 163: Creon has arrived, crowned, and with supposedly good news. Oedipus tells him to share his findings with all the priests as well.
Pg. 164: To recieve the Apollo's mercy, the city of Thebes must find the ones who killed the former king, Laius and seek revenge.
Pg. 165: Creon and Oedipus wonder where they could find their killer and how to track him down.
Pg. 166: Creon talks of how the one witness said that King Laius was cut down by thieves, but they believe the witness was paid off by conspirators. The Sphinx called the search for the thieves off.
Pg. 167: Oedipus decides to help in the search to find the thieves.
Pg. 168: The chorus talks of the different gods and ask for help from them.
Pg. 169: The chorus speaks of how Thebes is falling and the terrible things happening to it. They want the gods to help.
Pg. 170: The chorus portrais death as a god which all other gods hate, and in so calls all the other gods to help Thebes by destroying this god of death.

Literary Techniques:

Metaphor
-"Here are boys, still too weak to fly from the nest,..."(Sophocles 16-17)
-Compares the people of Thebes to helpless baby birds which cannot fly. This shows how weak the city is and needs Oedipus' leadership to help them.

Metaphor
-"[...]our ship pitches wildly, cannot lift her head from the depths, the red waves of death...Thebes is dying." (Sophocles 29-31)
-Portrays the city of Thebes as a ship which is struggling to keep afloat. The "waves of death" are engulfing the city.

Personification
-"And black Death luxuriates in the raw, wailing miseries of Thebes." (Sophocles 37-38)
-Death is seen as an evil person who loves suffering. While Thebes is in shambles and people are dying, Death enjoys watching everything unfold in the city.

Simile
-"Thebes like a great army dying and there is no sword of thought to save us, no and the fruits of our famous earth, they will not ripen[...]" (Sophocles 194-196)
-Shows how Thebes is defenseless against death and cannot use their minds to overcome the plague. Shows their dependence on god. Also talks of the plague's strife on people and their food.

Final Draft For We (leave some suggestions if you want)

Society of the Harmonious Fist
IB- JR English
Mrs. Wecker
April 2, 2009

The Balance of Civil Liberties and Security

Throughout the world today, many countries have decided to restrict the civil liberties of their people in order to gain security. Although people want to remain emotionally and physically safe from any kind of attack on them, balance of their civil liberties and security is essential. This idea is presented by Yevgeny Zamyatin in his book We as well. Zamyatin uses the symbols of glass and The Great Operation, as well as the conflict between the Mephi and The One State, to warn against the restriction of civil liberties in time of conflict for additional security. Instead, people need to be able to balance the protection of their civil liberties with security.
Zamyatin uses the symbol of glass to reveal the restriction of civil liberties the people of The One State face due to the conflict which has resulted from the 200 years war. The glass serves as an example of how the society, in a time of conflict, gives up its civil liberties in order to feel secure. During D-503’s Fourth Entry, he talks of how, “At all other times we live behind our transparent walls that seem woven of gleaming air – we are always visible, always washed with light […] Besides, this makes much easier the difficult and noble task of the Guardians” (Zamyatin 18). D-503 talks of how all the citizens of The One State are always under constant surveillance, fearing that their security will be destroyed if someone’s civil liberties are given priority. This constant surveillance makes the Guardian’s jobs easier because without privacy, it is very hard to conceal things from The One State and the Guardians. Privacy is a civil liberty which should not be sacrificed during a time of conflict. Later in the book, when D-503 is talks about the transparency of the glass and its lack of privacy is during his Nineteenth Entry, where he says, “Through the sun-drenched walls I can see far, both right and left and down, the empty rooms suspended in the air, repeating themselves as in a mirror” (Zamyatin 108). The ability for people to see into other’s rooms removes the privacy of individuals, and thus removes a civil liberty for the addition of security. Also, Zamyatin uses the word “through” to convey a helpless feeling, knowing that people were unable to hide anything from others. This complete lack of privacy allows for The One State to constantly spy on people while still offering complete protection to its citizens. Has always been essential civil liberty, and The One State lacks any sort of balance between this civil liberty and the security represented by the glass. Zamyatin also uses the symbol of the Great Operation to show how the civil liberties of citizens can be eliminated for the sake of happiness and security in the most extreme of manners. When D-503 is speaking to a patient, the patient says, “Absolute happiness should, of course, carry a minus sign- the divine minus” (Zamyatin 184). The patient uses a euphemism, in the creole of the One State, that could mean absolute happiness and personal freedom are mutually exclusive. The minus sign in this euphemism represents the lack of personal liberty (more specifically imagination). Absolute happiness is the desired state which all individuals strive to achieve. Thus, in order to achieve the desirable state of happiness, individuals within a society must surrender personal liberty. Zamyatin reuses the symbol of the Great Operation later in the book. After the Mephi’s failed attempt to seize the Integral; “[…] everyone was to report for the operation” (Zamyatin 206). The quote uses the word “everyone” in order to emphasize the fact that no citizen can choose to escape the Great Operation. This passage also uses very forceful verb choice, such as “was to”, in order to emphasize the fact that citizens cannot decide whether or not to have the surgery performed, having lost this right. In conjunction, this shows that citizens have completely surrendered all personal liberties to the state for the sake of happiness and internal security, dangerously upsetting the balance between liberty and security.
Zamyatin creates a conflict between the one state and the mephi in order to offer the idea that societies have a scale which needs to balance security and civil liberties. The conflict Zamyatin creates is evident in the word choice used by D-503, a member of the one state, while he describes members of the mephi. D-503 has just entered the world outside the green wall, “In the clearing-people… Or-I don’t know what to call them-perhaps, more precisely, beings” (Zamyatin 155). Not knowing how to classify them, D-503 has just described these fellow humans as “beings” rather than as people. D-503 has just set himself, and members of the One State, apart as superior because they are people, separating the two societies. This passage displays a conflict between them, since D-503’s society would classify the other as less than them. Zamyatin attempts to reveal this idea of balance in society by creating a scale, and depending on what is happening in the society, the scale may tip towards security or towards civil liberties.D-503 has just announced his opinion on madness after someone in the audience regarded the rebellion as madness, “‘Yes, yes, madness! The sooner the better! And everyone must lose his mind, everyone must! The sooner the better! It is essential-I know it’” (Zamyatin 158). Members of the one state are taught that security and protection are essential for humans to survive, or else the people would stand up for individual rights rather than their security. This thought is imbued in their minds, it has become part of them, and D-503 is stating that the people must lose their minds in order to rebel against the one state, sacrificing security for civil liberty. Zamyatin attempts to communicate the idea that, in order to fight for liberty, one must give up the need for too much security, which assists in the idea that security and civil liberty need a balance both equal and opposite. This idea of a balance scale contributes to a warning against having a totally secure and protected society, since civil rights would need to be abandoned or heavily restricted. Instead, Zamyatin hopes for us to realize there must be a balance between both civil liberties and security.
The balance between civil liberties and security are essential to a society’s well-being. Zamyatin shows this throughout We by using the symbols of glass, The Great Operation, and the conflict between the two societies present in his book. He urges people to stand up for their civil liberties even in times of conflict where they could be restricted in the name of security.

We Rough Draft Paragraph

Zamyatin uses the symbol of glass to reveal the restriction of civil liberties the people of The One State face due to the conflict which has resulted from the 200 years war. The glass is a an example of how the society, in a time of conflict, gives up its civil liberties in order to feel secure. During D-503’s Fourth Entry, he talks of how, “At all other times we live behind our transparent walls that seem woven of gleaming air – we are always visible, always washed with light […] Besides, this makes much easier the difficult and noble task of the Guardians” (Zamyatin 18). D-503 talks of how everyone in The One State is always under constant surveillance, fearing that their security will be destroyed if someone’s civil liberties are given priority. This constant surveillance makes the Guardian’s jobs easier because without privacy, it is very hard to conceal things from The One State and the Guardians. Privacy is a civil liberty which should not be sacrificed during a time of conflict. Another point within the book where D-503 is talking of the transparency of the glass and its lack of privacy is during his Nineteenth Entry where he says, “Through the sun-drenched walls I can see far, both right and left and down, the empty rooms suspended in the air, repeating themselves as in a mirror” (Zamyatin 108). The ability for people to see into other’s rooms removes the privacy of individuals, and thus removes a civil liberty for the addition of security. Also, Zamyatin uses the word “through” to convey a helpless feeling, knowing that people were unable to hide anything from others. This complete lack of privacy allows for The One State to constantly spy on people while still offering complete protection to its citizens. Privacy is an essential civil liberty, and The One State lacks any sort of balance between this privacy and the security represented by the glass.