Aristophanes denounces the importance of the gods’ influence on the actions of mortals. In the usual tragedy, the gods play an extremely important role towards the actions of the mortal characters. Through fear of the alternative and examples of the past, Athenians carried out their everyday lives under the guidance of the gods’ wishes. Aristophanes challenges the audience, and Greek culture as a whole, by offering a different view on the answers and directions of life, than that of the gods. He denounces the parables and explanations to answers in life that involve the gods. Instead he explains that such things as the aerial whirlwind, and especially the clouds, are the reasoning behind all of natures actions. On the surface these comments were seen as a mockery and very humorous. Underlying this humor is a scary truth, most likely ignored by the congregations witnessing this play.
How many times has a character in a tragedy been so willing to contradict the gods? Dominant characters like Creon and Prometheus have blatantly disobeyed the gods. The alternative explanations serve a hidden truth in the hearts of many of the Athenian people. This truth is always again repressed by the end of each play, tragedy or comedy; because their was too great of a fear to upset the higher beings. Aristophanes, although he wrote in 420 BC, parallels much of Greek society with that of today’s. He disrupts the audiences’ comfort through covertly making accusations towards the credibility of Athenians as whole-hearted people. He places them on a plane with people of today’s society who seek skeptical methods of living. Universal codes, among advanced civilizations, set standards to be strictly adhered to, however Aristophanes totally contradicted these guidelines in The Clouds. Strepsiades, an example of an every day Athenian citizen, seems to seek the untouchable wisdom of the great Thinker, Socrates. On the outside, this plan is worthy of admiration and nobility.
The Essay on Tragic Man Tragedy Sewall Character
The question of what defines tragedy has been an issue addressed by several different literary minds since the day of Aristotle, the first person to define tragedy. When Aristotle first defined tragedy he believed tragedy was something reserved for a person of noble stature. He said this person was eventually brought down by a tragic flaw, hence the term tragedy. Robert Silverberg agrees with ...
As his motive is more closely studied, it unfolds that he is solely interested in Socrates’ studies in order to escape his debts and obligations by sharpening his tongue. Although the beginning of the play is comical because it offers ridiculous thoughts on the answers to life’s questions, there is soon a sort of ironic overtone as the comedy becomes a concealed generalization of the audience it was written to amuse. A commentary on the play written by Ian Johnston states, ‘increasingly numbers of the audience who were laughing so comfortably at Socrates [his bizarre answers] only a few minutes before are now being forced to laugh at themselves or their neighbors.’ The depiction brought about by Aristophanes, towards general Athenians is that they are self centered, consumed by greed, and oblivious to the appropriate standards by which to lead one’s life. This allegation far surpasses the goals of a comedy, to ease the severity and seriousness sometimes associated with the Greek society, and to serve as humorous relief from the tragedies; however, the criticism only deepens the severity and stunts the humor, although the audience is probably still laughing anyway. Through this method, Aristophanes provokes laughter as a way to cover up an unpleasant truth which is mutually kept silent by all of society. Aristophanes also sets Athenians equal to people today in their flaws in family proceedings. A major difference between Greek comedies and tragedies can be seen in the prestige of the main character. Every tragedy has a tragic hero, usually with marvelous attributes and out of the ordinary status in society.
The prominent character in Aristophanes’ play is a routine and stereotypical common member of society. He has the same troubles in parenting as most adults do. Strepsiades is unable to control his growing son, Phidippides. He does not support the hopes and interests of his offspring, and to make matters worse, he is overwhelmed by the debt which Phidippides has invoked through his preoccupation with horses. Like any parent trying to keep up with and please the latest wish of their child, Strepsiades is frantic towards his son and finds himself in over his head in debt because he tried so hard to satisfy his boy. While father and son are lying next to each other at night, son is dreaming of horses while father is going crazy over his son’s obsession and the repercussions it had on himself, ‘It’s your own father you are driving to death… to ruin.
The Essay on Caso Scott and Sons Company
O. M. Scott and Sons Company is a business in the lawn care and garden product industry. Currently, the company is reviewing the results of 1961 and preparing plans for the 1962 selling season. Sales were increasing and so is net income except for the year 1960 to 1961. he company is facing a good economy as evidenced by the increase in sales. Industry is investing in research and development of ...
Come! what debt comes next… Ah! wretched boy! it’s my money that you are making roll. My creditors have distrained on my goods.'(Aristophanes, pg.1) Strepsiades is like any flustered father who is trying to please his son and one day finds himself in over his head for a misguided cause. As much as a parent tries to control their child, they give in, giving the child power. Even Strepsiades’ marriage seems to have reached one of formality because of his son’s interest in horses. He mentions that it caused much quarreling because she supports his hobby, while he doesn’t care so much.
Marriages enter conflict and sometime never find their way out because of children and the complexity they bring. And so in order to release himself and his son from these debt quickly, Strepsiades seeks normally shunned methods, which are not good lessons to teach your child. The Chorus in the play comments on the feelings Strepsiades seems to have when he realizes he is in too deep and has taught his son these abnormal schemes: ‘Whither does the passion of evil lead! here is a perverse old man, who wants to cheat his creditors; but some mishap, which will speedily punish this rogue for his shameful schemings, cannot fail to overtake him from to-day. For a long time he has been burning to have his son know how to fight against all justice and right and to gain even the most iniquitous causes against his adversaries every one. I think this wish is going to be fulfilled. But mayhap, will he soon wish his son were dumb rather!'(Aristophanes, pg.30) Strepsiades admission to his wrongdoing and slight disbelief of the gods, causes him to drastically repent by burning down the Thinkery. In the end he returns to the norm of a greek citizen, when he realizes his stupidity and is sorrowful for ever doubting the power of the gods.
The Essay on God Son Father Relationship
Exegetical Essay on Matthew 11: 25-30 This passage opens up with the phrase, 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. This speaks of two kinds of people in his prayer: the 'wise' - arrogant in their own knowledge - and the 'little children' - humbly open to receive the truth of God's Word. ...
Aristophanes defiantly misrepresents an icon like Socrates as comical, atheistic, and consumed by ideas of self-interest, which is contradictory to the Socrates seen in Plato’s Apology or Phaedo. The very accusations brought upon him in the Apology, that he was teaching youth unacceptable doctrines and that he did not believe in the traditional gods, were portrayed in his role in The Clouds. Socrates, in Phaedo was seen, even by his jailer as, ‘the noblest an gentlest and best of all who ever came.'(Plato, pg.114) The comical character of Socrates would later turn out to not be a teacher of nonsense rhetoric. He was anything but a representative of achieving material success or only striving for self interest. Although he was good at it with his reverse psychology of persuasion, he believed in the power of the mind not of the tongue. He also served as a firm believer in the gods and was anything but an atheist. In The Clouds Socrates says, ‘Zeus! what Zeus! Are you mad? There is no Zeus.'(Aristophanes, pg.10) While in the Apology he explains, ‘no greater good has ever happened to the state than my service to the Gods.'(Plato, pg.10) There are some actual ironic similarities between the Socrates of old and new.
In The Clouds he represented a ridiculously misguided outcast whose comic actions are worthy of laughter, which later on in the Apology would prove the same where he was depicted as an abnormal member of society whom should be scorned and laughed at. Also, in the Apology, Socrates and the other great teaching elite, were suspected of accepting money for their skills which could have place him in a category with his portrayal in The Clouds, but he was able to dispel those rumors in his defense. Throughout his comedy, The Clouds, Aristophanes ridicules aspects of Greek society when he destroys tradition by denouncing the importance of the gods’ influence on the actions of mortals, and he unknowingly parallels Greek society with today’s. Disguised by laughter, he digs deep into the truth by which citizens of Greek and future cultures will abide. Aristophanes challenges humans’ strength in belief systems, fortitude of character, and ability to deal with the complexity of parenting. He also defiantly misrepresents an icon like Socrates as comical, atheistic, and consumed by ideas of self interest, which is contradictory to the Socrates seen in Plato’s Apology or Phaedo. However different from each other, each writing contained a role for Socrates, which symbolized the messages trying to be conveyed in each.
The Essay on Socrates And Plato God Believed Famous
Socrates and Plato: Significant Philosophers of Ancient Greece "The Unexamined Life is not Worth Living." This is the famous quote proclaimed by Socrates, a controversial philosopher of ancient Athens. He believed that anyone could lead a significant and meaningful existence by examining his or her own life and ideas very thoroughly. (Soccio) Socrates was wise in respect to the fact that he never ...
So even if the name is alike, the ultimate purpose of a good character was met..
