Major Questions on World Literature - Essay Example

A Maxim is defined as a saying that is valued and accepted for its own merits. It can be a succinct formulation of a fundamental principle, general truth, or rule of conduct. In other words, “Maxims or proverbs are short easily remembered expression. These are the nuggets of wisdom or apparent wisdom.” One of the maxims of the Analects is, “Thinking in a vacuum is worse than mere rote learning”. Rote learning is memorising or cramming the idea without full attention and comprehension. However, if one is only thinking and is neither giving his thoughts a voice or an action then that sort of thinking is worst .A creative thought process should bear a productive result. A thought, which is devoid of a context or of a tradition, will not produce any fruitful result and will go astray. In another maxim, the basic truth of life is established. "Our greatest glory is in never falling, but in getting up every time we do."It means the glory of an individual lies in learning from his failures and not succumbing to his falls. Every failure comes as a learning milestone and one should learn from his mistakes. This maxim refers to a ‘never give up attitude’ for everyone and teaches us, that the way to success is not an easy way, there are hurdles in the paths and every hurdle should give us the confidence to attain our objective. 2. Hymns often have two major purposes—to praise the power and wisdom of a particular deity and to request that deity's help, protection, or mercy. The following expression praises the supremacy and command of the goddess Night. She hath filled the waste; the Goddess hath filled height and depth: She conquers darkness with her light. Looking about from the sides of her eyes this immortal goddess has filled all the spaces, the depths and the heights and she stems the tide of darkness with her light. Pushing her sister twilight aside the goddess envelopes everything in herself. The expression that seeks deity’s benevolence is - Keep off the she-wolf and the wolf, O Urmya, keep the thief away; Easy be thou for us to pass. The following lines are the prayers; they request the goddess that she must protect us from she wolf and he wolf, as they are the harbingers of malevolent existence. O night goddess, protect the humankind from thieves. As the darkness of the night is palpable and must keep away the evils from her worshippers. As she comes hath set the Dawn her Sister in her place The following lines are the perfect example of imagery, They explain ,as the night draws near that is as the goddess envelopes the world she gradually pushes her sister twilight aside. With all her eyes, the Goddess Night looks forth approaching many a spot: She hath put all her glories on. The night is been personified as goddess of the night and sister of twilight. 3. Tanka and Haiku. Imagination A lonely road to nowhere With you by my side (Haiku) Haiku’s poetry speaks of common things in a common language and reveals uncommon ideas. The above poem evokes emotion of strong desire between the lovers who want to be lonely but in the company of each other. It is a lonely road of togetherness but leading to nowhere. Haiku’s poetry tries to evoke emotions with concrete things as been explained in the lines ‘lonely road to nowhere’. How could I be anything but a swan on a day like this - radiant blue sky, white clouds and the earth cover with snow! (Tanka) Majority of Tanka’s poems express human emotions, most of which deals with gentle, passionate, wistful new or lost love .In the above poem, he uses nature imagery to expresses his desire to become a swan and nothing else. As a Swan, with outstretched wings, he can enjoy the radiance of the clear sky and snow clad earth both together which he cannot do as a human being. An old silent pond. A frog jumps into the pond, splash! Silence again. (Haiku) The following poem is more than a poetic expression. It is a way of looking at nature and finding something deeper than the words could express. This poem expresses a profound reality of life. A splash is a commotion that disturbs the entire array of thoughts but the silence is back again. Certain incidences disturb the regular life progression but the life gets back to normal after the disorders. 4. Muddy Road   “A heavy rain was still falling.Coming around a bend; they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection. “Come on, girl,” said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud. Ekido did not speak again until that night, when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. “We monks don’t go near females,” he told Tanzan, “especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?” “I left the girl there,” said Tanzan. “Are you still carrying her?” The first unexpected example in this parable is Ekido not speaking to Tanzan until that night. He is annoyed and does not realise that the act of Tanzan, is as a simple act of courtesy. The second unexpected instance is Tanzan’s response, I left the girl there,” said Tanzan. “Are you still carrying her? This parable expresses a fundamental nature of human behavior. We attach importance to the idea or act but not to the reality of that moment. The reality of that moment is Tanzan helping the beautiful girl.Nodoubt, they are monks and are prohibited of touching the opposite gender but when he rescues a woman in distress, he is rescuing the humanity in distress. Ekido is so attached to the idea of monastic decorum and behavior that he did not see at all the act of kindness performed by Tanzan. Ekido expresses his anger and Tanzan responds, he has left the girl there and why is Ekido carrying it? It is a thought provoking expression that requires introspection. Tanzan choose to help the girl and went on his way but Ekido made a choice of not helping her but carrying her (mentally). The lesson learnt is, one who doubts the ability of ideas and concepts to distort reality simply needs to think rationally before reaching to any conclusion. 5. The Bhagwad Gita- It is not born, it does not die, having been; it will never not be; unborn, enduring, constant and primordial, it is not killed when the body is killed. This is the belief elaborated in Hinduism about the reincarnation of soul. The soul is never born and it never dies. It is everlasting and primitive and it is undefeatable. The paradox in the following statement is if it is not born and never dies then how is its existence established? The true meaning this stanza relates to is that the soul in essence, is the reflection of spirit.It never undergoes the pangs of birth and death.It remains unchanged birth after births.It is the body that disintegrates and the soul remains eternal. He who sees that all actions are performed in their entirety by Prakriti alone, and not by the Self, is indeed a beholder of truth There is a paradox in the statement. If one, is not performing the actions then who is doing it? The clarification appears in the Bhagwad Gita, It is not the ‘self’ that performs the action. ‘Prakriti’ or nature performs the actions. The individual, who has attained this level of consciousness and starts perceiving the soul as silent witness, aloof from the body and considers him as a microcosm of the entire divine existence or nature, He is the one who has attained the status of a seer. Some behold the soul in amazement. Similarly, others describe it as marvelous. Still others listen about the soul as wondrous. In addition, others even after hearing all about the soul do not comprehend it at all. Soul is something that is mystifying and not explainable There is a contradiction as many people claim to understand it. Ordinary human beings, who are engaged in materialistic pursuits, are restricted by their limited understanding .These people lack intuition and have limited intellectual capacities to understand the reality. The people possessing colossal knowledge read and listen about it but are unable to comprehend it such is its mystery. The Bhagwad Gita describes it as a marvelous mystery. 6. Iliad and Aeneid are the two greatest masterpieces of arts. These epics focus on the various exploits of man who are half God and half man. In Iliad, the central focus is on the Greek hero Achilles and Aeneid concentrates on Roman hero Aeneas who is the central character. Virgil’s Aeneid takes its shape from the great epics of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey and like the latter works, it tells about what happened to one of the leaders of the Trojan War in the years following the conflicts. Various themes permeate these masterpieces. Patriotism, Religious rituals and Omens, Respect for Ancestors, Glory of Pride and Honor, Interaction Between Fate and Free will. The epic by Homer describes the death of one civilization and its conquest by another. Virgil’s Aeneid in contrast celebrates the foundation of Rome by the hero of the war. Both the epics celebrate the exploits of their heroes and sing for their glory. Pursuit of Glory is the supreme occupation of these heroes. Both the heroes perform great deeds so as they are remembered after they perish. Necessity of war, for the survival of humanity is another theme that runs in these epics. Aeneid focuses on individual’s conquest to establish Roman Empire where as Iliad discusses the petty squabbles between Greek and Trojans. In both the epics, the poets have tried to convince about the futility of the wars yet eulogizing their heroes’ acts. Both the epics combine the theme of travel and romance .Aeneid exploits the relationship between man and the war whereas in Iliad woman are the pivotal issues that can affect war and create conflicts between men. Fate is the guiding factor in Aeneid. The action centres on heroes determination to fulfil his destiny. In Aeneid, there are many attempts made by the gods to sway them away from their destinies but the continuous persistence on the part of Aeneas helps him in building the city of Rome. On the other hand, Achilles is guided by the fate and knows about it. He has a choice to settle down to a comfortable life yet he decides to be a warrior, might be for glory or because of social obligation. The heroes of these two epics are worthy of God’s love and intervention. Aeneas is a proud warrior. He is compassionate and stays strong with his soldiers in the time of need. Achilles, quite unlike Aeneas, is very aggressive and often without the sympathy or kindness, .He is quick to react negatively and holds grudges. He is, in many senses, not worthy of as a great person, but he has superhuman strength and is the descendent of a god. One of the Major themes found in Homer ‘Iliad is Honour. Heroic code is the guiding factors in Homer’s work and Homeric heroes live and die for the honour. Their life is meaningless without it. It is observed in Iliad that the hero receives warnings and is forbade not to venture into certain tasks yet he ignores these warnings and undertakes the battles and wars primarily because of honour and social status. The highest honour is to win the battle and as a result they embark into more fierce and life threatening battles .It is observed particularly in Homer’s heroes, they are savage and merciless and they often find themselves in a do or die situation. Failure for them equals death. The victory in the battle is also not sufficient as it is ephemeral they need to acquire a symbol of their victory especially the armour of the defeated leaders. The major theme in Aeneid is Destiny or fate. Juno harps a never-ending hatred for Aeneas. The reason for this is that Aeneas is destined to get to Italy, and his descendants will found Rome. The Romans will one day destroy Carthage, which is Juno’s favourite city. She thinks that if she can stop Aeneas from getting to Italy, Carthage will never be destroyed. However, fate is unstoppable. The destination and the direction of Aeneas course are preordained. His sufferings and the glories are predestined. Nothing can change or postpone his unchangeable destiny. The power of fate stands against the power of Gods. It is Jupiter, the powerful God who guides and controls the Aenea’s destinies. Juno and Turnus, both fight their destiny at every step and ultimately resign themselves to fate. Dido desire Aeneas but is denied by fate. Aeneas preserves his life and the life of his men suppressing his desires and submitting to the duty. The fate in Vigil’s Aeneid is benign and cause of victory leads to the desired destination that is The Rome Empire. 7. ‘He who overcomes others is strong, but he who overcomes himself is mighty’ (Tao Te Ching) This idea of Tao Te Ching is a very thoughtful expression. It is easy to overcome others in other words it is easy to find faults with others, it is easy to judge people and analyse them but self-analysis is difficult. Everyone thinks he is perfect and it is not so. A man who is able to find faults and flaws in himself and rectify them is the mighty man. The Lost Horse   A man who lived on the northern frontier of China was skilled in interpreting events. One day, for no reason, his horse ran away to the nomads across the border. Everyone tried to console him, but his father said, “What makes you so sure this isn’t a blessing?” Some months later, his horse returned, bringing a splendid nomad stallion. Everyone congratulated him, but his father said, “What makes you so sure this isn’t a disaster?” Their household was richer by a fine horse, which the son loved to ride. One day he fell and broke his hip. Everyone tried to console him, but his father said, “What makes you so sure this isn’t a blessing?”   A year later, the nomads came in force across the border, and every able-bodied man took his bow and went into battle. The Chinese frontiersmen lost nine of every ten men. Only because the son was lame did the father and son survive to take care of each other. Truly, blessing turns to disaster, and disaster to blessing: The changes have no end, nor can the mystery be fathomed. Mysterious are HIS ways, holds good for the above anecdote. One should not judge situations and people on first impressions. Some worst happenings in the life are also the blessings in disguise. Every incident that happens in a life is premonition of something coming, whether good or bad, the time is able to tell therefore, one should accept the changes or incidents as they are without cribbing and lamentations, as you do not know they might prove blessings in the future. These expressions are no doubt, valid today as the modern man is rushing after the materialistic ways of life and is forgetting the basic truths of life. These anecdotes give one’s life a new meaning and understanding. 8. Gilamesh character develops after the arrival and death of Enkidu. Initially, the people of Uruk seem to be frustrated with the act of their ruler Gilamesh. They resent his actions. His heinous crimes are various, he leaves no son to his father, and he corrupts the virgins of his country. His acts cause God of Uruk to create Enkidu, a companion for Gilamesh. Immediately after their friendship begins ,the attitude of Gilamesh starts changing and from a selfish leader he changes into a gracious leader. The people attitude towards their king Gilamesh also changes.Enkidu’s companionship brings a drastic change in his character and it develops for the good. At the battle of Humbaba, Gilamesh always thought him invincible and immortal but after the death of Enkidu, he undergoes self-realization and misery.The main factor that helps in Gilgamesh’s character development is his friendship with Enkidu. On the other hand, Enkidu is introduced in the epic as wild man. He is God created to bring changes in the character of Gilamesh .He is very much contrary to him. He lives in the forest with gazelles and jostles with the wild beasts. He is introduced to civilization and he enters city of Uruk. He is taught the various ways of the civilization. On the day of celebration, Enkidu enters the city .Enkidu stops Gilamesh claims to be first with the new brides. They fight furiously and Gilamesh wins. Their friendship begins from here. As an epic hero, Gilamesh possesses two main qualities. First is he is super human and stronger and mightier .Endowed with the capacity to overcome the impossible or nearly impossible acts.He is most powerful man and the battle of Humbaba proves that he is invincible. Secondly, he is larger than life and possesses the qualities of a particular society. Initially, these qualities are not found in him but later as the epic advances his character undergoes a transformation. He is cruel and selfish in the beginning and later on transforms into a new and special person. His character/psyche undergoes a heroic journey of transformation. Enkidu lacks both these qualities. The qualities of Gilamesh similar to Enkidu are, first, he is kind and gentle as Enkidu, when he touches; the wounded shoulder of his friend….and late at night he reached again.  These lines explain the tender heart he possesses. When Gilamesh proposes a great adventure, a journey to the great Cedar forest in southern Iran, Enkidu is terrifies him hearing this and shows his unwillingness. Similar emotions are seen in Gilamesh character at one point of time in the forest of Humbaba. Gilamesh felt weak               At the sound of Humbaba footsteps and called to Shamash. The sound of Humbaba scares him but he knows if he has ventured into this quest, he cannot leave his friend alone.   Read More