Sehun Bolaji

Rhetorical Analysis 

 

Lliad: Poem by Hormer 

 

The poem Lliad by the Greek author Hormer was a poem written in 762 B.C that tells the tale which takes place nine years after the start of the Trojan War was a battle between the Achaeans and Trojans that had involved many known demigods and Greek gods in Greek mythology such as Achilles, Zues, Apollo, Athena, and so on. Although the poem has many themes such as love, friendship, fate, free will, and the glory of war, I feel the main theme of this poem is the costs of pride as Achilles pride being the main reason so many people in his army got slaughtered by the Trojans. He didn’t want to battle in the Trojan War regardless of his human strength and invulnerability due to his war prize (Briseis) being taken from him by Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, for his own. The target audience of this story is for anyone who is getting drafted for war, forcing them to leave their family behind . As a matter of fact, in Book 6 of the Iliad, “Woman, I too take thought of all this…

 

Nor doth mine own heart suffer it, seeing I have learnt to

 

be valiant always and to fight amid the foremost

 

Trojans, striving to win my father’s great glory and

 

mine own.” This clearly states that Hectors wife begged him to stay home instead of going to war and leaving his child to become an orphan, but hectors feels like finding true glory for his family is of utmost importance, that him bringing glory to them is better than him actually being there for them, regardless of his endless love for them. The tone of this poem is a serious and unpleasant ones as shown by the many horrifying events that take place in the poem, such as the Greek Camp being devastated by a horrifying plague, due to Chryses( a priest of the god Apollo) prayer to Apollo. The rhetorical appeal used in this poem is pathos as shown by the constant grief, longing, and anger shown in the story due to the effects of warfare. This gives the reader an insight on why war is such a serious thing and how it can change a person as they live on through their lives, no matter how strong or invulnerable they may appear to be.

 

Work Cited

https://www.planetebook.com/free-ebooks/the-iliad.pdf

 

Sehun Bolaji

Annotated Bibliography

The Story of Hercules 

 

Hercules, a Demigod, son of Zeus, was a hero born with unfathomable amount of strength. Even with all this power however, his life was a living hell, due to the Goddess Hera putting a spell on him causing him to kill his wife and three sons that he loved so much. Although he was under a spell he couldn’t forgive himself for his actions and sought some form of justice from Apollo, and even though Apollo knew it wasn’t Hercules fault for the crimes he committed, he still insisted that he make amends, ordering Hercules to perform the 12 Heroic labors, which is supposed to absolve him of his guilt and grant him immortality if he’s successful. The theme of this story is that life is supposed to be hard, and that it’s up to you to try and rise above them, and hopefully become better in certain events as you struggle through these hardships. You won’t learn anything by having an easy life. It might even cause personal stagnation in the end. The story of Hercules can relate to depressed and suicidal teenagers around the globe. Hercules story can be an inspiration to them, trying to motivate them that they should not give up due to the burdens of their past, that they should struggle to find something meaningful in their life. The tone of the story is depressing and inspirational due to how regardless of the struggles he had faced in the past, the wars, the murder of his family, and Hera constantly trying to ruin his life, he still tried to fight through all of it and make a name for himself, and in the end, gain immortality to join his father and the rest of his friends in Olympus. The rhetorical appeal used in this story is Pathos as shown by how the emotional struggles the main protagonist went though in the past affects his decisions in the future, how it changed him and turned him into the hero he is today. The author used his problems to grasp the reader and have the reader feel pity for Hercules, while showing us his character growth to motivate his readers on a worldwide scale.

 

Work Cited

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.history.com/.amp/topics/ancient-history/hercules

Sehun Bolaji

Literary Analysis 

 

The Myth Of Perseus and Medusa

 

In the myth of Perseus and Medusa was about how a demigod named Perseus was tasked by King Polydectes to bring him the head of the gorgon famous in myths legends as Medusa, who was a beautiful monster which snakes for hair and eyes that legend says turns you into stone. With the help of Athena and Hermes he was able to slay the beast and not only bring it back, but use it in battle until he finally handed it to the goddess Athena. The main theme of this myth is courage and perseverance , as shown by him traveling to the ends of the earth to slay a legendary, undefeated monster without even having to look in her direction. Which is why he’s a symbol of great heroism and courage in Greek Mythology to this day. One target audience of this piece could be towards 12 grade students who are preparing for college. As shown by Perseus, if you try hard enough and believe in yourself, with the help of those around you anything is possible regardless of how impossible it may seem at first. The King Polydectes sent Perseus to slay Medusa thinking that it would be impossible so that he would be able to take Perseus mother (Danae) as his wife. But regardless of this with the help of the gods and goddess Athena and Hermes he was able to win the battle. Furthermore, gain a weapon to help him in the future battles. The tone of this myth is amusing and awes-trucking as depicted as the main protagonist beating a monster which has never been defeated before, even when to the readers they had thought it was impossible, additionally surprising and shown by how he defeated Medusa by him using the reflection on his shield to battle her. The rhetorical appeal of this story would be pathos, as shown by the author of this myth using emotions to keep the readers entertained throughout the story, and for us to be inspired by it.

 

Work Cited

https://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/myth-perseus-and-medusa/

 

Sehun Bolaji

Rhetorical Analysis 

Orpheus and Eurydice

 

In the myth, Orpheus (Son of Apollo and Calliope) has fallen in love with a beautiful woman who goes by the name of Eurydice and had fallen in love with her and was happily married to her until she had met her premature death by being bitten and poisoned by a snake. In an attempt to get her back, he played his lyre in sadness which had moved even that of the Greek gods which allowed him passage and protection so he would be able to travel to the underworld and get his wife back but under one condition, the condition he doesn’t look back at her until they both leave the underworld. In fear that he was being tricked by the god of the underworld Hades, he looks back at a time of weakness and uncertainty and sees her soul being dragged back to the underworld, unable to see her again unless he dies, which happened soon after. The theme of this myth is the importance of faith, the importance of trust. By him losing faith in the Hades his wife was forced back to the underworld, where they are unable to see each other for as long as Orpheus lived. The tone of the myth was romantic and cruel as shown by the unfathomable love Orpheus and Eurydice had shared for each other, and how sudden Eurydice has died and how Orpheus mistake caused him to lose her for as long as he lived. One target audience for this myth could be for married couples. In order for you to be with your loved ones till death do you must have faith in each other, to trust each other or just like Orpheus, you could lose that loved one forever, due to one little mistake. The rhetorical appeal for this myth is pathos as shown by love and sadness being the dominant emotions in this story. They use these emotions to get the moral of the story across and to move the readers.

 

Work Cited

https://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/orpheus-and-eurydice/

Sehun Bolaji

Rhetorical Analysis 

Theseus and the Labyrinth

 

The story of Theseus and the Labyrinth is about how a boy named Theseus went to the labyrinth where boys and girls are being sacrificed to the Minotaur to kill the Minotaur and stop the sacrifices forever. He managed to slay the beast and get the daughter of the king to fall in love with him and celebrated his feat after. But then he forgotten to change the sails of the boat from black to white as his father asked him to and because of this his father thought he was dead and committed suicide thereafter. The theme of this story is that you shouldn’t let fun and happiness distract you from more important matters, as shown by how Theseus forgot to change the color of the sails making his father believe he had died in the labyrinth. One audience this myth could have targeted is college students. The reason I chose college students as a target audience is because they can let college parties distract them from doing more important things like studying and their hw, just like how Theseus forgot to change the sails because he was celebrating the death of the Minotaur. The tone of this myth is intense, ironic, and tragic as well as shown by Theseus fighting the Minotaur, finding a way out of the labyrinth, and his father killing himself for thinking his son died when he succeeds in his plan. The rhetorical appeal used in this myth was none other than pathos as shown by tragic ending appeared to be because of one little mistake the main protagonist made. It made the readers feel happy at first then despair as shown by his dad committing suicide for a little misunderstanding.

 

Work Cited

https://www-numi.fnal.gov/offline_software/oldiupages/simulation/theseus_story.html

 

Sehun Bolaji

Annotated Bibliography

 

The Story of Echo and Narcissus From The Book Of Ovid “Metamorphoses” 

 

In the story of Echo and Narcissus, Narcissus was considered a very handsome man who everyone fell in love at first sight , but he was very narcissistic so he never returned the affection he received towards others. He literally carries around a spear to keep the girls away. A nymph that goes by the name of Echo( who got cursed to only repeat a person’s last words by Hera/Juno) fell in love with him and began to stalk him. One day, he came across a lake to drink some water from after a hike and then he fell in love with his own reflection and stayed and admired himself until he eventually starved himself to death and died. The theme of this story is to beware of the trap of self-absorption. Sure there’s no problem with loving yourself but you shouldn’t love and adore yourself to the point where you refuse to give others the time of day. Furthermore, learn to take rejection because it’s a part of life. The target audience of this piece would be anyone looking for love around the globe. You can’t expect to find love if you refuse to give anyone the time of day, Furthermore, if your stuck on one person who wouldn’t show the same affection you show them. There are “other fish in the sea” so you shouldn’t let one person discourage you, you shouldn’t let someone have a negative effect on your self-esteem. The tone of this story is cautionary. The author is trying to tell us to beware of our own narcissistic behavior for it could be our downfall. The Rhetorical Appeal of this story is pathos, as most Greek mythology stories are. They try to persuade the reader using emotion. The author made the readers feel bad for both echo and narcissus by the unfortunate way they died.

 

Work Cited

http://www.auburn.edu/allynbaconanthology/documents/EchoNarcissus.pdf

 

https://www.classics.uga.edu/sites/default/files/guanci_Final%20Draft%20Teaching%20Project_0.pdf

 

Sehun Bolaji

10/14/19

 

Rhetorical Analysis On the Story of Icarus and Daedalus

 

In the story of Daedalus ( A famous craftsmen in Greek Mythology) and Icarus (His Son) was locked in a tower above Minos (The King of Crete), to keep the secrets of the labyrinth hidden. In order to escape, Daedalus using his crafting skills had crafted two pairs of wings for him and his son to escape. Since Daedalus had crafted the wings using wax, he warned Icarus not to fly too high so the wax won’t melt due to the sun or fly too low so the feathers wont get wet due to the seawater. On their way to freedom Icarus forgot his father’s warning and flew too close to the sun, causing him to fall to the sea and drown. The purpose of the story of Daedalus and Icarus is that you should always heed your parents warning. The basic concept of the story Daedalus and Icarus is that hubris (Pride) is a bad thing. It could be said that the subtext is that you should always heed the advice and warnings of your elders, particularly your parents.

 

The story of Icarus and Daedalus targeted a younger audience, as shown by how Icarus was a young protagonist and fell to his doom not only because of his pride, but because he did not heed his fathers, Daedalus, a more experienced and wiser man warnings. The tone of the story is Egotistical, Arrogant, and Grim. It was egotistical due to the fact that he let his pride get in the way of his judgment. It gave off an Arrogant tone because he did not heed his father’s warning even though he was warned about the consequences of it. Finally, a Grim tone was set because at the end he had faced due to his ignorance. The Myth uses the rhetorical appeal known to us as Pathos. This Myth has an emotional appeal as shown by it using a connection between father and son to get its moral lesson across. Pathos is more effective than ethos and logos due to the target audience. The target audience is a younger age group, to be more specific,  those who don’t respect or listen to their elders, anyone older than them. By using a pathos appeal it keeps the younger audience more entertained. Using stats from ethos and facts from logos would bore the younger generation, if they’re not entertained they won’t be able to get anything out of this mythical story, prohibiting the writer from getting its message across. For instance, icarus getting cocky and flying too close to the sun and falling to his death is more entertaining than that of someone simply saying that listening to our guardians will have a positive effect on us in the future.

 

Work Cited

 

https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Icarus/icarus.html