Achilles Anophtheis Essay Example For Students

Achilles Anophtheis Essay Achilles Anophtheis Achilles revisited The director walked onto the stage, gingerly adjusting his radiation mask in order to fit the microphone beneath it. His nervous cough boomed through the hall. After shuffling the papers on the podium before him, he began. Welcome ladies and gentlemen of the Pre-Apocalypse Archaeological Society. We have called this session to impart to you a matter of the utmost importance, a discovery of the highest order. As you are aware, our teams have only recently been able to sift through the debris of the razed cities of our belligerent predecessors, thanks to the efforts of our colleagues at the Physical Research Society who, with the aid of Allah, have made our task infinitely easier with the invention of a radiation suit which allows our field workers to work even in areas of the highest radiation concentration: the cities of what was formerly the United States of America. The discoveries are literally pouring in, and we have our hands full simply cataloguing the numerous finds. Our first find was a small rectangular object, containing a spool of thin ribbon, which one of our historians identified as what was known as a cassette. Simply put, it was a device on which sounds could be recorded. From its small size, our historian conjectured that it was of a type designed for recording the human voice rather than music. Armed with this belief, we managed to convince the Censor Society to allow us to reconstruct the primitive machine to play back the message we hoped it would contain. They agreed; on the condition that we did not do so until they had a chance to screen it for the negative influences that caused the downfall of the last corrupt civilization. They duly approved it and we are now ready for its first public presentation. Before we begin, I would like to explain some of the terms used in the recording, for those of you who lack the benefit of an historical training. The tape is evidently the recording of a psychologist. You are all aware that the sacrilege which led to the destruction of the Nuclear Age was primarily caused by the decline in religious belief and values. A psychologist was the person who supplanted the role of the confessor in this blasphemous time. He labored under the delusion that the immortal soul was accessible on a scientific, human level; and, like most of the scientists of the day, impiously discounted Allah as an unnecessary complication. We found an infamous saying which pervaded much of the Pre- Apocalypse literature: `Religion is the opiate of the peoplequot;. Well, psychology became the new `opiate of the people. quot; The patient with whom the doctor is dealing with in the recording, has been identified as a prominent businessman of the day. He is what was called an arbitrageur. A man who specialized in dealings on their stock market, a term I am sure all of you are familiar with. In any case, an arbitrageur bought and sold companies for a profit. In the few pieces of literature we have been able to recover, it seems that such men were regarded as the heroes of their age. I refer of course to the numerous copies we have of the autobiographies of Donald Trump, Robert Campeau and the like. Evidently the culture considered these books to be of great importance, for we found huge amounts of them in large buildings. This was apparently for safekeeping since the storage facilities were located well away from the centres of attack in the event of a nuclear war. The periodicals of the day also reflect the reverence in which these men were held, as they are frequently mentioned. It is another mark of the degradation of the society that the primary estimate of a manquot;s worth became the amount of money he earned. It is difficult in this holy age to conceive of such blasphemy, but it is necessary that we do so in order to avoid the same traps into which they fell. We have managed to reconstruct the scenario as far as was possible, but we endeavored to retain all of the original conversation in addition to our own narration. I donquot;t think that there is anything further that you need to know about the recording, except perhaps that it appears to be incomplete. I would ask that you remain as silent as possible, because the tape is of very low quality and the accent is very difficult to understand. If you are having trouble, I suggest that you follow along in the transcripts with which we have provided you. The Director signaled for the tape to begin, and left the stage. Dr. Zeis loaded the cassette into the machine and tested it. It wouldnquot;t do to have it chew up the tape again, especially not for so important a patient: the sort of patient who could make his career . . . or break it. He knew he couldnquot;t afford to squander his good fortune. As his mind wandered over the seemingly endless ramifications of success, the static crackle of the intercom interrupted his reveries. It was his secretary warning him that Mr. Reussi was on his way in. The doctor rewound the tape and offered up a quick prayer that it would work. The door swung open and one of the worldquot;s richest, most powerful men strode in. Mr. Oswald Achilles Reussi had made his fortune by taking over companies and turning them around. He was able to start at such a high level because of the substantial inheritance he had received from his father. He was rich enough to ensure that he received only the best sort of publicity, and that was why he had been so irate when the media learned that he was in therapy and had printed the story with a glee that only those who made their living from sordid details were capable of acquiring. Dr. Zeis had regretted his indiscretion, but that sort of publicity was simply too tempting to resist. He had only been able to calm the fuming man by convincing him that it was essential that he not be afraid of the stigma of therapy in order for it to work for him. An old dodge, but it had performed its function and placated the incensed patient. Oswald crossed the room with a gruff greeting Dr. Zeis had learned early that this was not a man to waste time. He took his customary position, sprawled on the couch. Ap Art History Essay ThemesdYou see, you were never really around your parents when you were a child, and because they spent so little time with you, they were loathe to scold you. Also you said yourself that you frequently suffered comparison with your father when you were a child, and this served to enhance the sense of competition. So now I am attempting to suggest a therapy that will aid you in overcoming your dysfunction. But how will helping Alexander accomplish anything? asked Oswald dubiously. The only way to triumph over the problem is to consciously avoid behaviour that it causes. And the scenario you have just presented to me involving your friend, Mr. Atreides, is just such behaviour. explained the doctor. You mean to say that I am merely acting under a compulsion when I refuse to aid Alexander? asked Oswald dubiously. The doctor nodded. But wouldnquot;t you do the same thing if a friend of yours stabbed you in the back like he has done to me? and stolen my dream? asked Oswald. I anticipated this objection. said the doctor complacently. That is why I have a third reason. Ask yourself, if you were in his position would you have acted similarly? Well . . . hesitated Oswald. You see that such behaviour is common in the business world, and you would probably have done the same had the roles been reversed. said the doctor triumphantly. What you must realize is that all these years of competition have made you unable to accept defeat. The only way you can accept losing to Mr. Atreides without causing yourself considerable mental anguish, is by being a factor in his destruction, taking your revenge. I still donquot;t know, said Oswald doubtfully, I canquot;t- The sound of a telephone ringing broke into the conversation. A look of anger passed across the doctorquot;s face as he stood up to answer it. I apologize Mr. Reussi, he said. I thought I told my receptionist to hold all my calls. No need to apologize, said Oswald, pulling a handsized, rectangular object from his pocket. I believe itquot;s my phone. He unfolded the phone and extended a concealed antenna. Yes? he said tersely, and listened for a few seconds, his face growing taut. Are you sure? he asked. After listening for a few more seconds, he folded the phone back up and folded the antenna. That was a friend of mine, he explained, Robert Patrolo, telling me that his company was just taken over by Trojan. Hectorquot;s first move upon gaining control was to have him removed from the chairmanship. Hector knew that would get me. He remained seated for a few seconds and then stood up, pulling on his jacket. I believe you are right doctor. he said. I am going to help Mr. Atreides; and when we succeed Iquot;m going to throw Hector out like a dog. and so saying, he left the room. The doctor sat down again. He wondered over the manquot;s motives, and came to the conclusion that he had not accomplished very much. All Reussi was doing was transferring his wrath from Mr. Atreides to Hector. Ah well, he thought, I shall have to try a different approach next week. He pressed the stop button on his tape recorder. The Director returned to the stage and signaled for the tape to be stopped. I believe, gentlemen, that you are all aware of the profane theories of Sigmund Freud? he glance around the auditorium observing their nods. Well, for the first time, we are able to see those fanciful theories in actual application, rather than in text. The members of the Censor Society have graciously permitted us to listen to this recording in order to allow us to see the depths to which rationality can plunge. We must remember, as we attempt to rebuild our society, that the only way is Godquot;s way, as specifically set out in our sacred Books. I hope that you have gleaned the dire lesson that this recording has to offer. We must, at all costs, avoid the unplumbable depths of depravity to which the Nuclear Age descended, and construct our Society in accordance with the decrees of God. Praise God! The audience rose and emphatically returned his farewell, well aware that they were being closely observed, and that any failure could result in the severest consequences. Epilogue The first order of business seems to be to acknowledge my debt, both in order to avoid accusations of plagiarism and subsequent litigation. The difficulty is that my debt extends to every book I have read since the age of five. I can, however, endeavor to mention the more obvious ones. The idea of couching the main story in a larger context of a later civilization is borrowed from Margaret Atwoodquot;s The Handmaidquot;s Tale, and the main story is an attempt an enormously presumptuous one at that to compress and modernize Homerquot;s Iliad. I also owe a great deal to Sigmund Freudquot;s writings, although I am certain that he would not admit to being the source of this perversion of his theories, were he alive to object. All that now remains is to offer a brief explanation of the story itself, perhaps something along the lines of Dantequot;s letter to Can Grande Della Scala. The story is basically a modernization of the themes of the Iliad. In order to retain the father-son theme, I used an unresolved Oedipus complex. Achillesquot; wrath is again shifted from Agamemmnon to Hector, although, as they say, the names have been changed to protect the innocent. I was at a loss to include an invocation to the Muse, but I eventually came up with the idea that a tape recorder might be a solution to the problem. What else is a tape recorder if not an aid to memory? In fulfillment of the will of Zeus is another theme of the Iliad. In order to include it, I interpreted the gods as psychological phenomena, and, therefore, the compulsions of the unresolved complex which affects Achilles behaviour is the re-internalization of Homerquot;s externalization of internal psychic activities. I think drawing a diagram may help you decipher that last sentence. The last theme, of corpses being left as carrion for the dogs, was relegated to a minor position: a few gratuitous remarks of Achilles to the way he was going to treat Hector. The task is now complete. I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I hated writing it. Before you mark it, allow me to interject a quick quote from Shakespeare: The quality of mercy is not strainquot;d. Thanks for an illuminating, enchanting course.