"This is Your Life" Extra Credit Blog: King Hamlet's Ghost

     Hello! My name is King Hamlet, Sr. You may be wondering why a ghost of some dead king is writing on a blog. The answer is that, quite frankly, I feel that I need to justify myself. Personally, I find it quite healthy.

     After reading the rather depressing ending of Hamlet, dear reader, you may be thinking that it was wrong of me to even show up in the first place and emphasize revenge to my emotionally unstable son. Perhaps you are even bitter or angry at the fact that I ruined his life and his sanity, no matter how directly or indirectly. While this is a perfectly legitimate argument, the fact that I was killed (by my own brother, too) and sent straight to Purgatory without a confessor is an excellent reason for me to return in the name of Justice. Plus, I couldn't bear to watch my son walk around in such ignorance and misery; telling him the truth would restore a sense of purpose to his life. By showing Hamlet the darkest aspects of Man's corrupt desires, I also prepared him to face sycophantic villains in his own future, should he ever meet any. 

     Another major reason for my appearance was to inform Hamlet of Gertrude's personal flaws, which, if unchecked, could have destroyed any dignity left in the Danish court. All along, I had been suspicious of Gertrude's "virtues" and "innocence"; her quick marriage to Claudius after my death confirmed my doubts about her. Knowing that Hamlet would try to kill her along with Claudius, I deprived her of such an easy punishment and forbade Hamlet from killing her, instead allowing her to live out every day of her life with excruciating guilt. In my opinion, this is a much more fitting punishment. Take, for example, my second appearance in Gertrude's bedroom as Hamlet is confronting her. My instructions to him about calming down and speaking more civilly to her were also part of my "guilt-trip" plan. For instance, is it better to drive your horse-carriage into one gigantic pit, eventually be rescued, and continue on your way unharmed? By Jove, I say not! 'Tis much more irritating to suffer small to mediocre potholes in the road every day you travel. I couldn't let Gertrude ultimately recover morally from one argument with Hamlet, or allow her to die quickly and possibly get to Heaven by some fluke. The most effective punishment is to plague this deceptive Jezebel with guilt of the highest degree. 

     There you have it, my friends--these are the reasons why it was absolutely necessary for me to act the way I did in Hamlet. Now, if only I can find a way to get to Heaven and persuade God to let me in...

"Antigone" Blog

Quote:
"The Father of Heaven abhors the proud tongue's boasting;/He marked the oncoming torrent, the flashing stream/Of their golden harness, the clash of their battle gear;/He heard the invader cry Victory over our ramparts,/And smote him with fire to the ground" (130).

"Deeper Meaning" Analysis: 
     This quote foreshadows Creon's future humiliation (interestingly, through the illusion to Polynices's attack) that arises from his own over-confidence in the righteousness of his law. It also complements Antigone's position as a Greek tragedy: no matter how triumphant the characters may feel, their happiness will be ruined by spiritual means (4-5). Most of all, however, this quote is a rebuke towards human pride. It mocks the concept that human beings can even have pride at all--this quote specifically emphasizes this idea because of Polynices's assumption of what he thought the future would look like, and for this arrogance he was punished.  Only the gods, then, know what the future holds because they are the only ones with the power to affect it. This power translates to what Man calls "fate", which ultimately got the best of the prideful Polynices and Creon. Also, the setting, diction, and imagery within this passage portray human pride as not only a foolish sin, but an aggressive declaration of war, so to speak, of Man against God. As far as setting goes, this analogy is apt because of the story it describes--Polynices's arrogant preparations for battle. Some examples of diction and imagery are shown in phrases like "flashing stream of their golden harness", and words such as "battle gear", "invader", "Victory" and "ramparts". The Chorus's inclusion of this ostentatious description of Polynices and his destruction serves to solidify the objectivity (and thus credibility, given the typical "observer" role of the Chorus) of the concept of the foolishness, and futility, of Man's pride.

"Personal Meaning" Analysis:
     I chose this quote because of its powerful imagery (i.e. "the golden harness", "smote him with fire to the ground"), and the intensity it lent to the concept of pride leading to a fall. I also knew that one of Antigone's major themes is the law of the gods v. the law of Man. Therefore, I saw this account of Polynices's (attempted) attack on Thebes, and his consequent downfall, as an excellent quote for both pride and thematic  examination (what man expected v. what the gods knew--this is the essence of law, at least on Earth). The aforementioned ideas shown in this quote also applies to society today: people (especially Christians) who believe that they are capable of living strictly to please their own desires make themselves gods in their own minds. This leads to nothing but a lack of fulfillment, and an abundance of confusion and low self-esteem. On a personal level, I have come to understand that giving in to pride and assuming that I can proclaim "Victory over the ramparts" does nothing but form a wall between myself and God. As a Christian, it is my spiritual responsibility to constantly remind myself that without God's intervention, any talents or even dreams I have are absolutely nothing. For example, I hope to one day get an M.D.-Ph.D., entering vascular surgery and genetic research. However, even stronger than a desire to get these degrees for me is the knowledge that God is the only Being Who will ever hold the answers to unlocking the mysteries of the human body. I have no right to walk about attempting to achieve such a goal off of my own abilities; to do so would be, in my own way, putting on the "armor" of Polynices and challenging God in a field He already possesses and understands. Simply put, my place before God (as well as every other person's) is to glorify Him by remaining humble and acknowledging that His law and Will are always supreme to those of Man.

"Unpacking" Mere Christianity

     Paragraph 1: "Unpacking" the Quote
     In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis asserts that the worst sin of all is Pride because "[I]t was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind" (Lewis 122). By beginning his argument about Pride with the "infinitely ancient" story of Lucifer's fall, Lewis places Pride on a higher level than all other sins because of the way it has managed to survive through time in its various ways. Lewis explains this point by declaring how Pride "leads to every other vice"; that is, Satan has constantly hidden the seeds of Pride in his victims by building their self-esteem and faith in their own moral strengths and standards in both Christians and non-Christians. Unfortunately, especially for believers, allowing Pride to dictate one's actions removes God as the ideal center for one's life and replaces Him with one's own concerns and fleeting emotions. Some examples of this concept's manifestation in the rest of the world include governments controlled by dictators, such as Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gadhafi, whose extensive reigns over their countries no doubt inflated their pride and sense of invincibility. By refusing to give any glory to God, just as King Herod, both of these dictators, and many like them, have fallen to terrible fates they could have never imagined. The reason why wars break out stems from individual nations' refusal to admit that they might not have the best solution for conflicts with another country. Indeed, even the world of economy, or at least certain economic systems, are built off of the principle that the greatest rewards come from staying ahead of one's economic and financial competition--the drive to remain better than anybody else is what drives one to pay for the cost of living as a whole. Returning to a more spiritual definition, however, it is impossible to lead a fulfilled, godly life, to be "still and know" that Christ is Lord of All, or to even be a "follower" of God at all if one is constantly following his or herself. In other words, the self-centeredness that rides on the coat-tails of Pride brings one's spirit into direct rebellion against the sovereignty of God. This is what Lewis is referring to when he calls Pride "the anti-God state of mind".
    
    Paragraph 2: Personal Perspective

     Worst of all, when God sees one's unwillingness to heed Him in their life, He will remove His Hand from his or her life, which will crumble into an unsuccessful mess without Him. For Christians, there is a spiritual arena whose boundaries are created from Christ's Blood and God's supreme order. As long as Christians act in a way pleasing to God, they exist within the arena and they benefit from God's protection and blessings. However, there is only one thing that can cause a believer to trespass God's Will by walking outside the arena: Pride in one's own ability to lead one's own life without a need for God. Unfortunately for those who do give in to Pride and let it drag them outside the arena, Satan has the right to devour their spirit in despair and humiliation. Personally, the concept of evading the traps of Pride is extremely important because of the career I wish to enter--the field of medical sciences and research. Science is notorious for being one of the most "anti-God" schools of thought, which correlates perfectly with Pride being the "anti-God state of mind". This prospect is even more ominous when one realizes that many of the principles behind science highly revolve around the abilities of the analysis possessed by the human mind. My goal, then, as a Christian in the field of science, is to try my best to include God in all my scientific work and understand that without Him, I have no reason to be proud of my mental abilities.

Test Blog - First Assignment Continued

This is a continuation of the first blogging assignment. During this post, I will speak about the process of blogging itself. Firstly, blogging is a tad complex. Secondly, blogging is a unique way to publicly share one's thoughts that remains modern and technological, which is, of course, a good thing. Thirdly, blogs don't offer very many font choices.

Test Blog - First Assignment

"Listen, my son, accept what I say,
and the years of your life will be many.
I guide you in the way of wisdom
and lead you along straight paths.
When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;
when you run, you will not stumble.
Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
guard it well, for it is your life."
-Proverbs 4:10-13 (NIV)