Research Proposal on "Family Dynamics"

Research Proposal 5 pages (1431 words) Sources: 3 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Family Values in Antigone, And Oedipus, The Aeneid

Ancient literature often provides an insightful glimpse into life that gives a description about mankind. Many times that story is not far from the stories we experience today. We hear the phrase that some things never change and this might be more true than we would like to believe, especially three primordial texts that support this notion are Sophocles' plays, Antigone and Oedipus, and Virgil's The Aeneid. These three narratives illustrate how family values are a significant expression of human existence regardless of what century one lives. Antigone demonstrates an incredible fortitude as she goes up against her uncle and the accepted standards of society for what she believes in. Aeneas realizes the importance of family through a series of painful events and he makes the correct decision even when his heart speaks a different language. Jocasta represents the family member striving to keep her family safe from harm even though she knows her fight is hopeless. Family requires loyalty, and generally, when individuals commit to duty, they must realize that some form of sacrifice is involved. In addition, there is always some sort of tension involved with family members over specific occurrences. In short, these families illustrate that some things never change. Families will always be loyal to one another and they will always feel some sort of tension because of their loyalties - whether that tension is from within or without. Families and people are tow things that we can count on to rarely change. Family and duty are significant aspects of life, regardless of the century in which one lives.

Family loyalty becomes an import

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ant theme in each of these manuscripts.

Antigone provides an exceptional example of family and duty in Sophocles' play, Antigone. She becomes a powerful character because once she decides what is important to her, she does not falter. She understands the importance of family until death and goes forth with determination unmatched. We can see Antigone's commitment when she tells Ismene the she will "lie with the one I love and loved by him - an outrage sacred to the gods!" (Sophocles Antigone 86-7). She is very aware of what she is doing and what it will mean to her because she mentions the gods. However, this does cause her to rethink her position. In the Aeneid, Aeneas learns what it means to be loyal to his family through his journey to the underground. When he sees his dead father there, he helps him see Rome's future and "fired his love/Of glory in the years to come" (Virgil 191). Seeing Anchises compels Aeneas to fulfill his duty because he learns things and grows. In Oedipus, Jocasta understands the value of family more than her husband does and she is willing to do anything to keep him from pursuing something that might damage their relationship. She urges him, "Do it for me, for the sake of all your people" (Sophocles Oedipus 724), knowing that the responsible thing to do is to urge him to let things go. All of these instances provide us with an example of what it means to be devoted to your family. Duty means commitment, knowledge, and responsibility and it does not matter what century one lives in - these ideals never change.

We learn from these characters that their duty costs them something. In Antigone, Antigone learns that her beliefs will cost her nothing short of her life. When she decides that she will bury her brother by herself is she has to, she is demonstrating a rebellion that could cost her life. She tells Ismene, "I will bury him myself./And even if I die in the act, that death will be a glory" (Sophocles Antigone 85-6). Antigone is stubborn but she also realizes what the cost will be and she follows through with her plan according to her convictions. In The Aeneid, Aeneas must learn from defeat after his loss in the Trojan war, which strengthens his character. It is through this new character that Aeneas learns not to give up. Victory is in his future but it not without suffering. For example, he endures a significant amount of pain at the loss of Pallas, who is referred to as his "beloved foster son" (Virgil… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Family Dynamics" Assignment:

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The Texts we read present stories of families. How are family relations depicted? What do these stories tell us about the roles of men and women? Parents and children? Choose three of the following texts (Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, The Hebrew Bible, Sophocles' plays, The Aeneid, The New Testament), and write a comparative, thesis-based essay on family dynamics.

A. Important Considerations:

1. Note that you are not being asked to discuss other people's interpretations of the texts. We want your interpretations only.

2.Note that the views of the authors may be expressed either directly or through stories. when analyzing the stories, always look for the message that is trying to be conveyed. what is the moral of the message?

3.Choose topics that all of the selected texts talk about.

B. Sources:

1. use only the primary texts as sources-no secondary sources needed (in other words, concentrate on teh content of the literature itself, rtaher than on historical background). No bibliography needed. do not cite lecture. do not quote or cite the translators' introductions. Draw all arguments from texts.

2. When you make an assertion essential to your case, you must provide textual references as evidence. Quote the text to prove important points, or when it is necessary for your audience to see the words. To make lesser points, a citation is sufficient.

3. Cite primary sources within text itself-no footnotes necessary.

4. Explain how you know what the text means. Show your reasoning.

5. do not judge the value of the assertions made in the texts. In other words, do not tell us whether you think the authors' views are right or wrong, good or bad. Just tell us what you think the authors' views are.

C. Structure:

1. State your argument concisely and as early as possible in your paper (first paragraph). Your argument (thesis) is simply your conclusion stated up front. say what you came up with, and then you can show how you got there.

2. do not stray from your thesis anywhere in your essay, so your argument is not submerged in meaningless detail.

3. Write in coherent paragraphs. Each one should have a single controlling idea or point to make.

4. Do not discuss one entire book and then another entire book. Organize your paper by topic.

5. Keep sentences short enough to be manageable.

6. Write about the past in the past tense. Write about literature in the present tense. (i.e., "Gilgamesh fights....," "Aeneas travels...").

How to Reference "Family Dynamics" Research Proposal in a Bibliography

“Family Dynamics.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2008, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/family-values-antigone/5451979. Accessed 5 Jul 2024.

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[1] ”Family Dynamics”, A1-TermPaper.com, 2008. [Online]. Available: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/family-values-antigone/5451979. [Accessed: 5-Jul-2024].

1. Family Dynamics [Internet]. A1-TermPaper.com. 2008 [cited 5 July 2024]. Available from: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/family-values-antigone/5451979

1. Family Dynamics. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/family-values-antigone/5451979. Published 2008. Accessed July 5, 2024.

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