The Odyssey Cross-Genre Study and Prezi Assignment
While reading The Odyssey and later viewing O Brother Where Art Thou, you will be
responsible for tracking answers to one focus question (list follows). While you have
studied theme before, this assignment moves a bit beyond theme. Typically when
academics study literature, the true reason is to explore not only our own belief-systems,
but also those of other cultures. The more literature you read, the more you will begin to
realize that while our technology may advance, the aspects and qualities of humanity
largely remain the same despite the passing centuries.
The Odyssey focus questions (Select one from the following list):
1. Examine the multiple perspectives on women as seen in both The Odyssey and O
Brother Where Art Thou. What attitudes do you find common in both works, despite
the time difference? What does this consistent message say about the advancement
of our culture? (Pull work from suggested feminist texts) In what ways has our
culture progressed in its treatment of women?
2. Examine the role of religion/spirituality in both texts. Is religion a necessary
component for success in Odysseus or Everett’s journey? What accounts for these
differences or similarities? WHY are there differences (or similarities)
a. Deeper Option: Why is Everett painted as such a cynic? Is he representative
of common trends in society’s perceptions today? At the end of the movie,
Everett prays for rescue, but when he is rescued he immediately calls it a
coincidence. Why might the author have included this? Consider the story
from Odysseus perspective on religion. The gods and goddesses of his time
were very REAL for the people living in them, yet Odysseus seems to be the
“cynic” of his day. What similarities are there in attitudes between Odysseus
and Everett? Are both stories trying to show religion is hokey? OR is it an
important aspect of success? Have we lost our respect for religion (today)
compared to in Odysseus’s time?
3. Examine the concept of civilization and what it means to be civilized in each story.
(Consider what traits people believe reflect a “civilized” behavior). What similarities
and differences exist in these ideas? Are there any instances of irony in the
character’s beliefs on civilization? Are Odysseus, Everett, or even ourselves as
civilized as we believe we are?
4. Examine leadership in the story. Why might the producer have picked a hero who is
a criminal to fulfill the same role as Odysseus, who was supposed to be a perfect
Greek? What do these discrepancies reveal about our society’s view of leadership?
What kind of leader do we value today compared to the leader valued in Greek
times? Are there really any differences?
The Task
While reading each section of The Odyssey you will be expected to track quotes that help
you answer your focus question. During Part I, some guiding questions will be given to you
to help you find the appropriate quotes for your focus. Future parts will be read
independently, or in groups with those who have similar focuses. You will also be given the
opportunity to discuss your reading with others who have a similar focus. At the conclusion
of your reading, we will watch O Brother Where Art Thou. You will again be expected to
track events and choices made by the producer that relate to your focus question. Finally,
you will create a Prezi presentation that synthesizes this information, projecting the
messages of both authors and showing the transformations in opinion (if applicable) in our
cultures.
The directions for your Prezi are attached to this assignment.
Questions by Focus for Part 1:
THESE QUESTIONS ARE MEANT TO DIRECT YOU TO QUOTES YOU NEED! The questions
are designed to get you THINKING in the direction you should when answering your focus
question. In other words, they’re designed to help you develop your commentary. The
answers to the questions are not necessarily an end, they are the beginning of your
thinking.
1. Women Studies: Describe a muse and what a muse does. What beliefs about women
might this reveal? Would the “ability” of a muse be as valued in Greek culture as
one’s ability with a sword? What kind of person is Calypso? What makes her
desirable? What makes her “not right” for Odysseus? Odysseus says “in my heart I
never gave consent” line 55, which absolves him of guilt. How is this absolution
different from how a woman in a similar predicament would be treated? (consider
Medusa). ALWAYS what do we learn about women and women’s role in society from
these portrayals?
2. Religion/Spirituality Studies: Describe Odysseus’ attitude towards Poseidon. What
does it suggest about man’s relationship with the gods? Describe Poseidon’s
reaction to Odysseus’s blasphemy. Is his response warranted or petty? Why does
man rely on a muse? What does this suggest about man’s relationship with the gods?
Throughout the text, Odysseus frequently references the gods (“by the gods” line
392). What do these references reveal about his relationship with the gods (is this a
respectful overture? A statement of culture rather than belief like saying “God bless
you”? A belief that man can only do things with a gods help? A dramatic
interruption?) ALWAYS what does we learn about faith’s role in society from these
portrayals?
3. Civilization Studies: At the beginning of the book, Odysseus compliments his host,
Alkinoos for his hospitality. What features seems to create a “nice” host? Are these
features similar today? How relevant are these things to being civilized? What
makes the Lotus eaters so vile to Odysseus? What does this suggest about being
civilized? Next Odysseus describes the Cyclops and Cyclopes Island. What makes
them ignorant in Odysseus mind? What makes a person human according to this
description? Describe the interactions between the Cyclops and Odysseus. Is one
more civil than the other? Do they behave similarly? What seems to be the one
defining trait separating Odysseus and the Cyclops? Examine the details shared in
the defeat of the Cyclops. ALWAYS what makes a group of people civilized in society
from these portrayals? Are these truly representative of our beliefs of civilization?
4. Leadership Studies: How does Odysseus handle the situation with the Lotus eaters?
What personality characteristics does this reveal? What strengths are valued in a
Greek leader according to this? What do you make of Odysseus’s journey to Cyclopes
Island? On one hand he is endangering the lives of his men, on the other, Greek
culture would have felt a level of admiration for someone who is bold and daring.
How does Odysseus beat the Cyclops? Does he make any special considerations for
his men? How does his behavior reflect his leadership traits? At the end of the story,
Odysseus mocks the Cyclops. Again, Greeks value boldness, but is Odysseus
“overdoing” it here, or is he continuing to fulfill the Greek ideal? What sort of leader
is Odysseus? Why do you think these traits would be valued by Greek culture?
ALWAYS what does Odysseus’s leadership style and characteristics reveal not only
about what Greeks WANTED in a leader, but what they valued?
Questions by Focus for Part 2:
THESE QUESTIONS ARE MEANT TO DIRECT YOU TO QUOTES YOU NEED! The questions
are designed to get you THINKING in the direction you should when answering your focus
question. In other words, they’re designed to help you develop your commentary. The
answers to the questions are not necessarily an end, they are the beginning of your
thinking.
1. Women Studies: How does Circe help Odysseus? What kind of person was she? Why
do you think she turned men to pigs? How did Circe hinder Odysseus’s ultimate goal
of going home? Described the sirens. What do the sirens sing about? How do the
sirens try to hinder Odysseus’s journey? What gender are Scylla and Charibybdis?
What are their actions? Why might the Greeks have made these monsters female?
2. Religion/Spirituality Studies: What does Circe do to help Odysseus? How does her
intervention help prepare the mortals? Does it hinder them in anyway? What is
man’s relationship with the gods based on this event? Even though Odysseus is
warned about how to deal with Scylla, he chooses to do what? What might this
reveal about man’s views of the gods? Is his action one of rebellion? One of lack of
faith? Or one of pride? Odysseus’s man, Erylokhos makes an impassioned speech for
slaughtering Helios’s cattle, despite Circe’s warnings. What do his beliefs show
about his relationship with the gods? What is more important to him, survival or
obedience to the gods? Is there anything ironic about his choice? When Odysseus
realizes his men have killed Helios’s cattle, who does he blame? Why? Is his act
justified? ALWAYS what do we learn about faith’s role in society from these
portrayals?
3. Civilization Studies: Odysseus is warned to sail towards Scylla by a goddess, but he
chooses not to. What does his deliberate breaking of this rule result in? What might
this reveal about Greeks’ beliefs about rules and laws? While on Helios’s island, the
men slaughter the god’s cattle – his property. Why did they do this? How did they
justify this theft? What situations make people feel bending the rules is acceptable?
Who does Helios expect to exact justice for this deed? How are the men punished for
their actions? ALWAYS what makes a group of people civilized in society from these
portrayals? Are these truly representative of our beliefs of civilization?
4. Leadership Studies: How does Odysseus prepare his men for encountering the
sirens? What kind of leader is revealed here? Is his actions based on desire for
personal gain, or is he concerned for their safety? How does Odysseus disregard
Circe’s warnings? What are the consequences? Does he learn from this? Why did he
disobey, and what does that show about his personality? After Scylla, Odysseus is
adamant his men follow Circe’s warnings about Helios’s cattle. What does this show
about his personality and behavior? ALWAYS what does Odysseus’s leadership style
and characteristics reveal not only about what Greeks WANTED in a leader, but
what they valued?
Quotes by Focus for Part 3:
1. Women Studies: Line 1-10, Line 18-19, (The Beggar) Line 75-83, Line 94-102, Line 113119, Line 124-128, Line 129-143
2. Religion Studies: Line 20-26, Line 27-26, Line 64-69, (The Beggar) Line 40-43
3. Civilization: Line 38-42, Line 56, (The Beggar) Line 2-11, Line 13-17, Line 36, Line 97102
4. Leadership: Line 58-62, Line 68-69, (The Beggar) Line 13-17, (The Test of the Bow) Line
14-19
WOMEN FOCUS RESOURCES
Circe's Torment
I regret bitterly
The years of loving you in both
Your presence and absence, regret
The law, the vocation
That forbid me to keep you, the sea
A sheet of glass, the sun-bleached
Beauty of the Greek ships: how
Could I have power if
I had no wish
To transform you: as
You loved my body,
As you found there
Passion we held above
All other gifts, in that single moment
Over honor and hope, over
Loyalty, in the name of that bond
I refuse you
Such feeling for your wife
As will let you
Rest with her, I refuse you
Sleep again
If I cannot have you.
Louise Gluck
Circe’s Power
I never turned anyone into a pig.
Some people are pigs; I make them
Look like pigs.
I'm sick of your world
That lets the outside disguise the inside. Your men weren't bad men;
Undisciplined life
Did that to them. As pigs,
Under the care of
Me and my ladies, they
Sweetened right up.
Then I reversed the spell, showing you my goodness
As well as my power. I saw
We could be happy here,
As men and women are
When their needs are simple. In the same breath,
I foresaw your departure,
Your men with my help braving
The crying and pounding sea. You think
A few tears upset me? My friend,
Every sorceress is
A pragmatist at heart; nobody sees essence who can't
Face limitation. If I wanted only to hold you
I could hold you prisoner.
Louise Gluck
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883): Ain't I A Woman?
Delivered 1851
Women's Convention, Akron, Ohio
Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that
'twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white
men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's all this here talking about?
That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches,
and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mudpuddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have
ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman?
I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well!
And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and
when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?
Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this they call it? [member of audience
whispers, "intellect"] That's it, honey. What's that got to do with women's rights or negroes'
rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let
me have my little half measure full?
Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause
Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from?
From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone,
these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again! And now
they is asking to do it, the men better let them.
Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't got nothing more to say.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/sojtruth-woman.asp
Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603)
Delivered 1588
My loving people, we have been persuaded by some, that are careful of our safety, to take heed how
we commit ourselves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you, I do not desire to
live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear; I have always so behaved myself that,
under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good will of my
subjects. And therefore I am come amongst you at this time, not as for my recreation or sport, but
being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live or die amongst you all; to lay down, for my
God, and for my kingdom, and for my people, my honor and my blood, even the dust. I know I have
but the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England,
too; and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the
borders of my realms: to which, rather than any dishonor should grow by me, I myself will take up
arms; I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I
know already, by your forwardness, that you have deserved rewards and crowns; and we do assure
you, on the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean my lieutenant general shall be
in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble and worthy subject; not doubting by
your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and by your valor in the field, we shall
shortly have a famous victory over the enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.
Shirley Crisholm
Delivered: May 21, 1969
Mr. Speaker, when a young woman graduates from college and starts looking for a job,
she is likely to have a frustrating and even demeaning experience ahead of her. If she walks into
an office for an interview, the first question she will be asked is, "Do you type?"
There is a calculated system of prejudice that lies unspoken behind that question. Why is
it acceptable for women to be secretaries, librarians, and teachers, but totally unacceptable for
them to be managers, administrators, doctors, lawyers, and Members of Congress?
The unspoken assumption is that women are different. They do not have executive ability
orderly minds, stability, leadership skills, and they are too emotional.
It has been observed before, that society for a long time, discriminated against another
minority, the blacks, on the same basis - that they were different and inferior. The happy little
homemaker and the contented "old darkey" on the plantation were both produced by prejudice.
As a black person, I am no stranger to race prejudice. But the truth is that in the political
world I have been far oftener discriminated against because I am a woman than because I am
black.
Prejudice against blacks is becoming unacceptable although it will take years to eliminate
it. But it is doomed because, slowly, white America is beginning to admit that it exists. Prejudice
against women is still acceptable. There is very little understanding yet of the immorality
involved in double pay scales and the classification of most of the better jobs as "for men only."
More than half of the population of the United States is female. But women occupy only
2 percent of the managerial positions. They have not even reached the level of tokenism yet. No
women sit on the AFL-CIO council or Supreme Court There have been only two women who
have held Cabinet rank, and at present there are none. Only two women now hold ambassadorial
rank in the diplomatic corps. In Congress, we are down to one Senator and 10 Representatives.
Considering that there are about 3 1/2 million more women in the United States than
men, this situation is outrageous.
It is true that part of the problem has been that women have not been aggressive in
demanding their rights. This was also true of the black population for many years. They
submitted to oppression and even cooperated with it. Women have done the same thing. But now
there is an awareness of this situation particularly among the younger segment of the population.
…
It is for this reason that I wish to introduce today a proposal that has been before every
Congress for the last 40 years and that sooner or later must become part of the basic law of the
land -- the equal rights amendment.
Let me note and try to refute two of the commonest arguments that are offered against
this amendment. One is that women are already protected under the law and do not need
legislation. Existing laws are not adequate to secure equal rights for women. Sufficient proof of
this is the concentration of women in lower paying, menial, unrewarding jobs and their
incredible scarcity in the upper level jobs. If women are already equal, why is it such an event
whenever one happens to be elected to Congress?
It is obvious that discrimination exists. Women do not have the opportunities that men
do. And women that do not conform to the system, who try to break with the accepted patterns,
are stigmatized as "odd" and "unfeminine." The fact is that a woman who aspires to be chairman
of the board, or a Member of the House, does so for exactly the same reasons as any man.
Basically, these are that she thinks she can do the job and she wants to try.
A second argument often heard against the equal rights amendment is that is would
eliminate legislation that many States and the Federal Government have enacted giving special
protection to women and that it would throw the marriage and divorce laws into chaos.
As for the marriage laws, they are due for a sweeping reform, and an excellent beginning
would be to wipe the existing ones off the books. Regarding special protection for working
women, I cannot understand why it should be needed. Women need no protection that men do
not need. What we need are laws to protect working people, to guarantee them fair pay, safe
working conditions, protection against sickness and layoffs, and provision for dignified,
comfortable retirement. Men and women need these things equally. That one sex needs
protection more than the other is a male supremacist myth as ridiculous and unworthy of respect
as the white supremacist myths that society is trying to cure itself of at this time.
Read more: Equal Rights For Women http://www.infoplease.com/t/hist/equal-rights-forwomen/#ixzz2Qqps3r7j
Religion/Sprituality/Superstition Resources
"Even as a tree has a single trunk but many branches and leaves, so there is one true
and perfect religion, but it becomes many religions as it passes through the human
medium. The one Religion is beyond all speech. Imperfect men and women put it
into such language as they can command and their words are interpreted by others
equally imperfectly. Hence the necessity of tolerance, which does not mean
indifference to one's own faith, but a more intelligent and purer love for it. True
knowledge of religion breaks down barriers between faith and faith."
Mahatma Gandhi
HOLY SONNETS.
XIV.
Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy ;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
John Donne
The Divine Image
To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
All pray in their distress;
And to these virtues of delight
Return their thankfulness.
For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
Is God, our father dear,
And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
Is Man, his child and care.
For Mercy has a human heart,
Pity a human face,
And Love, the human form divine,
And Peace, the human dress.
The Divine Image
Cruelty has a Human Heart,
And Jealousy a Human Face;
Terror the Human Form Divine,
And Secrecy the Human Dress.
The Human Dress is forged Iron,
The Human Form a fiery Forge,
The Human Face a Furnace seal’d,
The Human Heart is hungry Gorge.
Then every man, of every clime,
That prays in his distress,
Prays to the human form divine,
Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.
And all must love the human form,
In heathen, Turk, or Jew;
Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell
There God is dwelling too.
By: William Blake (1757-1827)
Author Mary Shelley explains where her idea for Frankenstein came from:
“We will each write a ghost story,” said Lord Byron, and his proposition was acceded to.
There were four of us. The noble author began a tale, a fragment of which he printed at the end of
his poem of Mazeppa. Shelley, more apt to embody ideas and sentiments in the radiance of brilliant
imagery and in the music of the most melodious verse that adorns our language than to invent the
machinery of a story, commenced one founded on the experiences of his early life. Poor Polidori
had some terrible idea about a skull-headed lady who was so punished for peeping through a keyhole - what to see I forget: something very shocking and wrong of course…
I busied myself to think of a story— a story to rival those which had excited us to this task.
One which would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature and awaken thrilling horror - one to
make the reader dread to look round, to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart. If I
did not accomplish these things, my ghost story would be unworthy of its name. I thought and
pondered - vainly. I felt that blank incapability of invention which is the greatest misery of
authorship, when dull. Nothing replies to our anxious invocations. “Have you thought of a story?”
was asked each morning, and each morning I was forced to reply with a mortifying negative…
Many and long were the conversations between Lord Byron and Shelley to which I was a
devout but nearly silent listener. During one of these, various philosophical doctrines were
discussed, and among others the nature of the principle of life, and whether there was any
probability of its ever being discovered and communicated. They talked of the experiments of Dr.
Darwin (I speak not of what the doctor really did or said that he did, but, as more to my purpose, of
what was then spoken of as having been done by him), who preserved a piece of vermicelli in a
glass case till by some extraordinary means it began to move with voluntary motion. Not thus,
afterall, would life be given. Perhaps a corpse would be reanimated; galvanism had given token of
such things: perhaps the component parts of a creature might be manufactured, brought together,
and endued with vital warmth.
Night waned upon this talk, and even the witching hour had gone by before we retired to
rest. When I placed my head on my pillow I did not sleep, nor could I be said to think. My
imagination, unbidden, possessed and guided me, gifting the successive images that arose in my
mind with a vividness far beyond the usual bounds of reverie. I saw - with shut eyes, but acute
mental vision - I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put
together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some
powerful engine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion. Frightful must it be,
for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavor to mock the stupendous
mechanism of the Creator of the world. His success would terrify the artist; he would rush away
from his odious handiwork, horror-stricken.
He would hope that, left to itself, the slight spark of life which he had communicated would
fade, that this thing which had received such imperfect animation would subside into dead matter,
and he might sleep in the belief that the silence of the grave would quench forever the transient
existence of the hideous corpse which he had looked upon as the cradle of life. He sleeps; but he is
awakened; he opens his eyes; behold, the horrid thing stands at his bedside, opening his curtains
and looking on him with yellow, watery, but speculative eyes. I opened mine in terror. The idea so
possessed my mind that a thrill of fear ran through me, and I wished to exchange the ghastly image
of my fancy for the realities around. I see them still: the very room, the dark parquet, the closed
shutters with the moonlight struggling through, and the sense I had that the glassy lake and white
high Alps were beyond. I could not so easily get rid of my hideous phantom; still it haunted me. I
must try to think of something else. I recurred to my ghost story – my tiresome, unlucky ghost
story! Oh! If I could only contrive one which would frighten my reader as I myself had been
frightened that night!
Civilization Resources
XVII. MEDITATION.
John Donne (1572-1631)
PERCHANCE he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill, as that he knows not it tolls for him;
and perchance I may think myself so much better than I am, as that they who are about me, and see
my state, may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that. The church is Catholic, universal, so
are all her actions; all that she does belongs to all. When she baptizes a child, that action concerns
me; for that child is thereby connected to that body which is my head too, and ingrafted into that
body whereof I am a member. And when she buries a man, that action concerns me: all mankind is
of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but
translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated; God employs several
translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but
God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that
library where every book shall lie open to one another. As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon
calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come, so this bell calls us all; but
how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness. There was a contention as
far as a suit (in which both piety and dignity, religion and estimation, were mingled), which of the
religious orders should ring to prayers first in the morning; and it was determined, that they should
ring first that rose earliest. If we understand aright the dignity of this bell that tolls for our evening
prayer, we would be glad to make it ours by rising early, in that application, that it might be ours as
well as his, whose indeed it is. The bell doth toll for him that thinks it doth; and though it intermit
again, yet from that minute that that occasion wrought upon him, he is united to God. Who casts not
up his eye to the sun when it rises? but who takes off his eye from a comet when that breaks out?
Who bends not his ear to any bell which upon any occasion rings? but who can remove it from that
bell which is passing a piece of himself out of this world?
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if
a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved
in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee. Neither can
we call this a begging of misery, or a borrowing of misery, as though we were not miserable enough
of ourselves, but must fetch in more from the next house, in taking upon us the misery of our
neighbours. Truly it were an excusable covetousness if we did, for affliction is a treasure, and scarce
any man hath enough of it. No man hath affliction enough that is not matured and ripened by and
made fit for God by that affliction. If a man carry treasure in bullion, or in a wedge of gold, and have
none coined into current money, his treasure will not defray him as he travels. Tribulation is
treasure in the nature of it, but it is not current money in the use of it, except we get nearer and
nearer our home, heaven, by it. Another man may be sick too, and sick to death, and this affliction
may lie in his bowels, as gold in a mine, and be of no use to him; but this bell, that tells me of his
affliction, digs out and applies that gold to me: if by this consideration of another's danger I take
mine own into contemplation, and so secure myself, by making my recourse to my God, who is our
only security.
Chief Powhatan
Address to Captain John Smith
delivered in 1609
I am now grown old and must soon die, and the succession must descend in order, to my
brothers, Opitchapam, Opechancanough, and Kekataugh, and then to my two sisters, and their
two daughters.
I wish their experience was equal to mine, and that your love to us might not be not be less than
ours to you. Why should you take by force that from us which you can have by love? Why
should you destroy us who have provided you with food? What can you get by war? We can hide
our provisions and fly into the woods. And then you must consequently famish by wrongdoing
your friends.
What is the cause of your jealousy? You see us unarmed and willing to supply your wants if you
come in a friendly manner; not with swords and guns as to invade an enemy. I am not so simple
as not to know that it is better to eat good meat, lie well, and sleep quietly with my women and
children; to laugh and be merry with the English, and, being their friend, to have copper,
hatchets, and whatever else I want than to fly from all, to lie cold in the woods, feed upon acorns,
roots and such trash, and to be so hunted that I cannot rest, eat, or sleep. In such circumstances,
my men must watch, and if a twig should but break, all would cry out, "Here comes Captain
Smith." And so, in this miserable manner to end my miserable life. And, Captain Smith, this
might soon be your fate too through your rashness and unadvisedness.
I, therefore, exhort you to peaceable councils, and above all I insist that the guns and swords, the
cause of all our jealousy and uneasiness, be removed and sent away.
Darkness
I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars
Did wander darkling in the eternal space,
Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth
Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air;
Morn came and went--and came, and brought no day,
And men forgot their passions in the dread
Of this their desolation; and all hearts
Were chill'd into a selfish prayer for light:
And they did live by watchfires--and the thrones,
The palaces of crowned kings--the huts,
The habitations of all things which dwell,
Were burnt for beacons; cities were consumed,
And men were gathered round their blazing homes
To look once more into each other's face;
Happy were those who dwelt within the eye
Of the volcanos, and their mountain-torch:
A fearful hope was all the world contain'd;
Forests were set on fire--but hour by hour
They fell and faded--and the crackling trunks
Extinguish'd with a crash--and all was black.
The brows of men by the despairing light
Wore an unearthly aspect, as by fits
The flashes fell upon them; some lay down
And hid their eyes and wept; and some did rest
Their chins upon their clenched hands, and smiled;
And others hurried to and fro, and fed
Their funeral piles with fuel, and looked up
With mad disquietude on the dull sky,
The pall of a past world; and then again
With curses cast them down upon the dust,
And gnash'd their teeth and howl'd: the wild birds
shriek'd,
And, terrified, did flutter on the ground,
And flap their useless wings; the wildest brutes
Came tame and tremulous; and vipers crawl'd
And twined themselves among the multitude,
Hissing, but stingless--they were slain for food.
And War, which for a moment was no more,
Did glut himself again;--a meal was bought
With blood, and each sate sullenly apart
Gorging himself in gloom: no love was left;
All earth was but one thought--and that was death,
Immediate and inglorious; and the pang
Of famine fed upon all entrails--men
Died, and their bones were tombless as their flesh;
The meagre by the meagre were devoured,
Even dogs assail'd their masters, all save one,
And he was faithful to a corse, and kept
The birds and beasts and famish'd men at bay,
Till hunger clung them, or the dropping dead
Lured their lank jaws; himself sought out no food,
But with a piteous and perpetual moan,
And a quick desolate cry, licking the hand
Which answered not with a caress--he died.
The crowd was famish'd by degrees; but two
Of an enormous city did survive,
And they were enemies: they met beside
The dying embers of an altar-place
Where had been heap'd a mass of holy things
For an unholy usage; they raked up,
And shivering scraped with their cold skeleton hands
The feeble ashes, and their feeble breath
Blew for a little life, and made a flame
Which was a mockery; then they lifted up
Their eyes as it grew lighter, and beheld
Each other's aspects--saw, and shriek'd, and died-Even of their mutual hideousness they died,
Unknowing who he was upon whose brow
Famine had written Fiend. The world was void,
The populous and the powerful--was a lump,
Seasonless, herbless, treeless, manless, lifeless-A lump of death--a chaos of hard clay.
The rivers, lakes, and ocean all stood still,
And nothing stirred within their silent depths;
Ships sailorless lay rotting on the sea,
And their masts fell down piecemeal: as they dropp'd
They slept on the abyss without a surge-The waves were dead; the tides were in their grave,
The moon their mistress had expir'd before;
The winds were withered in the stagnant air,
And the clouds perish'd; Darkness had no need
Of aid from them--She was the Universe.
Lord Byron (1788 – 1824)
"The Chimney Sweeper," from Songs of
Innocence
The Chimney Sweeper," from Songs of
Experience
When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!' "
So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.
A little black thing among the snow,
Crying " 'weep! 'weep!" in notes of woe!
"Where are thy father and mother? say?"—
"They are both gone up to the church to pray.
There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I
said,
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's
bare
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white
hair."
"Because I was happy upon the heath,
And smiled among the winter's snow,
They clothed me in the clothes of death,
And taught me to sing the notes of woe.
And so he was quiet, & that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping he had such a sight!
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned & Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.
And by came an Angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins & set them all free;
Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing, they
run,
And wash in a river and shine in the Sun.
Then naked & white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind.
And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father & never want joy.
And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags & our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy &
warm;
So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.
"And because I am happy and dance and sing,
They think they have done me no injury,
And are gone to praise God and his Priest and King,
Who make up a heaven of our misery."
By William Blake (1757-1827)
Leadership Resources
Excerpts from The Prince, written to guide rulers, not on how to be good, as was the traditional approach, but instead on how to be effective
Machiavelli (1469-1527)
…Therefore a prince, so long as he keeps his subjects united and loyal, ought not to mind the reproach of
cruelty; because with a few examples he will be more merciful than those who, through too much mercy, allow
disorders to arise, from which follow murders or robberies; for these are wont to injure the whole people, whilst
those executions which originate with a prince offend the individual only.
And of all princes, it is impossible for the new prince to avoid the imputation of cruelty, owing to new states
being full of dangers. Hence Virgil, through the mouth of Dido, excuses the inhumanity of her reign owing to its
being new, saying:
Res dura, et regni novitas me talia cogunt
Moliri, et late fines custode tueri. 1
Nevertheless he ought to be slow to believe and to act, nor should he himself show fear, but proceed in a
temperate manner with prudence and humanity, so that too much confidence may not make him incautious and
too much distrust render him intolerable.
Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be
answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, is much safer
to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with. Because this is to be asserted in
general of men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous, and as long as you succeed they are
yours entirely; they will offer you their blood, property, life and children, as is said above, when the need is far
distant; but when it approaches they turn against you. And that prince who, relying entirely on their promises,
has neglected other precautions, is ruined; because friendships that are obtained by payments, and not by
greatness or nobility of mind, may indeed be earned, but they are not secured, and in time of need cannot be
relied upon; and men have less scruple in offending one who is beloved than one who is feared, for love is
preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their
advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails….
…But it is necessary to know well how to disguise this characteristic, and to be a great pretender and
dissembler; and men are so simple, and so subject to present necessities, that he who seeks to deceive will
always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived. One recent example I cannot pass over in silence.
Alexander VI did nothing else but deceive men, nor ever thought of doing otherwise, and he always found
victims; for there never was a man who had greater power in asserting, or who with greater oaths would affirm
a thing, yet would observe it less; nevertheless his deceits always succeeded according to his wishes, because he
well understood this side of mankind.
Therefore it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary
to appear to have them…
1
...against my will, my fate,
A throne unsettled, and an infant state,
Bid me defend my realms with all my pow'rs,
And guard with these severities my shores.
Excerpts from Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III speech to the Air Force Sergeants Association Convention and Professional
Airmen's Conference Aug. 15. 2012
"I'm a big believer that in this business, people plus pride equals performance," he said. "And performance is our
bottom line. There is no other bottom line in this business. Nobody is going to care how well we treated our people
if we lose the next war.
"But, we are smart enough to know that we are not going to get that performance unless we take care of our
people," he added.
For leaders, part of taking care of people is knowing their stories. Welsh said he was once able to help a staff
sergeant who worked for him keep custody of his daughter, simply by learning about the Airman and his family.
"You've got to learn the stories," the general said. "If you don't know the stories, you can't lead the Airmen. It's
really that simple. Resiliency days, wingman days and big training events are all important, but they're not fixing it.
"I believe this is the answer: learn the stories," Welsh said. "I am absolutely convinced that if we knew each other
better, we would care for each other more. ... It all starts with great NCOs and great supervisors who understand
every Airman does have a story."
The chief of staff told the audience of enlisted leaders there is always someone who is better at something than
they are, and it is their job to recognize this.
"Everybody who has ever worked for you is better than you at something," he said. "Your job is to encourage that
and develop it, and to give them free reign. Every now and then, step back and lead from behind. You become the
cheerleader."
Welsh also emphasized the need for bold leadership, especially when it comes to meeting standards.
"People are going to criticize you if you're the one stepping up, making the calls, enforcing discipline, making sure
people meet standards and making sure the mission gets done," he said. "Deal with it. Make the tough decisions.
Make the hard calls. Make your NCOs make the hard calls, and make your Airmen make the hard calls."
The chief of staff concluded his remarks by reminding the audience that leadership is a gift.
"It's given to you by those who follow," Welsh said. "But, you have to be worthy of it. The question is, are we?"
A List of Popular Heroes from the 1800s

John Adams (1735-1826) - Vice President to George Washington, 2nd U.S. President, and Founding Father of
the United States.

John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) - The son of Founding Father, John Adams, he was a politician, diplomat, and
served as the 6th President of the United States.

Samuel Adams (1722-1803) - One of Founding Fathers of the United States, Adams was a statesman, political
philosopher, and leader of the movement that became the American Revolution.

Susan "Doc Susie" Anderson (1870-1960) - One of the first female pioneer physician in the West.

Susan Brownell Anthony (1820-1906) Leader in the American Anti-Slavery Society, she later turned her life's
devotion to women's suffrage and, with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, founded the National Woman Suffrage
Association and the newspaper Revolution.

Ida B. Wells Barnett (1862-1931) - A black journalist and militant civil rights leader, she was a cofounder of the
NAACP and the first president of the Negro Fellowship League.

Clara Barton (1824-1912) Called the "Angel of the Battlefield" for her first aid heroism during the Civil War, she
was instrumental in founding the American Red Cross.

Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) - Scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing
the first practical telephone.

Mary Bickerdyke (1817-1901) - An energetic heroine whose sole aim during the Civil War was to more efficiently
care for wounded Union soldiers.

Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) The daughter of former slaves, Mary became a writer, educator, a champion
of humanitarian causes, and an advocate of civil rights and education for Blacks.

Daniel Boone (1734-1820) - Frontiersman, pioneer, surveyor and Indian Fighter who blazed the trail known as the
Wilderness Road in 1775.

James Bowie (1796-1836) - An aggressive frontiersman, pioneer, explorer, and commander of the volunteers at
the Alamo, where he died.

Buffalo Soldiers - Though African Americans have fought in various military conflicts since colonial days, they did
not receive the nickname of "Buffalo Soldiers” until they began to battle Cheyenne warriors in 1867.

Benjamin Brown (1859-1910) - Buffalo Soldier who fought bandits in the Wham Paymaster Robbery and awarded
the Medal of Honor.

Christopher "Kit" Carson (1809-1868) - Carson was a daring and brave explorer, mountain man, trapper, scout,
soldier, and buffalo hunter.

George Washington Carver (1864-1943) - American scientist, botanist, educator and inventor.

George Rogers Clark - (1752-1818) - Soldier from Virginia and the highest ranking American military officer on the
northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War.

William Clark (1770-1838) - Explorer and geographical expert who co-lead the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Henry Clay (1777-1852) - Nineteenth-century American statesman, orator, negotiator, and politician who has
been dubbed one of the greatest Senators in U.S. history.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka: Mark Twain (1835-1910) - Author and humorist, he is sometimes called the
"Father of American Literature."

Davy Crockett (1786-1836) - Frontiersman, explorer, and American folk hero, Crockett a represented Tennessee
in the U.S. Congress, served in the Texas Revolution, and died at the age of 49 at the Battle of the Alamo.