Week 5
9/20:
This week while reading Philoctetes I picked up a couple of things that honestly made me question the leadership shown this week. I feel as if the dehumanization of another is honestly disgusting and dehumanizing another for personal gain is horrible. Philoctetes was abandoned by the very people he stood by in the trojan war and then when they realized they needed something from him they deceived him. In some ways I feel this story had no point as Philoctetes just ended up traveling to Troy to stop the war anyway.
9/22:
Where are you finding the best places to read for our class? The places I have found to read for my classes is in a quiet environment typically where I can get time to analyze and compare the text we have read.
What are you doing to eliminate distractions? To eliminate distractions I turn my phone off and work all in one sitting. If I do this I typically accomplish more than I would if I break it all into different sections.
What do you do when you don’t understand the material? I ask the Antiquity groupchat to get their opinion on the material.
How many times per week are you studying? What days work best? I try to study three times a week. Those days include Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday. Those days typically work for me unless I have test that week.
What do you do to stay engaged with the class discussion? I write in my journal what goes on in class and the discussion we have I talk about it in the groupchat as well.
Are you studying for our class in groups? If so, how many? What do you do when you study together? I am not studying in groups but I am asking questions in our groups.
What are you doing to take time to cultivate a personal relationship with the material, e.g., talking to others about the course material, setting aside time for reflection, applying the readings to your life? I actually have started this thing with my mother where I try to explain the material to her because if I can explain the material to someone else it truly means I understand it.
What are your best practices for composing your journals? I am still working out the kinks to working on my journals effectively but I do work on them periodically to reach my goal.
What are your best strategies for preparing for the weekly quizzes? Reading the material twice and looking at some analysis’ for the story.
Philoctetes name meaning: He who is more dear than a possession.
I honestly believe if you are going to strive to be a leader you must be empathetic with all people and especially when you are you must understand that we are all human beings with life so they should be treated like so. Learning that dehumanization is the opposite of leadership. You can not activate the hidden potential in others and have them bring out their best self if you are dehumanizing them. The worst part about reading Philoctetes was this section:
“You destroying fire, you utter monster, you hateful masterpiece of astounding wickedness! What treachery you have done to me! How thoroughly you have deceived me! And are you, you wretch, unashamed to look at me, [930] the suppliant who turned to you for mercy? In taking my bow, you have robbed me of my life. Return it, I beg you, return it, I pray you, son! By the gods of your fathers, do not rob me of my life! Ah, me! He speaks to me no more. [935] He looks away, as if he will never give it up! O you inlets and headlands, you wild creatures of the hills who have shared my life, and you jagged cliffs, to you — for you alone hear me — to you my accustomed companions, [940] I bewail the treacherous treatment I have received from the son of Achilles.”- Philoctetes
This is the effect of dehumanizing someone and betraying them. Philoctetes at this point in the story had been betrayed by someone he had trusted and felt was in the same situation as him. Neoptolemus took the only thing that Philoctetes had to survive or that he had left after the Greeks left him to die over a snake bite he received. Odysseus and Neoptolemus used Philoctetes weakness against him and played against his emotions to deceive him. In class today I was intrigued by the definition we used for dehumanize “denying agency or experience”. This gives a way to reason why people dehumanize. They do this to make themselves feel better about themselves or so they feel less guilty of their actions. We see that with Neoptolemus does this in the story when he tries to convince himself that Philoctetes is less. Even in history we have created factions that created the dehumanization in America. For example, segregation is a prime historical example how created factions helps create dehumanization. Even now we have these things. EX. Republicans and Democrats.
Something I found interesting was the duality between Neoptolemus and Odysseus and how they act toward Philoctetes. In the case of Neoptolemus we have someone who cares about his honor and how it is perceived. He also is able to feel remorse for his actions and eventually overturns his decision to betray Philoctetes endangering his own life for someone else. On the other side, we have Odysseus who is deceitful, manipulative, and only cares about winning the war even it means abusing someone else. He believes that they should use any means necessary to bring Philoctetes back to Troy so they can win this war. This creates a right and wrong situation that creates an internal battle between Neoptolemus honor and his duty.
9/23:
How I compare:
I have never felt as if someone must dehumanize another person to get what they want in any situation. I believe everyone is their own person and you should not have to step on the backs of others to get what you want. What I do appreciate about this “tragedy” is that Philoctetes actually gets a somewhat happy ending. He gets to go home and Heracles promises to heal his leg when he returns so his suffering will be put to an end.
Compares to:
Out of all of the characters we have gone through I believe this story is more connected to Binti than any of them. Both have really tragic things that happen and someone who is having an internal conflict between their beliefs and the current situation. (Binti and Neoptolemus) Binti also is dealing with traumatic and horrible situations that cause her to have to step up. Binti is also dehumanized by the Khoush when she first arrives just as Philoctetes is.
