Justin Leung Ms. Fernandez Essays - Greek Mythology, Mythology

Justin Leung Ms. Fernandez 12/30/16 ELA p. 3 Pygmalion Essay: Many may implore to ask and know: Do we create our own identity, or does identity create us? Our identity is what explains our lifetime story: it upholds our emotions, relations, goals, pasts, strengths, and weaknesses. It gives us an impression and creates a response of our lives and time. It embodies the essential and generic character of clashing instances in which constitutes to the reality of our mortal-self. Nevertheless, our language and relationships-- our elements of expression in which create and define our being of life--are the most important factors and composition of our unique and worldly identity as human beings. The myth "Pygmalion" displays our relations of identity throughout the text. For instance, the text states, "I must choose where I love...there is no life without love. I know how you can do it. Look. I stand here. I place my hand about her; my face against hers." This demonstrates how Pygmalion of Cyprus felt dearly about the goddess Aphrodite and instantly fell in love with the statue he created depicting her. Pygmalion spoke of how his heart felt right with hers to come and expressed his relation to her in a sense that distinguished him from his desires. Thus he explained how he could not have truly loved her, but in that sense he could not have lived without his love setting forth his own thoughts and emotions in the presence of Aphrodite. In addition the myth of "Daedalus" states, "...and there, as the lad stretched his arms towards the heavens, Daedalus stepped softly behind him, placed his hands on his shoulders, and pushed" This conveys how Daedalus' actions proved his vengeful and arrogant expression at first; and that showed to Athena how he was unfit for such a noble position as her favorite. Even so, his language of distinction also changed not himself as an individual, but his relation with the Goddess Athena, indicating a relation and effectiveness between that of relation and language. Daedalus later became a comprehensive understanding man of a acceptance, honor, and loyalty in the end alongside his son, Icarus, inside the labyrinth. In brief, the myths of "Pygmalion" and "Daedalus" prove how one's own language and relation of expression is the most important contributor to the shaping of the initial identity, both in the sense of truth and morality. Pygmalion had loved Aphrodite beyond looks and all; and showed forgiveness in heart and soul. Daedalus gave a passageway of how language correlates with relation in his life with Athena and the townsfolk; of King Minos and his son, Icarus.