1. Is Tartuffe in fact anti-religious, or does it only attack corruptions of religion?

I didn’t find Tartuffe to be anti-religious. From the story and what I read through the play it seemed to me he was more against the corruption established by religion. Tartuffe used comedy and sarcasm to take stabs at the faults and flaws of religious institutions such as the churches.

2. In what respects is Hugo’s Satan a heroic figure? How does Hugo’s account differ from Dante’s?

I found Hugo’s Satan to be a heroic figure because of a previous lesson “A Hero’s Journey,” based on the traits that make a hero. Hugo’s Satan is like the ruler of the underdogs, he started out as a “nobody” angel and worked his way down I should say, to become the ruler of hell. The difference between the two I found was how hell was described. In Dantes journey it was described as different levels. In this version it was just described as this dark abyss.

3. Discuss and compare the images in any two poems assigned for this week.

The two poems I chose were “A young man loves a maiden” and “Ah death is like the long cool night.” The language used in the two stories is incredibly dark and depressing. The first talks about a young man who cheats basically and leaves this maiden. The maiden gets anary and out of this anger marries the first man she meets just to “get back” at the young man. In the second poem it was using a day as a life cycle. When it was day there was life and as it reached night time the life was over there was no more “fun” to be had during the sultry life.

1. Granted that Machiavelli’s own historical context is remote, how far does his pattern of contrasts between political ideals and concrete realities apply today?

Machiavelli created a cynically pragmatic view of men and the qualities of an ideal leader. I feel that the contrast of qualities Machiavelli describes is, for the most part, consistent with what we expect in our leaders and representatives today. We shun government spending that we qualify as extraneous, we don’t like increased taxes, and there is more than a small share of criticism for the national debt. At the same time, we benefit from public servants and welfare, we think teachers should be paid more, and economic slumps are usually aided by government spending. We are fickle citizens and opinions vary widely, however, we are more likely to respect the leaders that can be frugal.

When it comes to love or fear, we want leaders to make decisions that will lead to greater national security, which will invariably lead to some form of cruelty, both internationally and domestically. Everything from the war on terror to death penalties tests our morals and convictions, but we would prefer knowing our families are safe. We can look back more objectively now on the events leading up to the atomic bombs the U.S. dropped in Japan. We know the lasting repercussions of the bombing now, in addition to the immediate death toll. Nearly 60 years ago, our leaders made a decision to end a conflict that would supposedly save more lives than an ongoing conflict would, especially with no diplomatic end in sight. This would also assert our national power at the very beginnings of the Cold War. Would we rather them having been merciful or cruel?

As far as keeping their word, I think everyone today is just as cynical in thinking that there would be no great surprised if a portion of successful leaders do not keep their word. Although, in a majority of campaign ads I have listened to, I hear very little of any type of agenda. Most are smear ads that hold little relevance to the person’s political character. When I do hear a politician speaking for themselves, their plans are very ambiguous. Perhaps this is an attempt to make general promises that cannot be directly broken.

2. Sister Juana de la Cruz cuts off her hair to force herself to learn more quickly, although she knows that among young women, “the natural adornment of one’s hair is held in such high esteem.’ Finally, she enters the convent (where woman had their heads shorn). What other works have you read that emphasize the importance of a woman’s hair? Why does it seem to have so much symbolic value in such a range of cultures and times?

I think that long hair, particularly healthy and well cared for, is associated with feminine beauty and youth. Generally, long hair appears to soften sharper aspects of the face, such as strong jaw lines or cheek bones, giving women a more youthful and friendly appearance. Today, girls who have short hair are perceived as very confident, pixie-like, or boyish. One work in which hair is emphasized is Little Women. Jo sells her hair and is told she has lost her one beauty. She cries about it later.

3. Bear in mind that the Aztec warrior’s highest duty is to bring home live captives for sacrifice. Give the Song for Admonishing a careful reading and decide–without researching the entire Cantares Mexicanos–what possible meaning might be assigned to the figurative terms “flower’ and “song.’

I had a difficult time reading this poem. I think song represent war. The author beats his drum, which often if used to instill fear in the enemy. Songs are also used to immortalize great warriors. I think flowers represent these warriors. The author says, “let [the enemy] come and hear the flower dawn songs drizzling down incessantly beside the drum.’ I think this means that the dead warriors, celebrated in song, are in a way revived and with the living warriors in spirit.

1.  I think that Machiavelli’s contrasts apply a lot to today’s politics. In a democratic society, it is quite evident that politicians run on ideals and make promises to the population that are very idealistic. These promises correspond to the way voters think governments should operate and often fail to consider how they actually do and the reality of their shortcomings.

2. Women’s hair is associated with beauty. However, it is an external beauty that is set on  attracting those around them. Hair is a way that women adorn themselves, either with accessories or by styling it with braids or other things. Because De La Cruz cuts her hair, she is turning her back to what the world views as important and beautiful, in order to pursue a more personal beauty. Hair has such a symbolic value across cultures, because it is something that all people can relate to. And because all women know the hassle of having long hair and caring for it, it is viewed as more precious and coveted.

3. In the Canteras Mexicanos, the flower is a figure for the heart and the song is a figure for the blood. The flowers are said to be necklaces for bravery and trophies. The flowers are also said to belong to the Ever Present, and the hearts were presented to him during sacrifices. The song is said to be “drizzling down incessantly beside the drum,” which could mean the heartbeat sounding like a drum.

1) I believe some of what Machiavelli testified to in The Prince, which was based on his own personal observations of great leaders, holds true and likely always will. To demonstrate, I will refer to The Way Princes Should Keep Their Word (1613-1615). Here, Machiavelli claims that “the masses are always impressed by the superficial appearance of things, and by the outcome of an enterprise … [and] the few have no influence when the many feel secure” (1615). In present day politics, this mentality plays itself out all the time. Most people are happy for instance when their current and near-term needs are being met by government. This is why many are not disturbed by significant national debt which each year continues to grow and translate into IOU’s that will one day need to be repaid. People would rather not see their services cut than think about how they are going to deal with them down the road. And many politicians cater to this mentality of short-term gratification because it is what most of the people want. Not many politicians step forward and say that they are willing to run on a platform of cutting spending drastically or significantly raising taxes to pay for the level of services that the public demands. This is an easy way for politicians to avoid big issues and get elected, whereby they receive handsome salaries and perks that many in the public could only dream of.

2) I honestly cannot recall women’s hair being a key topic of discussion in many of the books or stories that I have read. I am going to go out on a educated limb however and speculate that what women’s hair represents is beauty and power. We see all over modern popular culture women who are very powerful, and a significant degree of their power is derived from a female star’s appearance; consistent with most of these stars is long, beautiful hair. If we are to take a part of the world where women notoriously have little or no power outside of the household, we will see also barely any female hair at all. I spent a year of my life in Iraq, and rarely did I ever see a woman who was not concealing all or the majority of her hair underneath traditional garb. And I spent an entire year of my life in Afghanistan without hardly seeing a single Afghan woman at all from the local area.

3) It would appear to me that the flowers which are to be desired are acquired only where the Aztec Warriors go to battle with their enemies. The flowers which are not desired are found only where those that do not seek battle tend to gather. As far as songs, I believe this is the spirit which describes the warrior clad with many of the “good” flowers which have been obtained as booty during prior successful battles.

1. Granted that Machiavelli’s own historical context is remote, how far does his pattern of contrasts between political ideals and concrete realities apply today?

The pattern of contrasts between political ideals and concrete realities definitely applies in todays society. Every politician says they’re the “best’ or will do the most for society as a leader. In reality, they campaign by trashing the opponents rather than up talking themselves. Every politicians slogan should be “Ill tell you what everyone else wont do.’ Personally I don’t believe the perfect leader to be someone who throws everyone else under the bus. I would prefer a leader who takes ownership and holds himself responsible before others.

2. Sister Juana de la Cruz cuts off her hair to force herself to learn more quickly, although she knows that among young women, “the natural adornment of one’s hair is held in such high esteem.’ Finally, she enters the convent (where woman had their heads shorn). What other works have you read that emphasize the importance of a woman’s hair? Why does it seem to have so much symbolic value in such a range of cultures and times?

The only story that I can think of about is Repunzel. Her long hair is how a knight is able to come up to her tower by climbing her hair. Long hair represents beauty in society. Every time I picture a queen I get this image of a maid brushing the queens hair, and this is probably because her hair needs to be maintained because it is a status. In those times only the rich were able to wash and keep long hair like that clean so people who were poorer would keep it shorter than someone of a higher class.

3. Bear in mind that the Aztec warrior’s highest duty is to bring home live captives for sacrifice. Give the Song for Admonishing a careful reading and decide–without researching the entire Cantares Mexicanos–what possible meaning might be assigned to the figurative terms “flower’ and “song.’

I believe that the term flower is referring to the deceased warriors that had fallen in combat. As for the term “song’ I believe it has to do with whatever ceremony was practiced to honor the warriors that were captured to be sacrificed.

1. I think that Machiavelli’s pattern of contrasts between political ideals and realities apply today. He thought that the best kind of ruler was one that was what I think of as being a perfect type of person to lead a society. However he also talks about how it is nearly impossible to find someone with all the characteristics of being the perfect leader. I think that people today definitely want to believe and expect for every leader to be perfect and get everything done they say they will, and never do anything that others don’t agree with. However, at the same time people are people and that means that every leader is not going to meet the expectations of every person.
2. I have not read many important works that place importance on woman’s hair but growing up with two younger sisters I did read fairytales and such where hair was of emphasis. In many Disney movies and books the princess most always has long hair. At the most basic level in most cultures long hair is symbolic to being a woman. Also most women know that the healthier you are and keep your hair to be, the longer it gets. So that being said it is also a symbol of living a healthy lifestyle, it shows that your body is being properly nourished.
   

   https://disneyprincess.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Disney_Princesses

3. I had a hard time deciphering what “flower’ and “song’ meant in the song. I think that the flowers represent the warriors because in the song it says, “Sacred flowers of the dawn are blooming in the rainy place of flowers…’ To me this line gives a hint that the flowers symbolize the men getting ready to go to battle and this is why I said I think that’s what the term “flower’ means. I think that the term “song” symbolizes the battle that the warriors are getting ready for.

1. Granted that Machiavelli’s own historical context is remote, how far does his pattern of contrasts between political ideals and concrete realities apply today?

Machiavelli’s contrasts between concrete realities and political ideals do seem to apply to the world today. Negative criticism between political campaigners is a great place to start. The terrible things that are said and done to opponents in campaigns are sometimes unbelievable all just to make ones self look better than the opponent. In Machiavelli’s eyes anything bad that was said about someone was a lie. I generally believe that too. There are so many made up things during this time of year that it is sickening. In the story a ruler was to be respectful and was to be respected he was be truthful to his people. It is crazy to see how these things can compare to each other when they are so many years apart, it just goes to show how things can either never change or drastically change. Finding a perfect leader was and never will be an easy task for mankind to tackle. There are too many opinionated people in this world that never seem to be happy with the things that are out there.

2. Sister Juana de la Cruz cuts off her hair to force herself to learn more quickly, although she knows that among young women, “the natural adornment of one’s hair is held in such high esteem.’ Finally, she enters the convent (where woman had their heads shorn). What other works have you read that emphasize the importance of a woman’s hair? Why does it seem to have so much symbolic value in such a range of cultures and times?

Sister Juana de la Cruz’s choice to cut off her hair was to be a learning tool. In many different cultures there are different forms of symbolic values, in the bible the story of Samson, a man that’s power and strength came from his luscious locks. All cultures are different; many middle eastern cultures find it bad for men to see women’s hair unless she is the wife of the man. This shows a symbol of beauty. All cultures are different and that’s what makes our world diverse and interesting.

3. Bear in mind that the Aztec warrior’s highest duty is to bring home live captives for sacrifice. Give the Song for Admonishing a careful reading and decide–without researching the entire Cantares Mexicanos–what possible meaning might be assigned to the figurative terms “flower’ and “song.’

I think that the flower and song bring up a good story to the capturing and sacrificing of warriors. I find that the flower is captured warrior and the song is the celebration or the sacrifice for the Lords. I think that the flower and song is a representation of ones life as a warrior.

1.  Granted that Machiavelli’s own historical context is remote, how far does his pattern of contrasts between political ideals and concrete realities apply today?

I believe that Machiavelli’s pattern of political ideas compares very well with the concrete realities of today’s world.  Machiavelli knew what people wanted in a priest even if it was extremely unattainable.  This is very recognizable in today’s world with politics and their ads that they run during election times.  Machiavelli wanted to say whatever good things the people wanted to hear so that they would believe in the prince and believe that their leader was truly good.  This is seen very much so in the political today where leaders will say all the good things about themselves that they can fit into one commercial while completely bashing their opponents.  I think Machiavelli showed that all kinds of campaigning are good as long as people will still side with you.

2.Sister Juana de la Cruz cuts off her hair to force herself to learn more quickly, although she knows that among young women, “the natural adornment of one’s hair is held in such high esteem.’ Finally, she enters the convent (where woman had their heads shorn). What other works have you read that emphasize the importance of a woman’s hair? Why does it seem to have so much symbolic value in such a range of cultures and times?

The first story that comes to mind when taking about power from ones hair comes from bible school way back in the day with the story of Samson.  He was portrayed to be very strong because of his long hair and this gave him power.  When that deceiving woman cut it off, he felt weak and defeated. Another example of this is the story of Rupunzel where hair was portrayed as a item of power,  When her hair was cut off it lost its power to be forever youthful.

3. Bear in mind that the Aztec warrior’s highest duty is to bring home live captives for sacrifice. Give the Song for Admonishing a careful reading and decide–without researching the entire Cantares Mexicanos–what possible meaning might be assigned to the figurative terms “flower’ and “song.’

For the Aztecs, the ultimate honor was when they brought home a POW and were able to sacrifice the captive to their gods.  In this case, I think the song represents the connection for the offering to the gods.  I believe that the flower represents the captives.  The more flowers, the more captives the warriors brought back for sacrifice.

1. Machiavelli’s pattern of political ideals and concrete realities still have some current applications to this day while other parts of his patterns are no longer current in part of the world. In chapter 17 of The Prince he talks about how leaders are better off being feared as long as they are not hated. For democratic societies in this current day this no longer works because feared democratic leaders are not elected. As for some of the patterns that still effect society is the contrast between how princes should make promises but not keep them after they have what they wanted shown in chapter 18.

2. Women’s hair represents health and that is why it has such symbolic value in so many cultures and times. In the Ramayana when Sita and Rama are still discussing going into the wild part of the argument to stay in civilization is how their hair would grow matted. Which shows how living in the wild would affect there health.

3. In the song of Admonishing the flowers in the song are the warriors that are brought back to be sacrificed. One of the lines that show this is “not useless are the life-colored honey flowers’ in the end of the second verse of the song. The song continues in this line hitting on other points of the Aztec religion where the lives of humans restored the gods and the value the Aztecs saw in those lives. With the word ‘song’ also being used in the song has the same meaning for two different parts of the song. One is the continuance of the life of the gods and other beings that are restored by the human sacrifices. While the other is the the lives of the sacrifices and the vibrance of the lives of warriors showing why they are the best choice to restore the gods.

1.   Machiavelli believed that if a political leader was going to be generous, it was better for him to displayed his generosity in public.  He believed that if someone was in the process of becoming a prince, then it was wise to use generosity as a means to gain people’s trust.  In the other hand, generosity could be a sign of weakness.  For Machiavelli, a prince should be feared, but not to the point of being hated because of being too cruel. When a prince is feared, it makes their subjects united and obedient.  A leader also should be able to be a good liar when can’t do impossible or conflicting tasks.  The prince should know when to deceive and when to have integrity, depending on the circumstances and the kind of people.  For Machiavelli, the prince has to be good, but not all the time, sometimes it has to know when to be the opposite, otherwise the enemies and subjects will take him for weak and the people will not be secured.  I agree with Machiavelli, in that a political leader should be good to the people, but not so good to the point that he does everything that the people want, because this demonstrates that he is not a leader, but a follower.  Also, in today’s time, it is not that everyone has the appropriate education to determine what is the best for everyone.  There is a lot of people that are ignorant and will vote for a leader, for the mere fact of his looks.  I don’t agree in that a leader has to be cruel or coercive to rule or maintain order among the people or subjects.  Often, being persuasive and having more than one alternative is all it needs to have.  I think a leader should not deceive or lie to the people, with the excuse that is better if they do not know the truth, by thinking like this they make things worst.

2.   The hair always has symbolized the feminine side of a woman.  In different times it has also been considered a symbol of fertility.  In the old testament, the hair of the women was considered to be her veil, who distinguish them in the religious society.  It was then acquired as part of their culture.  Nouns, often cut their hairs to symbolize their religious commitment.  It means they are renouncing to everything considered vanity by the world, to instead, commit to a religious standard.

3.     In my opinion, the flowers in this song referred to the warriors that are coming back from war.  The princess, in the song are compared to different types of birds:  “troupials, spirit swans, trogons, roseate swans.’  Like birds are waiting for the spring, the song could be a symbol of how everyone, are waiting for the warriors to come back.  In the same way birds cannot survive without flowers, because they have the nectar, the people are waiting for this warriors to bring back the necessary sacrifices to keep surviving.  It also states:  “They who have accepted flood and blaze’, meaning the warriors, who have been in the awful battle.