Blog Post for 05/11
I have decided to change the topic of my final paper. Initially, I wanted to approach topic #1 and use Prometheus Bound, however my snow day assignment was on Philoctetes which I found to be much easier (at least for me) to analyze and elaborate on. I would like to add not only the physical pain Philoctetes feels, but also the emotional and mental effect of this pain that has been put upon Philoctetes. I have so much context that I know would work so well with my approach to this paper and by using his physical, mental, and emotional state altogether, I can write an essay that is better in writing and analyzation than if I were to solely write about Philoctetes physical state.
This is the great part about the Philoctetes as a whole - so often, we think of our mind/soul in opposition to our body: that there is a fundamental division between the two. We think of the body as a "sleeve" for the soul, or something against which our soul should fight (desires, physical urges, physical limitations). In the Philoctetes, however, his pain *becomes* part and parcel with his actions and his decisions. The pain seems to shape Philoctetes inner being, and in ways which are certainly not beneficial. We see the weakness of his body begin to shape the weakness of his soul in certain ways. He is more gullible, more vulnerable, more obsessive with his hatred for the perceived perpetrators of his illness.
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