Metamorphosis In Homers The Metamorphosis - 979 Words

Metamorphosis is a concept we are all familiar with, normally using the word to refer to the changes insects go through, specifically butterflies. (Hook) However, there is another idea of metamorphosis, that does not involve a caterpillar creating a cocoon. Humans experience metamorphosis throughout their lives, changing the way they act and behave. Metamorphosis is also experienced in the form of disguises, which can be used to serve many different purposes. (Discussion) This idea of metamorphosis is an important aspect of identity in mythological texts. (Thesis) In the Odyssey, Homer uses metamorphosis on the character Athena to help her fulfill her role as a mentor. Ovid’s The Metamorphoses also uses metamorphosis of the characters Io†¦show more content†¦Without the use of the disguises, Athena would not have been able to fulfil her role in the story as Telemachus’s mentor. Another instance where Athena uses a disguise to act as a mentor is closer to the en d of the book. Athena was disguised as a common man, and walked up to Odysseus, who was unaware of his location. Excited to see another person, Odysseus asks for help in protecting him and his belongings, along with asking where he currently is. Athena accused Odysseus of being uneducated man for not realizing he is in the well-recognized country of Ithaca. Odysseus is ecstatic to find out he has arrived back in his home land, and formulates a lie about how he came to arrive where he did, sure not to give away his identity. Here Athena is using her power to disguise herself to give Odysseus information about his location. In addition to this situation, Lippi mentioned in his article how Athena had assisted Odysseus in upwards of fifty situations (2011). This great amount of involvement Athena had in the story shows how important her and her metamorphosis was to The Odyssey. Additionally, metamorphosis is also a major component in Metamorphoses by Ovid. Ovid tells the story of Io, wh o is spotted by Jupiter, who noticed that she wasShow MoreRelated The Metamorphosis of Achilles in Homer’s The Iliad Essay1159 Words   |  5 PagesThe Metamorphosis of Achilles in Homer’s The Iliad Dr. Frost’s comments: With his clear explanation, illustrative quotes, and logical organization, the student easily proves his thesis, recapped and affirmed very well in the final paragraph. From the first pages of Homer’s The Iliad, Achilles is portrayed as vengeful, proud, and petty. As the book progresses, the image of Achilles as a spiteful child is sharpened dramatically. Towards the end of the epic; however, Achilles begins to exhibitRead MoreAnalysis Of John Milton s Paradise Lost 1678 Words   |  7 Pagessociety. Homer’s The Odyssey, like Paradise Lost, paints a vivid picture of superior masculinity in man and a helpless woman. While Homer presents Telemakhos as an epic hero in his quest to return home to his wife, Penelope, Milton portrays Adam as intelligent and powerful man, as he is given dominion over all of God’s creations. In The Odyssey, man is portrayed as the superior head of the house with the woman being relegated to play the subordinate role (Whittaker 35). In Metamorphosis, Ovid employsRead MoreAppropriation Of A Key Text From The Past1364 Words   |  6 Pagesthe upper class lifestyle through the character of Mr Alfred Doolittle. The intertextuality of â€Å"...it’s a choice between Skilly of the workhouse and Char Bydis of the middle class,† a reference to the mythological monsters confronted by Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey, conveys that lower class and middle class lifestyles are both arduous, suggesting that the middle class lifestyle is no better than that of the lower class. Thus Shaw challenges the validity of class as a social construct in Victorian EnglandRead MoreWhat Determines When A Boy Becomes A Man?1296 Words   |  6 Pagescombination of motivation and guidance that mold a boy into a man. These thoughts and theories have taken a clear spot in the infinite stack of unanswered questions throughout history. During The Odyssey the reader can experience the theories of Homer’s ideas on how to be come a man. Throughout the epic, Homer establishes a clear hypothesis of this transition directly with the character of Telemachus, a feeble child that eventually surprises many. With the help of the goddess Athena, Homer connectsRead More The Serpent-Vampire in Keats Lamia Essay3101 Words   |  13 Pagesfemme fatale, the goddess who offers the hero a paradise of ease and immortality, and the female monster, sometimes visibly horrible, sometimes apparently benign, that lurks in cliffs (Skylla), under the waters (Kharybdis), and on the rocks (Sirens). Homers Odyssey conveniently gives us examples of all of these women. The mortal femme fatale, represented most spectacularly by Helen of Troy, attracts men through her beauty and its promise of sexual bliss, leading them willingly to die for her favors.Read MoreThe And Other Monsters Of The Night By Eric Kripke4165 Words   |  17 Pagesvariations is that an individual, whether they are human or otherwise, are able to change into sev eral different forms in order to escape some sort of danger or difficulty, or to help them during a fight. One of the stories that have this idea is in Homer’s the Odyssey when Proteus was seized and would not give up his wisdom, then proceeded to transform himself into a succession of animal forms and others. He did this in order to protect himself from not giving up the wisdom, but also in order to protectRead MorePoetry Essay Prompt2545 Words   |  11 Pagesboth of these meanings relate to the title. 1982 Poem: â€Å"The Groundhog† (Richard Eberhart) Prompt: Write an essay in which you analyze how the language of the poem reflects the changing perceptions and emotions of the speaker as he considers the metamorphosis of the dead groundhog. Develop your essay with specific references to the text of the poem. 1983 Poem: â€Å"Clocks and Lovers† (W. H. Auden) Prompt: Write a well-organized essay in which you contrast the attitude of the clocks with that of the loverRead MoreGreek Mythology8088 Words   |  33 Pagesoffended  the  gods  by  killing  the  former  king  (recited  by  an  actor).   (p)  1992  Microsoft  Corporation.  All  rights  reserved./Culver  Pictures   Myths  charted  paths  through  difficult  territory,  examining  contradictions  and  ambiguities.  For  instance,   Homer’s  Iliad  explores  the  consequences  during  the  Trojan  War  of  the  Greek  leader  Agamemnon’s   decision  to  deprive  the  warrior  Achilles  of  his  allotted  prize,  a  female  slave.  Achilles  feels  that   Agamemnon  has  assailed  his  honor  or  worth  but  wonders  how  far  he  should  go  in  reactionRead More Shakespeare’s Use of Ovids Metamorphoses and Virgils Aeneid as Basis for The Tempest3769 Words   |  16 PagesOvid goes on to relate other stories of change that come from the Greek tradition, but he also recounts the tale of Aeneas journey from Troy to Italy, which is the topic of Virgils Aeneid. In this account, he also brings in stories that come from Homers Odyssey. In his final book, Ovid tells a flattering tale that involves Julius Caesar and Augustus, but this is most likely due to the fact that Ovid was being banished, and was trying to win back good favor. Relationship to The Tempest Read MoreEssay on The Odyssey21353 Words   |  86 Pagesa singer, for the age of true literacy was still to come. Accurate and complete works of Homer took a long time to be produced, and not for several generations did anything like an official text exist. As there was not a reading public, Homers poems were learned by heart by boys at school. The texts owned by cultivated Athenians in the 5th century BC were merely memory aides, rather than versions to be continuously studied. Some critics consider it unlikely that the same man wrote

How Loneliness Affects Characters in of Mice and Men

Loneliness Of mice and men. Loneliness is one of the primary themes in Of Mice and Men. Throughout the novel, John Steinbeck shows the enormous effect that loneliness has on the characters. Steinbeck most clearly illustrates this theme through Crooks, Candy, and Curley s wife. Ranch hands are ideal types of people to portray as being lonely, because their constant travel leaves them without someone to talk to or share things with. Steinbeck also shows how important it is for every human being to have a companion. Companionship is necessary in order for someone to live an enjoyable life. Although loneliness affects each one of the characters in Of Mice and Men differently, they all experience negative feelings from their lack of†¦show more content†¦In addition, Crooks also does not know how to relate and function normally anymore because of how his loneliness has effected him. Crooks s animosity was exemplified when Lennie comes into his room unannounced. He greets Lennie with: Come on in and set a whi le... Long as you won t get out and leave me alone, you might as well set down. Crooks has been lonely for so long that he expects people not to talk to him. When Lennie comes in and does not have any intention of hurting him, he realizes it and he let s his guard down. It may seem that he doesn t desire friendships or affection, but he no longer knows how to deal with his loneliness. It has made him into another person, one that obtains a relentless hostility toward anyone and everyone that gets close to Curleys wife -Curley s wife s loneliness has altered her demeanor towards others tremendously, making her overtly insecure and excessively flirtatious. Curley s wife has become virtually another person because of loneliness. The men on the ranch avoid her because of flirtatious personality to keep out of trouble. No one understands her situation and how loneliness affects her. Her insecurity is evident by the way she dresses and utilizes her make-up. She uses her appearance to rec eive attention like when [Curley s Wife] was standing there looking in. She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters,Show MoreRelatedJohn Steinbeck s Of Mice And Men767 Words   |  4 PagesJohn Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a classic among American literature and is regarded as an important novel in American literature. It is an effective novel that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat as it goes through The Great Depression with George and Lennie and their dream of owning a farm and how it is tragically ruined. One of the most important topics of the novel is loneliness and how it affects characters in the book. Loneliness affects the characters by their happiness and theirRead MoreLoneliness Felt in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and Eleanor Rigby by John Lennon and Paul McCartney542 Words   |  3 PagesOf Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and the poem Eleanor Rigby by John Lenn on and Paul McCartney, many of the characters are experiencing loneliness. When people feel lonely their way of lifestyle are different then that of someones whos not lonely or them if they were not lonely. Also because they are lonely their actions are different. They portray this in both the novel and the poem. The effects of loneliness on people are displayed in the novel Of Mice and Men through the character ofRead MoreOf Mice And Men Loneliness Character Analysis863 Words   |  4 PagesLoneliness is the feeling of sadness because you have no company. What do you think it would feel like to experience loneliness throughout a majority of your life? Inside the novel of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, loneliness was shown by many of the characters including Curley’s wife when she felt like she had no one there, not even her husband, Candy when his dog passed away, and many other characters. Loneliness is a big theme in the novel and affects many of the characters in many differentRead MoreOf Mice and Men1006 Words   |  5 Pagesheart of every novel.† In your view, what are the distinctive ideas explored in Of Mice and Men? Explain how these ideas are developed throughout the novel. Themes are integral and fundamental aspects which render the literature valuable. They usually provide insight into the author’s perception and internalisations of the world in which they live. Set in California during the Great Depression, Of Mice and Men, by Steinbeck, illustrates the hardships experienced by individuals as they roamed theRead MoreMice and Men822 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Of Mice and Men† The Great Depression took place in the United States in the 1930s. Northern California, Salinas Valley was affected by the Great Depression. Many farmers lost their properties and were forced to find other work. Banks were forced to foreclose on mortgages’ and had to collect debts. Hundreds of thousands of farmers packed up their families and few belongings, and headed for California. The Great Depression left many people in poverty and caused them to face unpleasant eventsRead MoreEssay On Loneliness835 Words   |  4 Pagesone. Loneliness can have many negative effects on a person’s well-being. Some results could be craziness, depression, or even sickness. These effects could lead to even worse mental health issues. In order for humans to be happy, friendships and connections are vital; as well as never keeping isolated from the world. The characters George, Lennie and Crooks were all affected by loneliness. All these characters were affected in different ways. In J ohn Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, loneliness has aRead MoreLoneliness Will Stay Over Our Roofs With Brooding Wings1145 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Loneliness will sit over our roofs with brooding wings.† - Bram Stoker. This quote is saying that loneliness will continue to change our lives, whether it is being antisocial or not being able to talk to anyone. Loneliness will change our lives, whether we realize it or not. In the Book Of Mice and Men, loneliness portrays a key role in the theme of the story. Affecting many workers on the ranch that Of Mice and Men is set in. In the the book Of Mice and Men, the theme of loneliness is expressedRead MoreOmm Essay888 Words   |  4 PagesOf Mice and Men Essay In 1929, tears swept the nation and gloom bestowed itself upon a once happy place. The Great Depression had started. People lost everything ,so many became migrant workers. Of Mice and Men, a classic novel written by John Steinbeck, emphasizes many sad themes, but gives us a good insight on what life was like in the 1940’s for many people. Although there are other themes, rootlessness, loneliness, and poverty are extremely prominent throughout the novel in many charactersRead MoreJohn Steinbeck s Of Mice And Men1248 Words   |  5 PagesIn Steinbeck s novel Of Mice and Men, He uses imagery many times to create a realistic setting and plot. Steinbeck’s depiction of migrant workers and their daily complications during the depression are objectively precise due to his use of imagery with idioms, dreams, nature, loneliness and animal imagery. The main theme of the book transpires to be loneliness and fate. While George and Lennie, the main characters have a synergetic rel ationship, fate steps in and does away with their dreams, whichRead MoreLoneliness is the Biggest Problem Facing the Characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’809 Words   |  4 PagesThe story ‘Of Mice and Men’ is set in a period of time known as the Great Depression. The Great Depression was a time where the stock market crashed leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless or striving exceptionally hard to keep their roof from falling in. The characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’ face many dilemmas, for instance Curley’s wife doesn’t get much attention from her husband and seeks it out from the other ranch members and Crooks can’t live a day without being singled out because of

Lamb The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 15 Free Essays

string(22) " thing is outside it\." Chapter 15 Joshua and Balthasar rode into Kabul at a time of night when only cutthroats and whores were about (the whores offering the â€Å"cutthroat discount† after midnight to promote business). The old wizard had fallen asleep to the rhythm of his camel’s loping gait, an act that nearly baffled Joshua as much as the whole demon business, as he spent most of his time on camelback trying not to upchuck – seasickness of the desert, they call it. Joshua flicked the old man’s leg with the loose end of his camel’s bridle, and the magus came awake snorting. We will write a custom essay sample on Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 15 or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"What is it? Are we there?† â€Å"Can you control the demon, old man? Are we close enough for you to regain control?† Balthasar closed his eyes and Joshua thought that he might be going to sleep again, except his hands began to tremble with some unseen effort. After a few seconds he opened his eyes again. â€Å"I can’t tell.† â€Å"Well, you could tell that he was out.† â€Å"That was like a wave of pain in my soul. I’m not in intimate contact with the demon at all times. We are probably too far away still.† â€Å"Horses,† Joshua said. â€Å"They’ll be faster. Let’s go wake up the stable master.† Joshua led them through the streets to the stable where we had boarded our camels when we came to town to heal the blinded bandit. There were no lamps burning inside, but a half-naked whore posed seductively in the doorway. â€Å"Special for cutthroats,† she said in Latin. â€Å"Two for one, but no refunds if the old man can’t do the business.† It had been so long since he’d heard the language that it took Joshua a second to respond. â€Å"Thank you, but we’re not cutthroats,† Joshua said. He stepped past her and pounded on the door. She ran a fingernail down his back as he waited. â€Å"What are you? Maybe there’s another special.† Joshua didn’t even look back. â€Å"He’s a two-hundred-and-sixty-year-old wizard and I’m either the Messiah or a hopeless faker.† â€Å"Uh, yeah, I think there is a special rate for fakers, but the wizard has to pay full price.† Joshua could hear stirring inside of the stable master’s house and a voice calling for him to hold his horses, which is what stable masters always say when they make you wait. Joshua turned to the whore and touched her gently on the forehead. â€Å"Go, and sin no more,† he said in Latin. â€Å"Right, and what do I do for a living then, shovel shit?† Just then the stable master threw open the door. He was short and bowlegged and wore a long mustache that made him look like a dried-up catfish. â€Å"What is so important that my wife couldn’t handle it?† â€Å"Your wife?† The whore ran her nail across the back of Joshua’s neck as she passed him and stepped into the house. â€Å"Missed your chance,† she said. â€Å"Woman, what are you doing out here anyway?† asked the stable master. Joy scurried out onto the landing and pulled a short, broad-bladed black dagger from the folds of her robe. The ends of the rope ladder were swaying in front of her as the monster descended. â€Å"No, Joy,† I said, reaching out to pull her back into the cave. â€Å"You can’t hurt it.† â€Å"Don’t be so sure.† She turned and grinned at me, then ran the dagger twice over the thick ropes on one side leaving it attached by only a few fibers, then she reached up a few rungs and sliced most of the way through the other side of the ladder. I couldn’t believe how easily she’d cut through the rope. She stepped back into the passageway and held the blade up so it caught the starlight. â€Å"Glass,† she said, â€Å"from a volcano. It’s a thousand times sharper than any edge on an iron blade.† She put the dagger away and pulled me back into the passageway, just far enough so we could see the entrance and the landing. I could hear the monster coming closer, then a huge clawed foot appeared in silhouette in the entrance, then the other foot. We held our breath as the monster reached the cut section of the ladder. Nearly a whole massive thigh was visible now, and one of his talonlike hands was reaching down for a new hold when the ladder snapped. Suddenly the monster hung sideways, swinging from his hold on a single rope in front of the entrance. He looked right at us, the fury in his yellow eyes replaced for a moment by confusion. His leathery bat ears rose in curiosity, and he said, â€Å"Hey?† Then the second rope snapped and he plunged out of our view. We ran out to the landing and looked over the edge. It was at least a thousand feet to the floor of the valley. We could only see several hundred feet down in the dark, but it was several hundred feet of cliff face that was conspicuously monsterless. â€Å"Nice,† I said to Joy. â€Å"We need to go. Now.† â€Å"You don’t think that did it?† â€Å"Did you hear anything hit bottom?† â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"Neither did I,† she said. â€Å"We had better get going.† We’d left the water skins at the top of the plateau and Joy wanted to grab some from the kitchen but I dragged her toward the front entrance by the collar. â€Å"We need to get as far away from here as we can. Dying of thirst is the least of my worries.† Once we were in the main area of the fortress there was enough light to negotiate the hallways without a lamp, which was good, because I wouldn’t let Joy stop to light one. As we rounded the stairway to the third level Joy jerked me back, almost off my feet, and I turned around as mad as a cat. â€Å"What? Let’s get out of here!† I screamed at her. â€Å"No, this is the last level with windows. I’m not going through the front door not knowing if that thing is outside it. You read "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 15" in category "Essay examples"† â€Å"Don’t be ridiculous, it would take a man on a fast horse a half hour to make it around from the other side.† â€Å"But what if it didn’t fall all the way? What if it climbed back up?† â€Å"That would take hours. Come on, Joy. We could be miles away from here by the time he gets here from the other side.† â€Å"No!† She swept my feet out from under me and I landed flat on my back on the stone floor. By the time I was on my feet again she had run through the front chamber and was hanging out the window. As I approached her she held her finger to her lips. â€Å"It’s down there, waiting.† I pulled her aside and looked down. Sure enough, the beast was looming in front of the iron door, waiting to grab the edge in its claws and rip it open as soon as we threw the bolts. â€Å"Maybe it can’t get in,† I whispered. â€Å"It couldn’t get through the other iron door.† â€Å"You didn’t understand the symbols all over that room, did you?† I shook my head. â€Å"They were containment symbols – to contain a djinn, or a demon. The front door doesn’t have any on it. It won’t hold him back.† â€Å"So why isn’t he coming in?† â€Å"Why chase us when we will come right to him?† Just then the monster looked up and I threw myself back from the window. â€Å"I don’t think he saw me,† I whispered, spraying Joy with spit. Then the monster began to whistle. It was a happy tune, lighthearted, something like you might whistle while you were polishing the bleached skull of your latest victim. â€Å"I’m not stalking anyone or anything,† the monster said, much louder than would have been required had he been talking to himself. â€Å"Nope, not me. Just standing here for a second. Oh well, no one is here, I guess I’ll be on my way.† He began to whistle again and we could hear footsteps getting quieter along with the whistling. They weren’t moving away, they were just getting quieter. Joy and I looked out the window to see the huge beast doing an exaggerated pantomime of walking, just as his whistle fizzled. â€Å"What?† I shouted down, angry now. â€Å"Did you think we wouldn’t look?† The monster shrugged. â€Å"It was worth a try. I figured I wasn’t dealing with a genius when you opened the door in the first place.† â€Å"What’d he say? What’d he say?† Joy chanted behind me. â€Å"He said he doesn’t think you’re very smart.† â€Å"Tell him that I’m not the one who has spent all these years locked in the dark playing with myself.† I pulled back from the window and looked at Joy. â€Å"Do you think he could fit though this window?† She eyed the window. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Then I’m not going to tell him. It might make him angry.† Joy pushed me aside, stepped up on the windowsill, turned around and faced me, then pulled up her robe and peed backward out the window. Her balance was amazing. From the growling below, I gathered that her accuracy wasn’t bad either. She finished and jumped down. I looked out the window at the monster, who was shaking urine from its ears like a wet dog. â€Å"Sorry,† I said, â€Å"language problem. I didn’t know how to translate.† The monster growled and the muscles in its shoulders tensed beneath the scales, then it let loose with a punch that sent its fist completely through the iron skin of the door. â€Å"Run,† Joy said. â€Å"Where?† â€Å"The passage to the cliff.† â€Å"You cut the ladder.† â€Å"Just run.† She pulled me along behind her, guiding us through the dark as she had before. â€Å"Duck,† she shouted, just a second after I realized that we’d entered the smaller passageway by using the sensitive stone-ceiling-sensing nerves in my forehead. We made it halfway down the passageway to the cliff when I heard the monster hit and curse. There was a pause, then a horrible grinding noise so intense that we had to shield our ears from the assault. Then came the smell of burning flesh. Dawn broke just as Joshua and Balthasar rode into the canyon entrance to the fortress. â€Å"How about now?† Joshua asked. â€Å"Do you feel the demon now?† Balthasar shook his head balefully. â€Å"We’re too late.† He pointed to where the great round door had once stood. Now it was a pile of bent and broken pieces hanging on what was left of the huge hinges. â€Å"What in the name of Satan have you done?† Joshua said. He jumped off his horse and ran into the fortress, leaving the old man to follow as best he could. The noise in the narrow passageway was so intense that I cut pieces of cloth from my sleeves with Joy’s dagger and stuffed them in our ears. Then I lit one of the fire sticks to see what the monster was doing. Joy and I stood there, gaped-jawed, watching as the beast worried away at the stone of the passage, his claws moving in a blur of speed, throwing smoke and dust and stone shards into the air as he went, his scales burning from the friction and growing back as fast as they burned away. He hadn’t come far, perhaps five feet toward us, but eventually he would widen the passage enough and pull us out like a badger digging termites out of the nest. I could see now how the fortress had been built without tool marks. The creature moved so quickly – literally wearing away the walls with his claws and scales – that the stone was polished as it was cut. We had already made two ascents up what was left of the ladder to the top of the plateau, only to have the monster come around and chase us back down it before we could get to the road. The second time he pulled the ladder up, then returned to the interior of the fortress to resume his hellish digging. â€Å"I’ll jump before I’ll let that thing get me,† I said to Joy. She looked over the edge of the cliff into the endless darkness below. â€Å"You do that,† she said. â€Å"Let me know how it goes.† â€Å"I will, but first I’ll pray.† And I did. I prayed so hard that beads of sweat popped out on my forehead and ran over my tightly closed eyes. I prayed so hard that even the constant screeching of the monster’s scales against the stone was drowned out. For a moment there, I was sure that it was just me and God. As was his habit with me, God remained quiet, and I suddenly realized how frustrated Joshua must have been, asking always for a path to follow, a course of action, and being answered by nothing but silence. When I opened my eyes again dawn had broken over the cliff and light was streaming into the passageway. By full daylight the demon was even scarier. There was blood and gore all over him from the massacre of the girls, and even as he relentlessly wore away at the stone, flies buzzed around him, but as each tried to light on him it died instantly and fell to the floor. The stench of rotting flesh and burning scales was almost overwhelming, and that alone nearly sent me over the side of the cliff. The beast was only three or four cubits out of reach from us, and every few minutes he would rear back, then throw his claw forward to try and grab at us. Joy and I huddled on the landing over the cliff face, looking for any purchase, any handhold that would get us away from the beast: up, down, or sideways across the cliff face. The fear of heights had suddenly become very minor. I was beginning to be able to feel the breeze from the monster’s talons as he lunged into the narrow opening at us when I heard Balthasar’s deep bass shout from behind the beast. The monster filled the whole opening so I couldn’t see behind it, but he turned around and his spade-tipped tail whipped around us, nearly lacerating our skin as it passed. Joy drew the glass knife from her robe and slashed at the tail, nicking the scales but apparently not causing the monster enough trouble to turn around. â€Å"Balthasar will tame you, you son of a shit-eating lizard!† Joy screamed. Just then something came shooting through the opening and we ducked out of the way as it sailed into space and fell out of sight to the canyon floor, screeching like a falcon on the dive. â€Å"What was that?† Joy was trying to squint into infinity to see what the monster had thrown. â€Å"That was Balthasar,† I said. â€Å"Oops,† said Joy. Joshua yanked the great spade-tipped tail and the demon swung around with a ferocious snarl. Joshua held on to the tail even as the demon’s claws whistled by his face. â€Å"What is your name, demon?† Joshua said. â€Å"You won’t live long enough to say it,† said the demon. He raised his claw again to strike. Joshua yanked his tail and the demon froze. â€Å"No. That’s not right. What is your name?† â€Å"My name is Catch,† said the demon, dropping his arm to his side in surrender. â€Å"I know you. You’re the kid, aren’t you? They used to talk about you in the old days.† â€Å"Time for you to go home,† Joshua said. â€Å"Can’t I eat those two outside on the ledge first?† â€Å"No. Satan awaits you.† â€Å"They are really irritating. She peed on me.† â€Å"No.† â€Å"I’d be doing you a favor.† â€Å"You don’t want to hurt them now, do you?† The demon laid his ears back and bowed his enormous head. â€Å"No. I don’t want to hurt them.† â€Å"You’re not angry anymore,† Joshua said. The monster shook his head, he was already bent nearly double in the narrow passage, but now he prostrated himself before Joshua and covered his eyes with his claws. â€Å"Well, I’m still angry!† Balthasar screamed. Joshua turned to see the old man covered with blood and dirt, his clothes torn from where his broken bones had ripped through them on impact. He was healed now, only minutes after the fall, but not much better for having made the trip. â€Å"You survived that fall?† â€Å"I told you, as long as the demon is on earth, I’m immortal. But that was a first, he’s never been able to hurt me before.† â€Å"He won’t again.† â€Å"You have control over him? Because I don’t.† Joshua turned around and put his hand on the demon’s head. â€Å"This evil creature once beheld the face of God. This monster once served in heaven, obtained beauty, lived in grace, walked in light. Now he is the instrument of suffering. He is hideous of aspect and twisted in nature.† â€Å"Hey, watch it,† said the demon. â€Å"What I was going to say is that you can’t blame him for what he is. He has never had what you or any other human has had. He has never had free will.† â€Å"That is so sad,† said the demon. â€Å"One moment, Catch, I will let you taste that which you have never known. For one moment I will grant you free will.† The demon sobbed. Joshua took his hand from the demon’s head, then dropped his tail and walked out of the narrow passageway into the fortress hall. Balthasar stood beside him, waiting for the demon to emerge from the passageway. â€Å"Are you really able to do that? Give him free will?† â€Å"We’ll see, won’t we?† Catch crawled out of the passageway and stood up, now just ducking his head. Great viscous tears rolled down his scaled cheeks, over his jaws, and dripped to the stone floor, where they sizzled like acid. â€Å"Thank you,† he growled. â€Å"Free will,† Balthasar said. â€Å"How does that make you feel?† The demon snatched up the old man like a rag doll and tucked him under his arm. â€Å"It makes me feel like throwing you off the fucking cliff again.† â€Å"No,† said Joshua. He leapt forward and touched the demon’s chest. In that instant the air popped as the vacuum where the demon had stood was filled. Balthasar fell to the floor and groaned. â€Å"Well, that free will thing wasn’t such a great idea,† said Balthasar. â€Å"Sorry. Compassion got the better of me.† â€Å"I don’t feel well,† the magus said. He sat down hard on the floor and let out a long dry rasp of breath. Joy and I came out of the passage to find Joshua bent over Balthasar, who was actively aging as we looked on. â€Å"He’s two hundred and sixty years old,† Joshua said. â€Å"With Catch gone, his age is catching up.† The wizard’s skin had gone ashen and the whites of his eyes were yellow. Joy sat on the floor and gently cradled the old man’s head in her lap. â€Å"Where’s the monster?† I asked. â€Å"Back in hell,† Joshua said. â€Å"Help me get Balthasar to his bed. I’ll explain later.† We carried Balthasar to his bedchamber, where Joy tried to pour some broth into him, but he fell asleep with the bowl at his lips. â€Å"Can you help him?† I asked no one in particular. Joy shook her head. â€Å"He’s not sick. He’s just old.† â€Å"It is written, ‘To every thing there is a season,'† Joshua said. â€Å"I can’t change the seasons. Balthasar’s time has come round at last.† Then he looked at Joy and raised his eyebrows. â€Å"You peed on the demon?† â€Å"He had no right to complain. Before I came here I knew a man in Hunan who’d pay good money for that.† Balthasar lingered for ten more days, toward the end looking more like a skeleton wrapped in old leather than a man. In his last days he begged Joshua to forgive him his vanity and he called us to his bedside over and over to tell us the same things, as he would forget what he’d told us only a few hours before. â€Å"You will find Gaspar in the Temple of the Celestial Buddha, in the mountains to the east. There is a map in the library. Gaspar will teach you. He is truly a wise man, not a charlatan like me. He will help you become the man you need to be to do what you must do, Joshua. And Biff, well, you might not turn out terrible. It’s cold where you are going. Buy furs along the way, and trade the camels for the woolly ones with two humps.† â€Å"He’s delirious,† I said. Joy said, â€Å"No, there really are woolly camels with two humps.† â€Å"Oh, sorry.† â€Å"Joshua,† Balthasar called. â€Å"If nothing else, remember the three jewels.† Then the old man closed his eyes and stopped breathing. â€Å"He dead?† I asked. Joshua put his ear to the old man’s heart. â€Å"He’s dead.† â€Å"What was that about three jewels?† â€Å"The three jewels of the Tao: compassion, moderation, and humility. Balthasar said compassion leads to courage, moderation leads to generosity, and humility leads to leadership.† â€Å"Sounds wonky,† I said. â€Å"Compassion,† Joshua whispered, nodding toward Joy, who was silently crying over Balthasar. I put my arm around her shoulders and she turned and sobbed into my chest. â€Å"What will I do now? Balthasar is dead. All of my friends are dead. And you two are leaving.† â€Å"Come with us,† Joshua said. â€Å"Uh, sure, come with us.† But Joy did not come with us. We stayed in Balthasar’s fortress for another six months, waiting for winter to pass before we went into the high mountains to the east. I cleaned the blood from the girls’ quarters while Joy helped Joshua to translate some of Balthasar’s ancient texts. The three of us shared our meals, and occasionally Joy and I would have a tumble for old times’ sake, but it felt as if the life had gone out of the place. When it came time for us to leave, Joy told us of her decision. â€Å"I can’t go with you to find Gaspar. Women are not allowed in the monastery, and I have no desire to live in the backwater village nearby. Balthasar has left me much gold, and everything in the library, but it does me no good out here in the mountains. I will not stay in this tomb with only the ghosts of my friends for company. Soon Ahmad will come, as he does every spring, and I will have him help me take the treasure and the scrolls to Kabul, where I will buy a large house and hire servants and I will have them bring me young boys to corrupt.† â€Å"I wish I had a plan,† I said. â€Å"Me too,† said Josh. The three of us celebrated Joshua’s eighteenth birthday with the traditional Chinese food, then the next morning Joshua and I packed up the camels and prepared to head east. â€Å"Are you sure you’ll be all right until Ahmad comes?† Joshua asked Joy. â€Å"Don’t worry about me, you go learn to be a Messiah.† She kissed him hard on the lips. He squirmed to get loose from her and he was still blushing as he climbed onto his camel. â€Å"And you,† she said to me, â€Å"you will come to see me in Kabul on your way back to Israel or I will put such a curse on you as you’ll never be free of it.† She took the little ying-yang vial full of poison and antidote from around her neck and put it around mine. It might have seemed a strange gift to anyone else, but I was the sorceress’s apprentice and it seemed perfect to me. She tucked the black glass knife into my sash. â€Å"No matter how long it takes, come back and see me. I promise I won’t paint you blue again.† I promised her and we kissed and I climbed on my camel and Joshua and I rode off. I tried not to look back, once again, to another woman who had stolen my heart. We rode a half a furlong apart, each of us considering the past and future of our lives, who we had been and who we were going to be, and it was a couple of hours before I caught up with Joshua and broke the silence. I thought of how Joy had taught me to read and speak Chinese, to mix potions and poisons, to cheat at gambling, to perform slight of hand, and where and how to properly touch a woman. All of it without expecting anything in return. â€Å"Are all women stronger and better than me?† â€Å"Yes,† he said. It was another day before we spoke again. Part III Compassion Torah! Torah! Torah! WAR CRY OF THE KAMIKAZE RABBIS How to cite Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 15, Essay examples