Ilir Hasi

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After reading Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes, I came to the conclusion that Don Quixote was really a nutty old fool. I remember when I was little and my family used to tell me, “you’ve watched too many movies”, because I used to imitate things I saw in the movies. In Don Quixote’s case, he had read too many books. He lived his life according to his readings, thinking that everything had a happy ending. According to the story, “he spent whole nights from sundown to sunup and his days from dawn to dusk in poring over his books, until, finally, from so little sleep and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind” (Cervantes, 2681). This guy read so much that he could have literally become a walking and breathing anthology.

His madness is clearly depicted throughout his journey in fulfilling his destiny to become a Knight. At first, he stayed at an inn that he thinks was a castle. There he meets two lovely prostitutes which continuously mock him by playing along with his game. Clearly, this act shows that Don Quixote had become mad. Other instinct was when he fought the sheep’s thinking that they were actually men. After, in which he loses his self-respect and his teeth from the stones thrown by the farmers. Not saying that he had any form of dignity before this. All in all, Don Quixote is undoubtedly a crazy old fool that had entered a period in his life which was encompassed by childish and mentally unstable acts.

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The Odyssey is my text of choice to make into a modern-day movie. The Odyssey tells the tale of Odysseus and his voyage home. This epic best resembles the modern-day movie of “Rocky 3”. Rocky Balboa, the Italian stallion will play the role of Odysseus, being that they have similar qualities such as fortitude and courage. Apollo, the boxer, will represent Troy because after conquering Troy is when Odysseus becomes great. The new trainer will play the role of the Gods since it is the Gods who favor and help him get home. The setting would take in place in Philadelphia because just like hardships that were endured at sea, Philadelphia was also a city of hardship and high unemployment during the 80s. At the beginning of the movie, Rocky is praised by everyone for the courage and will he displayed by beating Apollo. As a result, Rocky became very arrogant and believes he is unbeatable. However, he is quickly challenged by a rookie fighter and is defeated. This rookie fighter will play the role of Poseidon because it is he who does not allow Odysseus to return home and posses as an obstacle. Thus, Rocky struggles because he loses everything such as his pride, respect and mostly importantly his true trainer, Mickie. Mickie will play the roles of the crewmen because they are important people on his voyage home who die unfortunately. Still, with the help of a new trainer, Rocky is able to regain focus and is determined to return back to the ring to reclaim his title. In “Rocky 3”, the trainer starts Rocky off by teaching him the fundamentals of foot work. Regaining the title belt for Rocky symbolize home for Odysseus. With the help of a new trainer, Rocky is able to overcome obstacles such as abnormal training techniques. As Rocky trains, he becomes modest and does not take things for granted anymore. Finally, Rocky gets back into the ring and is able to regain his title. “Rocky 3” is a great modern-day version of The Odyssey because it depicts a hero who at first seems to have it all but takes everything for granted and loses everything. However, with the help of outsiders and willpower as well as a great deal of courage, heroism is regained and humility is learned.

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As we have been told before or have read, the Trojan horse was the reason that led to the downfall of Troy. However, after reading Mythology by Edith Hamilton, I was able to understand why it was the horse and the events that led up to the outcome of Troy’s downfall. According to the reading, Achilles’ death saddened the Greek army as victory now seemed highly unlikely. However, one of the prophets gave them hope. A Trojan man was able to foresee the future. Thus, Odysseus was able to take captive this man who told provided the Greeks the secret of how to takeover Troy. Troy was not to be conquered unless Hercules’s bow and arrows were used against the Trojans. Therefore, Odysseus and a companion went and successfully were able to steal the bow and arrows. As Edith’s story continues, the Greeks realize that more must be done for Troy to be taken. As a result, with the help of Odysseus, Diomedes gets over the walls of Troy to steal an image of Pallas Athena called “the Palladium”. Surely now since the Greeks have stolen a sacred image Troy would be conquered, but that was not the case since the Greek army could not physically get into Troy. This is where Odysseus’s intelligent came into play with the idea of a Trojan horse. Odysseus’s plans were to built huge wooden horse and leave one single Greek behind. The single Greek was a sacrifice for the Greek army for stealing Pallas Athena sacred image. The wooden horse was for the goddess Athena. The reason for its immense size was so the Trojans would destroy it and could not bring it into the city, thus turning Athena’s anger away from the Greeks towards Troy. Nevertheless, the Trojans fell into the lies of the story and took in the wooden horse. With that, Troy was not the same the next day at sunrise. The city was destroyed and taken because the horse was full of Greek warriors. In the story of the fall of Troy, we see what the reason behind the horse truly was and the events that led to this outcome. This made me think as it seems that the Greeks had no other choice in conquering Troy. Let’s just say that if it wasn’t for the Trojan horse, what would the Greeks have done? I think that they wouldn’t have been able to take Troy if Greeks were not able to get around the walls.