griots were of a social caste, the art and important position of storytelling passed down from generations of griot families and as such, not just anyone could become a griot. In addition, griots were responsible for keeping all the births, deaths and marriages throughout the generations of the family or village. the griot (Koyaté) speaks of the weakness of the written word and the death of oral tradition, saying “Other peoples use writing to record the past, but this invention has killed the faculty of memory among them. They do not feel the past anymore, for writing lacks the warmth of the human voice” (Niane 41)

the most important virtue apparent in the epic is that of loyalty. Loyalty exists both between allies in the war that Sundiata wages against Soumaoro, and also between individuals and tribes. What makes Sundiata a great king capable of building an empire is his ability to inspire tribes to stay loyal to one another and follow his laws. Part of what makes him successful in the war against the sorcerer king are the friendships he cultivated in youth with princes who have become kings. These old allies offer their armies to his cause. During his exile, Sundiata impresses many kings with both his strength and his charisma, and lays the foundation for his empire. On the flip side, those rulers who show a lack of loyalty either to their guests or their own people – like Soumaoro or the king of Diaghan – are punished most severely.

Dante incorporates Ulysses and diomedes in canto 26, the two heroes from the trojan war. asking Virgil who is under the flame that was split into two. they both fought together in the Trojan war and stole the citys palladium (religious object ). its significance as it is one of the two most important epics in the western tradition with the odyssey. by incorporating these two heroes into the hell he asserts the preeminence of gods moral over the morality of the ancient greeks.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to try to fulfill their ambitions Macbeth and his wife act on their own to fulfill their deepest desires. Macbeth, a good general, a good man, allows his ambition to overwhelm him and becomes a murdering, paranoid maniac. Lady Macbeth, once she begins to put into actions the hidden thoughts of her mind, is crushed by guilt. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth want to be great and powerful, and sacrifice their morals to achieve that goal. By contrasting these two characters with others in the play, such as Banquo, Duncan, and Macduff, who also want to be great leaders but refuse to allow ambition to come before honor, Macbeth shows how ambition, freed from any sort of moral or social conscience, takes over every other characteristic of a person. Unchecked ambition, Macbeth suggests, can never be fulfilled, and therefore grows into a monster that will destroy anyone who gives into it.

It is arguable if fate is constructed by the gods or not. But their attempt to control it is present throughout the odyssey. The characters attempt to get around their fate with their free will. sometimes they are successful, and others times they aren’t. changing the the gods minds may be difficult but not impossible. ” for your death we grieved as we did for Achilles death we grieved incessantly true, and none to blame but zeus, who hated aches fighting spearman so intensely, zeus sealed your doom.”(11.637-640). Odysseus tells his friend that he could not have done anything. one can attempt to control their own fate but sometimes despite their effort they can fail. some gods favor some humans and do their best to protect them while others detest and try to make them miserable.

The Cain and Abel alternation signifies something more bigger than the actual murder. It put light to a start of increasing alienation between humanity and god. It brought corruption to the earth that affect generations later. Murder is the source of pollution, and generations later after humans have done more and more violent acts, god declares the earth “corrupt” and literally “filled with violence”(6:11-13). Only the “flood “can wipe the earth clean. A domino effect of violence and acts of obedience occurred, and Cain was the one who started it all.

The hymn of man explains that the universe was created out of the parts of the body of a single cosmic man,when his body was offered in sacrifice. contrary to the creation hymn, where the idea that ”existence came from from non-existence”, it is established in line 2, that there is one ” man” who pervaded the earth on all sides and extended beyond it”, “it is the man who is all this”. It is said that ” all creatures are a quarter of him”,and the other third which is “immortal in heaven”(line 3). Perhaps the other 3 quarters is spread vastly among st the land, in forms of food, where in line 10 the introduction of cows and sheep is illustrated. Or whence in line 6, sacrifice of the man offered through the various seasons.