First Journal Entry Assignment

Student Name Professor Course Date Journal Entry Assignment Set 1: Chapters 1-10 Glorious Exploits presents the themes of war, power, and survival through Lampo and Gelon's personal stories during the opening sections. The portrayal of Athenian captives in stone quarries demonstrates war's horrific nature and its human degrading process, which was a direct match with our classroom conversations. A dramatic moment occurs when Lampo and Gelon use their recitation of Euripides (Medea) to trade for food, demonstrating that literature can preserve identity and honor when people face hardship (Lennon). Our class discussion revealed that performance functions as both a tool for dealing with hardship and an instrument for power retrieval. Our class considered the dual nature of suffering as an agent that removes power from individuals yet creates space for them to develop resilience by watching Kendrick Lamar's Pride music video. Friendship operates as a life-saving element in the plot. Gelon's deep love for Euripides makes him search for answers beyond warfare with the prisoners, yet Lampo maintains a pragmatic attitude toward survival. During our class discussion about war morality, students debated whether necessity usually forces people to make decisions in wartime, and their different reactions helped me recall this debate. The analysis of Syracusan ethical conduct toward Athenian prisoners connected historical understan...