Icarus and Daedalus Essay By Josephine Preston Peabody
Instructions:
Please pick one of the following questions to respond to. Your essay should be 2
pages double spaced, Times New Roman Font sized 12. Each essay should have
at least 5 paragraphs. Here is the outline:
1. Intro:
a. Hook (Attention grabber)
b. Necessary Information (3– 5sentences) – Provide the author’s full
name, introduce the names of the story, and provide a brief summary
for “Daedelus and Icarus.”
c. End with your THESIS- your argument/ claim you are making that
answers the prompt
2. Body Paragraphs:
a. Topic Sentence: the beginning sentence that represents the main
idea of the paragraph. The topic sentence should be making a specific
argument that supports your thesis
b. Evidence: cited and quoted evidence from your text. Use these
quotes as evidence, not summarization. DO NOT summarize the story
in your body paragraphs or credit for those paragraphs will not count.
You should have at least 1 quote for paragraph, but the more quotes
the use most likely better support you will have.
c. Analysis: Once you have used quotes and evidence from the story,
analyze it and link it back to your thesis. Analysis is not
summarization, it is breaking down the meaning of the text in order to
support your topic sentence and ultimately your thesis.
d. Transition: Your paragraphs should lead into each other. They are
not completely separated but rather linked. Your last sentence should
act as a link between each paragraph
3. Conclusion:
a. Restate your thesis
b. Restate your main points, but do not copy and paste them from the
body paragraphs
c. Provide a clincher/ a worldview: Explain the lesson that the audience
can learn from the story/ how does this story apply to the real world.
Questions:
1. Symbolism plays an important part within mythology. For example, the wings
represent the beauty of freedom. What are some other important symbols within
the story of Icarus and what do they represent?
2. Why do you think parents are so concerned with their child’s happiness? Explain
the responsibilities of parents and whether they should only be concerned with a
child’s happiness.
3. How do you feel about the character of Daedalus? What character traits make him
a dynamic (one who goes through changes) character?
4. Describe the significance of how the story ends with the death of one’s child. If
Daedalus had known the consequences of his actions, do you feel he would have
acted differently?
Course
Tutor
Date
Daedalus and Icarus
Introduction
It is a universally accepted fact that parents love to see their children happy. This is a fact that is partly visible in the story of Daedalus and Icarus as retold by Josephine Preston Peabody. The story is a Greek mythology about a skillful craftsman, Daedalus, and his son, Icarus, who were trapped on the island of Crete. Daedalus was once in the king’s favor and he utilized his immense talents in craftsmanship to build the king a labyrinth of winding ways that no one who went in could come out. However, the king turned against him and had him imprisoned in a tower.
Fortunately, Daedalus managed to escape from imprisonment but found it impossible to leave the island. Inspired by the birds that flew above him every day, he crafted wings for himself and his son so they could fly off the island. Before they left, he warned his son not to fly too high or else the wax on his wings would melt and he would fall. However, his son did not listen and flew too close to the sun. As his father predicted, the wings fell apart and Icarus fell to his death in the waters below. The purpose of this paper is to show, using evidence from the story, that parents are concerned about the happiness of their children so that they can be happy too. It will also show that parents have other responsibilities to their children aside from keeping them happy, such as keeping them safe.
Discussion
There is a common phrase that states, “happy kids, happy parents.” In the story, Daedalus and his son were forced to hide on the island's beach for weeks from the king. Icarus got bored and t...