Kalliopi Lambrinoudis, Period 6, 10/6/22

 Kalliopi Lambrinoudis, Period 6, 10/6/22

Literacy & Learning

■ Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or nonfiction covered in class.

■ Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how

that learning influences your critical perception.

■ How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

Recently, we have begun learning about Greek mythology. Although we are only at the

start of our unit, one myth has already piqued my interest, which is the story of Icarus.

Icarus’ father, Daedalus, had crafted wings from wax and feathers and was planning on

using these wings to escape from Crete. However, Daedalus warns Icarus not to fly too

high or too low, since doing so may ruin his wings and cause him to fall. Icarus ignores

his fathers warnings, and flies high into the sky anyway. Unsurprisingly , his wings melt

from the sun's heat, and Icarus tragically dies by falling back to earth. I have read

Icarus’ story several times throughout my youth, but I never thought of its message

beyond surface level. For example, in class, we examined an artist’s depiction of the fall

of Icarus, and through this I was able to understand a new interpretation of this story.

Prior to this lesson, I felt bad for Icarus, and was able to sympathize with his youthful

curiosity and ambition. However, after analyzing the painting, I was also able to see him

from a different lense. Icarus was a foolish man who ignored the wise words of his own

father, and was expecting to somehow avoid the very clear consequences. Just like how

Icarus ignored his own father, the painting “ignored” Icarus. Although it may have just

been a painting, I felt like I have also learned a valuable lesson from it. Throughout our

lives, we are taught to reach for the sky, be creative and take risks. There's no denying

that we should try to be adventurous and harness our full potential, but we also must

take into consideration the consequences of our actions, and understand that not every

pursuit will end in success. It’s important to stay mindful of your humanity, and to not

think that you are above any repercussions. Not understanding this is what led Icarus to

fly too high and eventually fall to his death, and I think many people are more similar to

Icarus than they may believe. For this reason, I think that this piece of literature is

something that can be applied to the world around me, and the process also

encouraged me to be open minded and think more critically.