Skip to main content

Helen Doesn't Have A Summer Tan - Abbie Hedden

With hundreds of lines of text, endless backstory, and countless characters whose names I can't remember, there are infinite options for my blog post. So, in true form, I will talk about literally three words from our text. "White-armed Helen" (Homer 132).

Ever since I can remember, I've hated how pale I am. My twin brother doesn't burn in the Alabama sun, he just turns brown. Meanwhile, I'm lucky if I move past Ivory 2 after a summer of working outside. I've always thought the epitome of beauty is someone tall, slender, and tan. That is the opposite of how Helen is portrayed. In ancient Greece, women were considered beautiful if they were chubby, pale, and short. This is because the rich citizes could afford to stay inside away from the sun and hard work, and eat all day long. I would be considered beautiful in ancient Greece. But if I look on social media, I am plagued with self deprecating thoughts about how everyone else is skinny, blonde, and tan, while I am left asking photoshop groups to "make me pretty before I post this".

Helen, the woman who was so beautiful there was a nine year war dedicated to her recovery, looked something like me. But I'm terrified to post a selfie, especially a full body photo.

While one can make an argument that Helen is not exactly the best role model, it does serve as a good reminder. "The grass withers and the flower falls, but the Word of our God endures forever." (Isaiah 40:8). Centuries ago, the definition of beauty was wildly different than our definition in America today. The one thing that has stayed? The word of God. Even the Trojan War isn't known to be absolute fact, but Scripture has been proven infallible century after century. It is amazing to consider that historical facts aren't known, but the Word of God has proven itself under question for all of time.


Haley Riddle & Jessef

Comments

  1. IsabelleAugust 24, 2020 at 8:29 PM

    Hi Abbie! I agree with how drastic the beauty standards change throughout each era, and you're absolutely right about what the Bible tells us. You are chosen, you are worthy, and you are loved. The same God who paints that beautiful sunrise every morning knew the world would need an Abbie Hedden. So don't let anyone else, or even yourself, tell you otherwise. Your blog post is great reminder! -Isabelle Ferguson

    ReplyDelete
  2. Logan TurnerAugust 24, 2020 at 8:40 PM

    That's partially why I find "beauty standards" so nonsensical. Everyone has their own preferences, so by definition, there should be no standard for beauty. It's appalling and, in some countries, just dangerous. Take China for example. To the Chinese, having tiny feet is considered beautiful. In order to attain these beauty standards, they would bind the feet of young girls. Sometimes, their feet were even broken, and they were frequently left with permanent disabilities. Honestly, it's pretty horrifying

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Word Painting in Vesta—Lily Caswell

  Word painting in Weelkes’s As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending is quite interesting. And because that is a really long title, I’m calling it Vesta from now on. Word painting is basically when the melody matches up with the lyrics. So in Vesta, when it says “ascending” and “descending”, there are obviously scales going up and down. The madrigal was written for six voices to sing unaccompanied, so when they start to come together, it matches with the lyrics; so if the lyric says “two by two”, there are only two voices; “three by three” there is another voice added, and so forth. All the parts combine in exclamation before Vesta before it is left “all alone” to the highest soprano. All the way to the end of the piece, word painting continues when shouts of “Long live fair Oriana” with the bass sustaining long notes. Word painting in and of itself is a highly interesting topic because a musician takes the words of a poem or a sonnet and writes a melody line that pertains to cer...
4 comments
Read more

Welcome to Honors! (Please Read This)

     Welcome to Honors! My name is Abbie Hedden and I serve as President of Honors. Jamie Peters is our Vice President, and Caroline Tucker is our Secretary. I look forward to getting to know all of you in class during this upcoming year! There are a few things you need to know about Honors.      There are no quizzes or tests in Honors. Grades are provided based on attendance/class participation, blogs, explication papers, and the research paper. The papers will be addressed at a later date, as they aren't due until later in the semester. However, there is a blog post due every week. Bearing that in mind, here are the requirements! Criteria Blog posts are due Monday at 11:59PM , and comments are due Tuesday at 9:29AM . DO NOT BE LATE ON ASSIGNMENTS. Points WILL be deducted from late assignments! Be sure to have your name in your Blogger profile Blog posts should include at least one to two paragraphs on that week’s reading assignment.  Blog posts shoul...
Post a Comment
Read more

Topsy Turvy Day—Lily Caswell

  I cannot remember how old I was when I watched T he Hunchback of Notre Dame  but I was at least 8 or 9. I didn’t realize until probably a couple of years ago that the song  “Topsy Turvy” and the corresponding event was actually based on a real festival. The Feast of Fools was usually held on January 1 though it could have also been held on the 6 th  or the 13 th  of January. It was portrayed as a parody of Catholic feasts. Church bells were rung improperly, songs were sung out of tune, and the celebrants “wore strange garments and masks, and used puddings, sausages, and old shoes as censers.” (Seaton, p 77) In the song “Topsy Turvy”, it says “It’s the day the devil in us gets released / It’s the day we mock the prig and shock the priest / Everything is Topsy Turvy at the Feast of Fools… And it’s the day we do the things that we deplore ‘ On the other three hundred and sixty-four.”  I commented on Haylee Lynd’s and Jamie’s posts. Sources: https://www.brita...
1 comment
Read more