Using Mythology to Critique Modern Society: A Political Speech

This assignment presents a speech written from the perspective of a politician or leader addressing the ills of the USA and the world, employing references to eight different myths to emphasize key points. The speech uses sarcasm and direct language to critique the current state of affairs, touching on themes such as environmental degradation, societal apathy, and the potential for global catastrophe. Mythological allusions, including references to Jupiter, the Trojan Horse, Dionysus, Yggdrasil, Ragnarok, the Great Flood, Krishna, and Xibalba, are woven into the narrative to highlight the gravity of the issues and call for collective action. The speaker urges the audience to consider the consequences of their actions and to strive for a united effort to save the planet, questioning whether humanity will choose a path of destruction or cooperation. The speech concludes by emphasizing the uniqueness and fragility of Earth, reinforcing the urgency of environmental stewardship and global collaboration. Desklib provides a platform for students to access this and other solved assignments.

In this assignment, you will write a speech of at least 500 words, as if you were a politician or some leader talking
about the ills of the USA or the world. And in your speech, you much make a meaningful reference to eight
different myths, for example using a phrase like "Although we grieve, like Niobe after the death of her children,
we must get on with life…". In the questions in the assignment, = I want you first to spell out what myth you are
referring to.
by Jupiter – an expletive made popular by Asterix comics. Jupiter is the chief Roman God.
Trojan Horse, Dionysus – Greek Mythology.
Yggdrasil, Ragnarok – Norse Mythology
Great Flood, Noah – Biblical/Christian Mythology
Krishna, Mahabharat – Hindu Mythology
Xibalba – Place of fear/ Mayan Underworld.
Buddha – A state of enlightenment
Shayatin – Islamic Mythology/ Evil spirits.
“Friends, Americans, City People!
I have come to harvest the Earth not save it.
The trees we cut today shall live in our memories.
Their fruits in Walmart grocery baskets.”
For those who never read Shakespeare I must clarify that I am being sarcastic and extremely caustic of the state
our once great nation. Given the average American SAT score I would not be surprised if most of you have not
read or heard Mark Antony’s rousing speech after Julius Caesar’s assassination. I don’t presume to be an Antony
and it is not my intention to incite murder through mob violence, but ‘by Jupiter!’ I will ‘trump’ your senses to make
you realise the sheer ‘audacity of our hope’.
I am going to be blunt, the world needs a miracle. We can build walls to keep people out, but the ocean is a
Trojan Horse in everyone’s backyard. We have been living it up like Dionysus feasting on epicurean delights and
soon it will be time to foot the bill lest we rather kick the bucket.
How do we know that the next tree we wantonly cut down for chopsticks isn’t the Yggdrasil and is the tipping
point making Ragnarok inevitable? How did the debate shift to whether we believe climate change is real or not?
Should we not wish to protect and preserve the environment we live in anyway? Climate change is very real
though and behaving like an ostrich does not behove our leaders.
It may be that history is replayed, and a Great Flood marks another point in the parchment of time. Only this time
know that Noah has no arc, he has a PhD from Oxford and has words of advice for all of us. And leaders and
citizen alike have much to gain by paying heed.
What if we our worst fears come to pass? If disease became mutation and war became the norm. If the air
became poisonous and the rivers choked. How will we live in that Xibalba? Amongst the skeletons of the
edifices which once housed premiers and the ruined schools where minds of cosmic girth presided. The
razed museums which housed great and frozen beauty. Will we be cringing spectators of that devastation?
Where is our memory, our will, our thinking-part? Our inner Buddha?
The time has come now for each of us to ask ourselves if it is time now to build a new, united, invincible
nation? Is it time to wage war on the world, us against them? Or is it about time we worked together to save
it?
Which side would Krishna take in this Mahabharat? Are we certain that we are the righteous ones here? Or
have we let the Shayatin delude us into sin?
As I take your leave, I must remind you that there is only one planet known to man that harbours life, there
is only one planet which we can call our home and we get only this one chance to save it.