The Creation of Global Warming
Gavin is quite the nature lover. He owns his own land, on which he grows trees, feeds animals, and admires the flowing river. He maintains this land thoroughly, as he believes that conserving the environment and its resources are important for future generations.
On the other side of town, Terrance is meeting with the town’s mayor, Zack. Terrance discusses his visions to open a factory where peoples’ necessities, including food and clothing, can be manufactured. Terrance interests Zack by mentioning that building such a factory will develop the economy by creating a major source of income for the town. He proposes the idea of using Gavin’s land to build it, and Zack gives permission right away.
A week later, as Gavin takes his morning walk, he sees construction workers clearing his land. The trees are chopped down, the grass is no longer green, and no more birds are in sight. Gavin sees Terrance managing the workers, and demands him to stop. Terrance mentions that he is building a factory with permission from the mayor, but Gavin and Terrance begin to quarrel. Gavin tries to convince him that the land is rich in resources and can provide the town with necessities too. Terrance ignores him and continues, so Gavin takes off in rage to take matters into his own hands.
Gavin goes to an isolated part of town where only one individual lives. Her name is Stella, and she is a lonely scientist that no one cares to visit. Gavin explains his problem, and convinces her to make a concoction that harms the environment. He argues that if he cannot enjoy the beauty and benefits of nature, no one else should either. Gavin promises to marry her if she can make it, and Stella agrees right away due to his charm. She gets to work and makes him the desired product, naming it the greenhouse gas.
After waiting months for the factory to be built, Gavin applies for a job there. On his first day, he disguises himself to look like the other workers and releases the greenhouse gas into all of the pipes in the exhaust system. Visible smoke is coming out of the chimneys.
The effects are starting to take a toll on the town. Temperatures are increasing rapidly, resulting in many consequences. Droughts take away food supplies, flooding damages homes, and poor air quality hospitalizes many people. Zack becomes extremely worried and heads to Aaron, a trusted fortune teller, for advice.
Zack asks Aaron why his town is struggling, and what he can do to help. Aaron responds:
“He who kept the land so fine has caused us such a mess
To make the men who wrecked his land to struggle with regrets
Nature and its services were harmed and put to waste
For many years the consequences still have to be faced
Now the people of this Earth must find a way to cherish
And work to solve the problem that may cause this world to perish.”
Myth Analysis
The myth “The Creation of Global Warming” explains the story of how global warming came to be. The storyline is based off of Homer’s Iliad, which can be seen through various aspects of the myth. First, the main characters who are in conflict with each other represent opposing sides of the Trojan War. Gavin represents Greece and Terrance represents Troy. The two sides of the Trojan war are used to represent the characters in the narrative instead of just war heroes because it allows the reader to easily understand that this story is based off of the Iliad. By giving the characters names that start with the same letter as the side they represent, the reader can easily catch on and understand the reference. In both Iliad and this myth, the conflict commences as a result of one side stealing something or someone of great value. In Iliad it is the beautiful Helen who is stolen from her Greek husband Menelaus by the Trojan prince Paris. In the same way, Terrance steals the land from Gavin by manipulating Zack. The conflicts then continue with one-on-one disputes, but end in different ways. In Iliad, the goddess Aphrodite helps Paris by snatching him away from the duel (Hom. Il. 3.391-394). However, this does not happen in this myth. Instead, Terrance continues to take over the land, while Gavin leaves to ask help from Stella. This difference occurs because the myth is written in more realistic terms compared to a typical myth. This is because global warming is a modern day problem, so writing the myth in a more realistic way allows the setting to be conveyed in an efficient manner. Finally, in both Iliad and this myth, a favour is asked of a character, but for different reasons. In Iliad, Thetis asks Zeus to let the Trojans gain the lead in the war. She asks Zeus for this favour because she wants the Greeks to understand that her son Achilles is needed in the war, and Zeus later grants the favour because she has done him a favour in the past and feels indebted (Hom. Il. 1.500-504). However, in this myth, Gavin asks a favour from Stella, and she agrees because he promises to marry her. Both Ilaid and this myth show that everything comes with a price. Therefore, in order for Gavin to get what he wants, Stella should be given something in return. The favour itself is necessary in order to synthesize the product that creates global warming.
“Works and Days'' by Hesiod also contributes to this myth, as the plot is a combination of Iliad and this poem. In “Why Life Is Hard,” after Prometheus steals Zeus’s fire, Zeus gets angered and creates a troublesome woman in order to make life hard for everyone. Similarly, after Gavin’s land is stolen, he creates greenhouse gases that ruin the environment and cause harm to everyone. In addition, Zeus creates ‘evil’ so that it can be cherished. “‘I am going to give them Evil in exchange for fire / Their very own Evil to love and embrace’” (Hes. WD. 75-76). Similarly, Aaron says “Now the people of this Earth must find a way to cherish, and work to solve the problem that may cause this world to perish.” In both, one reason why ‘evil’ or the concoction is created is to teach humans valuable lessons. Before, humans lived trouble-free and happy lives, but creating ‘evil’ teaches them to not mess with Zeus, but to also solve problems in order to earn a happy life. Similarly, Gavin creates greenhouse gases so that humans can understand the value of the natural environment, and learn to live in a way that conserves and respects it. Both works teach very similar lessons.
Homer’s Odyssey is also incorporated into this myth, as both use the method of disguise to achieve a goal. This can be seen when Odesseus dresses as a beggar to return home. Dressing as a poor man, he participates in Penelope’s bow and arrow contest and wins before he reveals his identity (Hom. Od. 22.3-27). Similarly, Gavin disguises himself as a factory worker in order to disperse the greenhouse gas throughout the factory. The method of disguise is used in this myth for the purpose of creating global warming. Making greenhouse gases is simply not enough, because this myth explains the creation of global warming. Therefore, there needs to be a way for the greenhouse gas to be emitted into the atmosphere to cause destruction, and a simple but effective method of doing this is through the method of disguise. Disguise also allows for Gavin to take revenge on Terrance for stealing his land, as it is through his factory that the gas is emitted and global warming arises.
Another work used is Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, as the theme of revenge is evident in both myths. In Agamemnon, Clytemnestra kills her husband Agamemnon to seek revenge for sacrificing their daughter Iphigenia. She justifies killing her husband by saying that he deserves it for betraying his own daughter, and for making her and others suffer (Aesch. Ag. 1526-1530). Similarly, Gavin emits greenhouse gases because the land that he works so hard to maintain is destroyed to build a factory that further ruins the environment. Therefore, he justifies creating this concoction to make those who take away his important possession pay for their actions. In both Agamemnon and this myth, the main characters find closure for their agony by taking revenge on those who cause it. The theme of revenge is used in this myth to give an incentive for the creation of global warming. Without reason, no one, especially an individual like Gavin who treasures nature, would cause such a disaster to the environment.
Euripides’ Medea is incorporated into this myth, as the theme of betrayal is portrayed in both. In Medea, Jason leaves his wife Medea for Princess Gauce, betraying Medea. As a result, Medea is devastated (Eur. Med. 17-29). Although the theme of betrayal is explicit in Medea, it is quite implicit in this myth. Similar to Medea, he too is devastated by the actions of another, in this case being Terrance. When Gavin decides to ruin the environments of the planet for many years, he goes against his own beliefs. Gavin has always believed in protecting and conserving the environment. For him to ruin environments on such a large scale shows the extent to which he is willing to go to in order to take revenge on Terrance. This implies the betrayal of the belief system that he has followed for his entire life.
The third Homeric Hymn “To Apollo” makes an appearance at the end of the myth. In the hymn, Apollo’s well-known oracle of Delphi is discussed. Apollo mentions that the oracle of Delphi will be a trusted place for people to acquire important information (Hom. Hymn. 3.283-286). This oracle appears in the myth when Aaron, who represents Apollo, gives information to Zack regarding why the town is struggling and what must be done for the future. It is an important aspect of the myth because it alludes to the reader that it is an aetiological myth by discussing why global warming is created and its future fate. It also gives additional information to characters in the myth, as everyone is clueless as to why such catastrophic events are occurring all of a sudden. Finally, it ends the myth off in a way that leaves the reader to think about his/her actions and make them want to change for the betterment of the environment.
Aside from the six Ancient works that are incorporated into this myth, various other elements contribute to it. First, the setting is very different from all of the other myths. This myth takes place in the early 21st century because global warming is a modern problem, so the creation of it should be relatively new as well. In addition, the mayor Zack represents Zeus in the mythic world. Zeus, being the king of the Olympian gods, is a leader that makes a lot of important decisions. Similarly, Zack is the town’s mayor and is able to make important decisions such as giving Terrance permission to use Gavin’s land. One difference between these characters is that Zeus is able to take over and control situations when necessary. However, Zack cannot do much when the town starts to struggle, as he does not know what is happening to begin with. Finally, Stella is a character unique to this myth, as incorporating a scientist allows the setting to be further established. Scientists were not as popular in the past as they are now, so this reminds the reader that the myth is set in the modern day.
Works Cited
Aeschylus. Agamemnon. Translated by Theodoridis, George, Poetry in Translation, 2005, https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Agamemnon.php.
Euripides. Medea. Translated by Theodoridis, George, Poetry in Translation, 2005, https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Medea.php.
Hesiod. Works and Days. Edited by Lamberton, Robert, Lombardo, Stanley, Hackett Pub. Co., 1943, pp. 25.
Homeric Hymns. Edited by Trzaskoma, Stephen, translated by Smith, Scott R., Hackett Pub., 197, pp. 183.
Homer. Iliad. Translated by Kline A. S., Poetry in Translation, 2009, Book 1, 3, https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Iliad1.php.
Homer. Odyssey. Translated by Kline A. S., Poetry in Translation, 2004, Book 23, https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Odyssey23.php.
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