I Can't Get No Satisfaction

For my conclusion on Metamorphoses, I feel that one song can describe my understanding of the characters and stories. Satisfaction. This is what makes Metamorphoses brilliant. All the characters in the book/play aren't satisfied with what they have and are looking for something else. This makes all the stories possible. As I was reading, almost every character had many things, but they weren't satisfied with what they had; they needed even more. If it weren't for the character's greed these stories wouldn't be possible. Some have a happy ending, but others are more of a tragedy.

The first story in the play is about Midas, the perfect example of not being satisfied with what you have. He had a lot of money, and didn't need any more, but he wasn't satisfied; he wanted more. His wish of turning everything into solid gold shows that he wanted more gold to increase his wealth. If he was happy with what he had, he wouldn't have lost his daughter, but the story wouldn't have been told.

The second character who isn't satisfied with what he has is Ceyx. He has Alcyone who completes him, but he wants more. "Ceyx: My love, I hate to choose between my journey and you but how can I live this way? Stranded on shore, afraid, domesticated, diminished, a kind of lap dog?" Alcyone wasn't enough satisfaction for Ceyx.

I could go on on how wanting more made the stories possible, but I feel that I need to write about Metamorphoses' teachings. Every story has a moral. Metamorphoses reminded me of Aesop's Fables because after every story there was a teaching. This teaching was represented in a transformation, thus the name Metamorphoses.

Also, you can't read Metamorphoses and not mention anything about the Greek gods. The gods are in every story, doing what they please with human beings. What I like the most about Greek mythology is the connection between human beings and the gods. The gods are involved in human affairs, and they can communicate. There is a god for any type of story. There is a huge variety of characters that can add to the story.

I really enjoyed reading Metamorphoses. Not only was it entertaining, but there were many teachings. Since I am very interested in Greek mythology, I enjoyed the Mary Zimmerman's interpretation of Metamorphoses.