Volume 124

Achilles in Homer's epic 'Iliad' has created a lofty model of ancient Greek heroism. However, its glorious image is accompanied by its chilling cruelty: This kind of sharp opposition and strange coexistence of nobleness and cruelty makes Achilles transcend the thin heroic symbol and become an immortal contradiction full of internal tension. Although the academic community has achieved fruitful results in its dimensions such as heroism, honor concept, god-man relationship, anger theme and tragic fate, the existing research rarely systematically integrates this pair of extreme contradictions in his character, analyzes its psychological and cultural roots, and regards its contradiction as the core artistic means of Homer's ingenuity. In view of this, this paper aims to systematically integrate and deeply explain the dual extremes of Achilles ' character, explore the complex causes of its roots in ancient Greek heroic values, destiny cognition and personal emotional trauma, and reveal the artistic effects achieved by Homer by shaping this extreme contradiction. The following conclusions were drawn through research: Achilles' nobility stems from his individual-oriented consciousness, self-preservation, and the calming down after finding an anchor for his sorrow; his cruelty originates from the stress response of a narcissist being humiliated, the manifestation of his animal nature, and the contradictory psychology of "apologizing with death". Homer's portrayal of such an image aims to break the narrative of war violence, question the meaning of war and heroic ethics, and reveal the identity of human destiny.

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With the maturity of Japanese comic industry, its cultural communication trend is booming. This paper studies the cross-cultural communication strategy of Japanese animation by taking the phenomenal cartoon "the attacking giant" as an example. Using field theory, this paper studies many aspects of its cultural field. This work interacts with audiences from different cultural backgrounds through a variety of media forms, making cultural communication across the boundaries of culture and national boundaries and accepted by audiences around the world. In this process, it has been interpreted and evaluated by audiences with different cultural backgrounds. At the same time, this work attracts audiences worldwide through the cross media visual pleasure mechanism, as well as the emotional structure to trigger the emotional resonance of the audience. The author's cross-cultural awareness and the audience's cross-cultural interpretation make the works have universal value of cross-cultural. Through a series of studies, it is found that the cross-cultural communication strategy of Japanese animation uses the interaction between cultures and visual influence to trigger the emotional resonance of the audience and combines with the pleasure mechanism of the media to enhance the effect of cross-cultural communication.

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Music has been regarded as an effective tool to alleviate emotions, but there are different variables in music with distinct styles and characteristics, which can bring people a variety of feelings, and the effect of relieving feelings is also different. This study selects one of the variables to explore the impact of music speed on alleviating people's negative feelings. In the study, the main method of the research is an experiment, which is conducted by an experimenter and a participant in a relatively quiet place offline. There were a total of 50 participants in this experiment, of which 25 listened to the low-speed music and 25 listened to the high-speed music. The participants filled out a questionnaire containing demographic information and their feelings about four different emotions before and after listening to music. After analyzing the two quantitative methods of T-Test and ANOVA, the conclusions are that music can effectively improve people’s three negative feelings of relaxation, irritation, and uneasiness, and the low-speed music is more relaxing than the high-speed music. In addition, age is not closely related to the degree of stress relief.

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Literacy is the foundation of reading and writing, the basis for mastering knowledge, cultivating abilities and conducting various subject teaching, and it is also an important prerequisite for cultivating and enhancing students' comprehensive Chinese literacy. Based on the "Six Categories of Chinese Characters" theory, taking the first-grade unified textbooks as the entry point and combining the current situation of first-grade character recognition teaching, this paper explores and studies the curriculum functions and specific practices of the "Six Categories of Chinese Characters" theory in character recognition teaching in the lower grades of primary school Chinese, and clarifies the specific teaching strategies for the four types of Chinese characters, namely Pictographic characters, Indicative characters, Assembled Ideogram, Phonetic Compound, in the first-grade unified textbooks. In the specific teaching of Chinese character recognition, these four types of Chinese characters can be taught respectively by adopting strategies such as traceability and comparison,correlation and deconstruction,split and reorganize, analysis and combined use. Through this method, students can build a knowledge system of Chinese characters based on their principles.

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The family tragedy in "Thunderstorm" reveals the characteristics of the power structure under the feudal system. This paper, taking Cao Yu's "Thunderstorm" as its research object, draws on Foucault's theory of power discourse and Spivak's theory of subaltern discourse to analyze the interactions among Fanyi, Lu Shiping, and Zhou Puyuan within the family power system. The study finds that most conflicts in "Thunderstorm" require the cooperation of at least two people. The tragedy of the Zhou family is not the result of individual actions but rather the result of a three-way conspiracy within the power structure. The characters' behavioral patterns (Fanyi's madness, Lu Shiping's silence, and Zhou Puyuan's hypocrisy) create a unique power balance: the more Fanyi becomes insane, the more Zhou Puyuan disciplines and oppresses her, and the more Lu Shiping remains silent. This structural conspiracy ultimately leads to the family tragedy. This study reveals the inherent logic of power operations within the feudal family and provides a new perspective for understanding family relationships in China.

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Gabriel García Márquez's novella No One Writes to the Colonel (1958) and Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot (1952), though belonging to different genres, are seminal works from the 1950s that profoundly explore the human condition of waiting in the post-World War II era. This paper undertakes a comparative analysis of these two texts to elucidate both the universal and the particular dimensions of the "waiting" motif within postwar literature. It argues that each work, through its unique generic conventions, presents a distinct response to existential uncertainty. Márquez’s social realist approach grounds the colonel's interminable wait for a pension in a specific socio-political context, portraying a struggle against systemic oblivion with tangible, human resilience. In stark contrast, Beckett’s absurdist drama employs abstraction and cyclical dialogue to deconstruct meaning itself, presenting waiting as a metaphor for the existential void. Consequently, these works articulate two pivotal modes of twentieth-century resistance: Latin American magic realism confronts absurdity with flesh-and-blood persistence, while European absurdism meets it with ironic deconstruction and metaphysical fragmentation.

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With the continuous progress and development of the times, the awakening of female consciousness and the struggles of women from all social strata have continued to advance. Increasing attention is being directed toward the awakening of women, and a growing number of literary and artistic works have begun to focus on this theme, portraying diverse, multidimensional, and richly nuanced female characters. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of three distinct female characters in Thunderstorm, exploring the awakening and resistance of female consciousness reflected in the work against the backdrop of its story and historical context. The differences in age, life experiences, personality, and cognition among these three women determine the varying degrees and forms of their awakening. By examining these three female characters, this study investigates the differences in the awakening of female consciousness across social classes and age groups under the historical conditions of the time. The awakening and resistance of female consciousness in Thunderstorm are complex manifestations that span multiple perspectives, levels, and social classes, rather than being concentrated in a single individual or event. Through a comprehensive analysis and study of the awakening and resistance of female consciousness in Thunderstorm, this paper aims to inspire reflections on the development of contemporary female consciousness and contribute to the exploration of solutions to the challenges faced by modern women.

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This study examines the complex effects of social media on the mental health of adolescents in the digital age. Teenagers between the ages of 12 and 19 now live their lives heavily influenced by social media, which shapes their social interactions, identity formation, and mental health. Frequent use carries serious hazards, such as anxiety, depression, and cyberbullying, even though it offers chances for social interaction and assistance, especially for under-represented groups. According to empirical data, social comparison and body-image issues are exacerbated by algorithm-driven platforms like Instagram and TikTok, with adolescents who are insecurely attached being particularly susceptible to unfavourable comments. Unrealistic self-evaluations are fostered by excessive exposure to idealised content, which can lead to mental pain and, in severe cases, suicidal thoughts or self-harm. Psychological vulnerabilities are made worse by physical health problems, such as sleep disturbances brought on by extended screen time. The relationship between social media and teenage mental health is complicated overall, influenced by usage patterns, platform features, and individual differences, even when favourable outcomes—like peer support and decreased loneliness—are obvious. Generalisability is limited by methodological flaws in current research, such as the use of self-reported cross-sectional data and small, culturally limited groups. Nevertheless, findings highlight the urgent need for evidence-based interventions by parents, schools, and policymakers to mitigate risks and promote adolescents’ healthy development.

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This paper explores the dramatic function of monologues in Chinese and Western theater in the 20th century and earlier, with a focus on their role in character development and the depiction of psychological activity. Through an analysis of representative works such as Shakespeare's Hamlet and Cao Yu's Thunderstorm, this paper finds that monologues not only serve as an important means of revealing inner conflicts, but also play a central role in advancing the plot and deepening the expression of themes. In Western drama, monologues often carry philosophical reflections and self-examination, while in Chinese drama, they place greater emphasis on emotional expression and characterization through monologues. This difference in usage reflects the “cultural differences” between Chinese and Western drama in terms of narrative style and aesthetic concepts. Nevertheless, monologues still share the important function of expressing characters' emotions and revealing their personalities across different cultural contexts, reflecting the profound concern for the universality of human nature in dramatic art

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