In the myth of Orpheus, the musician Orpheus descends into the
underworld to retrieve his dead wife, Eurydice. Hades, lord of the
underworld, agrees to release Eurydice, as long as Orpheus agrees not
to look at her as she follows him up to the surface. As they travel,
curiosity overcomes Orpheus and he looks back at his wife before she
has fully stepped over the border between the underworld and the
surface. She vanishes.
In Poul Anderson's science fiction story "Goat Song,' a computer
overlord called SUM keeps a digital record of all human souls, which it
can use to revive a dead person at any time. The main character, a
musician, travels deep into SUM's underground fortress to beg for his
lost love's return, SUM agrees, but as a test of loyalty, it declares that
the musician must not look upon his love until they have both exited
the underground facility. Like Orpheus, the musician feels compelled to
look back at the last moment, and he loses her.
Which statement best explains how the modern story transforms the ideas of
the original myth?

the correct answer can either be a or b because it could be both but you should probally choose b

"character is what you are in the dark." dwight lyman moody, in this very witty quotation of his, states we act and think differently when we are "in the dark", that is, when the spotlight is not on us and everyone can see us and consequently judge us. when reading, we tend to be sympathetic to some characters and their dilemmas. by being so, we are saying to ourselves that we agree with those characters' acts and choices, even if they are morally questionable if we have common sense in mind. dwight lyman moody's quotation applies very well to "crime and punishment", by   19th century russian writer fiodor dostoyevsky. raskolnikov, the main character, a former law student who spends his days reflecting upon life and its misery, draws a fatal conclusion: mankind is divided in two main categories: ordinary and extraordinary people. the first are the ones who lead a run-of-the-mill existence and are full of imperfections; the latter are the ones who are spiritually superior, the ones who always know better, and have the right to judge the ordinary ones, as well as eliminate them if for common good. raskolnikov considers himself as belonging to the extraordinary category and decides to kill an old lady who is a money lender and in whose house he rents a small room. raskolnikov compares himself to napoleon, who had the undeniable right to execute tons of people during the war in order to save his nation. of course what the main character decides to do is a horrendous crime, but as readers we feel it is the right thing for him to do, since the victim is a mean old woman who only thinks about money and keeps humiliating her younger sister. what one experiences is a mixture of sympathy and empathy for the character, even though he decides to commit homicide, which is not at all accepted or tolerated by civilized citizens. however, since readers are "in the dark", they allow themselves to feel in ways they would probably never dare to confess to anyone, no matter how nasty or vicious a character can be. after all, they are just reading and doing no harm. in other words, readers are in the dark and can be who they are without being judged.

being judged by your physical appearance, gender, age or race has been a problem for many people around the world. we all have experienced segregation or rejection at some moment in our life. i   am not the exception. i am an overweight latin girl, two characteristics that do not me very much in a bullying society. i am an excellent student, speak beside my native language – spanish, english and i am currently studying portuguese. once there was a job opening for an international company. i was the perfect candidate for the position. i fulfilled all the requirements to get the job. yes, because of my   curriculum i was called for an interview. the same day, other candidates were appointed too.   i simply said to myself: this is for you, no one else is as prepared as you are, besides, you are smart, honest, responsible and reliable.

the recruiter called me, it was a middle age man, demanding looking one. as soon as he saw me entering the room he looked at me and said: “i am sorry, you are not the type of person we are looking for. it is for the reception and we need someone with different physical appearance”  

i felt like if a train had run over me. i felt miserable. he didn´t even asked me a question nor check on my skills! a pretty face and a perfect body was just as perfect for the position.

when i got home i cried for a long time until my tears dried from my being, then i told myself:   you are who you are, no one can tell you that you are not good enough because of your physical appearance. your intelligence will last forever! bodies age, faces disappear, but you   will always be