Presentations

I learned a lot from these presentations. Projects like Jim's were pretty good. I knew about the mystical weapon but when he analyzed it and talked about the different and deep mythologies each weapon has before it reaches the hero. That was pretty neat. Similarly, Kyle's thesis that we all want a mystic weapon but don't want our enemies to have one was intriguing as well. I think my favorite presentation thus far was Steve Nisi's because I am a big fan of Catcher in the Rye. I've only read it one time, but his presentation was definitely entertaining. He and I basically had the same thesis or paper, where we applied the traditional hero's cycle to an alternative character, but I think his was probably more insightful than mine. Henry also had a great presentation. I am also a big fan of film noir and his idea that the protagonist or the detective in these films doesn't change, while the events and situations around him to do was quite insightful. It is true, the classic detective doesn't change and that's pretty cool, especially compared to another typical hero that learns a moral and becomes a nicer person throughout the course of the story.

Presentation

Gosh...another homework assignment. I'm going to talk about Napoleon Dynamite and the paper I wrote about on his hero's journey. I'm doing this because I felt that this was the more creative of the two papers. While possibly interesting at times and enjoyable for me to write, it does not take much imagination to write the paper on the application of Underground Man's logic and its affects on the world of batman. Really, it just takes a knowledge and understanding of some of the characters in Batman. I pride myself on the Napoleon Dynamite paper for the fact that it was a difficult idea to write about and there were some stretches I had to make in order to prove some of the points I was trying to make. On that note, I am a little bit disappointed in my paper. The style I used in writing it wasn't great and other things. I guess that paper was a prime example of a good, unique idea, but the execution wasn't that good. I think my Batman paper will be more polished and better written, but a less enjoyable project and certainly not as ambitious as my previous essay.

Female Heroes

There are many female heroes. Princess Leia, Wonder Woman, Jean Grey, etc., just to give a few examples. Unfortunately, though, these characters are often underdeveloped or passed on for more established and known male characters. There are plenty of examples in film or literature where women are empowered. For example, in the original Star Wars, there is an expedition led to rescue Princess Leia. In fact though, once Han, Luke, and Chewie "rescue" Leia, they are about to be killed and the whole mission is for nothing. But in fact, Leia ends up saving them, gets them out of trouble, and is arguably a better shot than the rest of the group. Interestingly enough, in Japanese anime, many of the stories center around female protagonists. It seems as though in America and the west, not always, but often times when there's a an action film or a male-type role played by a female, it seems inauthentic and forced. I think that regular women need to behind the empowerment movements, and not some corporate executive. We do value our female heroes, a we do value them being women, but i think we can more appreciate them for being heroes. We're able to look beyond their gender and just see them as heroes. This is better than just focusing in their womanhood. We like Samuel L. Jackson, and it may be an issue, but we don't see him as a black man. We see him as an iconic actor. Sure his heritage affects some of the things he does, but we don't think of him just being good because he's black, but because he's talented. He just happens to be black.

Batman

Batman is a combination of all of the types of heroes that we've discussed in class. He is the archetypal hero, as we see through examples of the heroes' journey. (Alfred, Bat-gadgets, problems with his parents, etc.) He's also an anti-hero because of his methods of taking the law into his own hands. But if I were to make case for what type of hero Batman is, I would say he isn't a hero or that he is the tragic hero. He's a tragic hero because he'll never be able to complete his journey. he won't kill these villains, thus they'll keep retuning to haunt him. He can stop their schemes from occurring, but he's still at their discretion. Also, batman has made it his life's mission, he has dedicated his all to it, (even his alter-ego of Bruce Wayne is a tool utilized by Batman), but the thing is, Batman creates his villains. They are all fixed on him and all of these characters are drawn to Gotham out of some sort of fixation on the Caped Crusader. At some point, their lives were all molded somehow by Batman. You could also argue that Batman is not a hero, and in fact he is just as crazy as the Joker, or Two-Face, or Killer Croc, or whoever. And really, batman could stop all of this mayhem, but due to his own beliefs, he is actually causing more harm to Gotham than good. batman is just as insane as his villains, but just due to luck, he fights on the side of the law and not with his villainous counterparts, but hte essence of Batman and his rogues are all the same.

Underground Man

The Underground Man seems to be a bit inauthentic to me. Earlier in the book, he acts as if he is superior to everybody and we get the impression that he quite reclusive, seeing as how he has locked himself away in his home in St. Petersburg, with only his stenched maid for company and human (lack of)interaction. While he states these things about people and creating the illusion of being above culture and interaction he in fact isn't. Even from the very beginning of the story, underground man is quite self conscious. I remember in class we were discussing how he is ashamed of some of his qualities and tries to make them seem less applicable to himself than they actually are, or how underground man is quite self conscious of himself and tries to tailor things to the reader. But in this latest reading, I find that the actions he takes contradict this image he has created for himself. In my opinion, underground man's actions all derive from some sort of desire to be accepted or recognized. We see this with the prostitute or with the soldier. He is rebelling or anti-conformity for the sake of being different and not necessarily because these actions are what would be naturally instinctual for him.

Rooster Cogburn

Rooster Cogburn is the hero that we admire. He's the guy we want to be, but are afraid to become. We like his ruthlessness and his basic B.A. factor, but we also secretly admire the fact that he's a hero. Because he aids the good guys in the film we love him, but had he been the antagonist we would deplore the very same characteristics of Cogburn that we love in him now. After our initial meetings with Rooster, we see that he is most certainly not afraid to inflict a little kick ass on a convict or two, but we also get a glimpse into a softer side of Rooster. When Cogburn states that he killed all of those men because he had to, we believe him. And because he was forced to kill, we are admire and praise him all the more. I know that he'll come off as a villain at times, and will most likely have conflicting views with Mattie, but ultimately the good guys will win, Rooster and Mattie both will have transformed or evolved some how, and Rooster will go off and do something that might seem bad at the moment, but will ultimately end up being a great deed later on after it's initially completed.

Notes From Underground

The underground man is this constantly pondering man of inaction. He resides with his distinctly odorous servant around the Russian city of St. Pertersburg. Quite critical in nature, there is hardly anything I can find that he does in fact enjoy or respect. He does not even like himself completely, or at least he is ashamed of some of his qualities. I understand this to be true due to the part in the story when the underground man exhibits some sort of a caring tendency or nature, but is quick to detour he reader from this into again, a more critical view or opinion on said topic. At first glance, one would assume the underground man is an egomaniac, but I believe him to be quite insecure about himself and longs for positive recognition and acceptance. Underground man is always referring directly to the reader and I am positive he is trying to make himself seem more sane and omniscient to a more skeptical or less understanding reader. I like underground man. I like him a lot. Dostoyevsky, I mean Underground man, is somebody I agree with and can relate to, as pretentious as that sounds. I do agree with a lot, not all, but many of his observations, especially the ones that we would classify as wrong or "bad", but we know are true, but we're just to afraid to articulate and make real.

Conclusion of Othello

Often enough in fiction, my favorite character is the villain. Villain are much more complex and interesting than their boy scout counterparts. It's not a conscious decision, it is just something that just sort of happens. I do like the heroes, they are instrumental, but overall the quality of a story can be best judged by the main villains, if there are any. I prefer my Darth Vaders with a bit of Luke Skywalker, but I would definitely root for the bad guy. That's why I like Iago. Iago is a slick dude. He corrupts the hero, the strong, brave, determined, noble, powerful, and sharp Othello. He took the metaphorically white knight, Othello and proved that he could bring him down to his level. I'm sure that when Shakespeare was writing this he was inspired by The Dark Knight. I wasn't reminded of certain events or feelings i have experienced when I was reading this, but after reading it I can definitely see aspects of myself in some of the characters. We've all manipulated events in our lives to suit our desires, but Othello is a representation of this taken to an extreme. The pawns, Cassio and Desdemona do inspire pity, but I'm much more proud or appreciative of Iago's cunning than I am caring to those characters that were the losers of the story.

Iago's Plan

I cannot understand Shakespeare, so when I read this passage I utilized the website wikipedia to help me understand what was going on. I accidentally read the end of the story about Othello and Desdemona, which was kind of annoying. But it stated that Iago's first plan was to instigate a drunken brawl. This was explicit, so I would assume the brawl would be between Othello and Roderigo because of the long back and forth between Iago and he and also because during this exchange Iago is duplicitous enough to take or give, I'm not sure, money from Roderigo or to him. Iago seems too smart for Roderigo and I'm sure he fell for Iago's tricks. I am not sure that this plan shall work because Othello is quite a hero and will most likely be able to eloquate his way out of the ordeal, but even if Oago doesn't succeed at this I know he will eventually succeed at bringing down Othello. Even if I didn't see the ending on wikipedia, I would assume that he would end up losing in this play because it is shakespeare and nothing ever ends happily. hearing the author's name is a spoiler because after we heard it we knew how this story would end.

Luke Skywalker Beowulf

These heroes are quite different from each other, but they do have several similarities. Both were born to be great. Beowulf is of a noble lineage of warriors, whereas Luke Skywalker is the illegitimate son of the man who could have been the most powerful Jedi ever, had he not been disfigured and mutilated. These men were born to be great legends. While Beoulf seeks danger, Luke on the other hand is the reluctant hero. Only when his caretakers are murdered and he has nowhere else to go, Luke then decides to go on a quest. Beowulf chooses and hopes to go on these quests, and while Luke is chosen by outside forces to go slay rancors, wampas, Sith Lords,Dark SIder, and what not. What's interesting to note is the fact that both Luke and Beowulf both lose their mystical weapons. Beowulf's swords are often ineffective and destroyed and Luke drops his down a shaft on Bespin. Both have mystical guides. What's interesting to note about the difference between Hrothgar and Obi-Wan is that Obi-Wan is a much more compassionate character. He won't kill unless he has to and even then he can only do it if he can muster the emotional strength. Hrothgar is all about killing things in order to save lives. This trait was most certainly passed down to the mentees. Luke is humane and won't kill his archenemy, Darth Vader. Conversely to this, is the fact that Beowulf sees himself as a warrior and wants to killl things, because it is his destiny.

Beowulf 2

I think that the character of Wiglaf did represent courage much like Beowulf. Both men fought for their king or men they had sworn loyalty. They did differ from each other. WHat I mean is that both men show similar types of courage, but they do have differences between them. Most of the time, Beowulf would end up vanquishing and purging the evil from the land by himself. He fought Grendel's mother alone along with other less notable beasts. What Wiglaf accomplished was to display individualism. He was abandoned by the masses and instead of doing the easy thing, he ended up being an individual by following Beowulf. This might sound like a paradox, but it isn't. Wiglaf came into his own per say by choosing to be honorable and to fight the good fight side by side with beowulf.

BEOWULF

Unferth tries to bring embarrassment upon the man of lore we know as Beowulf. He does this in order to make himself look as though he was a much better man in front of his people. If Unferth cant defeat Grendel and if he makes look as if Beowulf can't succeed then he did as good a job as any. Beowulf responds by pointing out that he lost this race because he had to fight a sea monster that was holding him down. He lost the race, but he explained his killing of the monster as making all the seas more safe for all sailors. Then he goes on to state that Unferth hasn't done deeds like this ever and he couldn't if he wanted to. This makes beowulf look great and noble and he even goes on to state that fate spares the life of the divine who are destined for great things. I think both of these men had put the other down and done this because they were compensating for the stubbiness of their swords.

Johnny Got His Gun 7

Joe has this dream about a red headed Christ, who comes down and plays cards with the men who have been condemned to die. the Biblical Christ was not perfect, he was man. This new Christ in the book wasn't perfect either, both showed instances where they were less than perfect. The new-Christ is again shown as being not perfect when he fails to grant Joe the mercy he so desperately wants. We will have to see what happens later in the book. 

Johnny Got His Gun 6

During this reading, Joe reminisces about the times he could take communication for granted. As a result of his injuries though, it takes him forever to relearn how to communicate with the outside world. Even when he starts tapping morse code, his messages or the people around him aren't completely understanding. FOr example, one nurse sees Joe thrashing or banging his head. She then proceeds to tap out her own message of comfort  to Joe, a message that Joe doesn't necessarily enjoy. 

johnny Got His Gun #5

Johnny decides to master time for the fact that Johnny doesn't really have much else to do. HE initially attempts to do master several other activities, but ultimately he finds them to be quite boring in nature and quickly loses interest. Johnny discovers that he can measure time by paying attention to what nurses come to him. From this he can determine that they come to him at two hour intervals and that the nurses differ from nighttime to daytime. He eventually becomes so adept at measuring time that he starts to imagine himself doing the normal things he would've done, at the time in his life prior to his injuries. 

Johnny Got His Gun 4

Joe believes that life is worth fighting for, more than anything else. Contrary to this, Joe doesn't believe that things like democracy or political ideals are worth sacrificing your life for. What's ironic about this is that war has been described by others as "the continuation of politics". Joe is expected by everybody, not just American culture, to be willing to doe for his countries political ideals, where in reality, Joe deplores death and finds that it lacks nobility in itself. 

Johnny Got His Gun #2

The bakery is brought up because Johnny can relate his experience to that of Jose's. Johnny had this potential to do whatever he wanted, but due to his injuries he lost everything. Likewise, Jose had moved here so he could work on films. He starts to work at a bakery and soon enough it consumes him and takes him away from his dreams and his potential. Both men are trapped in situations that drain them and cause them to lose their futures and their potentials. 

Johnny Got His Gat #1

Johnny compares his situation to drowning for several reasons. With his amputations and other wounds, he must feel as if he's gasping for air. He's getting  a rush of feeling and senses that are all so similar with each other. He's getting a rush that overwhelms every other feeling. He's trapped and this other source is putting him out. He's unable to help himself, and every once in a while he can gasp for air. All in all though, I would say my latest blog entry is pretty conceited and dumb. 

The Bell jar 11-12

Esther tries to kill herself because she is depressed and is not content with the world that she lives in. She tries to drown herself, take too many sleeping pills. None of this works. The methods of suicide that Esther attempts is cowardly. She attempts to kill herself in a manner like the other people, the people that she looks down upon for being rescued and not doing it. Esther attempts to commit hari kari in complete opposition to the graphic way the samurai would do it. She admires their courage and that they do the action, whereas when you overdose, you sit there but the drugs do the actual killing. 

The Bell Jar Chapters 11-12

Esther dislikes Dr. GOrdon for the fact that he is not what she expected him to be. He is good looking and seemed conceited. The photo of his family also was a cause for negative attention from Esther. I think she dislikes him for the fact that he represents those people, like Dodo, that she cannot stand. The "normal" people of society. I think also, there is some jealousy in there too. Esther expected him to be ugly and like a stereotypical doctor, who can diagnose her, but he ends up making it seem as if her problems are her fault. She is jealous of him and she thinks he is probably superior to her. She wishes that she could have a family life like his, and as a result she resents him for his achievements. 

The Bell Jar 1

The first line of the book is used to convey Esther's unhappiness with what has occurred. She does not enjoy New york in the least, which is symbolized in her mentioning the Rosenbergs. The Rosenbergs were electrocuted for treason. Referencing a terrifying and unnatural death is something one does not do if they are having a good time.LAter on, Esther even tells the reader how much she hates electrocution. She also discusses the weather in a way as to paint her disappointment with her New York city vacation.   

Mona Lisa Smile 2

While we were watching Mona Lisa Smile in class I noticed that Betty made many "50s"-ish decisions. THis comes from the fact that her character has been written to represent the traditional values of that time. She is so submissive and subservient to her husband, yet she wants to have herself be like this on purpose. SHe makes comments that insinuate having a washer and dryer represent becoming settled down, thus accomplishing her life's goal by her early twenties. What i found most disturbing were the photos she took with her husband. It was like she was some cyborg slave that couldn't help herself. She was trained to believe that 2+2=5. It represented the unhealthy amount of consumerism that ran rampant in the 50s as well as the sexis views that both men adn women had. 

Mona Lisa Smile

The film that we began in class, Mona Lisa Smile, portrayed the 1950s, and in particular the college, as sort of cult-ish. It reminded me of something like the Branch Davidians or something, especially with the chanting, the weird speeches, and the people in robes. This happened in the inaugural opening to the start of the semester and with the game with the loops and sticks. Actually, it made that entire moneyed culture seem somewhat like a cult. I just hope that Maggie Gylenhall doesn't drink the kool-aid. The way women were brain washed into submissiveness seemed ridiculous to the viewer, but I'm sure that this was true and there were prevalent instances like this throughout the era. The question I have is this: were white women the only women who were indoctrinated like this or did it happen universally across the nation? I only ask because the only person of color in the film was a black chauffeur.  

A Streetcar Named Desire

In these chapters it is revealed that Blanche has had some mysterious, tragic and, embarrassing experiences in the past. We hear that her husband might have been gay and killed himself as a result, she had an affair with a 17 year old student of hers that ended up as being the result as to why she's not a teacher anymore, and also she has an adulterous reputation in her home town. While we knew already that some of things had happened, we didn't know all of the details of  the stories. For example , We knew Blanche lost her husband, but we didn't know the story. As the story moves on, I believe we'll learn more about all of these characters.    

Essay

My thoughts for this essay aren't the greatest. I don't want to do it and I'm struggling for ideas. It shouldn't be too complicated for the fact that both characters have many things is common, like they're empty pursuits in life and the improbability that they'll be actually able to realize their goals. I think I'll first start out comparing them and maybe talk about how it is related and paralled in the poem.

Norma & WIlly

Wily and Norma share many traits with each other. They both whole heartedly beleive that thay're more important and superior to others than they really are. Both deserve to be lock up in Arkham Asylum becasue they're crazy. They both expiriced sucess when they were younger. WHile they have many commonalities they have a few differnces. Norma is wealthy and is respected by some, whereas Willy is not being the main difference.

Death of A Salesman 3

Biff and Happy plan to earn vast sums of money through creating a sporting goods store. They would then manipulate the press into creating these headlining events in which teams led by a different brother, would compete. In their dreams they would be invited to hotels and other such luxurious locations. This seems to be far too complected and far fetched for it to become a reality. I don't see them having the focus of even opening the store. Also, Willy thought this was grand plan, and seeing as how he is delusional and crazy, this could be an indicator that they're plan won't work. 

Death of A Salesman 2

Willy and Charlie have this relationship, where CHarlie is constantly trying to gain the approval as well as the attention of Willy. Obviously, CHarlie values Willy and his opinion greatly, but I have a feeling that Wily doesn't realize that he likes this kid as well. Through some of their interactions, we can see that WIlly isn't always truthful to Charlie, but Charlie still believes what Willy has to say. 

Death of A Salesman 1

Biff and Happy are reliable to the reader, in that what they reveal to each other in conversations is something that we can take for granted, but to the other characters they mention and interact with I think that they are unreliable to them. I have a feeling that they would just take the man's money in order to finance their ranch, but I think that they would at the same time, promise but ultimately not reimburse that man. I don't think they're happy. I believe this because Biff keeps going from job to job, while Happy is unsatisfied with the mundaness his job has turned his life into. Also, both of them are womanizers, which means that they're afraid to grow up and they need the self-confidence enhancement that comes with an encounter with a new woman. 

Their Eyes Were Watching God Conclusion

In my opinion, I think Janie was hesitant to speak at the trial due to the fact that she was truly distraught and saddened over the passing of Tea Cake. This reaction from Janie is almost the polar opposite response compared to the almost forced mourning for Jody. When jody died, Janie wore traditional widow's clothes which seemed almost like mask for her true lack of emotion. When Tea Cake died, Janie wore overalls to hide the fact that she was mourning him, it was a front to hide her true emotions. Hiding her emotions has been something that Janie has been doing this entire story.   

Their Eyes Were Watching God Response 5

The parable with the angels relates to Jani in that she was seen as a beautiful person by Jodie, but his lies and the way he had treated her had tarnished her sparks. Jani is a woman that has been eeking out an   existence based on what people had been telling her to do with her life. Nanny told Jani to find a good man to marry and she has found a couple men, but they turned out to be liars. She is searching for love, but the other people around her are taking those emotions away which is like the angels covering the humans in mud, taking away their beauty. 

Their Eyes Were Watching God Response 4

Janie cares about the mule so much because she can see qualities in it that they share. Both are forced to work without appreciation and the townspeople talk about both of them behind their backs. The mule reminds me of Linda from Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl, in that both the mule and Linda had their freedoms purchased for them by somebody else. 

Their Eyes Were Watching God Response 3

It turns out that Jody is a very self-centered man. He marries an attractive woman, Janie, and at first he states that he needs her and she shouldn't be doing manual labor on a farm. When he and Janie reach Eatonville, he suddenly becomes mayor. Through what he says and acts like we learn that he did this only for himself. It seems that becoming mayor was just another personal conquest, like marrying a beautiful woman. Jodi does make Janie work at his store, where she has to dress up nicely, which is reflecting this image he wants to give to the town.  

Their Eyes Were Watching God 2

the use of nature pervades the story. We see it in such instances when Janie talks to nature and especially the part where night itself takes over the narration. At the end of chapter four, hey describe the sun going down in the same spot as when the night came up. This was stated immediately after Janie was remarried to Joe. This could mean a few different things. It could be interpreted as her newfound happiness or euphoria with her new husband compared to the mundane qualities that permeated her old marriage. This comparison to nature is almost as she had discovered a new beginning, a new life. The last paragraph in chapter four could also represent her transition from girl to woman. I know earlier in the book when she was kissed she stated that her childhood has ceased from that moment on, but she still retained some child-like qualities, such as when she stated she still like sweet tasting things. Maybe it's a foreshadow of the events to come. Like Harvey Dent stated in The Dark Knight, "The night is always darkest before the dawn,  but the dawn is coming". Well, it seems as if she has come from troubled experiences in the past, but now the cycle is about to repeat itself again,with new terrible experiences in store. 

Their Eyes Were Watching God 1

When Janie returns to her home, it seems as if she is treated the same by the whites as well as the blacks. Obviously the whites were racist to her due to her high levels of melanin, while the black females thought her body seemed too sexual, due to the size of her hips and breasts. It's ironic that she should be ostracized from both groups, it just points out the level of despair of the need one had to reassure themselves in the south. I think Janie was talked about because the other black women had to have that feeling that they were better than somebody else. As it was pointed out in the narrative, black women were at the bottom  of the social pyramid at that time for being black and for female. When it comes down to it, she was rejected for her looks by whites and blacks. These polar groups of people didn't have much on common then, but they both had discriminated against people on the basis of their looks.