final essay

Throughout the history of literature, authors have looked for newer and bigger ways to showcase feelings, thoughts, circumstance, and how they relate to the main character leading them often time down the road of the supernatural,. The word supernatural explicitly means “(of a manifestation or event) attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature.” In my opinion the evolution into the supernatural, was almost natural, what with metaphors, similes and (especially) personification. (Personification can be seen in “Original Sin: A Short Story” in stanza one line three “The nightmare stumbles past, and you have heard”, giving the word nightmare life as if it walking alongside you.) None the less, all three of these important circles of literature are a comparison to real life, and how they can be seen. Arguably, another evolution in the telling of the supernatural is the twelve archetypes created by authors Pearson and Marr. These twelve keys, from the book “What Story Are You Living?” are carcasses to exploring characters in a deeper level, especially when decoding the purpose of the supernatural entity.

In the book Coraline, the Other Mother is supposed be a representation of Coraline’s biggest and wildest desires, which was a family that attended to her and paid attention to her concerns. This “woman” created a world very similar to the one that Coraline comes from, with exaggerated versions of the neighbors she met, when she first moved into her new flat. Unfortunately, this beast, masked as a woman was only a “clay figure” image to that of her real mom, with spider tendencies, who’s only plan was to take Coraline forever until it happened to get bored. This clearly goes back to that “be careful what you wish for” line that we have all been taught from a young age. It also shows how the other mother was playing the archetype of the destroyer all along. (Page 120; “The whole genre of horror stories, about monsters, deranged, or villainous people who do unspeakable things to others.”) Also in this book was the black cat, which plays the archetype of sage (page144; “stories about teachers and their impact on the young for good or ill.”) in the story. This cat is sometimes Coraline’s only hope to clarity in her adventure to finding her parents, and also serves a sense of security for Coraline in a world where everything has changed all around her.

In the Movie Spirited Away, No Face was a spirit without a place to be. His archetype would be best described as an orphan (page 90; Stories in which the dispossessed help one another even though their efforts may not be successful.”) No Face finds, from the first time seeing Chihiro, a sense of home which prompts him to follow her to the hotel she finds a job at. His first scenes are on the wood bridge, and he seems to be standing there with no one paying any mind to him in anyway. This shows that he is too an outcast, even in the society that he belongs to. As the movie progresses he begins to lose control and begins to eat people, in his quest to sole being with Chihiro (who let him into the hotel.) She to then leads him out of the hotel and he spits everyone out. He follows her on her quest to the other side, and eventually finds a home with Granny. The connection between Chihiro and No Face shows that they were looking for their respective homes, where the latter was more literal, the former was more interpretive.( Finding a way to restore her parents, who have been turned into pigs for eating the spirits food.)

These creatures are symbols and representations of how the protagonist deals with there on going situation whether it is a challenge or guiding light. When reading a piece be sure to read into every character and get to know them so that their purpose is understandable in the story.

Work Cited

Pearson S. Carol and Marr K. Hugh. What Story Are You Living?. Center for Applications of Psychological Type, Inc. 2009 Print

"Spirited Away." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 June 2013. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirited_Away>

Gaiman, Neil, and Dave McKean.Coraline. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. Print.

Blog Entry #9

The film “Stardust” is a 2007 adaptation of the book, of the same name, which follows the adventures of a fallen star, Yvaine, and her quest to find her way back into the sky. A consistent archetype that I see primarily in this movie is the Destroyer archetype. A destroyer is willing to go to any lengths to get what they want, all be it the expense of everyone else around him or her.  Yvaine, to me, is the main character because every other person in the movie wants to possess her for a selfish reason. Tristian, the protagonist in the story, finds her after lighting a special candle which rockets him outside of Wall. In the beginning of the movie we see him trying to leave Wall, and the guard would not let him in fear of what could happen to him, or the danger he could bring into the city. His primary reason for finding her was so that he could hand a fallen star to his first (though not responded) crush, Victoria. The witch, Lamia, wanted to have the star’s heart so that she and her sisters could live youthfully for many years to come. (They had previously killed another star, and need a new one because the magic is running out.) She kills the princes in the story, Prince Primus (who is also looking for the star), and Prince Septimus (who was also willing to kill) and bewitches another witch to not touch the star even if she sees it. (Not to mention the fact that she wanted to kill Tristian, for simply taking Yvaine away. One last example of a destroyer is Prince Septimus, who killed (and attempted to kill) all of his brothers at once, in order to become sole heir of the throne. Who killed a fotune teller, who was working for Primus in order to deceive him, and for attempting to capture Yvaine in order to rule the land.

Blog Entry #7

The archetype that I found making a connection with is the Magician Archetype. This has become an issue because I personally cannot see a possibility of this archetype to connect with real life. The book, “what Story Are You Living?” opens this section with a summary of “The Witch of Nag’s Head Woods”, a story about a fortune teller Miss Mabe who is a fortune teller, which happens to live in North Carolina during the begging of the 1900’s. Many children went to visit her and pay her small coins, without their parents knowing, and she would tell them their future, usually being like them getting small candies, and she would consistently be right. She lived right by the ocean, and many fishers would give her some of their catch in return for her blessing. Many times though the fisher would be selfish and she would tell the ocean and winds to push the opposite direction so that the fisher could not have any. The fisher would then have to apologize and promise her some of the catch they made, which would then make her bless the sea, even though she never admitted to anything. Reading thorough the section, I will still say that I am still very confused as to how to connect this to real life. What I got from the book is that a magician is a person who is “willing and able to allow miracles to occur.” (Page 140) This could be a representation of religious leaders such as the pope, pastors, and evangelists. It later mentions Martin Luther King Jr.’s ability to invigorate and excite his people in order for them to believe in his cause.

Blog Entry #6

   The section that I chose to write about was the Jester archetype. This archetype, along with caretaker turned out to be my highest archetype and so naturally I felt inclined to do so. Not to mention the fact that there is a certain darkness that I find in this particular character. In the Pearson and Marr book “What Story Are You Living?” a summary from a folktale Called “Tyll Ulenspiegel’s Merry Prank” is shown, depicting the story of a king and his two Jesters. He then hears that a traveling Jester, Tyll is in town and so the king invites him to entertain his majesty. As the two prime Jesters perform, Tyll outwits them at every turn. The King then decides to make a competition between the three and the winner will win 20 pieces of gold. The winner would be decided by who makes the biggest wish, who turns out to be Tyll by making fun of the two previous wishes and turning into his own. This is a prime example of just how “not” serious a true Jester is, taking an extremely important and life changing experience into something fun. The Jester seems too consistently weasel their way out of a lot of hard situations by saying the right things or keeping everyone entertained .The huge problem though is that, the lack of seriousness makes it really hard for some to get their life together and have the life they dream of actually happen. In real life a characteristic that I can think of is myself, and how I've kind of let things get so out of hand, but I tell a joke here and there and people like me, not knowing how much I want to accomplish my dreams.

Work Cited

Pearson S. Carol and Marr K. Hugh. What Story Are You Living?. Center for Applications of Psychological Type, Inc. 2009 Print

Blog Entry #5

The course thus far has been a complete surprise to me, a pleasant surprise thus far. When you are on your own, registering for classes and you are being told that you have to take an English class, you are just going to pick anything that works with your schedule as did I. I will be honest and say that I did not know I was signing up for an online class, because I've never done well in them. I will also say this; the context of the class is pretty awesome. In my opinion what we are learning is, essentially, the use of words, and what they mean in a particular piece and how these combinations of words and phrases come together to deliver what the author (or protagonist) is trying to convey. This task is not easy, but it's still fun to read a poem once and not know what they are talking about and then break it down and come to your own conclusion. Up until now what I have found the most interesting is the thirteen archetypes, and how they all play a part in our lives. The two most prominent in my life after I took the PMAI, was Jester and Caregiver. I loved the story especially for the Caregiver about the goddess Demeter and her daughter Kore. It really reflects in my life how I constantly care more about others than I do myself, and get screwed over for it at the end. This course is opening new doors of thought for me, and how I see myself and my presentation to others.

Blog entry number 8

      "Every man gotta right to decide his destiny" once sang Bob Marley. We've seen time and time

again men rising to power, and taking the voices away from everyone else for their own selfish agenda. 

Fortunately for us, in America, we are living in a time where you can have a choice to be someone or let 

life take its course. Dylan Thomas's " Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" implores that you do the 

former, taking chances and forging your own path. This is so that when it is time to go, you can look 

back your life and remember all that you have created, without regrets.

       

        The overall vibe of said poem feels emotionally demanding and angry, being that the this is an cry for

living life to the fullest. The symbolism in the title where it states " That Night" is referring to a specific night.

Night in itself is a representation of slumber, end of the day, end of life (death). The title is seen again in the

first stanza, which describes that "feeling tired" should go away every morning you wake up. For every

morning/day is an opportunity for creation. The poem's title is repeated constantly, as well as the line "Rage,

rage against the dying of the light," creating a sort of chanting the readers head.

        The second stanza, shows that men all know that one day it will all be our turns to go, but make sure to

not waste a moment because then you will be bitter when you cannot anymore. A powerful symbolic line

is"Because their words had forked no lighting" which pushes the reader to express their feelings, because it

could be so powerful it could affect the world. The same can be said in the third stanza. Here the author

uses

a little bit of sarcasm "Crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced." Bright is grand, and amazing

where frail is weak and brittle.
       
        The fourth stanza, speaks about who had thought were on their way towards their visions, then realized

that, that was never what they wanted. ("And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way.") this can be

compared to getting a job that you are amazing at, and people look for you, but it isn't what you wanted

from your life. The fifth stanza is an echo of before, speaking about one day waking up and looking back at

your life and being proud of your accomplishments. The sixth stanza is a representation of the speaker and

his relationship with God. He begs God, who watches him make all these mistakes to please let it rain

(rebirth), so that he can stay on the proper path of his goal.

Blog entry #10

John Chevalier

11/26/13

Composition II: Writing through Literature ENG 102

Dr. C Jason Smith

Literature is the entire body of writings of a specific language, period and people. Without literature, one may argue that universal communication may never have come to existence. Literature gives such accessible entities like books, films, songs (music), and poetry. The cool thing about literature is its connection to humanity, and how it allows a simple person’s message to be omnipresent regardless of which platform mentioned above. Throughout the progression of literature in humanity we have been able to create characters, which more or less, play the same role in every story. The exact definition of this is archetypes. Archetype is something that serves as a model or a basis for making copies. For example, you know that Ursula (in “The Little Mermaid”), and Jaffar (Aladdin) are both villains for their evil ways, and for their disdain towards the protagonist. In these same fairy tales, we can see that Aladdin and Ariel are the heroes/protagonists for their love of life and need to save the day. Something that has also happened was the use of symbols through figurative language. A word is no longer just a word, but it can give different insights to the tone and direction that a certain piece is trying to portray.

Thankfully, a book explaining different archetypes, and how they are associated to us and how we go about the world has been created. This book is called “What Story Are You Living?” in which, Carol S. Pearson, and Hugh K. Mark, break down archetypes to twelve primary carcasses. The twelve archetypes are the innocent, orphan, warrior, caregiver, seeker, lover, destroyer, creator, ruler, magician, sage, and jester. Take a second and think about your favorite Disney character, or your favorite super hero. Surely, you’ll find that they mesh into one of these above. These keys help us further analyze literature.

For instance the 2010 motion picture “Repeaters” is an example of literature that carries loads of archetypes and symbolism.  This piece is a psychological thriller that involves three central characters Kyle, Sonia, and Michael whom are recovering addicts in a rehabilitation center to cope and better with their issues. One day they are given a field day assignment, and are allowed to leave the site in hopes to make peace with loved ones that they have hurt because of their drug/alcohol usage. Kyle visits his sister, Michael visits his dad in jail, and Sonia visits her father in the hospital, who is very near to dying. Both Michael and Kyle receive backlash from their loved ones, though Sonia can’t muster the courage to go inside her father’s hospital room (who subsequently ends up dying right after she leaves the place.) Depressed and distraught, that night a thunder storm ensues, and each is electrocuted after trying to turn on their respective light bulbs after a thunder bolt strikes their rehab clinic. Each wakes up thinking it's a brand new day, only to realize they are repeating the same day as before. This day repeats itself over and over again, with no signs of letting up.

It is very important to dissect the symbolism in this film, for starters, the title itself “Repeaters” is a play on words to personify the word “repeat.” This foreshadows the concept of the movie, as the three main characters will be stuck in a loop of one day. In the actual movie, thunder strikes and causes the characters to be stuck in the same reality, and the same day over and over again.  Thunder is a representation of chaos, and fear, ironically their lives are already chaotic and now they are stuck in this reality. Later the female lead Sonia falls of a ledge onto a waterfall. She knew that she was stuck in a loop, but at the same time she knew she would die if she fell. When the loop repeated itself, she was once again alive, and told Kyle she saw white then woke up. White is a representation of death, or emptiness, so in other words she left this world and came back. This specific scene changed the rules for everyone, Kyle (main character) wanting to be more safe about it, and Michael (antagonist) not caring for this warning. It was as if Sonia’s resurrection was Michael’s key to unleashing his crazy. Another big symbol was when the antagonist’s raping of a teenager. This showed the audience and the other two characters that Michael meant business and had no intentions of stopping for anyone. The film as a whole could be taken as parodies of the characters’ lives, as they are all stuck in this world having the same things happen all around them over and over, something of a reflection when they are habitually using drugs/alcohol. This brings the question of dream versus reality, ( Are these characters really living this?)

As I mentioned before above, all archetypes are consistent in our lives. The levels of each archetype are what truly tell our story for us though, and as life progresses different archetypes take leadership. For instance, Kyle began the movie, as an Orphan, playing the role of a person who wanted to apologize to his sister for his wrong doings during the times he was under the influence. He was so high and so indebted to the drug dealers at one point, that they came to his house to collect, and in exchange they beat up his sister as Kyle laid there.(In page 90, of "What Story Are You Living" the author explains that an orphan is a character that "is stuck in a powerless situation.") Many call drug addiction, a self induced disease, and this might just be Kyle's "come from." As his story develops, with the instigation of Michael, his seeker archetype begins to dominate and he steals cans of beers as well as doing heroine.( Pg 108, "active in a person on a quest..., to satisfy an inner hunger or yearning.) Things go into real dark territory (page 120, "can be seen as ... an outlaw who breaks unjust rules") when Kyle discovers that his sister had been messing with drugs, with his drug supplier. A scene of kidnapping ensues, (Michael and Sonia involved) where Kyle takes the drug dealer, and forces him to eat what is either cow or horse feces. After this extreme act, time repeats, his caregiver (page 102, "gain satisfaction by giving to others) and lover (page 113, "the desire to merge with each other...") archetypes take over when he urges Sonia to confront her father, as well as forming a boyfriend/girlfriend type of relationship (though it Is never confirmed.) The movie comes to a close when he must save first himself and Sonia, to then saving his sister and her friends who Michael is holding hostage, demonstrating his warrior archetype( Pg 97, "stories where a heroic person stays true to his or her own vision.") 

Sonia starts off as a vulnerable, shy woman who doesn’t let others touch her, based on her abusive past with her dad. As mentioned before her piece was to visit her father who was in his death bed. It is arguable that Sonia starts off as an orphan, ( page 90, "he or she can be an adult in a powerless situation at the mercy of unfortunate events, oppressive people...")  just like Kyle. Her character seems to be numbed to everything in life and chooses to handle things she cannot control, in her mind, giving off a nonchalant attitude. As the story progresses she evolves into a caregiver, (page 102, "better at doing unto others, than letting others do unto them.") breaking the wall, by assuring that Kyle gets a chance to talk his sister during one of the repetitions. Eventually, her walls are completely broken, when she finally allows Kyle to touch her, and subsequently kiss her, as she becomes a lover (page 113, " but to experience that union fully is to lose the self and one's sense of separate being.") Unfortunately her lover ways make her vulnerable, and cause her to be the damsel in distress to Michael’s attacks.

Which leaves us to the perhaps the most psychologically broken of this story, Michael. He also begins as an orphan (page 190,"..., can also be seen in stories where former victims victimize others"), visiting his father in jail, where his father yells at him, and spits at the two way mirror in disgust of his presence. There is also a scene of Michael being bullied in the beginning, so in terms of what character he played, he was a loser and Kyle looked out for him as an older brother. When time begins repeating itself, Michael decides to push the boundaries (seeker, page 108, " Figures who perpetually seek an elusive "something" just beyond their grasp or who simply enjoy the journey), and soon finds that nothing is off limits. After the robbery of alcohol, Michael becomes a full blown destroyer (page 120, " stories of which faith is lost.) As his spree becomes more and more out of control, Kyle decides he doesn’t want to be a part of what he does. Michael then proceeds to kill a police officer, and rapes a teenager, forces Kyle to slit a drug dealers throat, in order to save Sonia’s life (after having shot her in the leg), and kidnapping Kyle’s sister. Arguably, Michael’s storyline is perhaps the only one without hope. Whereas everyone sought to renew their relationships, Michael was completely content in this new world, where he was king. Something interesting that happens on the last few minutes of the film is that it begins to snow, when on that day it never snowed. This signified to the characters (and audience) that the loop was done, and all the horrific things that Michael was doing would stick with him for good. This prompted him to go to Kyle’s mother’s house and threaten to kill his sister. Cops all around and nowhere to go, Michael commits suicide, by shooting himself in the head. Even more interesting is after the credits, Michael is seen and he awakes in his bed at the rehab.

“Only the very weak minded refuse to be influenced by literature” Cassandra Claire had once said. Literature is an escape into a world of endless imagination. It creates pictures in your head, as well as creating new meaning to words as opposed to their monetary definitions. Literature is fundamental for us human beings because we were made to create. Why not create something that exercises your mind, and the whole world can see?

Works Cited

Pearson S. Carol and Marr K. Hugh. What Story Are You Living?. Center for Applications of Psychological Type, Inc. 2009 Print

Repeaters. Dir. Carl Bessai. Rampart Films. 2010. Film