El Fin

Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a good story to end the semester on because it is a happy hero’s story that involves most of the elements we have talked about this semester. We have talked about different kinds of heroes all the way from the archetypal to the anti and tragic heroes. Haroun is a true hero that goes through the Hero Cycle. He has many different calls to action as well as trials. He has multiple spiritual guides and uses several different mystical weapons. Also, it is a very easy and enjoyable read which makes it easier to talk about it class. I liked that there was a hero in it that is a girl, like Blabbermouth. This book was also easier to read than Beowulf or Notes from Underground because it allowed us to connect to it. The main hero is just a little boy. He doesn’t fight mythical monsters like Grendel in Beowulf, but he still saves everyone by using his stories and with the help of his other friends on the moon of Kahani. This was good to end on because it allowed us to end this class and the year on a happy note.

Heroines

Blabbermouth tells Haroun, “You think it’s easy for a girl to get a job like this? Don’t you know girls have to fool people everyday of their lives if they want to get anywhere?” Blabbermouth pulls a Mulan and pretends that she is a guy so she can get the job as a Page. This is true because people do stereotype female heroines. Heroines are different than heroes because there is no damsel to save, and there is no girl to be won in the end. Most female heroines in our culture are valued because of their looks rather than their heroic actions. The first contemporary female hero that I can think of is HitGirl from the movie Kick-Ass. She is the first that comes to mind because she is the only female hero that I can think of that isn’t valued because of her sex appeal or outfit. Unlike heroes like Elektra or Silk Spectre, who wear skimpy wetsuits and are wooed over because of their sex appeal, HitGirl is a 12 year old girl that knows how to fight, use weapons, and defeat her enemies. What makes her a hero and effective is that fact that she is a hero for what she does, not because she is a little girl, or has any sex appeal whatsoever.

Actions

In Part 1, the Underground Man talks about how he believes he is a man of acute consciousness. He over thinks everything. He is constantly thinking about every situation and every single thing that could happen in it. Before he even bumped into the soldier, he spent weeks and weeks debating whether he should do it, and how, and what he should wear when he does it and so on. He talks about how active men just do, and they don’t stop to think about their actions. On the other hand, he over thinks everything, which makes him a man of acute consciousness. Underground Man goes to a dinner party of an old school friend who he actually hates. He invites himself in the first place just to express his free will that he will go to a dinner party of an enemy and also where no one wants you there. During dinner, he was so mad because everyone insulted him by bashing his income and clothes. He explodes and yells at them, but continues to follow them to a brothel. On his way there, he thinks about how he will slap Zverkov. He thinks of every possibility that could occur in the situation. It seems that he has proved his earlier claims with these examples because all he does is just sit there and think about certain actions. Only the one time with the officer did he ever actually do anything.

Rooster

In True Grit, Mattie Ross’ father is killed and she goes on a journey to try and avenge her father. She comes across a man named Rooster, a ruthless marshal that catches criminals in the Indian Territory. That is where the man that killed her father ran off to. The first time we see Rooster, he is taking in a large group of criminals and kicks the slackers in back. He forces them into the jailhouse. Mattie runs after him, and he hears her and looks at her but then just slams the door in her face. Right off the bat, we see he is very rude.
He is older, bulky, and wears an eyepatch. He is not attractive and doesn’t look like a hero. In court, he admits to either killing or shooting 23 people in just four years. He is sarcastic to the lawyers and doesn’t give very straight answers. He doesn’t regret killing people and always says that it is in self defense. Finally when Mattie talks to him, the only reason he agrees to help her is the fact that he will get money and that the man that killed Mr. Ross is in cahoots with one of Rooster’s enemies, who he has been trying to catch. The reasons he has for helping other people are always selfish and only for his own benefit.

Underground Man

From the first two chapters, I don’t think too highly of the Underground Man. He seems very stubborn and spiteful for now reason. He talks about how he has a liver problem but won’t go and get anything done about it even though the only person it is hurting is himself. He says that he is a mean man and that there is nothing attractive about him. He is educated and respects medicine. He used to be in government service and describes himself as rude and nasty. He entered service only to eat, and when a relative died he resigned out of service because he got some money. He keeps contradicting himself, and after he says that he was nasty he says that he was lying and that he could never be truly nasty. He is really confusing to listen to. I don’t even think he knows who he is himself. He says that he can never become anything, even though he is very intelligent. Although he may have been wicked, he says he was always aware of everything opposite of it. Good was inside of him, but he would never let it out. The Underground Man says that he is very conscious and is aware of the good and right actions, but can’t help himself and always makes the wrong one and that’s why he is wicked.

Catharsis

I feel sorry for Othello because he had so much potential and he was a really good guy at the beginning. He was so in love with Desdemona, and if Iago had never said anything to him they would have been happy together. I don’t believe that they would have fallen out of love just as quickly as they did. However, I think he acted very immaturely and didn’t handle the situation well. He asked Desdemona about it and didn’t believe her when she told him the truth. I don’t think that a handkerchief suffices as proof. But I don’t think he deserved what Iago did to him. I’m kind of glad he killed himself in the end though because I don’t see how he could live knowing that he killed his wife for no reason and was tricked by some slimy liar. Of course I am very upset at Iago and I am very happy that he got caught in the end and was forever silenced. I feel worst for Desdemona because she was very virtuous and would never hurt anybody, and was killed in the end for no reason. If I were Desdemona I would have done more than her to defend herself, especially when he told her he was going to kill her. She seemed like too much of a martyr and should have tried harder. I am kind of indifferent about Cassio. I felt bad what happened to him when he really had nothing to do with the situation, but he got off the luckiest. I honestly can’t think of anything in my life that is similar to what happened here besides just random rumors that have gone around. Instead of believing a rumor as soon as you hear it, you should talk to the person, especially if it is about cheating or lying. But I can’t think of anything in my life that has happened like this.

Iago's plan

At the end of Act I, Iago and Roderigo are talking and Roderigo is very depressed for losing Desdemona to Othello. Iago tells Roderigo that their courtship was too quick, and they will break up just as quickly. He tells Roderigo to sell all of his land and collect the money. Roderigo agrees and they agree to meet the next day.
Iago’s plan is to break up Othello and Desdemona, while at the same time getting Cassio’s job. He figures that he will start telling Othello and Cassio and Desdemona are getting too close. Because Cassio is good looking and smooth, Othello will start to believe him, especially because Othello thinks so highly of Iago and trusts him with even his wife. Iago has decided to manipulate all of the people around him and he is sure that his plan will work. I think it will work because Othello will turn into a tragic hero, so something must go wrong. Iago does make a good point about how they fell in love so quickly and got married, that something is bound to tear them apart. In Act II, Cassio and Desdemona are getting a little flirty, so I can see something happening in the future.

Beowulf & Luke

Both Luke Skywalker and Beowulf are true heroes. They both go through the Hero Cycle. They are very courageous men, and heroes because of all the tasks they accomplish. Luke destroys the Death Star and saves Princess Leia, and Beoqulf kills Grendel and his mother, and the dragon. Both Beowulf and Luke have spiritual guides that aren’t tangible. Even though Luke has Obi-Wan, he has the Force. Beowulf is guided by fate. A difference between them is their call to action. Beowulf hears about the terror that Grendel has been causing the Danes, so he immediately goes to save them. Luke, however, is asked by Obi-Wan to help the rebel cause. Luke isn’t ready and is unwiling, and he declines the offer. But when he goes home to find that his aunt and uncle have been killed by the Storm Troppers, he becomes a willing hero and joins the rebel cause. Another difference is the last step in the Hero Cycle, the “Master of Two Worlds.” Once Beowulf defeats Grendel and his mother, he becomes a master of Denmark, and once he returns home, he is a master of Denmark. Luke does not become a master of two worlds because his story has just begun. He has much more to do on his journey. Beowulf’s life ends at the end of the poem. He defeated the dragon and saved his people once again. He died as a Master of Two Worlds, but Luke hasn’t yet.

Wiglaf

To me, Wiglaf seems like the Beowulf of the next generation, even though he was not well known before this. He is very honorable and heroic just like Beowulf. While everyone who was there with Beowulf ran away, he was the only one to stay with his lord and help him. If it weren’t for him, the dragon may not have even been slain.
He was very loyal, and was the only one of Beowulf’s man to be a hero. When Beowulf died, Wiglaf became the new hero. Beowulf thinks about how he doesn’t even have a son to give his possession to. Wiglaf sits with him while he dies, and it is obvious that Wiglaf is going to take over Beowulf’s job as the protector. Wiglaf is much like the younger Beowulf from the beginning of the poem, like during his fight with Grendel. Beowulf’s last act is to give him his collar. Wiglaf is furious with all of the other soldiers that left their leader to die, and yells at them for it. They are both true heroes. However, Wiglaf has some values that Beowulf lacked. Beowulf was very confident and cocky the whole poem, and after his death Wiglaf talks about how Beowulf was too proud to bring a whole army against the dragon and to instead fight the monster practically by himself. He was thinking too much about when he was younger and defeated Grendel by himself. Wiglaf disapproves of his irresponsible reasoning and believes that it would have been better to think about the best strategy rather than just go in by yourself with only your pride.

Unferth

Unferth is a local-hero Dane that is jealous of the hero Beowulf. He brings up a swimming race that Beowulf had against a man named Breca. He talked about how Beowulf lost the simple match, and said that the same failure will occur against Grendel. Because everyone that has gone up against Grendel has been killed. Unferth does this because he is jealous of Beowulf and he wants to make him look bad and make himself look better. Beowulf responds calmly that Unferth is talking like a crazy drunk, and tells everyone about the real story. His story was that they both swam for five days, carrying swords just in case. Beowulf encountered sea monsters, and stopped to slay several of them to protect the sailors and other people. He talked about how Breca nor Unferth would be heroic enough to stop and kill the beasts. The story he tells makes him even more heroic. He had to protect everyone and he still finished. So, he is the better man. He makes fun of Unferth for not being heroic or man enough, because he has never tried to kill Grendel and allow him to wreak havoc on the mead-hall.