Poem #11 Dactyl

Stay the course, stay the course,

Stay the course ahead,

Temptations lure you off the path,

But dangers sure to come.

Come my child, don’t be scared,

Theres goods to nourish over here.

Temptations lure you off the path,

But dangers sure to come.

Blog #8

This book continues to amaze me the more and more that I read. It truly taps into things and ideas that you would never even think of becuase to us they are that way because everyone says they are.  Campbell takes the things we think we know and breaks them down, making us question whether we really knew what it means after all. 

One of the things in Part II that really caught my interest was his interpretation of Heaven and Hell.  Campbell describes Heaven and Hell as something that is insde us. He says that all the Gods and all of the religeons are already inside of each and every one of us.  He says that they are mearly “magnified dreams” that were and always are inside us.  I don’t personaly agree with what he is saying but it really makes me wonder about some of the different religeons and beliefs in the world and where they could come from.

Another thing that campbell talks about in this section is Adam and Eve. He is asked what is the myth with the pairs of opposites. He goes on to explain how they lived in this garden of timeless unity until Eve ate the apple which made them realize that they were opposites. Campbell says that to move into the world you must act in pairs of opposites. I find this very interesting, because most of our life we are trying to find a soul mate that is not the opposite but similar.  I find it ironic that we want so much to find someone that is like us and we enjoy the company of when in the very begining we would have all been similar without Eve eating the apple.  So it is now like we are bound to search because of this.

Poem #12 Tri-fall

Stay steady on the road

Just go slow

It isn’t always easy though

Just put it on cruise mode

Keep the flow

In the end you’ll have alot to show

Poem #10 Prose

For a hero it is never easy. Determination, enthusiasm, and a strong mind and just some of the things that he/she must have. Learn these skills, like a child learns his name. Skills that must be aquired, or failure is a given.  Indepedant, you must come, or hardships will be sure to come. To better your personal skills, this is the unltimate test. Tuth within yourself, this must be the goal, a journey awaits.

Blog #7

The first question that I am going to answer is at the end of chapter 10, question number 2.

2.Who are some friends, relatives, co-workers, and others who seem influenced by the archetype of the seeker?

My best friend would be the person I say best to fit the archetype of the seeker.  A day doesnt go by when he isn’t telling me about some idea he has to get away and do something he loves.  He always tells me that he wants to leave this place behind and move to Jamaica and open a store.  It isn’t that he hates his friends or family, he just thinks that our society is so corrupt and un true that he wants to get out. I don’t say that I can  blame him though.

The other thing that he always tells me is that if we don’t make the changes in our life now that we will lose the chance.  Just like the fear of the seeker of becoming entrapped.  Theres a point in life when a decision comes by and you may never have that chance again. He thinks that time is of the essence and that if you don’t act now you will lose your chance forever and be trapped as the person you are instead of who you could of been.

As far as amibtion goes he is definately on top of that.  He is always the one that jumps out and gets things done and always has a positive attitude about getting things done.  No matter how hard the task he always seems to be ready and willing to take in on.

The poem that I chose to relate to this is on page 49 of 101 Great American Poems, The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost.

I beleive that this truly is about a seeker’s decision in life to take the leap of change instead of the normality of everyday life.  The seeker is always looking for a better life, so taking the road less traveled is a perfect way to seek something new.  This can be the one decision that truly changes the life of the seeker.  It is there true road to a new better life.

The second question I will answer is number 1 at the end of chapter 10.

1. How much or how little is the Seeker expressed in your life? Has it been expressed more in the past or present? Do you see it emerging more in your future? Is it expressed more at work, at home, with friends, in dreams or fantasies?

For me the seeker is expressed pretty strongly.  I am usualy in search for a way to improve my life in some shape or form.  Whether that be through travel or personal improvement, there is rarely a time when I am just content with myself.  I think that as my life has progressed this has come out more and more in me. When I was younger I seemed to not know of much outside of my area and family, but as I grow I realize how much life has to offer and am excited to experience it. I would think that as I get older and settle down that the seeker will fade away inside me.  I hope a time comes in my life that I am just completely happy with where I am at.  I think the seeker is expressed more when I am with my friends since they tend to be the same way.

The poem that I related to this is on Page 30, ‘Hope is the thing with feathers’ by Emily Dickinson.

I think that it relates to the seeker in my life because of how as ive grown I have been able to realize how much more is out there to have.  It is like when you realize that life gets better than this and you decide that you want to change.  It talks about how in a way you can be comfortable with the life you live but you can be way better off if you choose to be.

Blog #6

The Belly of the Whale can be looked at as the transitional stage of the persons journey.  This is when they are at there absolute low point and are faced with change.  They make a turn from the old life that they are living to the new one that is set before them.

The poem that i picked for this isRobert Frost- Acquainted with the Night, pg.44

I think that this poem realy touches the emotions of being on a low point in life.  Like when he talks about walking in the rain, I feel that he is stating the fact that he was in a really bad place at this time in his life. Rain is a symbol of sad and driery times.  Rain has always reminded me of death or sickness, and the fact that it is in the night just makes if more of a negative symbol.

Another part of the poem that really got my attention was the line that says, “One luminary clock agaisnt the sky.”  It makes me think about seeing your time waste away without joy.  It is just like you can see the time winding down until your new life will begin.

Poem #9 Senryu

From dark to light,

Take the leap,

The journey begins.

Poem # 8 Limericks

It was like taking a breath of fresh air,

Religion helps people everywhere.

Finding God was so great for me,

It opened my eyes so I can see.

God is someone who will always care.

Blog #5

The Power of Myth, to me, is a book of realization.  By that, I mean that it is a guid book to make you realize things in life may have a different meaning that what you have displayed into your head. It makes you think about everything that you have always thought to be true and question it.  When Campbell talks about things with no meaning,like the flea, it makes me wonder if things that have no meaning to you really can have some effect on another persons life.

One of the things that really caught my attention was when Campbell stated that he believes some people “don’t know how to apply their religious ideas to contemporary life.”  It is  interesting to read that he thinks that he thinks the old religeons of the world need to step aside for new myths to take their place.  I can’t imagine if all of the sudden a new religeon popped up that anyone would follow it, not in todays society.

Marriage is a topic that jumped out at me in this section.  So many people in todays society are devorced. It is so rare to see a couple last anymore these days.  Campbell talks about how marriage has lost the spiritual side of the ritual.  I like how he says that when you become married you are becoming one person instead of two individuals.  You undertake a new identity through marriage as a couple.  I think most people have lost sight of the fact that when you make that commitment it isn’t two people in love its two people that are better off as one than they were alone.

Critical Response #2

A journey is something that we are faced with on a day to day basis.  It is our personal qualities that help make the decision of whether or not to embark on a journey or simply let the moment go by.  Each decision we make is essential to how the rest of our life will play out. For example, what if Dorothy, in the Wizard of Oz, would have decided not to follow the yellow brick road?  She would have denied herself the journey that was set in front of her, forever changing how her life would play out. The same goes for Fiver in Watership Down; it is the decision to take the journey and do what you think is right.

I am going to look at The Wizard of Oz and Star Wars and break them down using Reader-Response Criticism, which basically means that each reader is going to look at the story in a way of their life.  This is something that most of us do without even realizing it.  Everything in life we relate to a story or event that we have went through.  Since we are talking about taking up the journeys we are faced with in life, first I will talk about how similar the two movies are.

During both of the stories, the main character is set to embark on a journey of great proportions.  We all come to these decisions in our lives, whether it is in relationships, academic decisions, or later in life as an adult, it is something we are faced with.  The decision comes from our inner self.  Who we are on the inside is what really drives our decisions. Like in the novel, Watership Down when Fiver had this feeling inside him that told him danger was coming, these inner feelings are the things that make us do things on a daily basis.

Basically all stories are in a way the exact same.  Every person who reads them will in some way relate that story to their life using the storyline given by the author.   So the story drastically changes from reader to reader depending on past life experiences.  This is why someone can take two different works of literature that are alike in many instances but can be viewed by that person in two completely different ways.  It is the little details in each person’s life that make these stories personal.

Wizard of Oz

Watership Down