Emma’s Comments (group member since Sep 01, 2011)

Emma’s comments from the 2012 - Ms. Richardson L.A. group.

The mundane world is the first step of the hero’s journey. The mundane world is any place where the hero feels bored, like he has out grown the place. There is ease and comfort, no new challenges for the hero. In Homer’s book, “The Odyssey” book 5 displays a mundane world of Odysseus when he is living in the company of the goddess Calypso. Calypso represents ease and comfort when she is offering Odysseus an extravagant island to live on, while offering her love to him. Odysseus is still not pleased by her offerings, he longs for his homeland and the challenges he would face every day. He longs for the chance to be with his mortal wife once again. He wants to have adventure, he must take a risk and leave what he knows and has in front of him. All he needs now is a chance to take this risk, a chance to go out on his own and leave behind the comfort of this island.

The call to adventure is the next step, the call to adventure is anything that helps the hero leave the mundane world behind, whether the hero goes to the call, or the call is brought upon the hero. In book 5, Zeus sends Hermes to order Calypso to set Odysseus free to make his own life decision. The call comes to Odysseus, until the choice is brought up if he wants to stay in the comfort of Calypso. When he decides to leaves he is going to the call, and making the decision to find what else is out there for him.

Crossing the threshold is the third step of the hero’s journey. This is when the hero is going into the new “world” where all the adventures and challenges are. This is where the adventure starts. At the end of book 5 and the beginning of book 9 Calypso despite the fact she doesn’t what Odysseus to leave she help build him a boat and find him some men for his crew. As they finally leaves and set sail they are crossing the threshold, entering the new world of adventures and challenges awaiting them. They are preparing themselves for what is ahead of them, when they discover the island of the Cyclopes. (pg1113)

The path of trials is next, this is where the hero with come across new knowledge and skills, the hero will encounter new challenges that will be tough to overcome, and the hero’s will meet their new friends and their new enemies and new mentors. This is the hero’s adventure he is longing for.

[NEW FRIENDS]- Odysseus doesn’t really make any new real friends, Odysseus thinks that the men of his crew are his somewhat friends, but his pride has controlled his thoughts and put his crew in danger so many times that the men do not feel the same way that Odysseus does.

[NEW ENEMIES]- The main enemy Odysseus has to face in the book is himself. Odysseus has a problem with acting hubris; his actions have put him and his crew into much danger. Odysseus lets his pride get in the way, which ends up really damaging the numbers of his men and his chances of making it to his homeland alive. These actions are also what bring upon Odysseus’ new enemies. The Lotus Eaters put two of his men under the spell and they never return. Odysseus chose to send his men to go see what these Lotus Eaters would do, but he knew what would really happen. Then when they encounter the island of the Cyclopes Odysseus finds a cave that he decides he is going to steal from. Instead of just stealing and leaving it be, Odysseus goes and finds the Cyclops that lives in this cave, practically asking for a fight.(pg1114&1115) Odysseus continues to tease the Cyclops throughout the whole stay in the cave, and when Odysseus and what is left of his crew men escape on a boat, Odysseus continues to torment and tease the Cyclops putting he and his crew into danger. Circe is another one of Odysseus’ enemies she put his men into a trance and turned them into pigs, when Odysseus comes to get them so he can continue to get home Circe holds Odysseus captive for a year and gives him a condition to get to leave. Scylla and Charybdis are some dark figures that Odysseus must also face. Odysseus comes upon the temptation of the Sirens, his pride gets in the way again when he refuses the beeswax in his ears, he thought he could face them; he ended up being wrong and had to have his crew tie him to a tree.

[NEW MENTORS]- Although Odysseus actions are coming from his pride he still takes advice from some mentors. Calypso helped Odysseus throughout his journey even when she was upset to see him go and leave her company. Odysseus also gets advice from Circe from her condition to allow him to leave, she tells him where to go what to do and who to speak to. While Odysseus is down in the underworld he comes upon the shadow of his mother that gives him further advice on how to proceed safely and guarded, although hard to hear he took it.

[NEW KNOWLEDGE]- Odysseus gains the new knowledge form his mentors and their guidance on how to continue on his journey. Odysseus also learns how his enemies are after facing them with great bravery. Even though his pride gets in the way, it challenges him to go to his limits and Odysseus has new knowledge of his strengths and his limits, he has learned more about himself on this journey.

[NEW SKILLS]- Odysseus did not have any new knowledge that provided him with new physical skills; his new skills were all mental. Through his acts of hubris Odysseus got he and his crew into many challenging situations, his new skills were how to be cunning and clever, to outsmart the enemies holding him back from finishing his journey.

[NEW CHALLENGES]- Along with his enemies Odysseus’ challenges were brought upon him because of his excessive pride. Odysseus continually challenged his enemies pushing them to their limits and having to deal with the consequences of losing most if not all the battles. Odysseus had to figure out a way to get out of the Cyclopes cave before the Cyclops ate any more of his crew members. (pg. 1119-1121) Odysseus had to rescue his crew from the island of Circe, without putting himself into danger, and causing even more problems. (pg.1124-1125) Odysseus had to travel to the “Land of the Dead” and talk to a specific ghost and make it out alive. (pg.1128) Odysseus had to face all of these challenges while under the curse the Cyclops had put on Odysseus as they escaped the Cyclopes cave.

The fifth and final step of the hero’s journey is when the hero returns as the master of two worlds and his journey has changed and shaped the hero into a better person that the hero was before leaving the mundane world. Odysseus returns to his homeland of Ithaca disguised as a beggar by Athena. His son, Telemachus, is told of his return and they go to Odysseus’ wife. In the end, Odysseus is reunited with his mortal wife and there is peace throughout Ithaca. Odysseus returns as a changed person because he has he realizes all the challenges his pride has brought upon himself. Odysseus has gained new knowledge of himself and what is possible under his power. Odysseus had learned new mental skills that he can apply to his everyday life, he is finally where he wants to be where his life isn’t predictable any longer and he is the master of two worlds.

What does it take to become a hero? How can one successfully go through the hero’s journey? Well while reading “The Odyssey” it is clear that just one simple act of bravery, one single risk to leave the routine that is usual can begin one on the hero’s path. There are going to be challenges but with the help of friends and mentors to encourage the hero, along with the help of the enemies to push the courage out of the hero. The hero will gain new knowledge and new skills. In the end if it is as simple as moving away for schooling, anyone will go through each step of Joseph Campbell’s a hero’s journey, and with success anyone can return changed and be a hero or a role model and it encourages another person to take the same path. That is what it takes to become a hero.

“We have not to even risk the adventure alone, for heroes of all times have gone before us.” This sentence is saying that no matter what the job or the risk of the job, you are not alone others have faced and conquered the exact same job or adventure. “The labyrinth is thoroughly known.” The labyrinth is a maze, this sentence is referring to life as a maze or labyrinth, and that each path and each crevice has been tested so it is thoroughly known. “We have only to follow the thread of the hero path.” This is referring back to the first sentence where it says that the heroes or people before us have conquered this and we are on the same path to success that they were. “And where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find god.” This refers to people who can be negative because they are expecting to fail rather than hope for the best, and then they find themselves with the miracle of a success. “And where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves.” Jealousy and judgment of others is only showing our weakness to want what the judged have, or wish we never have that only bringing ourselves down. “Where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to center of our own existence.” Trying to travel away from all the problems and the people that only bring you down can bring you closer to yourself and how you truly are feeling about this whole situation. “And where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.” This connects back to the first sentence. Where no matter how alone you feel in what you are doing, chances are that people have gone through this same thing.
This applies to the study of mythology because it is referring back to the heroes and people who have succeeded to shape our world today. In mythology for whatever religion they have, those figures that have led them to conquer every obstacle thrown at them. People look up to these people and always want to follow in their path. I agree with this concept, because people have gone through every crevice through the “labyrinth” in the quote. We are really never alone, we always have our supporters and we are always following in someone else’s path. People are always quick to judge the people who are ahead of us, this judgment comes from jealousy and it make us second guess ourselves. There are some people who are always negative, and they are always expecting to fail. Then they face the miracle of success and it is like finally finding god. When going away and distancing yourself from other people and all everybody’s problems, you really get to know yourself and come to face with your own difficulties in your life.
This quote has such strong meaning and depth that it can really help a person stop and evaluate their own life. When people are feeling so terribly alone, they can stop and realize that other people have gone through this, those same people have also conquered this. That feeling of someone else did this, so I can, really drives people and motivates them to do the task that much more. They can also look around and see who is supporting them. Support can always make a person feel better, then that even motivates them to not let everyone down. It helps you and others around you, it shapes the world.

In the novel, “The Tale of Two Cities,” Charles Dickens brings in the theme of fairness, or lack of fairness with the anaphora, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”(pg1) This introduction helps provide the setting for the reader. Fairness in our modern day society hasn’t changed. With power comes great responsibility, lacking responsibility is when people start to abuse the power given. There is also the feeling of being unbalanced with the power, then the poverty and inequality.
In third world countries such as Somalia where people are trekking thousands of miles just to get to safety, away from pirating, and famine. Children are dying from starvation and malnourishment, where children in first world countries are being over fed and obesity is a problem for them. Young women and girls are getting raped, where in first world countries many young girls don’t even know the term rape, and even as you get older it is a very foreign term. These people in these countries that are battling and suffering to make it to the next day they feel that there is a great deal of inequality playing out. Some of these modern conditions relate to the peasantry in this novel, where Dickens is describing these people with cadaverous faces so eager just to get a taste of the luxurious wine that was spilt on the ground. (pg21)
In fist world countries such as America these conditions rarely are displayed. There are a handful of people that abuse the power they have and the money they have and not having the least bit of concern what is going on around the world. These people will spend obscene amounts of money of food, and worthless stuff that just gets wasted in space. These people feel they have got to this point in their life for working for it, only a handful have put the labor and energy into their success, the others just get lucky. They feel like if they can do it, anyone can. The Marquis displays these acts of selfishness and greed when he ran over a small child and just tossed the father a coin to shut him up, as if the golden coin could really put a value on this child’s life. (pgs. 83-85) ***spoiler alert*** He ends up paying for it later in the novel.
These examples from the book comparing to the modern examples show that the times have not really changed, it was and still the, “the best of times” and, “the worst of times.”

In the Hunger Games, Collins goes away from what is commonly known, by assigning Katniss Everdeen the aspects a male archetype would portray. The main characteristic displayed is provider, where she is hunting, gathering and bringing in money to provide for her family.
Katniss Everdeen plays the role of provider in her family. She says on page 5, "As soon as I am in the trees, I retrieve my bow and sheath of arrows from a hollow log." These are the weapons she is using to hunt the animals her family eats as food. She not only hunts for her family, she provides the district with fresh meat in trade for money and goods.
She continues to provide for her ally's during the games. When her and Rue first join as a team she gives Rue some burn medicine to ease some pain. Then she gives her some food to fix her starvation. (Spoiler) Then after Rues unfortunate death she finds Peeta and provides him with food and shelter. All this evidence shows how she defies the common female archetype and embraces the male characteristic of provider.

The protagonist Katniss Everdeen, plays with the readers by defying the emotionally vulnerable female archetype, and rather embracing the providing and protecting male archetype. The provider hunts, gathers, and brings in money for the family throughout the book. The protector will risk her life to protect the ones she/he loves. Katniss displays both chacteristics throughout the book the "Hunger Games."
Katniss is the provider for her family. She hunts animals for food and gathers roots and other plants to go along with the meat. Katniss also brings in money and other good by trading some of her game to the local black market. On page 11 the "Hob" is explained as an abandoned warehouse the once held coal. These examples is what led to the reasoning that that she fully embraces the providing role for her family.
Katniss is also the protector. She wants to protect Prim in everyway possible. She explains on page 15 that " The anguish I always feel when she's in pain wells up in my chest and threaten to register on my face." During the Games she is always thinking about her actions and which actions can be used against her family. She is being selfless and thinking about how she can keep her family alive instead of herself. The attitude she potrays fit perfectly into the male archetype, these characteristics made Katniss more relatable to everyone which makes this book so good and interesting.

In the Hunger Games, Collins goes away from what is commonly known, by assigning Katniss Everdeen the aspects a male archetype would portray. An archetype is a pattern or commonly used text that helps us get a deeper understanding of the characters. The two main characteristics displayed are provider, where she is hunting, gathering and bringing in money to provide for her family. Then she is the protector of her family, she protects Prim by only allowing her to put in her name once for the reaping.
Throughout the book Katniss embracing the commonly known male archetype. She has the competitive nature to her that most men have. On page 34 Katniss says, "Crying is not an option." this quote shows that she is trying to control and conquer her emotions, instead of showing her true emotions and becoming vulnerable. In this way she rejects the female archetype.
In this book I enjoyed how Collins played with what was known and she changed it up a bit, this made the book unforgettable and one of my favorites.

In the book "The Hunger Games" by Susan Collins she both embraces and defies the commom cultural female and male archetypes. Katniss in this story rejects the female archetype in some parts of the story but in other parts she embraces the cultural female archetype. She is very caring on the inside for her family and she cares for Rue during the games but sort of rough around the edges where she can kill an animal and feel nothing, or kill the guy that kills Rue and feel pleasure that she knows she won.
But then you see Peeta and Gale and they both show the male archetype the entire book. They are both very strong and aggressive. Gale doesnt really show much empathy for the animals he is killing. They both work and provide for the family. Both Peeta and Gale seem to be very brave. From these characteristics I feel that they both embrace the common cultural male archetype.
There are a few more characters that I feel defy the common archetype. One is Cinna, he wears make-up and is a designer, he can carry out long conversations which in my experience some guys have trouble with. The there is Caesar Flickerman, in the book on page 125 is says "This year, Caesar's hair is powder blue and his eyelids and lips are coated in the same hue." In our culture men dont wear this much make up let alone any make up in general.
My closing statement is Suzanne Collins both embraces and rejects the common cultural archetypes but she is kind of leaning more towards defying the usual. I think this make her writing very interesting and unpredictable to read which is why so many people seem to enjoy this book.

In the short story "The Most Dangerous Game" it starts out in a coversation showing that our protagonist Rainsford lacks empathy for the big game he hunts by saying, "Who cares how the jaguar feels?" This statement makes him unlikeable to me, compared to Whitney, who still hunts but is showing little empathy for the animals, commenting on Rainsford's statement, "Maybe the jaguar." This explicit detail makes him the more likeable one at this point. The story then takes a turn as we follow Rainsford to an island where strange game is being hunted. On this island we meet our antagonist. General Zaroff, he is mentioned as a very rich, an sophisticated man. At this point everything is going good. Rainsford is hearing stories, has dry clothes and a full stomach. Rainsford learns that the General is a very passionate hunter. As the General is telling his story, Rainsford realizes that this isnt right, how could this breed he has created have reason. Thats when he gets it, the breed this man has been hunting is no animal it is a human being. The General asks Rainsford to help him in his game, but Rainsford refuses, thats when he, the hunter becomes the huntee. He now has to use his cunning instinct and reason to keep from being killed. Rainsford ends up winning the game and somehow killing General Zaroff. I think this experience gave him what he needed to see that he should show empathy for the animals he is hunting because not inly do they know they are getting hunted the know they are going to die. I think his experience didnt shift his feelings toward hunting, I just think it gave him an idea how the animals really feel. I think that Rainsford is still the same he was before the island but with a little more empathy.

The Scarlet Ibis smybolizes Doodle in ways you dont pick up on right away. The first one I discovered was, how the bird was very exotic and didnt belong. Doodle had overcome what no one thought he could, in the beginnig no one touched Doodle, they didnt even bother to give him a name. The bird also wasnt afraid when the family got near. This is like Doodle because he isnt afriad to face life, he embraces his diability with pride instead of embarrassment. When his brother whould pull the go-cart fast around the corner, the go-cart would tip and Doodle wouldnt cry or get mad, he just got up and back in and kept going. He also didnt give up trying after falling down when trying to walk, he just kept trying because he wanted to impress his family. They both had come so far just to die under the bleeding tree.