Nathan’s Comments (group member since Sep 08, 2011)

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

Odysseus first starts the story in what he considers a mundane world. This is the first step in the thread of the hero’s path in book 5. A mundane world can be very different depending on the person, in Odysseus's case, his world would be considered a very good world. It is a place where an average person would be very pleased with to live in. Even so, Odysseus is not happy and is wanting to get away and to be free. he knew he was capable of doing more than just living on a beautiful island with the beautiful Calypso.

The second step in the journey of the hero is the call to adventure, the hero is told that there is something else out there and they need to do something. The call can come to a hero in many different ways, the call can either come to the hero personally or the hero goes and seeks it. Odysseus's call to adventure is when Hermes comes to tell Calypso to let Odysseus free. Odysseus decides to accepts the challenge to go to this island and leaves. Odysseus's call was brought to him, he was also seeking it at the same time.

The third step in a hero's journey is when the cross the thresh hold. A hero crosses the threshold when they go into adventure without turning back. Odysseus crosses the thresh hold when leaves Calypso's island. Calypso helps Odysseus build a raft and then Odysseus leaves. Odysseus officially crosses the threshold when he starts off on the boat because he can't really get out of the boat once he is in the ocean. Odysseus trades a wonderful would for a would he knows will be full of trials. Odysseus now is officially on this road to becoming a hero there is no turning back after he gets on the boat.

The fourth step is the path of trials, Odysseus goes through so many trials it's hard to list them all, it feels like the whole book stays on this step. The first trial he goes through is when Odysseus is taken captive by the Cyclops. The Cyclops caught Odysseus and his men stealing some food and then killed some of them. Odysseus had to figure out how to escape this trial. He ended up out smarting the Cyclops. Odysseus's excessive hubris caused him to make dumb decisions throughout the story, after they escape the Cyclops he decides he wanted to taunt them.

NEW MENTORS: Hermes was Odysseus's mentor in this story. When Hermes told Calypso that Odysseus needed to leave. It was giving Odysseus the chance to for adventure and to reach the full potential and freedom he had been seeking. Hermes was Odysseus's call to adventure.

NEW ENEMIES: Odysseus makes many new enemies on his adventure, the Cyclops who wouldn't let him go, Circe, Scylla, and the Suitors.

The last and final phase in the hero’s path is when the hero becomes the master of two worlds. The hero becomes the master of two worlds when he has succeeded in the new world and returns back to the old world as a changed person. Odysseus becomes the master of two worlds when he returns home alive even when the gods presented him with many great trials.
The greater message in the story of Odysseus to me is that you should always try to reach your full potential and you should never give up on trying. when you do succeed do not get to prideful and have too much hubris. You will have trials throughout your life but if you keep trying you will be able to overcome them. Like the lotus eaters, there will be temptations and you shouldn't fall for them, like drugs. You should follow the thread of the hero path.

I really like Joseph Campbell's quote from the Power of Myth and this is what the quote means to me. “We have not to even risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us”. This is saying that the generations before us have pathed pathways before our generation enabling us to do anything in life, that one isn’t alone in struggles every one of us face in life.
“The labyrinth is thoroughly known. We have only to follow the thread of the hero path”. This is saying the same thing in the last quote. Life is well know, people have mastered it, Hero’s have set pathways with threads making it possible to follow the hero’s example in life.
“And where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves. Where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to center of our existence”. This is saying that by turning against one another on the journey of life, then we just make our own harder, instead you and I should bring and support each other.
“And where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world”. This last sentence is my favorite part, everyone feels lost and alone at one point or another. But if we’re all lonely, then really we’re not alone because we’re alone together.
This quote makes me think of life like a maze that we are all walking in, heroes have left threads that we can choose to follow. There are other people around you like your friends and family to support you. You may get lost but there are many other people that are lost to so you are never alone.

In the book “A Tale of Two Cities” the character Sydney Carton reflects characteristics of the hero archetype. In the book Sydney did not live an ethical life and wasted it on alcohol. Sydney had opportunities for success, but for some reason did not take them. But later in the book he decides to make up all of his failures and wrong doings, he sacrificed his life himself to save his friends; he died to save his friends to make up his not worthily lived life. This is how this act reflects characteristics of the hero archetype.


A few characteristics of the hero archetype are: They want equality and fairness, will sacrifice themselves to save others, they redeem wrong doings, and want the world to be a better place. When Sydney sacrificed himself he embraced all of these characteristics. He wanted equality because he felt his friends deserved life more than he did, he didn’t feel it was fair for him to live such a bad life and for them to die over him. He sacrificed his own life for his friends to live, if it wasn’t for him to step up his friends would have died instead of Sydney. Sydney felt bad about his past so he redeems himself. Sydney made the world a better place because the people’s lives he saved, lived good honest lives, making the world a better place. On page 293 it says “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known”. This quote is Sydney carton talking that what he has done is the best thing he has ever done. This book is relevant to a modern reader because good people want to do good things in their life and make their lives worthwhile.

Peeta Melark reflects the archetype of a villain. A character that has the archetype of a villain will manipulate others for power.

Katniss always thought that when Peeta was being nice he was trying to get her to fall for his strategy, which was to make Katniss fall in love with him so it would be easier for him to win the games. This would help Peeta if Katniss and he ran into each other; Katniss would be slow to kill Peeta because she would think that Peeta really meant what he was saying about him being in love with her. Katniss thought she had figured out Peeta’s strategy and pretended to condone the gestures of Peeta.

For example on page 72 when Peeta compliments Katniss about her appearance and Katniss says to herself “Don’t be so stupid Peeta is planning how to kill you” “he is luring you in to make you easy prey”. Another example further into the story when they are in the games, Peeta joins the careers. “I almost fall out of the tree, the voice belongs to Peeta”. With Peeta being a sketchy guy from the start this confirms Katniss’s suspicions that he was strategizing against her from the start. with the examples from the text, that is how I think Peeta reflects the will manipulate others for power trait of the villain archetype. Peeta tried to make Katniss fall in love with her, manipulating her, to try to have an advantage in the Hunger Games.

An archetype is pattern that recurs in text across a period of time. In the book "The Hungar Games" Peeta Melark reflects the archetype of a villain. A character that has the archetype of a villain will: Be enemies with the hero in a story and will manipulate others for power.

In the beginning of the book Peeta Melark embraces the archetype of a villain because he always seemed against Katniss and would argue with her. But other times Katniss always thought that when Peeta was being nice he was just trying to get her to fall for his strategy which was to make Katniss fall in love with him so it would be easier for him to win the hunger games. This behavior of Peeta describes the archetype of a villain. He is the enemy of Katniss who is the protagonist in the story. He is being nice to her which is a good thing, but really he is just trying to help himself.

For example on page 72 when Peeta compliments Katniss about her appearance and Katniss says to herself “Don’t be so stupid Peeta is planning how to kill you” “he is luring you in to make you easy prey”. Another example further into the story when they are in the games, Peeta joins the careers. “I almost fall out of the tree, the voice belongs to Peeta”, to Katniss this move in Peeta’s strategy was a punch in the face.

A character with the archetype of a villain will always be enemies with the protagonist or hero in a story. A villain likes to cause trouble and is mean to others, and will often be powerful.

In the beginning of the book Peeta Melark embraces the archetype of a villain because he always seemed against and would fight with Katniss. Katniss always thought that when Peeta was being nice he was just trying to get her to fall for his strategy which was to make Katniss fall in love with him so it would be easier for him to win the hunger games.

For example on page 72 when Peeta compliments Katniss about her appearance and Katniss says to herself “Don’t be so stupid Peeta is planning how to kill you” “he is luring you in to make you easy prey”. Another example further into the story when they are in the games, Peeta joins the careers. “ I almost fall out of the tree, the voice belongs to Peeta”, to Katniss this move in Peeta’s strategy was a punch in the face.

In the short story "The Most Dangerouse Game" the protagonist changes in these ways. In the beginning of the story when Rainsfor and Whitney are talking, Rainsford says he doesn't care about the jaguar feels. This tells us that Rainsford really has no feelings toward what he is hunting and and is selfish and selfcentered. After his experience on the island and being hunted by General Zaroff I think he was changed for the better. Before he had trouble puting himself in the animals shoes but now he was physically in the aniamals shoes, and I think that afeter he saw what it was accually like to be hunted in a life or death situation he finally understands the feelings of animals being hunted and will become a better person.

The scarlet Ibis is a symbol for doodle in this way. Both the scarlet ibis and doodle seemed like they were from a different world, and they didn't belong where they were. The story tells the reader that the bird is from a long way away when it is talking about how the storm must have pushed the bird to where they are now. Both the scarlet ibis and Doodle had so much potiential but werent in the right place to become great. Both fought hard in their lives, like the bird must have tried had flown a long way and it must have been hard but didn't give up, and Doodle, people said he would never be able to walk but after working hard he was able to. That is how I think Doodle and the scarlet ibis sybolise eachother.