Author Archives: gpetrie

Medea and Job

I don’t think Medea is a hero because when she finds out her husband got married to another woman she doesn’t stay strong for her children. Instead, she freaks out and ends up killing them. I think that compared to Achilles they are similar in the way that they are both focused on getting themselves further or staying happy. They also are obviously not very considerate of other people’s feelings.

 

Even though Job did not like the answer or lack there of that God gave him, he accepted it because his whole life he had been faithful to God and he wasn’t going to stop just because it wasn’t the answer he was originally looking for. I think that Job was angry that bad things happened to him, because he felt like since he had followed all the “rules’ he believe he needed to in order for those things not to happen to him they still did. However, I think that after talking to God getting a response (period) is what made Job believe in his faith. I was satisfied with the end because I think it spoke highly of Job’s character that he accepted the answer God gave him, even though it wasn’t what he was looking for at first.

The Iliad

Achilles and Hector are both great warriors, however, they have their differences. Achilles put more value on winning than on anything else. He would rather let his army die so that he could get farther in battle, than trying to keep them alive as best he could. He was also stubborn. In the beginning of the first book he does not want to give Chryses back to her father for ransom, he would rather keep her as a token of winning. Hector on the other hand cares for his army. On page 196 he says “My heart is out there with our fighting men.’ He would rather fight to the death with his army then watch them die and take the credit of the win.

After Achilles breaks Greek standard and drags Hector’s body around he “snaps back into reality’ when he starts to listen to his mother. He realizes that he needs to do the right thing and go return Hector’s body so that he can receive the proper burial. This transformation shows that when in battle people don’t think in the same kind of way as when they are sitting at home around their family (i.e. their mothers’). This transformation has significance because it shows that even though he went crazy in battle he snapped back and remembered his morals again.

The Warrior Code and The Familial Code are not mutually exclusive. They overlap at times. For instance people who are in the Army must sometimes deploy even if they are working on raising a family. One example from the text is how Hector tells his wife that he must go to battle. He is sacrificing the relationship between his wife and him in order to fulfill the Warrior Code.

Gilgamesh

 

  1. Gilgamesh’s call to adventure is when he goes searching for the Plant of Eternal Youth. One of his challenges is when he trying to stay awake for a week. Also he must go through challenges before he gets to the end of the story. For example, he tries to stay awake for a week.
  2. I do think that that the Four Functions of Mythology are active in the story of Gilgamesh. There is a mystery throughout the whole poem because the language is different and the poem is in verses not full sentences. The Gods that are in the poem add the element of the function of mythology that talks about needing an explanation of our universe.
  3. Although Gilgamesh did not get the Plant of Everlasting Life he did gain a person. What I mean by that is he was able to figure out who he was along his journey. He also gained maturity. At the beginning he was very childish and then by the end he realizes how childish he was and how he didn’t treat people right. I think that knowing who you truly are is much better than eternal youth.

A Hero’s Journey

Spiderman is a movie that comes to mind when I think of the Hero’s Journey. In this movie the main character, and hero, Peter, acquires super natural powers. I think the general formula was done well in the movie. Peter goes through the departure phase after he learns he has the super natural powers and then he goes through experimenting with them. In one scene in the movie he is in his room testing his capability of using his newly acquired “spidy’ senses, as shown in the picture below.

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Another aspect that follows the concept of the Hero’s Journey is the absence of his parents and then his uncle. The absence of a father figure is what sets up the hero. Part of his challenges and temptations is shown when he has to go through deciding if he should use his powers for “evil or good.’

 

I believe that many movies today do meet the human needs expressed in the four functions of mythology. Movies can definitely meet these needs. I think that many movies fill the need for mystery. One example is Snow White and the Huntsmen. There is a mystery at the beginning of who the queen is and what her motive is. Many movies feel the need to know about our universe, one example is the movie Star Trek. Movies can meet all these need because they are depictions of stories and stories can be made up. Most movies are for entertainment purposes and in order to truly entertain people the movie industry must make movies that meet one or more of these needs.

Hello To Everyone

Hi,

My name is Gretchen and I am a sophomore this year. I was born in Germany but I have lived in Alaska my entire life (minus 2 years in Germany). I thought about going away for college but this is my home and I’m not quite ready to leave, maybe one day though. I am taking all but one class online this semester because it works better with my work schedule.

I enrolled in this class because it is a requirement but I am excited to see what kind of readings Popa has found for us. I don’t like picking out books but I do enjoy reading so I like english classes where I get told what to read. I really enjoyed having Popa as an instructor last spring so I’m excited to be in her class again.

Until next time,

Gretchen