BLOG 10: REFLECTION

The hero's quest has been a very intersting topic to learn about. After doing reasearch and watching the interview about Campbell I have noticed that this hero's hourney applies to everything in life. everything is circular and everything pretty much goes through the same stages of life.

BLOG 9: "Alice In Wonderland" Hero's journey

The 2010 version of the Tale "Alice In Wonderland" is a perfect example of the hero's quest. In this film, every element of the hero's journey is addressed from "the call to adventure" to "the return of the protagonist" to their original world.

Alice begins her quest at a family party that she is being forced to attend. While at the party Alice spots the iconic white rabbit (call to adventure) that, in turn, leads her to the rabbit hole rabbit hole (threshold) that she ultimately falls through. After falling through the rabbit hole, Alice is greeted by a small door (second threshold) and a small potion. After using the small door to pass to another world, Alice encounters a myriad of fantastic and terrible creatures that are Actually hunting her (challenges) for some unknown purpose. Soon after, Alice meets The Mad Hatter (the mentor; played by a cracked-out Johnny Depp) that keeps her safe from the Queen of Hearts for a short period of time. After a brief meeting with the other weird creatures in the movie, Alice is captured and taken to the Queen of Hearts (Abyss). While in the castle, Alice is informed that she is supposed to be the savior of the people and that she must defeat the dreaded "Jabbawakee" (transformation). After the Epic/Lame fight with the Jabbawakee, Alice saves the people from the evils of The Queen of Hearts and is safely returned to her original world (return).

Although this movie was a terrible waste of film, it fits the outline of the hero's journey almost as if Joseph Campbell had directed it himself (unlikely).

BLOG ENTRY 8: All the symbols in my poem

The poem that I have chosen is called “The Haunted Palace” by Edgar Allen Poe. This poem is riddled with symbols, each with a different meaning. A symbol is something that is meant to represent something else, especially in literature. For example, a fire in the middle of a room might represent the relationship that a family has. A symbol can be anything as long as it has some kind of meaning in the context of the story. Authors often use symbols as tools to give their writing more depth which allows the reader to feel stronger emotions and to connect more with the text. In this poem, Edgar Allen Poe uses many symbols to give the majestic palace more of a human look and for the reader to get a better feel of what’s going on in the poem.

To begin the poem, Poe begins by describing the valley in which the palace was built; he describes the valley as “green”. The color green can be viewed as either evil or as a symbol of life. Maybe this was foreshadowing of the evil that was going to overtake the castle. In the next line, Poe mentions “angels”; angels are placed to represent that there is something superior to man. In the context of the story this might hint at the spirits that now run the palace. In the next stanza, Poe uses the color yellow, according to the dictionary of symbolism yellow is usually a sign of warning. This interpretation of the symbol is appropriate because later hell breaks loose inside the palace. In the following stanza, a door is described as glowing “ruby”. This could possibly be a symbol for warning that there is something behind the door. The king is also mentioned in the next stanza, this is a symbol of authority, primarily because he is the authority of the castle. The color red is also used a lot throughout this poem. This color is made to be very emotional and full of power. The fact that it is being used so much in this poem might be to represent all of the action that is going on in this poem. This would not be a far fetched assumption because throughout the poem we are taken through the history of the palace from when it is described in the beginning as lively to when the king is being thrown out of the castle at is taken over by the spirits Next, towards the end of the poem the flow of the spirits through the castle door is described as a river. The mouths of rivers and doors are usually associated with each other because they are symbols of crossing over from on plain to another. To finish the poem off, Poe says that the spirits “laugh but smile no more”, this represents the great evil of these conquering beings because being that laughs but does not smile is not laughing for a god reason, its laughing because it takes joy in the damage that it is causing.
The symbols in this poem are a perfect example of the quality of Poe’s work. He used symbols to perfectly set the emotion for his writing.

BLOG 7: PRE-WRITING FROM "ALICE IN WONDERLAND"

FILM: "Alice In Wonderland"

HERO'S QUEST: The protagonist has a "home," a place that s/he thinks is normal, familiar, and common to others in his/her culture.


Call to Adventure
A normal occurrence motivates the protagonist to acknowledge an unknown aspect of his/her world, feel a restlessness with the constraints of his/her life, or find a new world that s/he was not aware existed.


Refusal of the Call
The protagonist chooses not to move forward in life because s/he chooses to not give up his/her position, power, ideals, goals, or responsibilities; the refusal is often based on his/her fear of the unknown and comfort in the familiar. Usually secondary characters support the protagonist's refusal.


Supernatural Aid
The inexperienced protagonist is provided a supernatural, guiding, and/or guarding character, or an instrumental item (sword, encouragement, etc.) to assist his/her step forward into the unknown.


Crossing the First Threshold
The protagonist moves out of his/her comfort zone and walks alone. S/he is confronted with an obstacle that must be overcome before s/he can fully enter the dangers of the unknown journey.


II: Initiation (By crossing the threshold, the protagonist's world is changed forever. A mental journey merges with the physical journey to result in a spiritual revelation of purpose and self.)

Road of Trials
The protagonist is tested and found vulnerable, but the outcome reveals a part of him/her that s/he did not know existed. The assistance given the protagonist under the "Supernatural Aid" section of "Departure" begins to come into play in the story, and s/he is not expected to face the trials alone.


Meeting a Soul Mate

(mother-figure)
The protagonist meets an ideal (in ancient myths a goddess; in modern stories a soul mate) and sees the possibilities of his/her journey. This supernatural, human, or symbolic ideal encourages him/her forward.


Overcoming Temptation

(father-figure)
Someone or something tries to destroy the journey itself. Often the destroyer has been sent by a larger evil to stop the protagonist. The protagonist is often misled, but eventually overcomes his lack of knowledge, prejudices, and fears as s/he grows in the acceptance of his/her role as hero.


Viewing the Whole Picture

(god-like)
The protagonist moves beyond the final terrors of change that are founded in his/her ignorance. S/he adds the spiritual element to his/her journey. The protagonist is still in the midst of the journey but s/he is now willing to accept what is required of him/her to complete the mission.


The Ultimate Goal (Treasure)


The protagonist becomes self-assured and often receives physical gifts and/or emotional rewards. Since personal limitations are broken, the protagonist can see the big picture not only in relation to him/herself but also in relation to others. The protagonist understands how the ultimate goal can be accomplished and the mission completed.


III: Return (Through the protagonist's ultimate sacrifice of self, s/he walks in an enlightened state.)

Refusing to Return
Although seldom a true refusal, the protagonist, who should return "home" with his/her powers, ability, or wisdom, remains isolated and often faces a death of sorts. Sometimes s/he prefers to live in the enlightenment than return to a "home" that might not accept the ultimate gift.


The Chase
The protagonist flees toward safety to thwart the attempts to take back the treasure, power, ability, or wisdom. Because the protagonist has changed, the chase characterizes his/her courage and confidence.


The Rescue
The protagonist is unable to save him/herself. Others help him/her return "home," which may deflate his/her ego, but since s/he sees the entirety of the mission, s/he understands the importance of what is accomplished.


Crossing the Return Threshold
The protagonist must face the evil or its leader and the realization that home is no longer a place but a state of being. Those in his/her past may not accept his/her new ability, power, or wisdom and may test it as a final trial to the protagonist.


Master of Two Worlds
The protagonist has the ability, power, or wisdom without limitations to relax in whatever world (physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual) s/he finds him/herself. S/he can adjust to who s/he was in the past and who s/he might be in the future.


Freedom


ELEMENTS OF THE HEROE'S QUEST IN "Alice In WONDERLAND:

1. Call to adventure: The White rabbit
2. Super natural aid: The Magic potions
3. First threshold: The small door
4. Road of trials: She is said to be destined to fight and kill the jabawakkee
5. Soul-mate (Mother): The White Queen
6. Over Coming Temptation (father): The Mad Hatter
7. The Ultimate Goal (Treasure: Alice is given the sword
8. The Return: Alice returns to her world after defeating the jabbawakee

Source: http://home.rmi.net/~seifert/id22.html

Blog 6: Rough Draft

"The Haunted Palace"
By: Edgar Allen Poe

In the greenest of our valleys
By good angels tenanted,
Once a fair and stately palace—
Radiant palace—reared its head.
In the monarch Thought's dominion—
It stood there!
Never seraph spread a pinion
Over fabric half so fair!

Banners yellow, glorious, golden,
On its roof did float and flow,
(This—all this—was in the olden
Time long ago),
And every gentle air that dallied,
In that sweet day,
Along the ramparts plumed and pallid,
A winged odor went away.

Wanderers in that happy valley,
Through two luminous windows, saw
Spirits moving musically,
To a lute's well-tunëd law,
Bound about a throne where, sitting
(Porphyrogene!)
In state his glory well befitting,
The ruler of the realm was seen.

And all with pearl and ruby glowing
Was the fair palace door,
Through which came flowing, flowing, flowing,
And sparkling evermore,
A troop of Echoes, whose sweet duty
Was but to sing,
In voices of surpassing beauty,
The wit and wisdom of their king.

But evil things, in robes of sorrow,
Assailed the monarch's high estate.
(Ah, let us mourn!—for never morrow
Shall dawn upon him desolate !)
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.

And travellers, now, within that valley,
Through the red-litten windows see
Vast forms, that move fantastically
To a discordant melody,
While, like a ghastly rapid river,
Through the pale door
A hideous throng rush out forever
And laugh—but smile no more.

Edgar Allen Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston and died October 7, 1849. Poe was a reveled poet since his days at Virginia University where he began publishing poetry to when he was promoted to Sargent in the army. Poe is highly regarded for his poetry and a short stories that usually revel around the scary themes of ghosts and hautings. His fascination of writing horrific tales led him to write the poem "The Haunted Palace" in 1839.

The poem is composed of six stanzas of eight lines each, to give a total of 48 lines and is. Because there seems to be no specific speaker in the poem, it is a narrative poem. The poem is long and situated to the left of the page. The Rhyme scheme is a ABAB for every stanza.

"The Haunted Palace" describes the scene of a palace that has been taken from a king and is now being overrun by phantoms. The main image that this poem paints is that of a head that is devilishly sticking its tongue out. "Through two luminous windows" (line 20) represents the eyes, "Was the fair palace door" (line 26) representing the mouth and

"While, like a ghastly rapid river,
Through the pale door
A hideous throng rush out forever" (lines 45-47)

paints a picture of a tongue flying out of the mouth.

Symbols that can be found in this poem are (1) yellow, ruby (2) head (3) robes of sorrow. First, the colors yellow and ruby are indicators of what is going on in the poem. Yellow (line 9) has been known throughout history to be known as a symbol of alarm. The fact that the color yellow is placed at the beginning of the story does much to suggest that there is impending doom. Later on it can be concluded that the phantoms do, indeed, take over the palace. also, the Aurthur describes the boarder of the door to be ruby (line 17). The mentioning of the color ruby signifies the turmoil and rage that is going on inside the head because of all of the action going on. Another symbol is the head (line 4), the palace being described as a head can also be be a reference to the way the king is thinking, if all this stuff is going on inside the palace I would assume that the king would be furious and even be glowing red. The third symbol is the robes of sorrow (line 33). these robes represent death as robes and sorrow are usually connected with death. This can also represent the death of the palace itself.

The tone of this poem was very spooky and haunting. To begin with, the title of this poem is what initially sets the tone with the mentioning of the word "haunting". also, throughout the poem, ghosts and phantoms are mentioned (lines 19 and 43).

The poem "The Haunted Castle" by Edgar Allen Poe is about a castle in a beautiful valley that is being overrun by spirits. this poem is very scary and this can be concluded through the authur's choice of spooky words and scary themes like ghosts and haunting. Edgar Allen Poe lives up to his name with this poem being certainly scary.

Works Cited:

[IMAGE]"Haunted Palace." Gothic Dark Glamour. Web. 19 Apr 2010. .

Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Haunted Palace." BlackCat Poems. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr 2010. .

"Edgar Allen Poe." Bio. True storie. Bio.com, n.d. Web. 19 Apr 2010. .

BLOG 5

For essay 3 we are basically asked to break down and analyze each element of our poem of choice in a specialized format. Everything about this assignment is pretty straight forward so there isn't much to be confused about. I've chosen to write about a poem by Edgar Allan Poe titled "Spirits of the Dead" for this blog. It seems pretty interesting and just the right Length for this blog.