STAR WARS

1)      The movie opens with a battle scene.  Darth Vader is looking for something.  What is he looking for, and what has happened to it? Darth Vader is looking for the battle plans which Princess Leia was holding. The princess placed the battle plans inside R2D2 and told the unit to go and search for the old man known as "Ben." This unit and his accomplice C3PO were launched on an escape pod which eventually landed them in Luke Skywalker's planet.

2)      At the beginning of the movie, what does Luke Skywalker want to do?  What is holding him back? Luke Skywalker wants to go to the academy, but his Uncle is holding him back. The Uncle wants him to work in his fields for another year, and then he can finally go.

3)      Who do we find out Ben Kenobi really is? Ben Kenobi turns out to be Obi-Wan Kenobi.

4)      How does Ben describe “The Force” to Luke? Ben describes the force to Luke as a power that surrounds, penetrates, and binds everything in the world together. 

5)      How does Luke Skywalker mature during the story?  What is the main event that triggered this change? Luke Skywalker matures into a man who understands the force throughout the story. The main event that triggered this change was the killing of his Uncle and Aunt when the Imperial Storm troopers invaded their house looking for the two droids. 

6)      In what ways is Star Wars similar to other stories we have read this year such as The Epic of Gilgamesh and Siddhartha? Star Wars is similar to Siddhartha because it teaches the readers about how a person can mature within time in order to become a figure that is a great hero. Siddhartha becomes the Buddha and gains knowledge of how everything turns around, and Luke gains knowledge of the force and uses it in good ways. 

7)      How does Luke follow the “Hero’s Adventure” as described by Joseph Campbell?  What physical or spiritual deeds does he perform?  Where in the film does he experience a literal or figurative death and resurrection? He performs a physical deed by rescuing the princess from the clutch of Darth Vader. The part where Luke finally destroys the Death Star and receives his award from Princess Leia is when he went through a figurative death and resurrection. Luke went from being a casual boy working for his Uncle in a small planet, into becoming the Commander of the Rebels. 

8)      How does Star Wars attempt to answer the following:

a) Who are we? We are ordinary people that can become great heroes when we go through maturing into better men.

b)  Where are we going? In the Star Wars point of view, we as humans are heading towards an era where we will be foolish enough towards each other that a great war will erupt. Not only will war occur, but smuggling, murdering, will become a major action that will continue on in many "systems."

c)  How did we get here? As humans we got here as we evolved new technologies that made life easier for us. 

d) Why are we here? To fight for what we think is the best way to have everything running in our world. To make sure that two sides don't attempt to fight each other and decide what is for the best, but try to settle it in anyway possible. 

e) What happens to us when we die? When we die we do not leave everything behind, we leave our souls behind. We never completely die if we are true heroes that acknowledge everything around us, and continue on our lives.

Aphorisms

"Wear a shirt that fits you."

Such an aphorism can contain different meanings to how a person views his life, and his personality. Towards a person that views things literally word per word, it can bring a whole different meaning than what it "truly" is supposed to be. 

Connecting to Joseph Campbell's idea on what it means to be a hero, he shows that depending on what you choose yourself to be, to be reborn as a whole new being;you can accomplish many things. Once you accomplish those things and become well-known, then you are a hero that is truly worth writing about. If you take a shirt which can be related to as a career you want to do, and you choose the wrong shirt thinking that it will fit you; you have just driven your pathway of life in a whole different direction. If you try too hard to find a shirt that will exactly fit you, then you might not find it because it takes a long time. Just like how Joseph Campbell says a hero is someone that does great deeds and is recognized, a person has to find the one shirt that will fulfill his life goal; and lead that towards something great. 

To sum it all up, Joseph Campbell is trying to say that if you want to be recognized you have to do something great. In order to be recognized for doing something great, you have to find the shirt that fits you. Once you find the shirt that fits you, and become recognized as someone great. You will be written about and truly shown as a hero.

Bacuis and Philemon

1. Who are Baucis and Philemon? Bacius and Philemon are wife and husband who live in a small hut. They were the ones that greeted the guests (Zeus, Hermes) into their hut so that they could rest and have a meal.
2. How do they differ from other people? These two differ from other people since they are rather friendly compared to the others. Also, they  don't reject the poor "guests," and scream and them while others did. The two have a better sense of what it means to be kind compared to others which rejected their requests without even thinking about it at first.
3. Why do Zeus and Hermes reward them? Zeus and Hermes reward the two because of how they were kind and not as nasty as the neighbors.
4. Describe their wish? Baucis and Philemon wished that they could die at the same moment. To die, they were transformed into trees at the same time while putting forth leaves, and producing bark.
5. What does this story suggest? What is its didactic message? This story suggests that one shouldn't treat a stranger with such "hatred," since something could always come back to you that does you good. It's didactic message is to treat others with as much respect as they would treat you. Basically, the story is trying to tell the reader to never be so rude or unwilling to help towards total strangers, in any situation whether you are rich or poor.
6. Do you agree with this idea of love? Why? Why Not? I do agree with this idea of love since if two people truly love each other they wouldn't betray themselves in their time afterwards. Dying at the same time would be a great example since none of them want to suffer the pain of not having each other.

Metamorphoses Scene 5- Orpheus and Eurydice

1. Who are Hades, Fates, Tantalus and Sisyphus? Hades was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The Fates are people who assign a man to good or evil. Tantalus is a famous ancient figure who is most well-known for his eternal punishment in Tartarus. Sisyphus is the king of Ephyra now known as Corinth in Greek mythology.
2.  How can Orpheus get Eurydice back? Orpheus can get Eurydice back if he makes a deal with Hades in which Eurydice will be following Orpheus as he goes back outside. If Orpheus turns back to look at Eurydice until sunlight, Eurydice will remain with Hades forever.
3.  List the ways we are invited to interpret the story. We are invited to interpret the story as a story of love and how it always goes away, and a story about time that only flows in one direction.
4.  Which interpretation do you most agree with? I agree with the interpretation that it is a story about love and how it always goes away.
5. Is this a love story?  Why?  Why not? If so, what kind of love does this seem to be? Yes, it is a love story since there is a man and a woman in which the man attempts to get back the woman with anything he has. The love seems to be the kind of love that can never be fulfilled and was not meant to be, and if he truly wanted to have her again he wouldn't of turned around. So, basically it's a love story about a couple that were never meant to be in my opinion.