Last week we talked about Gilgamesh and the Iliad. In Gilgamesh, there was king named Gilgamesh who did many bad things like have sex with any woman he wanted. There was no one equal to him, so the gods created Enkidu. Enkidu was like an animal and when he fought Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh stopped the fight and called Enkidu his equal. Then for no reason, they start to go on journeys to slay down monsters as friends.
This story was really weird, given that you're a bad king in beginning, you fight with guy which you become friends with, you go kill a monster with your friend for no reason, then you're considered a hero at the end. For some reason, I can't wrap my mind around it. It's like if Superman and Lex Luther were fight with each other, Superman and Lex become friends, then they both go fight evil together. It seems hard to believe that you were a bad person, then you become good?
Maybe it's also like fairy tales. A little girl walking to her grandmothers house and before she gets to the house, a talking wolf tries to stop her. Or a random girl walks into a house which has an obsession of three's, and later finds out its inhabitants are talking bears. I used to enjoy fairy tales, but now reading this type of literature as an adult, it seems very silly. Maybe its like Gilgamesh and Beowulf, because I shouldn't question why Enkidu and Gilgamesh automatically become friends or why Beowulf can hold his breath for four hours. I believe the Professor called it the benefit of the doubt. In order for me to enjoy stories like these, I shouldn't question every single detail and just go with it.
We also talked about how some texts in Gilgamesh might be related to stories in the Bible. Two examples were the great flood Noah went through and Adam and Eve. Noah had an ark with two of each animal during the flood while in Gilgamesh, they said a great flood cleaned the earth. Adam and Eve were very closely related to Enkidu and the harlot. After Enkidu was done, he felt humble and needed clothing. Some people may deny it out front that Gilgamesh and the Bible are not connected in anyway, but as a christian I like to have an open mind about my beliefs. To have these stories be alike seems like maybe there really was a flood or there really was an Adam and Eve. Maybe we're all connected somehow and we're all aware of these things. I just find it interesting also that some people can cover their ears and call it lies, but there's no need. The Bible and the Koran have many things in common, and we all have beliefs of spirits all around the world. So from this, it just makes me really curious.
WC: 486
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
2/12/12
Last week made me think about the Iliad. I'm pretty sure I read the story back in high school, but I don't really remember it now. What did make me interested was the talk of Greek gods and goddesses. When I think of the word god, I think of an omnipotent being who can bend reality at whim. In Greek mythology on the other hand, the gods weren't omnipotent and had so many flaws.
The idea itself about how a guy named Chronos created the titans which were his children and tried to eat them. Then Zeus stopped him and now all the gods live on Mount Olympus. Each god has some sort of trait or traits that the people would prey for. For example, if someone wanted to pray for a glorious war, they would pray to Ares. Or if they wanted to hear a prophecy or to lift a plague, people would pray to Apollo.
This talk of Greek gods actually started to remind me of the Disney movie Hercules. How he was a demi-god and that he was a hero to the people trying to get back to his family on Mount Olympus. Now I'm pretty sure that the movie wasn't really that close to what happened in Greek mythology, but I believe it got kids interested into learning more about the gods. The Greeks had so great epics like The Odyssey or The Iliad that it was fun to imagine that these men could interact or even try to work against the gods and show how mighty the human spirit is. There probably movies that were created depicting the Odyssey or the Iliad, but it may be nice to see them in HD and CGI monsters.
But to what we read in the class, I thought book 1 of the Iliad was quite interesting. Achilles loses his trophy girl to Agamemnon so that Apollo can stop a plague and Achilles cries to his mom and makes her convince Zeus to be on her side so that the Trojans would lose the war. I think it seems petty what Achilles did. Just because he lost a girl he got during a raiding of a city and losing her to another guy, it's done right pathetic. I say if he was a real man, he should suck it up and understand it's because of that sacrifice a plague would be lifted and many lives would've been saved. But no, what does he do? He prays to his mom so that the Greeks would win and steps out of the army just so he can watch Agamemnon and the other Trojans die. Very pathetic.
WC: 445
The idea itself about how a guy named Chronos created the titans which were his children and tried to eat them. Then Zeus stopped him and now all the gods live on Mount Olympus. Each god has some sort of trait or traits that the people would prey for. For example, if someone wanted to pray for a glorious war, they would pray to Ares. Or if they wanted to hear a prophecy or to lift a plague, people would pray to Apollo.
This talk of Greek gods actually started to remind me of the Disney movie Hercules. How he was a demi-god and that he was a hero to the people trying to get back to his family on Mount Olympus. Now I'm pretty sure that the movie wasn't really that close to what happened in Greek mythology, but I believe it got kids interested into learning more about the gods. The Greeks had so great epics like The Odyssey or The Iliad that it was fun to imagine that these men could interact or even try to work against the gods and show how mighty the human spirit is. There probably movies that were created depicting the Odyssey or the Iliad, but it may be nice to see them in HD and CGI monsters.
But to what we read in the class, I thought book 1 of the Iliad was quite interesting. Achilles loses his trophy girl to Agamemnon so that Apollo can stop a plague and Achilles cries to his mom and makes her convince Zeus to be on her side so that the Trojans would lose the war. I think it seems petty what Achilles did. Just because he lost a girl he got during a raiding of a city and losing her to another guy, it's done right pathetic. I say if he was a real man, he should suck it up and understand it's because of that sacrifice a plague would be lifted and many lives would've been saved. But no, what does he do? He prays to his mom so that the Greeks would win and steps out of the army just so he can watch Agamemnon and the other Trojans die. Very pathetic.
WC: 445
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Last week in class we finished up Beowulf and started reading Oedipus Rex. In the last part of Beowulf, king Beowulf is old and not as strong as he used to be. A dragon attacks his kingdom and he goes with 12 other men to kill the dragon. He kills the dragon but in in exchange he loses his life. The story shows that even though you're a great hero, you're still only human and humans die.
The other story was more complex. It was about King Oedipus who was a king. There was a curse in his kingdom of Thebes and the only way for the curse to be lifted was to find the man who killed the former king. Tiresias the blind prophet tells him that he was the one who killed the former king. Oedipus was furious, but then starts to realize something. It is known that there was a prophecy that the prince of Thebes was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Even though Oedipus was abandoned on the hill side, he was raised as an orphan and never knew he was a prince.
So knowing that he fulfilled the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother, a question has risen. Is it possible to run away from destiny? This is a hard question to answer because it's very complex. Maybe its the fact that you're told that something is going to happen, therefore you try your best to not make it happen. But in reality, it's because you know what will happen, you drive yourself so in the end it does happen.
We only know of destiny from old stories and modern television and movies. In the shows sometimes when someone can see the future, they can alter it. But other times, when they know the future and try to change it, the outcome still happens and it was because they tried to change the future, the outcome stayed as it is.
Personally I really don't know what to believe in. I mean its a nice idea that I'm meant for great things, and that everything I do will lead me to fulfilling my destiny. But at the same time, destiny can be what I make it to be. Like if I chose my destiny to make a difference in this world, then more than likely I'll have fulfilled my destiny if I worked hard enough. I don't think destiny is as concrete like you're destined to die in an airplane accident or you're destined to be a lawyer. I think it's more on the lines of "I'm destined to change the world for the good of mankind" or "I was destined to always make this man/woman happy, no matter what". Maybe if we were to view destiny like that, it wouldn't be as complicated.
WC: 475
The other story was more complex. It was about King Oedipus who was a king. There was a curse in his kingdom of Thebes and the only way for the curse to be lifted was to find the man who killed the former king. Tiresias the blind prophet tells him that he was the one who killed the former king. Oedipus was furious, but then starts to realize something. It is known that there was a prophecy that the prince of Thebes was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Even though Oedipus was abandoned on the hill side, he was raised as an orphan and never knew he was a prince.
So knowing that he fulfilled the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother, a question has risen. Is it possible to run away from destiny? This is a hard question to answer because it's very complex. Maybe its the fact that you're told that something is going to happen, therefore you try your best to not make it happen. But in reality, it's because you know what will happen, you drive yourself so in the end it does happen.
We only know of destiny from old stories and modern television and movies. In the shows sometimes when someone can see the future, they can alter it. But other times, when they know the future and try to change it, the outcome still happens and it was because they tried to change the future, the outcome stayed as it is.
Personally I really don't know what to believe in. I mean its a nice idea that I'm meant for great things, and that everything I do will lead me to fulfilling my destiny. But at the same time, destiny can be what I make it to be. Like if I chose my destiny to make a difference in this world, then more than likely I'll have fulfilled my destiny if I worked hard enough. I don't think destiny is as concrete like you're destined to die in an airplane accident or you're destined to be a lawyer. I think it's more on the lines of "I'm destined to change the world for the good of mankind" or "I was destined to always make this man/woman happy, no matter what". Maybe if we were to view destiny like that, it wouldn't be as complicated.
WC: 475
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Week of 1/23/12
Arvin Padua
This week we started to talk a little more about Beowulf and it's origins. Back then, people needed that kind of hero to look to. To have that icon of right doings. But it also made me think about Villains. Unlike the villains back then, comic book villains usually have a back story and a reason why they're evil.
For example, Mr. Freeze who was a villain from the famous Batman series. Fries grew up in a family of molecular biologists. When he was a kid, he was fascinated with the idea of freezing animals so they could exist in the future. A little insane, but I've heard worse. He was sent to boarding school where he was detached from society and was miserable.
He met the love of his life Nora and was madly in love. Soon his wife acquired a disease and Fries attempts to pt her in cryo-stasis. In other words, freeze her until a cure is found. He attempts to create a freeze gun which goes terribly wrong and his experiment malfunctions, causing an ice explosion. Some how he survived, but now he can only survive at sub-zero temperatures. So he created a suit to keep his temperature at sub-zero, and uses a freeze ray to rob banks and other evil doings so she can get enough money to create his machine and save his wife.
So basically, this guy is evil because he loves his wife. Why was Grendal evil? Because he just is. He was a descendant of Cain, who which he killed his own brother in the bible, therefore making him also evil. Do you see the difference? Most villains today have a motive for their evil doings. Examples could be to get revenge on the people who did them wrong, to get the greatest treasures, or to change society. But the villains in Beowulf like Grendal's mother is evil because she just is.
I guess I can understand that's how it was back then. Either you were a righteous lamb or God, or an evil spawn of Satan. Though now that I think about it, we do have the Joker. He doesn't really have much of an explained backstory, but in the The Dark Knight movie he was just evil because he loved to see carnage and chaos.
But also, I really do enjoy the class. I like how we all discuss about the stories we read and how we can relate to them. Compared to my other english classes in the past, we just read then come to class and the professor lectures for about an hour, tells us what to read next, then go. I like how we can all give input in the class, and the fact that relating it to superheros makes it more understandable.
WC: 467
This week we started to talk a little more about Beowulf and it's origins. Back then, people needed that kind of hero to look to. To have that icon of right doings. But it also made me think about Villains. Unlike the villains back then, comic book villains usually have a back story and a reason why they're evil.
For example, Mr. Freeze who was a villain from the famous Batman series. Fries grew up in a family of molecular biologists. When he was a kid, he was fascinated with the idea of freezing animals so they could exist in the future. A little insane, but I've heard worse. He was sent to boarding school where he was detached from society and was miserable.
He met the love of his life Nora and was madly in love. Soon his wife acquired a disease and Fries attempts to pt her in cryo-stasis. In other words, freeze her until a cure is found. He attempts to create a freeze gun which goes terribly wrong and his experiment malfunctions, causing an ice explosion. Some how he survived, but now he can only survive at sub-zero temperatures. So he created a suit to keep his temperature at sub-zero, and uses a freeze ray to rob banks and other evil doings so she can get enough money to create his machine and save his wife.
So basically, this guy is evil because he loves his wife. Why was Grendal evil? Because he just is. He was a descendant of Cain, who which he killed his own brother in the bible, therefore making him also evil. Do you see the difference? Most villains today have a motive for their evil doings. Examples could be to get revenge on the people who did them wrong, to get the greatest treasures, or to change society. But the villains in Beowulf like Grendal's mother is evil because she just is.
I guess I can understand that's how it was back then. Either you were a righteous lamb or God, or an evil spawn of Satan. Though now that I think about it, we do have the Joker. He doesn't really have much of an explained backstory, but in the The Dark Knight movie he was just evil because he loved to see carnage and chaos.
But also, I really do enjoy the class. I like how we all discuss about the stories we read and how we can relate to them. Compared to my other english classes in the past, we just read then come to class and the professor lectures for about an hour, tells us what to read next, then go. I like how we can all give input in the class, and the fact that relating it to superheros makes it more understandable.
WC: 467
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Week of 1/16/2012
Arvin Padua
To be honest, that last time I had a blog was when Myspace was popular. So it was probably during my sophomore year in high school. I don't think you can call Facebook or Twitter blogs, but I guess that doesn't really matter.
When I first chose this class, I was told it was better than Eng 232 because most of the reading in Eng 231 were already covered in high school and the literature in Eng 232 is a little difficult. Especially since most of the readings in Eng 232 are from around the world, it may be hard to understand.
When I first came into class, I noticed there were that there were a lot of people so I assumed that the class was a requirement. I also noticed that the professor was wearing a Captain America emblem belt buckle which made me to suspect he might be a fan of super heroes.
Boy was I right. One of the first things he talked about was American super heroes and I was very pleased. Out of all my professors, I've never met one that had an interest in Batman, The X-Men, Superman, or even know who The Green Arrow was. It was after he called role he started to make a list about what makes a super hero. During both class sessions, we discussed how today's super heroes were violent, had complex personalities, a complicated past, were very attractive, well fit, and a symbol of justice.
What the professor was trying to tell us was these were the attributes of what makes a super hero. It also tied in back to the reading we had to do. Beowulf was the first known poem that told the story of Beowulf, a brave and fearless hero who slayed powerful monsters in Scandinavia. By discussing the list of attributes of what makes a hero, it helped me to understand how people saw heroes back in the 8th century.
When I first attempted to read Beowulf, I had a very hard time to grasp what was being said or what was happening in the story. I actually had to look online to understand who the characters were or what was going on in a particular scene. I learned that these poems were originally read aloud to people in a giant room, so I tried reading the poem again but this time I read it out loud. It was a big improvement and I was able to grasp what was going on.
After I finished part 1, I tried to compare the story to a modern day super hero story. Beowulf was very wordy, especially when it takes a whole page to express how you feel at a certain moment. I felt like I could have summarized the whole reading onto one page. But besides that, I could see why this poem is such a masterpiece. A brave and powerful warrior from a far away land comes to rip the arm off of a demon and rids the people of fear and despair.
All in all, it was a good reading but I would have wished it was easier to read. Especially since my foreign friend is also in the class and he was having trouble reading the story. Maybe the next story or the story after will be easier to read.
559 WORDS
To be honest, that last time I had a blog was when Myspace was popular. So it was probably during my sophomore year in high school. I don't think you can call Facebook or Twitter blogs, but I guess that doesn't really matter.
When I first chose this class, I was told it was better than Eng 232 because most of the reading in Eng 231 were already covered in high school and the literature in Eng 232 is a little difficult. Especially since most of the readings in Eng 232 are from around the world, it may be hard to understand.
When I first came into class, I noticed there were that there were a lot of people so I assumed that the class was a requirement. I also noticed that the professor was wearing a Captain America emblem belt buckle which made me to suspect he might be a fan of super heroes.
Boy was I right. One of the first things he talked about was American super heroes and I was very pleased. Out of all my professors, I've never met one that had an interest in Batman, The X-Men, Superman, or even know who The Green Arrow was. It was after he called role he started to make a list about what makes a super hero. During both class sessions, we discussed how today's super heroes were violent, had complex personalities, a complicated past, were very attractive, well fit, and a symbol of justice.
What the professor was trying to tell us was these were the attributes of what makes a super hero. It also tied in back to the reading we had to do. Beowulf was the first known poem that told the story of Beowulf, a brave and fearless hero who slayed powerful monsters in Scandinavia. By discussing the list of attributes of what makes a hero, it helped me to understand how people saw heroes back in the 8th century.
When I first attempted to read Beowulf, I had a very hard time to grasp what was being said or what was happening in the story. I actually had to look online to understand who the characters were or what was going on in a particular scene. I learned that these poems were originally read aloud to people in a giant room, so I tried reading the poem again but this time I read it out loud. It was a big improvement and I was able to grasp what was going on.
After I finished part 1, I tried to compare the story to a modern day super hero story. Beowulf was very wordy, especially when it takes a whole page to express how you feel at a certain moment. I felt like I could have summarized the whole reading onto one page. But besides that, I could see why this poem is such a masterpiece. A brave and powerful warrior from a far away land comes to rip the arm off of a demon and rids the people of fear and despair.
All in all, it was a good reading but I would have wished it was easier to read. Especially since my foreign friend is also in the class and he was having trouble reading the story. Maybe the next story or the story after will be easier to read.
559 WORDS
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