Saturday, August 13, 2011

Getting to Know Me

Here is the link to Postcards from Georgia, telling you how awesome I am. Enjoy.


Postcards from Georgia

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Assignment Six

Sameness. This is a term that the majority of my class knows, due to the fact that we have all had to read The Giver and Brave New World. Both books present a society that is Utopian, however while trying to create "sameness" in their perfect little world, they are actually destroying themselves. Also, there is also that one rebellious character who fights to be different.

Harry Potter is one of those particular characters that was born different. The lightning shaped scar on his forehead may seem like just a physical imperfection, but it symbolically means much more.

His scar represents the fact that he is different. It tells the story of how he was the only one who survived Voldemort, and how he lived to tell the tale. Being different makes people look at you with different eyes, as if something is unappealing. Harry was one of those characters who actually wanted to be normal. He did not want to be the "chosen one" but his fate was chosen for him so he finally ended up accepting it.

His scar sets him apart from everyone else in the story. Physical imperfections often mark the hero, and they foreshadow the events yet to come that will definitely relate to this person in some way. These particular character markings mark the way of the damage that life inflicts.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Assignment Six

Archtype. At first glance, I most certainly thought that this word meant a particular type of ark. Maybe Noah's perhaps? Anyway, after some reading in that good ole book of mine and some further research, I realized that an archtype simply means a copy. It is the term used to describe the representations that form from other pieces of work. In short, THERE IS ONLY ONE ORIGINAL STORY.

I began to scroll through my mental brain files, and soon realized that there are quite a few instances in which similarities in basic stories started to arise. My first thought started with Disney. The prince charming, an evil stepmother, a prince in hiding, and of course the basis for all of it, an orphaned child. So many of those "original" stories have the same main plot line, but by changing up the scenery and characters the author creates thousands of different worlds.

The characters from these Disney movies and stories are archtypes. Most of these characters can be related back to even 19th century literature, and probably even further. For example, the story of Cinderella can most likely be compared to the novel, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Can't it?

Both novels have a seemingly normal girl who wants to be swept away by Prince Charming. However, getting them to meet and have the proper events fall into place seems nearly impossible. It all seems like an intense game of tag, where one chases the other in the game of love.

Though it may not seem this way, most stories and literary works can be categorized as archtypes. They all are like a color wheel; Different colors and different shades mix together to create tons of wonderful combinations.