great works ii – 2850 jta 12:25-2:05: love letters from the world

Thesis statement: A story that exemplifies Campbell’s heroic journey model is Journey to the West, where the underlying veracity is that it serves to illustrate and reflect our journey through the human experience.

The river flows to some end and along the way there is twists and turns. The end is unknown and may lead to danger such as a waterfall. The depths of the river can represent the hidden purpose of the journey. There are things in the river that can help such as things you can eat and then there are challenges or enemies such as poisonous snakes. Making it safely to the end of the river will be rewarding because it will give a sense of accomplishment and safety.

Mallarme’s poem portrays the theme of nihilism that is evident throughout endgame. The writer compares dawn and all of its beauty to a cyclical event filled with lack of existence and boredom. The poem states “Magnificent but hopelessly struggling to resist, for never having sung of a land in which to exist, when the boredom of the sterile winter has shone”. This quote describes life to be magnificent on the surface however with no real identity in this magnificent life the days can blur together and become meaningless or boring. This relates to endgame as the characters often allude that the routine in their lives is mundane and meaningless as things all blur together. On the other hand the film breath mimics absurdism as the setting for this film is dark, depressing mimicking a life that appears to be mundane and not worthy; however, someone is still breathing meaning that they are still willing to live and breathe even though life seems meaningless. This connects to endgame because no matter how meaningless clove and Hamm’s lives seem to be they remain alive and breathing withstanding their mundane world.(Mamasiray)

I agree with Mamasiray that Nihilism is what connects Breath and The virginal, vibrant and beautiful dawn to Endgame. However, I see how it connects in a different way. First, with Breath there is pile of inanimate objects that have different functions, which could symbolize us as people. The room is mostly dark, with the exception of a single light that shines on all at some point. Then, there is a single struggling breath that could be interpreted as the one life that we have to live that we strive to make sense. All of this imagery shows that it does not matter what the functions of those objects are, they simply exist and will eventually be thrown away. In Mallarme’s poem, she describes a lake that is frozen and there is no point in a frozen lake because the beauty is in the movement. The lake is also like us in the sense that we did not ask to be what we are but we remain as time passes.(Terell)

Terell Thompson – Section 3

In the third section of Aura, the use of the second person unknowingly compels you to imagine yourself, as you are reading, in the scene. This makes every part of the story seem personal, as only you would know how you would react in any situation. This particular section describes a dinner  that is pivotal in the story. During the dinner, Aura begins to imitate the old lady as if she is her puppet. The story is narrated in a way that draws you in with the use of second person and allows you to recall moments as if you were actually there. For instance, when the narrator says, “You remember Aura as she was a few moments ago, spiritless, hypnotized by her terror, incapable of speaking in front of the tyrant, moving her lips in silence as if she were silently begging you to set her free…” (Fuentes 842). This quote actually gives direction to what you have experienced. At this point you can see that the main character blames the old woman for holding the woman he begins to love, Aura, against her will.

Stacey Leatham- Section 4

In the last section of Aura, the use of second person is not as present as it is in the earlier parts of the story. Mainly because in order for readers to grasp author Carlos Fuentes’ concept, he needed to accentuate the relationship between Aura/Consuelo and Felipe and that would be difficult using the second person thorughout. The use of second person is still quite important up until the final page. Before the final page of the story, the use of second person allowed readers to be one with the character and have an opportunity to imagine what it would be like to be in that character’s shoes. However, I think Fuentes made a good choice changing to the third person by the end of the story. He ends the story with, “She’ll come back, Felipe. We’ll bring her back together. Let me recover my strength and I’ll bring her back…”(Fuentes 852). This choice was crucial in helping readers understand what was really going on and figuring out who Aura was and what was her real role was. It helped me understand that Aura didn’t really exist and she was just a figment of Consuelo’s imagination.

Terell Thompson

One major difference in the reactions of the father, Mr. Samsa, and the chief clerk to Gregor’s metamorphosis is the natural fight or flight response. The chief clerk took the flight response as he, “…had turned his back on Gregor the moment he had begun speaking, and only stared back at him with mouth agape, over his trembling shoulder” (Kafka 218). The chief clerk was stunned and could not speak and left shaking with fear after seeing Gregor’s metamorphosis. Mr. Samsa initially had a  fight response before being stricken with grief as he, “…clenched his fist with a pugnacious expression, as if ready to push Gregor back into his room, then looked uncertainly round the living room, covered his eyes with his hands and cried, his mighty chest shaking with sobs” (Kafka 217). Mr. Samsa did not run, but made fists in preparation of defending his family.  Both, the charwoman and Mr. Samsa seemed to be relieved by the death of Gregor. The charwoman says, “Have a look, it’s gone and perished; it’s lying there, and it’s perished!” (Kafka 239). She did not acknowledge that the cockroach is in fact Gregor, but addressed him as it, which shows the lack of sympathy for a lost life. Mr. Samsa says, “Now we can give thanks to God” (Kafka 240), which shows his relief and how he feels this is some gift from a higher being than a devastation.

Mamasiray Camara

The clerk and the father both react in two completely different ways as the clerk reacts out of fear while the father in enraged. Gregor describes the clerk’s reaction as “now he saw him, nearest to the door, pressing his hand against his open mouth and moving slowly back, as if an invisible constant force was pushing him away”. Here Gregor who has remained calm during this whole transformation is now getting of glimpse of how terrifying he has become through the actions of the clerk, as he is so terrified he begins to move away from him. Meanwhile the father less intimidated “clenched his fist with a hostile expression, as if he wished to push Gregor back into his room”. Here we see that Gregor’s father is angry but the reason for his anger is a combination of Gregor no longer being able to work and embarrassment and shame of his new appearance.

When Gregor eventually dies it’s as if the humanity dies with him. The maid states “Come and look. It’s kicked the bucket. It’s lying there, totally snuffed!” In this quote Gregor is referred to as” it” showcasing that the world, his family no longer views him as a person but as a thing. There is little to no emotion in the maid’s announcement of his death. Similarly the father reacts with no emotion either as he states“‘Well,’ said Mr. Samsa, ‘now we can give thanks to God”. The father is relieved that the bug is dead as it no longer associates the bug-“it” with his son Gregor.