Feeling Like...

Pennies on the ground
My world builds its wealth upon me
Yet I'm deemed insignificant
And emotional-less.
Less more
More less
Less more I let everything I had die
Doubts, fears, since birth
Before birth
My mother's womb
I remember feeling distaste
Men?
No good.
Women better, but not an option.
I choose both to keep my options open
Unable to find a balance
These fears and doubts
Insecurities led to my uncertainity.
Something that seemed so real
So genuine
Genufine
Yes
He was fine
Fine like a wine
Better over time
He heard my voice
Lived my dreams
Was my dream
Come true that is
Perfection
Impossible
It cant be
But was it?
Ruined
Image perception
Failed
Not surprising
He was a man.
He is a man
One who still holds my heart
My heart is in a thousand pieces
Cuts me real sharp
Swear it were a knife
Cut it to pieces
Only insecurity
Fear
Doubts
A knife
Weapon of choice
I didnt mean it
Or did I?
Scared of freedom
Desire emancipation
Confusion
Open wound
Infection
Healing
Neosporin
Scab
Visible
Ugly
Dried blood
An imperfection
Just like I imagined.
Just like me
Imperfected
Why shouldnt I be
I'm human
Do you hear me
No
Feel me
Understand me
Console me
Pity me
Crave this
Yes, I crave this
Attention whore
Promiscuity led to experiences
Kept men away
Enemy
No love
No hurt
No game
No STD
Lucky
Pregnancy
None
Pregnancy
Outcome
Abortion
One
One two three
Hurt my baby
Hurt me
Babies
An expression of me
NO
Dont be
Not good enough
Not strong enough
Hold me
Love me
Want me
Cherish me
Live through me
Imperfections
Confusion
Hate
Pain
Anger
Rage
Jealousy
Uncertainty
Why me?

Final Blog Entry

My initial English 102 class I knew was going to be a bore and I had no idea that various professors taught from different aspects to get their points across until I had to alter my schedule and landed in section 0855.  You can only imagine how elated I was on my first day of class when I saw that it was computer based.  After that, the supernatural aspect kicked in and I was ecstatic.  Finally a class that I could learn in while remaining fully interested in the subject!  As a result, I learned quite a bit in this class.  I learned about the hero's quest, how to better interpret symbolism, and about archetypes.  Prior to this class, I was unaware that archetypes and a hero's quest even existed!  I feel that better interpreting symbolism was the most important and beneficial thing that I learned this semester because it can be used in everyday life.  My Goblin Market blog entry expresses the value of actively interpreting symbolism.  For example, I noted in my entry that Goblin Market referred to wombats, snails, and rats, which I believe reveals society's classification of Laura and Lizzie as well as their need to burrow and hide.

One class member in particular caught my attention during the first peer review and that was Jacklin Bik.  I think I was mainly intrigued by our common interest in vampires as was evident from her entry on Vampire’s Gift; however, I found Jacklin's Goblin Market blog entry to be very interesting.  When she incorporated the moon's cycles into the poem she created more depth to the poem.  By doing this, she reminded me of how people used to read the stars and the moon to create stories and to provide evidence to support their beliefs.  Jacklin also reminded me that poems can be based on and interpreted beyond Earth's physical capacities.  Jacklin said, “Moon: Cycles and changes. The moon changes shape throughout the month. Line 148 The sister begins to tell a story of a girl who had eaten the goblin fruit and perished. She "met them in the moonlight," so the temptation to eat goblin fruit is again associated with "moonlight “The author wanted us to understand that the moon has cycles, like the girl who ate the forbidden fruit had with her emotions.”  Jacklin’s ability to relate this part of Goblin Market to the cycles of the moon also reminded me of why Christ’s birthday is celebrated on December 25^th.  The lining up of our moon, Venus, and Jupiter shows the relationship between Christ, God, and Lucifer on the 21^st of December.  It was decided to celebrate His birthday four days after the winter solstice because each day would represent Christ, God, Lucifer, and Christ’s rebirth.  Incorporating this belief into Jacklin’s deciphering of the moon’s changes also revealed the poem’s heavy religious background and theme.

Overall, this class and my classmates have been extremely beneficial to my present and future life.  I am now better able to understand movies, books, and poems because of the amount of depth this class has brought to my mind.  Wish you all the best!

Blog Entry 4.4 - Problem

Okay...I have tried time and time again to upload the Powerpoint presentation to Youtube, but it keeps failing because it's not in the right format.  This wouldnt be a problem if I had a laptop instead of a netbook. Hahaha. So...as a quickie, I recorded the presentation from my computer with a camera and am now in the process of uploading the bummy video to Youtube. I hope this works and doesnt hinder my grade. Remember the nice presentation I gave in class! :-))

Sorry guys.

Blog Entry 4.3 - Powerpoint Presentation

The link to the Youtube video of the same Powerpoint that can be viewed beneath this text is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp_2t9zKssA

Blog Entry 4.2 - Progress

Yay! I have completed my PowerPoint presentation in its entirety.  Pictures have been used as backgrounds for each slide and I have incorporated quotes and evidence to prove the monomythic pattern I found in the movie.

I was hoping to be able to give the reasons for my interpretation of the movie; however, time is not allowing me to do that in time for the presentation.

Blog Entry 4.1 - Progress

Thus far, I have broken down the movie Shutter Island, by monomyth.  I now need to format my PowerPoint presentation of the hero's quest and write my research paper based on my analysis of the movie.  I was debating on whether or not I should interpret the movie's symbols, but I highly doubt that I will have enough time to do that.

Before next class, I hope that I will have the PowerPoint presentation partially or completely finished and just have to work on my analysis in class.

Blog Entry 3.5 - Coraline

Coraline is a story about a young girl who moves into a new three-family home with her parents.  In her new abode, she finds adventure and learns a valuable lesson about life and unconditional love.  Her archetype in the beginning of the story is that of an orphan; however, as the story unfolds we find that she becomes all of the archetypes; wanderer, altruist, innocent, magician, and warrior.  As she converts to each archetype, she acquires all of their gifts, such as, resilience, independence, compassion, faith, power, and courage.  As Coraline is read, the traits of my warrior archetype is very active as is seen by her related characteristics.  The relationship that I have with Coraline helps me and others to understand the story.

There are negative and positive traits that combine to create the warrior archetype.  The positive traits that I possess are that I am realistic, a survivor, strong, individualistic, assertive, disciplined, generous, willing to sacrifice, caring, morally good, and trustworthy.  We detect Coraline’s generosity, will to sacrifice, and caring nature beginning on page eighty-four.  Page eighty-four shows us that she is a caring individual when she asks the children’s souls, “How long have you been here?” Her assertiveness and strength begins to come to light on page eighty-five when one the of the souls instruct Coraline to “Flee!”, but she rejects the thought and refuses to leave without her parents.  Strength and the warrior gift of courage is also seen when she says, “I’m not running away. She has my parents.  I came to get them back.” (page eighty-five)  Coraline’s first sign of her lack of desire to love and obey her other mother is asserted on pages seventy-seven to seventy-eight when she says to her other mother, “I don’t want to play with you. I have no plans to love you.  No matter what.  You can’t make me love you.  You aren’t my mother.”  These words represent the beginning of her journey to defeat her other mother and essentially win back her parents, which is where the negative warrior traits appear.

The negative traits that I possess are that I am suspicious, negative, a loner, a rebel, stubborn, and controlling.  As seen in Coraline, these traits have good and bad qualities.  Coraline’s stubbornness is seen on page eighty-five when she does not listen to the closeted soul to “flee” and stands up to her other mother for the first time on pages seventy-seven to seventy-eight.  Her suspicions that her parents were trapped in the snow-globe on the mantelpiece on page one hundred eighteen helped her to complete the last task of their game; otherwise, Coraline would have been the other mother’s property and forced to pretend to be happy for the remainder of her challenge-less life.  Coraline’s rebellious nature was helpful and meaningful in the story because without it, she never would have known about the three abandoned souls that were trapped in the closet; and therefore, they never would have been freed.  The fact that Coraline is a loner significantly effected the moral of the story.  If Coraline were not a loner or had siblings, the level of impact she felt when she truly became an orphan would not have been as highlighted.  The loss of her parents and the realization that her other mother “loved Coraline as a miser loves money, or a dragon loves it gold” (page one hundred six), made Coraline realize how much she treasured her parents and her real life.

    My archetype helps me to understand Coraline by being able to comprehend first-hand that all of the warrior traits tend have great potential to lead to survival and accomplishment of a battle.    I found that I was able to relate greatly to Coraline’s need and desire to fight for a second chance at what she once took for granted.  When others know and understand my archetype they can better understand the story because they would be able to identify and predict how Coraline will fight her battles.  When the warrior archetype is understood, one can become more involved in the story by hoping that Coraline will use particular warrior characteristics to prevail.  One would also be more capable of entering Coraline’s mind-frame and understand the reasons why she behaved and reacted in certain ways.  The relationship that I share with Coraline reminded me to appreciate every detail in life and love because one day I may lose it forever.

Blog Entry 3.4

Description of what product will be:
I will be interpreting and relating the monomyth of the movie Shutter Island.  I will write a research paper on this and possibly create a fan site for Shutter Island, hopefully with images. As of current, it seems that I will only be able to write a research paper on the film and create a PowerPoint presentation, because Wikipedia does not allow analyzed work.
What I have done already:
So far, I have watched and analyzed the movie.  I took great notes on what I saw in the film.

Steps I will take to complete & Schedule:
November 18th, I will search for images of the movie and research some historical key points of the movie.
Over the weekend, I will break the movie down by monomyth structure.
By November 24th, I will begin the development of a PowerPoint presentation.
By November 29th, I will begin writing my research paper.  I will copy and paste accordingly to PowerPoint.
On December 2nd, I will have at least half of my presentation completed.
By December 6th, everything will be completed with images posted to the presentation.
December 9th, project due.

Anticipated problems:
I have very limited access to a computer so I may not be able to do a whole lot outside of class, when it comes to creating the presentation.
I have two babies at home to care for and other classes to study for, etc; therefore, I KNOW time will be an issue for me.  I may not be able to follow the schedule that I set and may be limited to just writing a research paper of the movie.

Blog Entry 3.3 - Project Ideas

My project ideas are as follows:

• Interpret Shutter Island
• Research magical #3
• Interpret the impact of the serpent tempting Adam & Eve
• Coming of age
• Learning differences between right and wrong

Either complete as a research paper on Wikipedia and do PowerPoint slides for evidence of my interpretations, create a fan-site, or produce a mini-video to demonstrate my interpretations.

Blog Entry 3.2 - Macbeth Video

I particularly liked this video because it was well presented. I didn't so much like that everyone just stood in a line, I feel that just because they were witches, doesn't mean that they literally have to be "light as a feather, stiff as a board" as quoted in the movie The Craft. More movement could have given the scene more excitement. I did enjoy seeing the differences in expression between Macbeth and Banquo when the witches announced their futures. It definitely proved that Macbeth did have thoughts of becoming king prior to hearing the witches' prophecy when he appeared shocked by the revelation and Banquo remained nonchalant.

The witches' costumes could have been better constructed, but I did like its seaweed-like appearance because it showed that they were very peculiar. The red-headed witch's hair color depicted the passionately evil thoughts of her mind. Her central location in the group and lack of head covering represents the protection she receives from the other two witches and her authority. This perception was proven in the scene because she spoke the most lines and was the last witch to speak.

The lack of lighting on the stage tells the viewer that the setting is dark, lurking, dangerous, and suspicious. Macbeth's red shirt that is worn beneath his jacket indicates his heart's desire and ill-passion to become king. Banquo's neutral colors correlate to his neutral mind frame.

As the witches formed a circle around Macbeth and Banquo, Macbeth moved in unison with the witches to the opposite side of Banquo, which was the furthest point from the witches. This movement reflected his connection to the witches as he seemed to complete the circle, which made it appear that Banquo was the ultimate victim. This blending creates ambivalence among Macbeth as he seems to attempt to move the focus away from himself and on to Banquo.

Blog Entry 3.1 - Macbeth Image

In this image, Lady Macbeth is seen holding a knife with both of her hands.  Behind her are three women dressed in black garb and white gauze over their eyes coated with red around the eye portion.  I chose this image because of its impact on me.  When I saw the witches' bloody eyes lots of symbolisms ran through my mind. 

The bloody eyes connote the witches’ perspective.  Their eyes see death, blood, evil, and warning.  This part of the image suggests that either the witches cried bloody tears because of what they could foresee or the warning that their eyes could tell.  Their heads are covered with a black hood, which I interpreted as their minds’ evil nature and the inability for other factors to influence their perspectives or futuristic sightings.   The witches are the devils in this story because they caused Macbeth to become overly greedy for power, which in turn influenced his wife’s behavior, possibly to fulfill her fantasy of becoming a queen.

Lady Macbeth has red hair and is dressed in yellow with half-sleeves with a curved knife in hand.  Yellow symbolizes innocence, friendship, and sympathy.  This color garb is worn over her chest and connotes her heart's initial condition.  She was friendly, non-menacing, and innocent; however, with the witches' influences governing her and behind and above her head, she was encouraged to become wicked using the knife that she holds preciously.  The fact that she holds the knife tenderly and cupped in both hands represents its preciousness and strength.  Her red hair symbolizes her innate desire to be passionate and iniquitous.  Lady Macbeth is the temptress in this story because she encouraged Macbeth to fulfill the prophecy and quickly become king by any means necessary.

Warriors Way: 2.1

Warriors Way: 2.1: " My archetype is a Warrior and Altruist. My positive side is altruist and my negative side is a warrior. As a altruist I’m a giver..I have ..."

rambler: Warrior Archetype

rambler: Warrior Archetype: " Always felt i should be fighting for what is right. That good will always prevail over evil, right will triumph over wrong. I look at t..."

Goal: Warrior

Goal: Warrior: "The Warrior The reason why I choose this particular picture is because I see her as a strong women capable of fighting for everybody...."

rambler: Warrior Archetype

rambler: Warrior Archetype: " Always felt i should be fighting for what is right. That good will always prevail over evil, right will triumph over wrong. I look at t..."

Zoran Ghostface: Entry Blog 2.2 Warior

Zoran Ghostface: Entry Blog 2.2 Warior: "GUNSLINGER- from the Dark Tower book by Stephen King Warrior archetypes are very interesting for me mostly because they are on the mission..."

Eng 102 - Bik: The Warrior/The inncoent

Eng 102 - Bik: The Warrior/The inncoent: "The Warrior The reason why I chose this picture was because it's a very important picture to me historically and personally. I come from a ..."

Houstanatlantavegas: Blog Entry 2.2 The Warrior : work in progress

Blog Entry 2.2: Warrior

Warrior

 

     According to "The Heroic Myth Self-Test", I am a Warrior.  As a Warrior, I am strong, loyal, a fighter, and do well with instructions.  I agree that I do have a tendency to stand strong with my personal viewpoints and defend things and ones that I love.  Even in cases when ones that I love hurt me, I still defended their character, regardless of the torment I was dealing with.  I chose the above photograph to depict myself because the cartoon appears determined, strong-willed, sexy with strength and confidence, admired, angelic, protective and protected, and has the ability to flee whenever desired.  The gold she is wearing symbolizes richness, wealth, and elegance.  Also, this is one of very few illustrations of a female warrior.

     The golden armor that is worn relates to my conscious protection of my heart, mind, and feminine body parts. The fact that the midriff is not being protected represents the preciousness and defenselessness of my womb and the children that I have bared.  It is believed that a woman's weakest point is during pregnancy when her womb becomes more important than herself and any trauma to the womb can severely implicate the life of the woman and the unborn.  The sacredness of the vagina is characterized by the criss-crossing of the swords and the dip of the golden armor.  It could also symbolize the strength and power that the vagina has.  It has the ability to choose who has access to it and whether or not a life could be created there.  The double sword can also indicate decapitation if anything unwelcome comes near the vagina. Once again, I agree this is a very sacred part of my body to be cherished and that holds truth for all women, whether they realize it or not.

     Strength and confidence is illustrated by the woman's head being held high and her straight back.  My confidence is shown when my head is high and my posture follows accordingly.  Warriors have to be strong and confident in order for them to be persuasive and reassuring.  Body language communicates all types of truths that the mouth may lie about.  I usually allow my body language to tell the public how I feel, except for when I need to make a particular impression.  For example when I'm upset at work, I cannot allow customers to see this, so I put on my happy, confident, strong, superior mask.  Typically, I hate to wear masks because it's telling the world a lie, but sometimes there are circumstances where you have to put your best foot (and face) forward in order to obtain success.

     The golden helmet depicts how I protect my mind by filling it with knowledge and awareness.  I strongly believe in the power of education.  Without education, one is not aware.  If I were uneducated, in any respect, people would be at liberty to take advantage of me in more ways than one.  They would be able to manipulate me into signing absurd contracts, I would not be aware of the consequences of posting private and ignorant comments on Facebook, and I would not be able to think for myself.  I would be left dependent, but not know about trust, let alone who to trust.

Blog Entry 2.1 - "Goblin Market" Symbols & Archetypes

     Christina Rossetti was born in London England in 1830. She was sixty-four years old when she died from breast cancer.  Rossetti suffered periods of depression throughout her life and this is seen in some of her poems.  She became very religious and experienced two failed engagements due to religious differences.  It was suggested that she was confused about her sexual orientation and many believe that "Goblin Market" is a depiction of that.  Goblin Market is believed to involve "temptation and salvation, ...gender roles and female agency, and erotic desire and social redemption." (Wikipedia) Some also ration that the poem was "inspired by the 'fallen women' she came to know" during volunteering at a church containing ex-prostitutes.

     "Goblin Market" was about two very young sisters who encountered goblins selling fruit, while fetching water by a river.  One of the sisters, Lizzie, advised Laura not to eat the tempting fruit of the goblin-men because she had a friend who suffered then died after eating their fruit.  Lizzie proceeded home, but Laura decided to stay behind and ended up buying fruit, with a strand of her hair, and ate it.  The fruit was insanely delicious and satisfying until Laura found herself deaf and blind the following day.  Over time, she was no longer willing to perform her duties as before and eventually submitted to her disabilities and depression.  Laura began to die and it was at this point that Lizzie decided to buy, with real money, fruit to take home from the goblins.  The goblins then beat Lizzie and forced her to eat the fruit because they wanted a piece of her person as payment for the fruit and to see her eat it with their own eyes.  When she was released by the goblins, Lizzie still had the juice in her mouth.  She went home and had Laura drink the juices from her mouth.  The next day, Laura was back to normal again.  Eventually, the two sisters married men, made children, and told them about the dangers of eating from the goblins and how grateful they were to be loving, supportive sisters.

Part of the title - Market - reveals that a valued item will be exchanged for a desired item.
Evening - mentioned in line 1, tells us that darkness is eminent, light will not be seen for a period of time, and that mystery, evil, and danger await.  Also in line 1, - Morning - expresses that something is new, fresh, untainted, and beautiful.
Line 2 speaks of - Maids - who are viewed as being submissive, inferior, pure, innocent virgins.
The term - Fruit - in line 3 reminds us of forbidden temptations, the birth of evil, and healthy, sweet, nutrient-rich foods.
In line 4 - "Come buy, come buy" - means come to us and pay a price for something that we think you want.
Summer (line 16) - represents brightness, something full of sun, light, warmth, freedom.  During the summer months, less clothing is worn, people enjoy swimming, greenery, and all of the flowers are in full bloom.
Brookside in line 33 represents the beginning of life since water was present before the formation of Heaven & Earth.  It also reminds us that water is the birth of life, necessary for survival and formation, and that more than 70% of Earth and the body is made of water.
The body parts mentioned in lines 34-41(arms, cheeks, lips, finger tips, head) - represent parts of the body that can sin or cause one to sin by being the source of transportation of the fruit to the body.  Without fingertips, the fruit cannot be held, without the arms, the fruit cannot be brought forth to the mouth, without lips, the fruit cannot be consumed, without cheeks, the fruit cannot be contained, without a head, which holds the brain, the body cannot tell these body parts to move in order for the fruit to end up in the person's possession initially.
The title and line 49 tells us that - Goblins - defined as a grotesque sprite or elf that is mischievous or malicious toward people, are a major part of the poem.
Evil gifts - mentioned in line 66, which is only one number short of the complete formation of 666, provides evidence of forbidden and/or unwanted pleasures surfacing.
Lines 71-74 speak of -  Cat/Rat/Snail/Wombat - which are all seen as insignificant animals that like to burrow to hide themselves or are bottom-feeders, which represents the "low class" categorization of the goblins.
In line 82 a - Swan - is mentioned which expressed something or someone who is beautiful and elegant.
The - Cry - mentioned in line 89 expresses a sense of mourning, depression, and the loss of water, which is equal to the loss of life.
Line 113 clearly tells us that these men are liars when it was written - Cried "Pretty Goblin"- because goblins are ugly, evil, and mischievous.
The craving that says "give us a piece of your body, a part of your body closest to your mind for us to control and spend however we desire." is expressed in line 125 when the goblins encourage Lizzie to - "Buy from us with a golden curl".
A - Sister - (line 164) is a feminine supporter, who has unconditional love for her siblings.
The - Kiss - mentioned in line 168 represents an entry way to the body where the mouth takes in food that nourishes the body; however, food can also be ridden with deadly poison.
Lines 184-190 and 198-198 says- Golden head by golden head, Like two pigeons in one nest, Folded in each other's wings, They lay down in their curtain'd bed: Like two blossoms on one stem, Like two flakes of new-fall'n snow, Like two wands of ivory...Cheek to cheek and breast to breast, Lock'd together in one nest. Nest represents the comfort and security of a warm home. Wings expresses a place of angelic peace and something that is graceful and tender. A Curtain'd bed represents something that is full of secrets and forbidden pleasures. Two blossoms on one stem tells us that they are of the same root and blood because they share the same parents.  New-fall'n snow tells us that there is something pure, fresh, and untainted that will be brought down. Cheek to cheek paints a picture of one being on top of another in a tight embrace. Breast to breast clearly states that they are naked, raw, feminine, and passionate.
Line 259 tells us that Lizzie has gone - Blind - which represents that her gateway to knowledge closed.
When she also becomes- Deaf - she becomes stubborn and ignorant to many things.
The words together in line 259 - Gone deaf and blind - tells us that she is shut down to the world, partially unconscious and that she does not want to hear or see what the town's folk are saying or the looks they are giving.  It is also know that a lose of a sense increases the others to make up for the lack of lost senses; therefore, her sense of smell, touch, and taste are heightened.



     The archetypes that I found in the poem are the market, Lizzie, Laura, the goblins, and the children. I believe that these are archetypes because the market represents a place where buyers are typically persuaded to buy items that they know they should refuse or do not need.  In markets, people exchange things of value for things that they desire.  Lizzie and Laura represent virgins who represent purity and innocence.  Lizzie represents God and Jesus and Laura represents the sinner.  Lizzie slightly represents God when she advised Laura not to buy or eat the fruit, to resist temptation.  Lizzie represents Jesus because she risked her life in order to save Laura, the sinner, so that she could either live or perish peacefully.  As a result of this, Lizzie healed her sister who became deaf and blind, just as Jesus did in the Bible.  The goblins represent the biblical serpent who persuaded Laura to buy and eat the fruit that was forbidden.  The children at the end of the poem represent eternal life and the result of sexual acts performed between a man and a woman, as intended by God.

     I interpreted "Goblin Market" as a poem referencing homosexuality, incest, love, temptation, and depression, but is based on the sin of homosexuality in the Bible and its consequences. I believe Laura wanted to be lovers with her sister, Lizzie.  I gathered that Laura was convinced by these men to give in to her temptations and act on her desires.  Laura's eating of the fruits symbolizes her giving in to her desires, hormones, and pleasuring her body with her sisters.  I do not believe that they actually had sex with each other, but Laura wanted to and her body found pleasure by holding her sister and feeling her breasts against her own.  Lizzie was not punished because she was unaware of Laura's thoughts and cravings and did not possess the same temptation.  The night that Laura ate the fruit is the only night referenced where Laura wanted to initiate sex.  It was the following morning that Laura found herself deaf and blind, apparently punished by God and giving the goblins; the Devil, the satisfaction they craved.  It was only until Lizzie (Jesus) risked her life for her sister that Laura was revived so that "whosoever believed in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."(Bible)  This is proven to be true by the children that Laura and Lizzie created who will continue to carry on their lives; and therefore, live eternally.

Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_Rossetti
Dictionary - http://dictionary.reference.com/

Bible - John 3:16