Letters
Dear Marlen,
Your class so far as taught me a lot about myself, just as you said it would. I have a new appreciation for the in-depth meanings behind literature and how they can be self-applied. At first I thought your class was too much work and in a way I still do. I leaves me little time to read and critically think about concepts as much as I would like to. The college work load is anything but light, which has taught me time management. If I could suggest one thing it would be to some what cut down the work load so there is more time to critically analyze the readings and concepts. English 121 has taught me a wide range of information that I have learned to love.
My favorite thing that we have studied so far is Archetypes. I find it very interesting how they make up the basic character structure of literature and personalities. When I first took the online archetype quiz it narrowed me down to the dominant archetype of the Seeker. I found this very relevant to the type of person I am. I find the need to explore what the world has to offer. I am naturally always seeking to make myself better and how to improve my current existence in the universe. It has always been a dream of mine to see the world, learn cultures outside my own and meet people of different livings. Spring of 2010, I plan to study abroad in Croatia studying Art. I want to travel while I am over there and learn the culture. I do not want to live as a tourist while I am there I want to dig deeper, which only further supports the archetype of the Seeker.
When I took the Awakening the heroes archetype test I was classified as being in the stage of Self. This makes sense because as a college student I am journeying inner ward to discover what I am capable of. This is the time in my life to live however I want, be whomever I choose and look however I want. This is the time of self-growth and finding. I am working to grow into a person that will make me successful and happy. I am the Seeker and I seek self-desired perfection. Who I am will mold who I will become. It all starts and ends with me.
I never realized how every piece of literature is derived from the monomyth. A basic structure followed to build the foundation of every piece of literature. The more I applied the monomyth to every movie and book we read the more I realized the importance and significance it held. It makes the structure of every story interesting without it literature would be missing fundamental part of the plot.
Recently I read the article “The Effects of Classic Fairy Tales on Readers and Society,” which brought up an interesting point of the symbolism of the number three in literature. It symbolizes perfection and completeness and an example they gave of it was the members of the Holy Trinity: God, Christ and the Holy Spirit. Its weird how true this really is that many things have to include at least three figures. For instance the basic make up of a family is father, mother and child and in geometry it take at least three sides to configure a shape. Three is the basic building block of a lot of things when you think about it. In my photography class we are learning the basic make-ups of a good photo and one of them is the idea of tri; foreground, middle ground and back ground. I found it weird how everything is related when my professor spoke of this concept.
A topic I knew little about but always wanted to study was Buddhism. When I realized that part of the curriculum was about the Buddhist religion and the Dalai Lama I was ecstatic to say the least. I found the movie “Kundun” very interesting and enlightening. The thought that the Dalai Lama is reincarnated to carry on the legacy is something unlike any religion I have studied. The Buddhist religion has taught me the power in peace and silence. Though in the movie China took advantage of Tibet though the Dalai Lama’s silence shows a great disrespect to the Buddhist beliefs. Forcing to leave the country and into isolation in order to preserve the people of Tibet. It left the Dalai Lama completely helpless because they do not believe in reacting in violence. Such an extreme and devotion to one’s beliefs showed me how important it is to stand your ground. Do not let people manipulate your beliefs out of negativity, it will cause self-suffering. I found the four Noble truth on the most interesting things about Buddhism:
- Life as we know it ultimately is or leads to suffering/uneasiness in one way or another.
- Suffering is caused by craving. This is often expressed as a deluded clinging to a certain sense of existence, to selfhood, or to the things or phenomena that we consider the cause of happiness or unhappiness. Craving also has its negative aspect, i.e. one craves that a certain state of affairs not exist.
- Suffering ends when craving ends. This is achieved by eliminating delusion, thereby reaching a liberated state of Enlightenment
- Reaching this liberated state is achieved by following the path laid out by the Buddha.
I feel this class is going to end open ended, but I am ok with that because it leave room for the mind to invent and discover. I see things more indepth now and critically analyze everything. I am starting to understand myself more through literature and the concept we have been exploring. I can’t wait to see what else I learn from this course.
Thanks,
Kellie Kerner
