Amberly McDonald
myths and realities
Thursday, December 9, 2010
deja vu
clues
Thursday, December 2, 2010
HRTK final paper
Eugene Henderson starts off the book as an unpredictable man, with little conscious to guide him. It seems as though he almost intentionally hurts those closest to him. After telling his wife that he has had enough of everything, and that he was going to "blow his brains out," he explains that this hurt his wife for more than one reason. Perhaps the most apparent reason was that "Her father had committed suicide in the same way, with a pistol (11)." Throwing tantrums like these cause him to be very unlikable in the beginning of the novel. Once he has arrived in Africa, you start to see a different side of him. Then after leaving the first tribe and staying with the second one for a while, his personality really begins to grow on you. He explains that, "At one time, much earlier in this life of mine, suffering had a certain spice (263)." I feel that this shows how he is growing as a person and being able to find out more about who he really is.
Towards the end of the novel, the change that has come over him becomes really apparent. After a conversation with the king, he says, "For his sake I accepted the discipline of being like a lion. Yes, I thought, I believed that I could change; I was willing to overcome my old self; yes, to do that a man had to adopt some new standards; he must even force himself into a part; maybe he must deceive himself for a while, until it begins to take. I would never make a lion, I knew that; but I might pick up a small gain there in the attempt" (250). I feel that quote was a quaint example of how he was able to really grow as a character. When introduced to Eugene Henderson, you meet a man filled with bitterness and greed, however upon following him on his journey you learn what it really means "to understand all is to forgive all", and how sometimes we can all change for the better.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
The Fall of Troy short story
The Greeks were dismayed because they could still not defeat Troy. A prophet told them that they would need to use the arms of Hercules to defeat the great city. They look for them and Diomedes and Odysseus come back with them. Then they learned that they would have to steal the image of Athena from a temple in the city before it would fall. Odysseus and Diomedes accomplished this task one night. Finally, they realized that they would have to get the army within the city to be victorious. With the help of Athena, Odysseus devised the plan of the wooden horse. He filled it with armed men and left a single Greek behind to convince the Trojans to admit the horse.
When the Greek fleet left, the Trojans came out to find the wooden horse. Some believed it was a trick, and others wanted to take it into the city. The Greek left behind convinced them that the horse was a peace offering. The priest who opposed the horse being brought into the city was killed on his altar by twin snakes. The people took this as an omen that they should bring it into the city.
You will have to be in class to find out the rest of the story. There will be a one minute presentation about this and hopefully it should follow pretty close to everything that you have read about the fall of Troy. Let me know how I do after the presentation. This is only the partial story...
Mythic Clues Within My Life
Monday, October 18, 2010
the sky is crying tears of sadness
We ended up getting the tarp on in about one hour. It was all tightened down and bungeed tight and squared up so we could have a mud-room. It looked really nice.
Now come today, the landlady looked at it, after approving the project before we even put it up, and said that it looked too tacky, so had to take it down. Had I known this yesterday, I would've told Eric that we would need to come up with a different plan. But all good things come to an end. And now you know the rest of the story.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Book 1 pg. 3 The Creation
A god – and nature, now become benign-ended this strife.
Book 2 pg. 47 Phaeton
The corpses of sea-calves float on their backs.
Book 3 pg. 85 Actaeon
That pack is keen for prey: along the crags and cliffs and rocks so hard to cross, where paths are rouch and where there is no path at all, they rush.
Book 4 pg. 115 Mars, Venus, Vulcan & the Sun
She recognized her own shawl and his dagger’s ivory sheath.
Book 5 pg. 167 Ceres and Proserpina
We should not be ashamed of Pluto as a son-in-law—if only you, goddess, would consent to that.
Book 6 pg. 177 Arachne
Arachne was renowned – but certainly not for her birthplace or for her family.
Book 7 pg. 210 Medea and Jason
The fate of Jason-life or death-depends on the gods.
Book 8 pg. 253 Scylla, Nisus, Minos
And it was in this labyrinth of Crete that Minos jailed the monstrous Minotaur, the biform bull and man.
Book 9 pg. 287 Achelous and Hercules
And Theseus, Hero dear to Neptune, how asked Achelous why he groaned and how his brow had lost a horn.
But Love has won; to him I must submit.
The shore, the shallow water, and the swamp were loud with bellowing and red with blood.
In that tree top stood a nest that held eight fledgling birds.
It still was full of might warriors.
Picus bore two javelins in his left hand and wore a purple cloak that, at the top, was closed by a gold brooch.
Not even things that we call elements persist. (water, earth, air, fire)