Blog 16; reflection

Throughout the semester, I have written total sixteen blogs including the one that I am writing now. Based on the class theme, “supernatural,” I basically analyzed stories, movies, and poems using different literature approaches and wrote essays about them. Having a common theme helped me to focus on the main topic of sources that I was working on. My first essay was about finding symbols and tone of a poem. I chose Greek mythological poem called “Medusa.” I can recall that I was very excited to explore this poem and for the following essay, I chose the similar poem from the same author called, “Medusa of the Skies.” These two poems were so much fun to work with. I read them over and over and tried to find every single symbol that could code for hidden meanings of these poems. Before this class, I never liked poems, but now I learned how to interpret and enjoy the poem. To me, reading a poem is like reading an author’s mind. As the semester progressed, I learned about monomyth which was very useful for analyzing heroic movies or stories. Studying the concept of hero’s quest was my favorite part of this class. It helped me to understand the lessons from the hero’s journey. Lastly, I worked on a story, “The Black Cat” using psychoanalytic literary criticism. This essay was the hardest but most informative essay I had written this semester. I had to incorporate psychological theories with the story and the author. This essay actually summed up the entire class because it was all about using all the literature concepts that I learned in the class to study the fiction in depth.

This class was very different from other English class in terms of using blogs. We all had to post our essays on our own blogs and this helped me to learn from peers. I liked how we commented on each other’s essay and gave advices to improve our essays. Also every activity we did in the class was so much fun. I learned literacy through watching one of my favorite movies, reading a book and studying poems that I chose. This class never made me got me bored, but helped me enjoy writing especially on a blog.

Blog Entry 15 final draft

The Black Cat is a short story by Edgar Allen Poe, and was first published in the August 19, 1843. The narrator tells the story of himself who was originally friendly and an animal-lover, but turned into an alcoholic, and eventually a murderer. In order to interpret this story, I will use psychoanalytic criticism employed by Sigmund Freud. This approach helps explore the psyche of the author and the characters. Also there are symbols that convey the psychological concepts indirectly in the story.

According to the Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the personality has three components; Id, Ego, and Superego. Id is the primary component of the personally that is present from birth such as impulses. Ego is another component of personality which deals with reality. It ensures that the impulses of Id can be expressed in an acceptable manner in the society. Finally Superego is what makes the balance between Id and Ego, resulting in perfect behaviors. These components are shown in narrator’s personality throughout the story and they help to uncover the conscious and unconscious mind of the narrator.

The narrator begins his story by admitting his guilty and his feeling of horror and madness. He says he is going to die (meaning he is going to be executed) tomorrow and he would unburden his soul by telling the events which made him terrified and destroyed his life before he dies. However, he says that his nature was originally noted as “docility,” and “humanity” from his infancy. He says he used to be happy with his life and loved his wife and his pets, especially a large black cat named Pluto. Up until here, his superego was responsible suppressing his unacceptable urges of his Id and helped to develop his Ego.

After several years of his happy time, however, the balance of the narrator’s personality starts breaking down. He suffers from violent mood heavily influenced by alcohol. He starts mistreating his wife and his cat, and later he gouges out the cat’s eye when the cat bites him. This behavior could be interpreted that the narrator tried to destroy what he disliked. The narrator regrets what he had done to his cat, but later he would be irritated by the cat again and finally hangs it on the tree to death. As time passed, he finds another cat which looks very similar to Pluto that even the missing an eye was the same. He takes it home and takes care of it with love, but soon he begins to hate it again. He tries to avoid it to prevent himself from physically abusing it. His ego is working here to suppress his Id of hatred and violent impluse. He even fears of the cat because it remined him of the past crime. The narrator confesses that his disease of alcoholism made him difficult to grasp on reality and caused mood swing. He often struggles suppressing his negative urges of violence and hostility. The issue of alcoholism is significant because the author, Edgar Allan Poe also suffered from it throughout his lifetime. This tells us that a particular character within a literary work projects the author’s psyche according to the psychoanalytic literary criticism.

In general, Alcohol has consistent effect in human body when it is consumed; it inhibits the correct perception (Dictionary of Symbolism). In The Black Cat, alcohol, just like the cat, symbolizes destruction or failure which mislead unconscious minds. There was transition in the narrative’s personality, and alcohol mainly evoked his violent nature. In fact, Poe’s biographers asserted that he suffered from the harmful effects of alcohol consumption in his life. From this point, Poe’s psychological characteristics were appeared in his writing and his imaginary character resembled himself.

As the story progresses, the narrator commits the second crime. When the narrator and his wife are visiting the cellar in their new house, the cat follows them and gets under his feet, which makes him almost fall down the stairs. The man gets horrified and grabs an axe to kill it, but stopped by his wife. In anger by the interference, he blows it down on her head and kills her. To hide his crime, he puts the body behind the wall. When he turns to the cat, he realized that it is gone and he felt satisfied that everything was finished and he no longer had to feel burden by his crime. Up until now, he does not feel guilty and does not realize his anger controlled over his conscious mind. We can come to the conclusion that it is not just his alcohol issue, but he is actually suffering from mental illness because no human would feel free after killing one’s own family.

Meanwhile, a wall has various symbolic meanings. The wall enclosing a space has a notion of the impossibility of reaching the outside. It expresses the ideas of incapacity, delay, resistance, or a limiting situation. The wall seen from within as an enclosure has a secondary implication of protection (Cirlot 362). The narrative used the wall to hide the dead body of his wife and to conceal his crime. He believed that keeping the corpse behind the wall will make him feel free from the crime he committed and feeling of guilty.

Four days after the assassination, a group of the police comes to his house to investigate, they cannot find the dead body and the narrator feels relief. On the last day of investigation, the police officers hear the sound of cry from the wall where the narrator buried the corpse of his wife. They break the wall; find the body and the black cat sitting on top of its head. The story ends by the narrator shouting, "I had walled the monster up within the tomb!" The ending of the story reveals his crime and he also realizes that the cat is still alive. The author finishes the story in this way, somewhat ambiguous that it makes us to go back to the first part of the story to bring the pieces of events together.

The overall story is a pretty realistic except for the mysterious, black cat which seems to have supernatural power. After the narrator killed his wife and buried her under the wall, it was four days after the policemen found the body and the cat. It is hard to believe that the cat was able to survive in such extreme environment for a long time. From this perspective, Cat is one of the important characters in this story. Especially, from its color, the black cat is associated with darkness and death (Cirlot, 39). Interestingly, the narrative’s two cats are black and are missing an eye. This repetition of symbolic figures emphasizes the dark side of the author’s mind. Moreover, the image of the black cat evokes various superstitions, including the idea of the narrator's wife who said “they are all witches in disguise.” In the middle age, the cat was blamed for a multitude of sin and encouraging human to do bad things (essortment). The name of the cat, Pluto is actually a name of the Roman god of the dead and the underworld. It is unclear in the story if there are actually two different cats or if Pluto just survived and returned for retribution. Regardless, the narrative blamed his cat for encouraging him to commit such a crime and destroyed his life.

Having read the story through psychoanalytic approach, The Black Cat tells us about evil nature of human, sensation of fear, horror, and guilt. It portrays domestic violence, alcohol, and murder that destroy one’s life. These are what people actually experience in reality. Edgar Allen Poe tried to say how a kind, gentle person can turn into an evil or a criminal. Moreover, external factors such as alcohol could trigger human's bad behaviors. This negative side of human mind ultimately leads him/her to struggle with feelings of fear and guilty.


Works Cited


Cherry, Kendra. The Id, Ego, and Superego; The structural Model of Personality. About.com 2010. Web. 17 May 2010.

Cirlot, J.E. Jack Sage. Trans. A Dictionary of Symbols. 2nd Ed. New York; Philosophical Library, 1971. Print.

Dictionary of Symbolism. University of Michigan Fantasy and Science Fiction Web. 2001. Web. May, 2010.

Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism. Wikipediea. Web. May 2010.

Poe, Edgar. The Black Cat. Jalic Inc, 2004. The Literarture Network. Web. May 2010.

Blog Entry 14 concerns for my essay

I have spent quiet amount of time for my essay. However, there are few things that I still need to work on. I am using psychoanalitic literary criticisim to interpret the story I chose. But I am not sure if I am understanding the psychological concepts correctly such as Frued's theory of ID, EGO, and Superego in connection to the narrator's personality. I also wrote about symbols but I am not sure if they are relevant to psychoanalitic critisim. Lastly I think I need to write a conclusion that would tide up ideas and summarize how the psychoanalitic literary criticism helped anaylizing the story and the narrator.

Blog Entry 13:Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism

The Black Cat is a short story by Edgar Allen Poe, and was first published in the August 19, 1843. The narrator tells the story of himself who was originally friendly and an animal-lover, but turned into an alcoholic, and eventually a murderer. In order to interpret this story, I will use psychoanalytic criticism employed by Sigmund Freud. This approach helps explore the psyche of the author and the characters. Also there are symbols that convey the psychological concepts indirectly in the story.

According to the Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the personality has three component; Id, Ego, and Superego. Id is the primary component of the personally that is present from birth such as impulse. Ego is another component of personality which deals with reality. It ensures that the impulses of Id can be expressed in an acceptable manner in the society. Finally Superego is what makes the balance between Id and Ego, resulting in perfect behaviors. These components are shown in narrator’s personality throughout the story and they help uncover the conscious and unconscious mind of the narrator.

The narrator begins his story by admitting his guilty and his feeling of horror and madness. He says he is going to die (meaning he is going to be executed) tomorrow and he would unburden his soul by telling the events which made him terrified and destroyed his life before he dies. However, he says that his nature was originally noted as “docility,” and “humanity” from his infancy. He was also happy with his marriage life and loved his wife and his pets, especially a large black cat named Pluto. Up until here, we can see that his superego was responsible suppressing his unacceptable urges of his Id and helped to develop his ego.

After several years of his happy time, however, the balance of the narrator’s personality starts breaking down. He begins to suffer from violent mood heavily influenced by alcohol. He starts mistreating his wife and his cat and later he gouges out the cat’s eye. The narrator regrets what he had done to his cat, but later he would be irritated by the cat again and finally hangs it on the tree. As time passed, he finds another cat which looked very similar to his old cat, even the missing an eye was the same. He takes it home and takes care of it with love, but soon he begins to hate it again and tries to avoid it to prevent himself from physically abusing it. The narrator confesses that his disease of alcoholism made him difficult to grasp on reality and caused mood swing. He often struggles suppressing his negative urges of violence and hostility. The issue of alcoholism is significant because the author, Edgar Allan Poe also suffered from it throughout his lifetime. This tells us that a particular character within a literary work projects the author’s psyche according to the psychoanalytic literary criticism.

One day when narrator and his wife are visiting the cellar in their new house, the cat follows them and gets under his feet, which makes him almost fall down the stairs. The man gets horrified and grabs an axe to kill it, but stopped by his wife. In anger by the interference, he kills his wife instead with the axe, blowing it down on her head. To hide his crime, he puts the body under the wall. When he turns to the cat, it is missing and he felt satisfied that everything was finished and he no longer had to feel burden by his crime. Up until now, he does not feel guilty and does not realize his anger controlled over his conscious mind. We can come to the conclusion that it is not just his alcohol issue but he is actually suffering from mental illness because no normal human would feel free after killing one’s own family.

Four days after the assassination, a group of the police comes to his house to investigate, they cannot find the dead body and the narrator feels relief. On the last day of investigation, the police officers hear the sound of cry from the wall where the narrator buried the corpse of his wife. They break the wall; find the body and the black cat sitting on top of its head. The story ends by the narrator shouting, "I had walled the monster up within the tomb!" The ending of the story reveals his crime and he also realizes that the cat is still alive. The overall story is a pretty realistic except for the black cat which seems to have supernatural power. After the narrator killed his wife and buried her under the wall, it was four days after the policemen found the body and the cat. It is hard to believe that the cat was still alive in such extreme environment.

The major symbols in this narrative are the Cat named Pluto, black, eyes, wall, alcohol. These symbols are closely linked to the conscious and unconscious minds of the narrative.

Cats are one of the main characters in this story. Especially, from its color, the black cat is associated with darkness and death (Cirlot, 39). Interestingly, the narrative’s two cats are black and are missing an eye. This repetition of symbolic figures emphasizes the dark side of the author’s mind. Moreover, the image of the black cat evokes various superstitions, including the idea of the narrator's wife who said “they are all witches in disguise.” In the middle age, the cat was blamed for a multitude of sin and encouraging human to do bad things (essortment). In the story, the narrative actually blamed his cat for encouraging him to commit such a crime and destroyed his life.

Eyes are often used as a symbol of intelligence and spirit. Depends on its number, eye(s) could be interpreted differently. The possession of two eyes conveys physical normality and its spiritual equivalent. On the other hand, the single eye signifies ambivalence (Cirlot, 100). By definition, ambivalence is a state of contradicting feelings or attitudes toward an object (Merriam Webster). It is interesting that the narrative chose to cut only one eye of the cat and later found a different cat that was missing an eye.

A wall also has various symbolic meanings. The wall enclosing a space has a notion of the impossibility of reaching the outside. It expresses the ideas of incapacity, delay, resistance, or a limiting situation. The wall seen from within as an enclosure has a secondary implication of protection. The narrative used the wall to hide the dead body of his wife and to conceal his crime. Psychoanalysts frequently classify it as a mother-symbol. It represents the feminine element of mankind (Cirlot, 362).

Alcohol is another important symbol in the story. In general, it has consistent effect in human body when it is consumed; it inhibits the correct perception (Dictionary of Symbolism). In The Black Cat, alcohol symbolizes destruction or failure caused the misleading of unconscious minds. There were transition in the narrative’s personality and alcohol mainly evoked his violent nature.


Works Cited

Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism. Wikipediea. Web. May 2010.

Cherry, Kendra. The Id, Ego, and Superego; The structural Model of Personality. About.com 2010. Web. 17 May 2010.

Cirlot, J.E. Jack Sage. Trans. A Dictionary of Symbols. 2nd Ed. New York; Philosophical Library, 1971. Print.

Dictionary of Symbolism. University of Michigan Fantasy and Science Fiction Web. 2001. Web. May, 2010.


Poe, Edgar. The Black Cat. Jalic Inc, 2004. The Literarture Network. Web. May 2010.

Blog Entry 11 My Chosen Story

The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe


I chose a short story called “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe. Its genre is horror and was written in 1843. I have read this story several times and I would like to use this story for my next essay because it illustrates a human’s evil mind that leads to a murder. Although this story was written long time ago, its theme seems to apply in many current societies. The story is presented by a narrator who, in the beginning had a good time with his wife and his loving pets including a large black cat named Pluto. Several years after his happy time, however, becomes an alcoholic. He starts torturing his cat and later gouges out the cat’s eye. The narrator regrets what he had done to his cat, but later he would be irritated with the cat again and finally hangs it on the tree. As time passed, he finds another cat which looked very similar to his old cat, even a missing eye was the same. He takes it home, but soon begins to hate it again. One day when narrator and his wife are visiting the cellar in their new house, the cat gets under his feet and makes him almost fall down the stairs. The man gets horrified and grabs an axe to kill it and his wife tries to stop him. In anger, he kills his wife instead with the axe. To hide the corpse of his wife, he replaces the body in the wall. When the police come to his house to investigate, they cannot find the dead body and the narrator feels relief. On the last day of investigation, the police officers hear the sound of cry from the wall where the narrator put his wife's corpse. They break the wall, find the body and the black cat on top.

In order to interpret “The Black Cat,” I will use psychoanalysis criticism begun by Sigmund Freud. This approach was used to explore the psyche of authors and characters, and to explain narrative mysteries (Wikipedia). I found this approach useful because another story by Edgar Allen Poe was interpreted by Freud also. Since the narrator of the story had problems of alcoholism and anxiety which led him to commit such a cruel crime, it would be helpful to use psychoanalysis criticism to study the psyche of the author and the narrator in the story.


Here is an entry for "The Black Cat"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Cat_(short_story)

You can also read the entire story from this link,
http://www.online-literature.com/poe/24/

Information about Psychoanalysis Criticism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoanalytic_literary_criticism

Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aubrey_Beardsley_-_Edgar_Poe_2.jpg

Blog Entry 10: Reflection

Over the last few weeks, I studied the Monomyth and learned how it can be applied to most stories or tales of heroes. Although the term itself was unfamiliar to me at first, its content seemed to be something that I had known before. I think it is because I have seen and heard many heroic stories that had a similar pattern of the hero’s journey. Watching Spirited Away in class and writing an essay on a film of my choice were great activities to study the Monomyth. Also, by watching Joseph Campbell’s interview, I was amazed by how he identified and organized those stages of the Monomyth which are founded in many narratives from different cultures around the world. This is something that I was not conscious of when I watched films or read books about heroes; however after studying about it, I easily acknowledged the main stages of the hero’s journey while I was watching a movie. Moreover, the Monomyth helps me to understand the lessons from the narratives of heroes because it reveals how an ordinary person becomes a hero and what makes him or her to achieve such a great task. I will keep this in mind from now on whenever I observe lives of heroes.

Blog Entry 9 Hero's quest and film

Howl's Moving Castle: A Journey of Sophie

Howl's Moving Castle is a Japanese animated fantasy film both written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was first released in Japanese theaters on November 20, 2004. I was able to indentify the main stages of "Monomyth," the hero's journey (departure, initiation, and return) in this film.

The first stage of the Monomyth is “Departure” in which the hero from the ordinary world receives a call to go to the mysterious world with given tasks and special powers. “Howl’s Moving Castle,” a Japanese animated film begins in a fantastical European nation suggestive of the World War II. The main character, Sophie is a young girl who works in her father’s hat shop. When she was one the way to meet her sister, she meets a wizard Howl. Sophie begins to like this mysterious good-looking wizard. Witch of the Waste who has been seeking Howl’s heart catches their relationship and turns Sophie into 90 years old. Sophie’s first “Call to Adventure” is when she decides to run away from her house and find Howl. Although she is very shocked by the sudden change in her appearance, she accepts her situation and calms herself down. On the way, Sophie gets Supernatural Aid: she rescues scarecrow and names him Turnip Head; as appreciation, he helps Sophie to find Howl’s Castle. Sophie crosses the “the First Threshold” by entering Howl’s moving castle. This castle turns out to be a “Belly of the Whale.” The fire demon called Calcifer moves this castle and the entrance door is connected to different places. She announces that she would become a new cleaning lady and adjust her life in this new place.

In second stage, “Initiation,” the hero experiences the new world, and undergoes different trials and tasks. Sophie has to go through “The Road of Trials.” Howl is asked to fight in the war by King but he asks Sophie to decline his order. Her task is to pretend to be a Howl's mother and to tell the king that Howl cannot fight in the war. He gives her a magical ring that would guide her safely. At the palace, Sophie meets Madame Suliman (Women as Temptress)who is an advisor of the king, and is told that if Howl does not fight in the war, he would become an evil. Sophie also finds out that Howl can transform into a bird to interfere in the war and he is often wounded by enemies. Howl's is a male form of "Goddess" whom Sophie falls in love. Sophie tries her best to break Howl’s spell more than to solve her own spell. In order to do so, she has to take Howl’s heart from Calcifer and put it back in Howl. Unfortunately, the Witch of the Waste discovers Howl’s heart in Calcifer’s flam and grabs it. To save the Witch from buring, Sophie puts water on the Witch and Calcifer. As a result, the castle breaks apart and Sophie falls into a cliff. Sophie regrets what she has done because she believes that she has killed both Calcifer and Howl. While she is crying, her ring points to the remaining door of the castle. Sophie enters through it and sees Howl’s past. She finds out how Calcifer and Howl became interconnected. Sophie comes back to present before she tells Howl to find her in the future. Sophie finds Howl and takes Howl's heart from the Witch of the Waste who has stolen it from Calcifer and puts it back in his chest. Howl returns back to his original form and recovers from the scars. Sophie also kisses Turnip Head and transforms him back into missing Prince Justine. Therefore she achieves her quest by breaking the spells in people (The Ultimate Boon) and the war finally ends.

The final stage, “Return” is where the hero returns to the ordinary life but as a different person from the beginning. Now the hero becomes a master of the two worlds and gains true freedom of life. Continuing with the movie, Sophie is competent both in ordinary and magical world. She crosses the "Return Threshold" by getting her youth back except for her gray hairs and she is now free to live. Howl and Sophie find true love in each other and get on a new, moving castle. Sophie does not quiet return back to her ordinary life. From this perspective, "Refusal of the Return," "The Magic Flight," and "Rescue from Without" are not founded in this film. The hero continues her journey with her lover.

There are several symbols and archetypes in this film. The ring that Howl gave to Sophie symbolizes eternity, life, and power (Dictionary of Symbolism). Throughout the film, this ring helps Sophie to find the places where she has never gone before. By receiving this ring from Howl, Sophie actually gained strength. The door of the Castle is another important symbol in the film. It connects two different places, or states. Passing the door means abandoning the old and embracing the new according to the Dictionary of Symbolism. Sophie actually travels from the normal world to an unknown world and from the past to the future by entering the door. Moreover, the film shows the archetypes of witch, and wizard who have magical power and control over humans such as Madamn Suliman and the Witch of the Waste.

While I was identifying major stages of Monomyth in Howl’s Moving Castle, it was very interesting to see how a Joseph Cambell’s basic pattern of the hero’s journey can be found in all different kinds of narratives. Monomyth reveals that an ordinary person can become a hero by overcoming series of trials and difficulties and ultimately by achieving given tasks. It is interesting that the hero was originally a very weak and lacking person. This person changes the world and people who were in a danger, yet transforms him/herself more than anyone else. Particularly in this film, Sophie initially had very low self-esteem and did not seek for success. However, once she became an old woman and crossed the threshold, she proved herself as a confident, strong-minded person.

Lastly, Joseph Campbell explores how the universal myths influence our lives on daily basis in his essay called “Myths to Live By.” From this Japanese story, viewers can understand universal faiths such as love, friendship, and peace. These faiths are what most humans are trying to pursue not withes or wizards or animals. Moreover, the director of the film is trying to tell us a lesson that we should find our capability to overcome our limits. Although Sophie received supernatural aids from others, she also perceived herself different from the beginning in order to fulfill her goal. She did not think she was beautiful nor succesful but later she thrived herself on her love with courage. In this way, she could break her spell and discovers her power.

Works Cited

Howl's Moving Castle. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. 20 Nov. 2004. Toho. Film.

Dictionary of Symbolism. University of Michigan Fantasy and Science Fiction Website. 2001. Web. April 30, 2010.

Monomyth. Wikipedia. Web. 30 April , 2010.

“Myths to Live By.” Joseph Campbell Foundation. 28 Jan. 2008. Web. 1 May, 2010.

*picture from http://witchgirl117.wordpress.com/

Blog Entry 8

Continuing with the essay 3, “worm” and “visage” have symbolic meaning in the first line. Worm is a representative symbol of death or evil. It is often related to lowness, vileness and hatred (curriculum cooperation). The definitions of visage are face or appearance of a person. In this poem, it refers to Medusa’s dreadful face which turns people into stones. In line 1, the author says, “like a worm-fretted visage from the tomb.” He is trying to describe the face of a Medusa, who looks like an anxious evil. By adding this in the very first line of the poem, he informs the readers about the significance of Medusa’s appearance.

Work Cited
http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/Symbolism.pdf

Blog 7: Hero's Quest and Film

Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle is a Japanese animated fantasy film both written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was first released in Japanese theaters on November 20, 2004. I was able to indentify the main stages of "Monomyth," the hero's journey (departure, initiation, and return) in this film.

Departure: This stage is where the hero from the ordinary world receives a call to go to the mysterious world with given tasks and special powers. In Howl's Moving Castle, Sophie, an eighteen years old girl works in her father's hat shop. One day, she meets a mysterious young wizard named Howl by chance and begins to like him. Knowing that Sophie is attracted to Howl, the witch of the waste who also loves Howl turns Sophie into a crone. Because of this curse, Sophie decides to run away from her home and starts a journey to find Howl in order to resolve her curse. On the way she rescues a scarecrow from a danger and he helps Sophie to find Howl as appreciation. So they become good friends and finally find the Howl’s moving Castle.

Initiation: In this stage, the hero experiences the new world, and undergoes different trials and tasks. According to the film, Sophie meets Howl and tells him that she is a new cleaning lady in his castle. While she is staying in Howl’s castle, she discovers the door which magically leads to several places. Meanwhile, the war started by the disappearance of Crown Prince Justin from another country and Howl’s is asked to fight in the war by the king of his nation. However, Howl sends Sophie as his mother to refuse the king’s request. At the palace, Sophie meets Madame Suliman, and is told that if Howl does not fight in the war, he would be in a danger. Then, Howl comes to rescue Sophie from Suliman and gives her a magical ring that would guide her to Calcifer. Calcifer is a fire which has a heart of Howl. Sophie undergoes Suliman’s threats and Howl’s death. Eventually, she tries her best to get Howl’s heart and saves him.

Return: The final stage is where the hero returns to the ordinary life but as a different person from the beginning. Now the hero becomes a master of the two worlds and gain true freedom of life. Continuing with the movie, Sophie finally turns back to youthful life except for her gray hair. Howl and Sophie find true love in each other and get on a new, moving castle.

Works Cited

http://en.wikipedia.org/Monomyth

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howl)

Blog Entry 6 Essay 3

“Medusa of the Skies” by Clark Ashton Smith

Like a worm-fretted visage from the tomb,
The moon unswathes her hollow, shrunken head,
Launching such light as foulders on the dead
From pallid skies more death-like than the gloom.
Under her beams the breasted lands assume
Dead hues, and charnel shapes unceremented;
And shadows that towering sepulchers might shed
Move livid as the shadows on dials of doom.
On hills like tumuli, and waters mute,
A whiteness steals as of a world made still
When reptant Death at last rears absolute—
An earth now frozen by malefice of eyes
Aeonian dooms and realm-deep rigors fill—
The gaze of that Medusa of the skies.

Clark Ashton Smith, an American poet, sculptor, and painter was born in 1893, and died in 1961 in California. He is well known as the author of fantasy, horror and science fiction. In his early career, he published much poetry and during his middle-age, he spent more time writing fictions. By the end of his life, his interest in writing shifted to creating sculptures. Although he was poor for most of his life and suffered from mental diseases, he was a self-educated intellectual being. One of his numerous works is “Medusa of the Skies” which was written in 1912.

The poem is composed of two stanzas; the first one consists of eight lines and the second one with six lines. The rhyme scheme is ABBAABBA in the first stanza. In the second stanza, rhyme scheme is ABACBC. There are also words that sound identical. For example, “steals” and “still” in line 10 have similar sound in the beginning of each word which is “st” sound. Both “dooms” and “realm” have a consonant sound of “m” in line 13. These repetitions of sounds create rhythm of the poem.

“The Medusa of the Skies” is about the world where female monster exists. Like a face of an irritated worm from the tomb (line 1), the empty, shrunken moon appears (line2) shining the light on the dead world (line3) from the pale sky which looks very gloomy (line 4). Under its light, the people on the land assume (line 5) that they are going to die (line 6). The moon creates shadows of graves (line 7) and moves livid as the shadows on dials of destruction (line 8). Hills look like tombs, water is silent (line 9), and whiteness steals as of a world made still (line 10). When crawling death comes close to the earth (line 11), everything stops moving by evil eyes of Medusa (line 12). The Medusas watches the eternal destiny and harshness in her territory from the skies (line 13 and 14).

The significant symbols in the poem are (1) tomb, sepulchers, and tumuli; (2) moon; (3) light and shadow; (4) whiteness, pallid, and dead hues; (5) water; (6) earth and skies; (7) Medusa, and eyes.

The author uses many words that give images of place of burial and death such as “tomb,” “sepulchers,” and “tumuli.” According to the Dictionary of Symbolism, the tomb represents the imprisonment of the soul within the body.

The main symbol in the first stanza is the “moon.” According to the Dictionary of Symbolism, the moon is a feminine symbol; it is actually referred to “her” instead of “his” in the poem. The moon often represents the area between the conscious and the unconscious or mind. It also symbolizes the soul and the subject’s capacity for reflection. In the second line, the hollow, shrunken moon might represent the decline of life or death. It lights the lands which seem to be dead or miserable.
According to the Dictionary of Symbolism, “light” is the source of goodness and the ultimate reality. It represents enormous energy, creative force and optimism. On the other hand, “shadow” is usually a symbol of a person’s soul. According to Jungian psychology, the shadow is a “part of the unconscious mind consisting of repressed weaknesses and instincts”(Wikipedia). The term “shadow” was used twice in the poem. It connects to dark side of the moon and contrasts the “light” of the moon.

Colors are also important symbols throughout the poem. The author describes the skies as “pallid” meaning pale or colorless. By definition, it also means “lacking in vitality.” Therefore, pallid skies might be related to powerlessness or even death. “Dead hues” also gives images of darkness and death. By contrast, the author used “whiteness” which usually symbolizes life, love, innocence, and purification according to the Dictionary of Symbolism. According to the Dictionary of Symbolism, “water” often corresponds to life, and birth. Its main quality is fluidity therefore, water represents change.

“Earth” represents a foundation for life and nourishment according to the Dictionary of Symbolism. It includes all the living things and nature. The “frozen earth” might indicate it is dead. “Sky” symbolizes eternity. It is the residence of the gods and is omnipotence.

Another important symbol in the poem is Medusa. She is an evil being who has snake hairs and destructive power; whoever sees her face directly would be turned into a stone. In the poem, she watches the dying world through her “eyes.” According to the Dictionary of Symbolism, eyes represent clairvoyance, omniscience, and a gateway into the soul.

The basic mood of the poem is very gloomy. This is evident in those repeated words such as “doom” and “death.” The author uses specific words like “tomb,” “charnel,” “sepulchers,” and “tumuli” to create vivid expressions of someone’s death. The tone of the poem seems to be not just sadness but terrifying.

“Medusa of the Skies” is a poem about death. In second stanza, when the world faces the death, everything stops; water becomes silence which means it does not flow, and the earth is frozen meaning it stops moving. The author uses “moon” as a metaphor to describe “Medusa.” The title tells us that the medusa is in the sky, where the moon is also located. Moreover, since the moon was referred to “her,” it actually represents Medusa. According to the legend, Medusa turned people into stone, which means death. People could not avoid nor overcome her destructive power. Smith is trying to tell us that everyone is going to die at some point of their lives and it is unavoidable. In line 5, the moon lights on “lands” which refers to the whole universe, not just one country. This implies that all death is universal fate that all people afraid of. Moreover, “Aeonian dooms” means that death is eternal destiny of people. Smith believes that once people die, they can not be brought back to life.

In terms of punctuation, it is interesting that Smith used dashes (—) in the second stanza twice, one in line 11 and the other in line 13. According the Wikipedia, “em dash” which the author used in his poem is used when the speaker of the poem is interrupted or becomes too emotional to continue. Both line 11 and 13 convey the critical moment of life when the death comes close and become eternal destiny of people. This suggests that the author felt very depressed to wrap up his thought in those lines. I could imagine that Clark Asthon Smith thought seriously about death and also his own future.

Works Cited

Cirlot, J.E. a Dictionary of Symbols. Trans. Jack Sage. New York: Philosophical Library.
1962. Dictionary of Symbolism. University of Michigan Fantasy and Science Fiction Website. 2001.6 Aug. 2004

“Clark Ashton Smith.” Wikipedia. Web. Mar. 2010.

“Dash” Wikipedia. Web. Mar. 2010.

“Explicating a Poem and Symbolism.” Course homepage. 11 Mar. 1999. Hunter Coll.
Reading and Writing Center. Mar. 2010.

Marks, Tracy. “Medusa in Greek Mythology.” Torrey’s Muses. 21 Nov. 2006.

Pearson, Boyd. “The Sanctum of Clark Ashton Smith.” The Eldritch Dark. July 1997.
CASianna. Mar. 2010.

Blog Entry 5 Essay 3 Preview

1)what you understand the assignment to be asking you to do, 2) what you are confused about, 3) what you need to know to complete the assignment, and 4) what you think you might want to write about.

For the third essay, I have to show my ability of analizing and understanding a poem. In the classs, so far, we learned important components of a poem such as sanza, symbolism, motif, theme, rhythm, and tone. I understand that this new assignment requires to explain those terms by analyzing a poem of my choice. This essay has to include basic information about the author, a summary of a poem and a thorough analysis of the poem using varies sources.
I am not sure if I have to choose a poem regarding supernatural or from any subject. I also did not understand what the "syntax affect" is.
To complete the assignment, I have to know what kind of symbolism, tone, and mood are used in the poem that I choose. I am going to use the same poem that I used for the essay 2. It seems like essay 3 will be very complex and will need a very deep analysis but essay 2 will help me to do that.

Blog Entry 4 : Reflection

Until the first day of ENG 102, I was very nervous about this new English class. Since English is not my native language, I'm still not comfortable writing essays in English. However, this class is somewhat different from my previous English classes in the past. For the first time, I learned how to make my own blog where I can post my writings and get feed backs(so far I love it :] ) Working with blogs may be challenging but is the most exciting activity in this class. I think it's less pressure to write essays on my own blog than to write in microsoft words! Another good thing about blogs is that I can read other peers' work whenever I need. This helps me to get some ideas when I'm working on my homeworks and to get to know each other faster(thanks to the professor Smith). I'm considering to keep my blog even after this class finish.
My first essay in this class is still on process, but I looking forward to getting more responses from other people. I like the topic that I am working on now; It is about greek mythology, specifically about "Medusa." I am not sure if this class is going to be working mostly on poems but I'm sure more exciting activities are waiting for us.

Essay # 2 Tone and Symbolism in "Medusa"

Poems are unique writings that encourage readers to vividly imagine the stories and words that a writer presents. The poem, “Medusa” written by Clark Ashton Smith describes a world where a female monster named Medusa exists. This figure turns people into stone if they see her face directly and leads the world into darkness and destruction. The author, one of the famous American poets, had written series of poems on fantasy and horror, and science fictions. This poem came to my attention because it is based on Greek mythology which I loved to read about for many years. I was able to see how the author utilizes tone and symbolism to describe our own world in connection to this mythological story.

One characteristic of a poem that expresses a writer’s emotions or feelings is tone. For example, in “Medusa,” the overall emotion or mood of the poem is depressing and hopeless. Clark Smith uses many words that bring up the images of death and darkness such as “glooms,” “livid dawns,” and “murkiness.” The author emphasizes that there is no hope in the land where Medusa takes control of. He said, “The land is claimed of Death” This means that people are dying by looking at Medusa’s eyes and all the creatures in the land are being cursed. There is no hope to keep Medusa from destroying the land and the people. Death became their destiny.

Symbolism is another technique that a poet uses to describe objects or living things beyond reality of themselves. Understanding symbols in poems helps readers to perceive what the true meaning of the words is and what the author is really trying to say in his or her writing. Clark Ashton Smith also uses a lot of symbols in his poem. The general definition of the “sun” is the star that shines in the sky during the day but Smith might be actually referring it to hope or good future. Moreover, Medusa who is an actual character from Greek mythology might rather symbolize something that makes us stone or despair in our own reality such as poverty, ethnic wars and diseases. Therefore, in poems, most words could carry different meanings beyond themselves.

In conclusion, “Medusa” is not just a creepy, scary poem about a horrible being from Greek mythology. This poem may reflect on Clark Ashton Smith’s own life or the society he had lived in. He had suffered from psychological disorder and was poor for most of his life. Based on his experience, he might want us to think through what are some of the factors that lead us to failure or even death.



(Works Cited)
http://www.blackcatpoems.com/s/medusa.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Ashton_Smith
http://www.webwinds.com/thalassa/medusa.htm

quick source for the essay #1

Here is a link that might help you to analize a poem

http://rwc.hunter.cuny.edu/reading-writing/on-line/lit-poem.html

Medusa by Clark Ashton Smith

As drear and barren as the glooms of Death,

It lies, a windless land of livid dawns,

Nude to a desolate firmament, with hills

That seem the gibbous bones of the mummied Earth,

And plains whose hollow Face is rivelled deep

With gullies twisting like a serpent's track.

The leprous touch of Death is on its stones,

Where, for his token visible, the Head

Is throned upon a heap of monstrous rocks

Rough-mounded like some shattered pyramid

In a thwartly cloven hill-ravine, that seems

The unhealing scar of huge Tellurian wars.

Her lethal beauty crowned with twining snakes

That mingle with her hair, the Gorgon reigns.

Her eyes are clouds wherein black lightnings lurk,

Yet, even as men that seek the glance of Life,

The gazers come, where, coiled and serpent-swift,

Those levins wait. As round an altar-base

Her victims lie, distorted, blackened forms

Of postured horror smitten into stone—

Time caught in meshes of Eternity—

Drawn back from dust and ruin of the years,

And given to all the future of the world.

The land is claimed of Death: the daylight comes

Half-strangled in the changing webs of cloud

That unseen spiders of bewildered winds

Weave and unweave across the lurid sun

In upper air.

Below, no zephyr comes

To break with life the circling spell of doom.

Long vapor-serpents twist about the moon,

And in the windy murkness of the sky

The guttering stars are wild as candle-flames

That near the socket.

Thus the land shall be,

And Death shall wait, throned in Medusa's eyes,

Till in the irremeable webs of night

The sun is snared, and the corroded moon

A dust upon the gulfs, and all the stars

Rotted and fallen like rivets from the sky,

Letting the darkness down upon all things.

I was interested in searching for poems on ancient Greek Methology. While I was searching about this topic in google, I found a great website called "Black Cat Poems" that offers varities of poems. This website categorizes poems by subjects and poet so it is convenient to find a poem that you are looking for here.

The poem, "Medusa" written by Clark Ashton Smith is about a female monster from Greek Methology. Her head is covered with snakes and whoever sees her eyes directly would become a stone, meaning death. In the poem, Medusa who was originally beautiful, is a extreme, evil like being and the land she belongs to is very dark and has potency of death. Everything, even the sun, fears of her and leads to unfortuante ending. I think this poem describs the vivid image of Medusa very well.

This is the link where I found this poem from

http://www.blackcatpoems.com/s/medusa.html

This link gives little bit of background information about the author, Clark Ashton Smith

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Ashton_Smith

You can read more detail story about Medusa from this link

http://www.webwinds.com/thalassa/medusa.htm

http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Medusa1.html

about me

Welcome to my blog! My name is Sohyun Park. I'm from South Korea. You can speak to me either in Korean or English:D If you like to eat spicy food and to go to SOHO, you can definally be my friend~