Using Archetypal literary theory to analyze the short story "On the Rainy River" by Tim O'Brien, you can see the archetype of the Hero's Journey present in O'Brien's story. I found this archetype here:https://examples.yourdictionary.com/archetype-examples.html. In 'The Hero's Journey' archetype, a character must face conflict in order to do good and have a positive ending to the story. In this story, the main character Tim faces having to fight in a war or not. Fighting in the war is good, and not fighting is bad, according to the American view that this story is based on. At the beginning of the story when Tim receives his draft letter to fight in the Vietnam war, he is very emotional as he didn't know what to think: "I remember the rage in my stomach. Later it burned down to a smoldering self-pity, then to numbness."(O'Brien) This marks the beginning of the conflicting feelings he has towards the war and his drafting, because he knows that he has to serve his country in the war even though he is terrified of what could happen to him. "At some point in mid-July I began thinking seriously about Canada. The border lay a few hundred miles north, an eight-hour drive. Both my conscience and my instincts were telling me to make a break for it, just take off and run like hell and never stop."(O'Brien) At this point in the story, Tim is actually considering running away to avoid being drafted into the war. This thought conflicts with Tim's previous feelings of numbness and anger towards being drafted into the war. These conflicting feelings help to aid Tim in figuring out how to properly fulfill his role as the hero in the story. As the story continues, Tim reaches a breaking point and chooses what he is going to do: "I drove north".(O'Brien) Tim is going against what his community wants him to do and is going against the hero narrative, where one goes through a difficult and tough situation with courage in order to prevail against evil. Since America is seen as the hero and Vietnam is seen as the villain (Democracy versus Communism), Tim would be seen as anti-America by his town. This conflict adds to 'The Hero's Journey" archetype as Tim is not only embarking on a physical journey, but an emotional journey as well. At the climax of the story, Tim is so close to Canadian land but he breaks down again and chooses not to swim to the land and escape into Canada, which means that he is choosing to go to the war: "I tried to will myself overboard. I gripped the edge of the boat and leaned forward and thought, Now. I did try. It just wasn't possible."(O'Brien) This demonstrates the courage a hero in a story needs to overcome hardship and do what is right. From an American perspective, what is right is to fight in the war. Tim returning home to fight in the war shows that he is a hero to the American people because he overcame his fears of fighting in the war. At the end of the story, Tim says " I survived, but it's not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to the war."(O'Brien) This is another example of the hero overcoming conflict that arises in order to do good and have a positive ending to the story. The ending is not positive for Tim, because he said himself it wasn't a happy ending for him. It is a happy ending for Americans because a young man overcame his fears about war to serve his country and protect his people. 'The Hero's Journey' archetype is present in this short story because the main character had to endure hardships that helped him to do what is right, although in this story, the ending does not benefit the hero. O'Brien, Tim. "On the Rainy River." The Things They Carried. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
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7/15/2020 0 Comments The Essay Writing processImage Source:https://lithub.com/the-liberation-and-consternation-of-writing-a-whole-book-with-paper-and-pen/ For me, the most difficult part of essay writing is thoroughly explaining my reasons and examples. I find it hard to explain my reasons and examples fully because sometimes I think that what I have written is enough to understand, but when I get feedback from teachers, they always tell me to explain what I mean in further detail. This is something I am trying to improve on but it is still difficult for me.
Some of the steps outlined in the module that could work better by sharing and discussing with peers is Proofreading/Editing and Revision. Once you have already proofread your work, you should let a peer do the same to catch any mistakes that you might have missed. Having a peer to help you revise your work can be beneficial to the essay writing process. Before you start to proofread and edit your essay, have a peer to revise your work for you. They can check to see if all elements of an essay are present (thesis statement, topic sentences, examples, etc.), the paragraphs flow easily from idea to idea, the examples and explanations are in tune with the thesis and if the essay always stays on topic. Some tips and suggestions that I have received about essay writing is to not write so much as I would go off topic, make sure that my examples are clear and properly define my thesis, and to always write in present tense. Some essays have been more successful than others because I had found good examples and had explained them in enough detail for a reader to understand my points. I have tried to learn from my previous mistakes when I start another essay, so that also contributes to why some essays have been better than others. With a lot of planning, revising, and editing, essay writing will become easier to tackle with each essay I do! According to Cosmopolitan, Lady Gaga's song 'Born This Way', released in 2011, sounds similar to Madonna's song ' Express Yourself', which was released in 1989. In the article titled" 14 huge songs that basically sound the same as another" the author Lucy Wood writes that"No official copyright infringement ensued, but it did kickstart a whole load of drama and a rift in the relationship between both iconic artists." I personally do think that the songs sounded similar, but I don't think that Lady Gaga had copied Madonna's song in terms of vocals or the instrumentals. It's just a case of two songs sounding alike, so I don't think that would infringe on Madonna's copyright to her song. Here are the links to the songs: Born This Way-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Vzrr64ZrVU Express Yourself-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsVcUzP_O_8 I think that creators should carefully review their inspirations for their work and try to record any influences they had heard or seen while creating work and after their work is complete. If their work sounds similar to another creators work, then a creator must attempt to add their own ideas and cite their sources of inspiration in a way that is effective for the medium. These guidelines can help creators to avoid copying someone else's work and copyright infringement. Sources and References Picture-https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/a27373338/madonna-lady-gaga-feud-enemies-interview/ Cosmopolitan Article-https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/g12095105/songs-that-sound-the-same/ Today I listened to the first episode of the Serial podcast. Although I don't know many legal terms or much about the justice system, I do enjoy listening to cases like this on YouTube, like many people do these days.
I enjoyed the investigative nature of the episode as Sarah Koenig, the narrator, goes into detail about how a Baltimore teenager named Adnan Syed was arrested and later convicted of the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. His best friend Jay had testified that Adnan had murdered her, and had planned to do so. Jay went into detail about where they had went that day and confirmed that he had seen Hae Lee's body in his car and saw Adnan bury her body. Adnan couldn't remember much about this day. I think that investigations into murder cases like this one is gaining popularity, as many people like to listen to the given information and try to form an opinion. You can see this popularity on many social media platforms and the increasing number of podcasts like Serial. People enjoy listening to these stories while on their way to work or school. The beginning of the episode tries to demonstrate to listeners how easy it is to forget what happened on a specific day. Sarah Koenig shows this by calling her nephew to ask what he did on a specific day. When she called her nephew's friend to confirm, the stories did not add up, showing how it is difficult to remember events from a long time ago, especially when the day was uneventful. But isn't the day of your ex-girlfriend's murder eventful? I kept this thought in my head as I listened to the podcast. I couldn't tell you what I did 6 weeks ago, but if something like this happened, I think I would remember more than usual. I lean towards not guilty due to the fact that there isn't any evidence against Adnan but, after a lot of thought, I'm not even sure about my decision. I would have to continue listening to more episodes to gain more information and build a stronger opinion. Link to picture: https://deadline.com/2019/06/the-case-against-adnan-syed-director-amy-berg-hbo-emmys-1202626062/ Grade 12 University level English is a requirement for virtually every university program in Ontario. This is the only course taken every year in high school, so that shows how important it is to schools and universities. While I understand the importance of being able to read and write effectively, as it has applications in the real world, there is one stand-out problem for me. Essay writing and other aspects of this course are not relevant to some university majors. Majors like Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science, and other STEM majors require mathematical and technological skills. The courses deal with math problems and hands-on projects, which essay writing and text analyzing don't prepare for. Fine Arts, Drama and other majors that rely on creativity don't typically deal with having to do formal writing and more performance and project based assignments. Grade 12 English can take up unnecessary space for students interested in these majors. Instead of Grade 12 English, some students can take more science, math or art courses instead to further their knowledge of what they are already interested in. Or, some students can have a spare period to catch up on work or relax and take a break from school. Grade 12 University English shouldn't be a university requirement because not everyone will need it for their program. EDIT: After some feedback I got some important information: Some of these STEM majors require students to do papers for feedback from classmates. So English may be needed after all, but maybe as a recommended course? |