Blog 16: Final Reflection

And so it comes to an end. But do I really want it to? It's kind of a bitter sweet ending, I think. Everyone loves the end of the semester and no more classes and I'm definitely no exception, but this is one of the few classes I actually enjoyed and didn't mind doing assignments for. This class was a whole new experience for me. I have taken English classes before, but never one with a theme, and an interesting one at that. And I have never done a blog-based class before. I really enjoyed doing the assignments on the blogs for a few reasons: 1) it was super convenient; I travel so much so being able to pull the assignments up anywhere there was a computer instead of dragging a notebook everywhere was so much easier 2) I'm always on the computer when I'm home so I was more likely to look at the blogs and do my assignments when I was bored and 3) I like typing so much better than writing; my hand gets less tired.

I really enjoyed the theme aspect of the class. I thought the supernatural was an interesting theme to pick and not something boring. And not to mention my boyfriend is a supernatural and movie junkie, so I had a lot of resources for finding material for the class. I've talked to him about the class and the assignments before and he said that you would probably be someone he would want to hang out with haha. What am I going to take away from this class? I learned a lot in this class while enjoying it. I learned how to analyze poems, wordings and films a lot better and have me think deeper into them. I saw the movie Splice last night and was thinking about what I learned in class while watching the movie (The title almost sounds like a combination between splat and slice. Sounds like a good horror to me!).

While I personally do not know anyone who is looking to take an ENG 102 class, if I did, or if I meet someone who does I would highly recommend someone to take this class. I really enjoyed this class; I learned a lot while having fun doing it. Okay, well that's all I have to say. Thank you professor for making this a fun and not so Monday-like class, I enjoyed it. :)

Blog 15: Final Draft

W. W. Jacobs was born in Wapping, London; he went to private school and later attended Birbeck College which is now a part of the University of London. In 1885 he published his first short story and in 1900 he married and had a daughter. Jacobs published many works, mostly short stories. In 1902 "Lady of the Barge" was published, which was a collection of short stories written by him and included "The Monkeys Paw." After World War I Jacobs' story out put declined. Jacobs died in Islington, London for unspecified reasons. His last publication was "Sea Whispers" in 1926. For this essay, I plan on using New Criticism, specifically looking at symbolism, foreshadowing and irony.


The elderly Mr. and Mrs. White live together with their son Herbert. One day their friend Sergeant-Major Morris visits and tells about the monkeys paw he has in his possession and also of the consequences of using its powers to grant three wishes. He attempts to burn it in the fireplace but Mr. White takes it out and plans to use the three wishes for himself. After Morris leaves, Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds, but nothing happens right away, except that Mr. White thinks the paw twitched. The next morning, Herbert leaves for work and a little while after that a man shows up at the Whites' house who comes from Herbert's job and stated that he was caught in the machinery and killed, and gave the Whites 200 pounds in compensation. 10 days after Mr. and Mrs. White bury their son, Mrs. White is hysterical from her sons' death and makes her husband wish Herbert back to life, which he does unwillingly. Mr. White does not want Mrs. White to see Herbert because his body was so torn up from the machinery and was also buried for over a week. After a short time, something starts knocking at the door. Mrs. White frantically runs to the door to open it for Herbert but she cannot reach the lock, so she grabs a chair and drags it too the door to open it. While this is happening, Mr. White was searching for the monkeys paw which fell on the ground. When he found it he wished his son back to the dead just in time so when Mrs. White opened the door, no one was there.

Symbolism is a major part of the story. There are several symbols in this story. First and most obvious is the 1) monkeys paw. Next is 2) the game of chess, Sergeant-Major Morris and fire 3) the well dressed man and the 200 pounds 4) death, darkness, and zombie.


The most obvious and significant symbol in the story is the monkeys paw itself. The monkeys paw is used so much in the story; it can clearly be seen as more of a motif than just a symbol. The monkeys paw can represent several different things. First, it represents peoples greediness and their want to change the future to better only themselves. Only someone who is unhappy with their life and is greedy will use the monkeys paw to fulfill their wishes and dreams. The Whites initially wish for 200 pounds signifying that they were poor or in poverty. If they were wealthy I do not believe the Whites would have wished for money. As per the story, an old fakir put a spell on the monkeys paw to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it will have consequences. This old fakir was showing that no one should try to interfere with fate and that there is a god who has a plan for everyone. And this was no exception for the Whites; when Mr. White wished for 200 pounds, he got it, but lost his son in the process. The monkeys paw could represent a number of other things; darkness, evil, history, magic or voodoo, and mystery. On the other hand, thee is always that slight coincidence that it is just an ordinary monkeys paw and all the stuff that happened to the Whites was on coincidence or the Whites were already cursed somehow.

A significant group of symbols in the story was the game of chess that was being played by Mr. White and Herbert in the beginning of the story, the fire in the living room and their old friend Sergent-Major Morris. This game of chess could represent the type of relationship Mr. White has with his son Herbert. This shows that they are close to each other in that they take the time to sit down and play games with each other, as a close father-son relationship would. The fire represents a warm, comforting home as the boys play chess and Mrs. White sits by the fire knitting. Sergeant-Major Morris is a close friend of the Whites. He represents old friends visiting a home which completes the picture of a cozy homely type of home. Aside from the story, the dictionary of symbolism shows that fire can represent as the main symbol of hell, it can bridge between mortal and gods. It can also be a force of purification; while it may destroy things it may be better in the long run. It can also represent divinity, knowledge, wisdom and libido. Sergeant-Major Morris ends up throwing the Monkeys Paw in the fire trying to destroy it. He knows although he is destroying this talisman, it is better in the long run so it does not cause any misfortune to others and thus providing a force of purification of the monkeys paw, until Mr. White took the paw out of the fire.

Another significant group of symbols is the well dressed man and the 200 pounds.
After receiving the monkeys paw from Sergeant-Major Morris, he first wishes for 200 pounds to help renovate the house. The 200 pounds not only symbolizes money and wealth but it can symbolize the Whites' lack of wealth and greed. If they had already been wealthy than they would not have wished for more money. This shows that the Whites were poor, or in poverty. But as Sergeant-Major Morris had said earlier in the story speaking of the old fakir who put the spell on the monkeys paw, that all wishes will come with a consequence. So, the next day after Herbert went off to work, a well dressed man appeared at the Whites' front door. Before he could even say anything Mrs. White immediately connected him with the wish on the monkeys paw. And with that, the man explained that Herbert was stuck in machinery and was killed in which the company offered 200 pounds in compensation. This is not only a show of symbolism but is also a good example of irony.

The last group of symbols in the story is death, darkness and zombie. Mr. White used the first wish for 200 pounds and got it. It also got his son killed by machinery. Coincidence? Probably not. With Herbert dead, Mrs. White has been hysterical over her sons death. Death is really a symbol in itself. It symbolized the dead, grievance, sadness, and in some cultures the celebration of beginning a new life or greater life. It could also represent the undead. The story also mentions darkness a few times in the story. According the the dictionary of symbolism, darkness represents a primitive chaos as well as being associated with death, destruction and captivity. It can be linked to the time spent in the womb and seed germination as well as bad judgement, misfortune and ignorance. The last three adjectives mentioned greatly describe the Whites' after making that first wish which killed their son. The zombie of Herbert does not just represent the undead, but it also represents all the selfishness of their parents, their greediness and also exactly what the old fakir said about the monkeys paw having consequences to those seeking to change fate.

Foreshadowing plays an important role in this story. Foreshadowing is to present an indication or a suggestion of beforehand (The Free Dictionary). In other words, something that is suggesting that something else is going to happen. There are several examples of foreshadowing in this story in which also enhance Jacobs writing. The first example of foreshadowing is when Sergeant-Major Morris visits the Whites' home and tells of the monkeys paw tale. He makes a point to say "It had a spell put on it by an old Fakir," said the Sergent-Major, "a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow. He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it." This is a very significant line in the story and pretty much gives away that something bad is going to happen to the Whites' when Mr. White decides to take the monkeys paw. Another example of foreshadowing is the setting of the story itself. The setting is many years ago before electric was invented, I am guessing around the 1800's as the last sentence of the story stated a streetlamp indicating that it was probably an oil lamp. The story takes place in the Whites' home which seems to be in this dark, forest type of hard-to-get-to area with a lot of wind and a quiet deserted road. This setting gives the story a very spooky feel to it. Another example of foreshadowing is when Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds and he did not instantly receive them. This is foreshadowing that something is going to happen, specifically to Herbert, who was making jokes of the monkeys paw the whole day up until he went to work and was killed. It was then that the Whites' received the 200 pounds. A similar example of foreshadowing is when Mr. White used his second wish to make his son alive again after 10 days of him being dead and mutilated my machinery. It was also a dark and stormy night that he did this, making it all too perfect for a zombie of their dead son to come knocking on the door in the middle of the night.

Irony was also a significant element in "The Monkeys Paw." Irony is defined as the use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning. The main idea in the story that best describes the irony is when Sergeant-Major Morris is telling about the monkeys paw and where it came from. He said, "It had a spell put on it by an old fakir," said the Sergeant-major, "a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow. He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it." (The Monkeys Paw.). I believe that moral of the story is to be careful for what you wish for. I believe this because although you may get your wish, there may be severe consequences to it. For example, when Mr. White wished for 200 pounds, he got it, but ended up having his son killed for it in exchange. And the same type of irony applies to when Mr. White makes the second wish. Mrs. White makes Mr. White wish for their son to be brought back to life after 10 days of death and mutilation from the factory machine. Mr. White doesn't want to but does so because his wife is going mad. When he does this, Herbert is brought back to life but comes back as a zombie so Mr. White has to wish him away before his wife sees her only son like that.

I believe that Jacobs created a very in depth and great literary work. I really enjoyed "The Monkeys Paw," it was one of the few stories I remember reading from High School. Although I have not read his other works, I may plan to in the future. After analyzing his story through the new criticism theory, I believe that he put a lot of in depth thought into every detail into not only this story but most likely all of his other works as well.




Definition of Foreshadowing and Irony: The Free Dictionary. "Foreshadow." "Irony."
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/

Jacobs, W.W. "The Monkeys Paw." Lady of the Barge. England. 1902. Excerpt from Dark: Stories of Madness, Murder and the Supernatural. Ed. Clint Willis. New York, NY. 30 Oct 2000. Print

Jacobs Biography: Wikipedia- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._W._Jacobs

Citation of Darkness, Fire: Protas, Allison Brown, Geoff Smith Jamie et al. "Darkness." "Fire." Dictionary of Symbolism. 1997. Web. 12 April 2010. http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/M/moon.html

Blog 14: Essay Response

For the most part I think I generally got most of what I wanted to say in my essay done. One thing that I did not put in there yet was talking about irony. Irony played an important role in the story I read so I definitely want to touch on that. I also need to re read for grammar and other spelling errors that spell check did not pick up. I am not sure if I got the 750 words yet but the essay seems pretty long so I am assuming that I am close. What I'm wondering is if there is anything else that I can talk about to make this essay better or stand out a little more? I plan on spending a lot more time with the essay than I have been the past 2 weeks.

Blog 13: Fiction Rough Draft

W. W. Jacobs was born in Wapping, London; he went to private school and later attended Birbeck College which is now a part of the University of London. In 1885 he published his first short story and in 1900 he married and had a daughter. Jacobs published many works, mostly short stories. In 1902 "Lady of the Barge" was published, which was a collection of short stories written by him and included "The Monkeys Paw." After World War I Jacobs' story out put declined. Jacobs died in Islington, London for unspecified reasons. His last publication was "Sea Whispers" in 1926. For this essay, I plan on using New Criticism, specifically looking at symbolism, foreshadowing and irony.


The elderly Mr. and Mrs. White live together with their son Herbert. One day their friend Sergeant-Major Morris visits and tells about the monkeys paw he has in his possession and also of the consequences of using its powers to grant three wishes. He attempts to burn it in the fireplace but Mr. White takes it out and plans to use the three wishes for himself. After Morris leaves, Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds, but nothing happens right away, except that Mr. White thinks the paw twitched. The next morning, Herbert leaves for work and a little while after that a man shows up at the Whites' house who comes from Herbert's job and stated that he was caught in the machinery and killed, and gave the Whites 200 pounds in compensation. 10 days after Mr. and Mrs. White bury their son, Mrs. White is hysterical from her sons' death and makes her husband wish Herbert back to life, which he does unwillingly. Mr. White does not want Mrs. White to see Herbert because his body was so torn up from the machinery and was also buried for over a week. After a short time, something starts knocking at the door. Mrs. White frantically runs to the door to open it for Herbert but she cannot reach the lock, so she grabs a chair and drags it too the door to open it. While this is happening, Mr. White was searching for the monkeys paw which had fell on the ground. When he found is he wished his son back to the dead just in time so when Mrs. White opened the door, no one was there.

Symbolism is a major part of the story. There are several symbols in this story. First and most obvious is the 1) monkeys paw. Next is 2)the game of chess, Sergeant-Major Morris and fire 3)the well dressed man and the 200 pounds 4) death, darkness, and zombie.


The most obvious and significant symbol in the story is the monkeys paw itself. The monkeys paw is used so much in the story, it can clearly be seen as more of a motif than just a symbol. The monkeys paw can represent several different things. First, it represents peoples greediness and their wanting to change the future to better themselves. Only someone who is unhappy with their life and is greedy will use the monkeys paw to fulfill their wishes and dreams. The Whites initially wish for 200 pounds signifying that they were poor or in poverty. If they were wealthy I do not believe the Whites would have wished for money. As per the story, an old fakir put a spell on the monkeys paw to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it will have consequences. This old fakir was showing that no one should try to interfere with fate and that there is a god who has a plan for everyone. And this was no exception for the Whites; when Mr. White wished for 200 pounds, he got it, but lost his son in the process. The monkeys paw could represent a number of other things; darkness, evil, history, magic or voodoo, and mystery. On the other hand, thee is always that slight coincidence that it is just an ordinary monkeys paw and all the stuff that happened to the Whites was on coincidence or the Whites were already cursed somehow.

A significant group of symbols in the story was the game of chess that was being played by Mr. White and Herbert in the beginning of the story, the fire in the living room and their old friend Sergent-Major Morris. This game of chess could represent the type of relationship Mr. White has with his son Herbert. This shows that they are close to each other in that they take the time to sit down and play games with each other, as a close father-son relationship would. The fire represents a warm, comforting home as the boys play chess and Mrs. White sits by the fire knitting. Sergeant-Major Morris is a close friend of the Whites. He represents old friends visiting a home which completes the picture of a cozy homely type of home. Aside from the story, the dictionary of symbolism shows that fire can represent as the main symbol of hell, it can bridge between mortal and gods. It can also be a force of purification; while it may destroy things it may be better in the long run. It can also represent divinity, knowledge, wisdom and libido. Sergeant-Major Morris ends up throwing the Monkeys Paw in the fire trying to destroy it. He knows although he is destroying this talisman, it is better in the long run so it does not cause any misfortune to others and thus providing a force of purification of the monkeys paw, until Mr. White took the paw out of the fire.

Another significant group of symbols is the well dressed man and the 200 pounds.
After receiving the monkeys paw from Sergeant-Major Morris, he first wishes for 200 pounds to help renovate the house. The 200 pounds not only symbolizes money and wealth but it can symbolize the Whites' lack of wealth and greed. If they had already been wealthy than they would not have wished for more money. This shows that the Whites were poor, or in poverty. But as Sergeant-Major Morris had said earlier in the story speaking of the old fakir who put the spell on the monkeys paw, that all wishes will come with a consequence. So, the next day after Herbert went off to work a well dressed man appeared at the Whites' front door. Before he could even say anything Mrs. White immediately connected him with the wish on the monkeys paw. And with that, the man explained that Herbert was stuck in machinery and was killed in which the company offered 200 pounds in compensation. This is not only a show of symbolism but is also a good example of irony.

The last group of symbols in the story are death, darkness and zombie. Mr. White used the first wish for 200 pounds and got it. He also had his son killed by machinery. Coincidence? Probably not. With Herbert dead, Mrs. White has been hysterical over her sons death. Death is really a symbol in itself. It symbolized the dead, grievance, sadness, and in some cultures the celebration of beginning a new life or greater life. It could also represent the undead. The story also mentions darkness a few times in the story. According the the dictionary of symbolism, darkness represents a primitive chaos as well as being associated with death, destruction and captivity. It can be linked to the time spent in the womb and seed germination as well as bad judgement, misfortune and ignorance. The last three adjectives mentioned greatly describe the Whites' after making that first wish which killed their son. The zombie of Herbert does not just represent the undead, but it also represents all the selfishness of their parents, their greediness and also exactly what the old fakir said about the monkeys paw having consequences to those seeking to change fate.

Foreshadowing plays an important role in this story. Foreshadowing is to present an indication or a suggestion of beforehand (The Free Dictionary). In other words, something that is suggesting that something else is going to happen. There are several examples of foreshadowing in this story in which also enhance Jacobs writing. The first example of foreshadowing is when Sergeant-Major Morris visits the Whites' home and tells of the monkeys paw tale. He makes a point to say "It had a spell put on it by an old Fakir," said the Sargent-Major, "a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow. He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it." This is a very significant line in the story and pretty much gives away that something bad is going to happen to the Whites' when Mr. White decides to take the monkeys paw. Another example of foreshadowing is the setting of the story itself. The setting is many years ago before electric was invented, I am guessing around the 1800's as the last sentence of the story stated a streetlamp indicating that it was probably an oil lamp. The story takes place in the Whites' home which seems to be in this dark, foresty type of hard-to-get-to area with a lot of wind and a quiet deserted road. This setting gives the story a very spooky feel to it. Another example of foreshadowing is when Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds and he did not instantly receive them. This is foreshadowing that something is going to happen, specifically to Herbert, who was making jokes of the monkeys paw the whole day up until he went to work and was killed. It was then that the Whites' received the 200 pounds. A similar example of foreshadowing is when Mr. White used his second wish to make his son alive again after 10 days of him being dead and mutilated my machinery. It was also a dark and stormy night that he did this, making it all too perfect for a zombie of their dead son to come knocking on the door in the middle of the night.

Irony was also a significant element in "The Monkeys Paw." Irony is defined as the use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning. The main idea in the story that best describes the irony is when Sergeant-Major Morris is telling about the monkeys paw and where it came from. He said, "It had a spell put on it by an old fakir," said the sergeant-major, "a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow. He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it." (The Monkeys Paw.). I believe that moral of the story is to be careful for what you wish for. I believe this because although you may get your wish, there may be severe consequences to it. For example, when Mr. White wished for 200 pounds, he got it, but ended up having his son killed for it in exchange. And the same type of irony applies to when Mr. White makes the second wish. Mrs. White makes Mr. White wish for their son to be brought back to life after 10 days of death and mutilation from the factory machine. Mr. White doesn't want to but does so because his wife is going mad. When he does this, Herbert is brought back to life but comes back as a zombie so Mr. White has to wish him away before his wife sees her only son like that.

I believe that Jacobs created a very in depth and great literary work. I really enjoyed "The Monkeys Paw," it was one of the few stories I remember reading from High School. Although I have not read his other works, I may plan to in the future. After analyzing his story through the new criticism theory, I believe that he put a lot of in depth thought into every detail into not only this story but most likely all of his other works as well.




Definition of Foreshadowing and Irony: The Free Dictionary. "Foreshadow." "Irony."
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/

Jacobs, W.W. "The Monkeys Paw." Lady of the Barge. England. 1902. Excerpt from Dark: Stories of Madness, Murder and the Supernatural. Ed. Clint Willis. New York, NY. 30 Oct 2000. Print

Jacobs Biography: Wikipedia- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._W._Jacobs

Citation of Darkness, Fire: Protas, Allison Brown, Geoff Smith Jamie et al. "Darkness." "Fire." Dictionary of Symbolism. 1997. Web. 12 April 2010. http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/M/moon.html

Blog 12: Initial Pre-Writing

The Story I will be writing about is "The Monkey's Paw," by W. W. Jacobs. I read this story several years ago and I really enjoyed re-reading it. I am still deciding on what kind of take to use for writing about the story but I noticed a lot of irony in the story and also some foreshadowing.

Plot: the elder Mr. and Mrs. White live together with their son Herbert. One day their friend Sergeant-Major Morris visits and tells about the monkeys paw he has in his possession and of the consequences of using its wishes. He attempts to burn it in the fire but Mr. White takes it out and plans to use the three wishes for himself. After Morris leaves, Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds. The next morning, Herbert leaves for work and a little while after that a man shows up at Mr. and Mrs. Whites house who comes from Herbert's company and stated that he was caught in the machinery and killed, and gave the Whites 200 pounds in compensation. 10 days after Mr. and Mrs. White bury their son, Mrs. White is still hysterical from her sons death and makes her husband wish Herbert back to life, which he does unwillingly. Mr. White does not want Mrs. White to see Herbert because his body was so torn up from the machinery and was also buried for over a week. After waiting for a short time, something starts knocking at the door. Mrs. White frantically runs to the door to open it for Herbert but she cannot reach the lock, so she grabs a chair and drags it too the door to open it. While this is happening, Mr. White was searching for the monkeys paw which had fell on the ground. When he found is he wished his son back to the dead just in time so when Mrs. White opened the door, no one was there.

The irony of the story is to becareful what you wish for, because you might just get it, no matter what the concequences may be. I noticed foreshadowing when Morris was explaining to Mr. and Mrs. White about the monkeys paw when he says " It had a spell put on it by an old fakir/ a vry holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled peoples live's, and those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow." (The Monkeys Paw p 3). When Morris said that I believed it foreshadowed that there was going to be a great loss in the story, such as the son loosing his life.

Blog 11: My Chosen Story

The story I chose is "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs. I decided to write about this short story because I have read this story a few years ago and really enjoyed it and it also fits well into the class theme. I haven't re-read it yet but the basic plot is that a couple gets a hold of a ancient monkeys paw which is said to have special powers and grant 3 wishes. But the wishes do not come out to be the way they expect and you should always be careful what you wish for. There is a wikipedia site for the story, and a film but I could not find other really useful links for the story. I'm still debating which approach I plan on using, I will figure it out when I re-read the story and research them a little more on wikipedia.


Link for wikipedia site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monkey%27s_Paw

Blog 10: Reflection II

Over the past few weeks we worked on film. We learned about monomyth, the hero's quest and an interview from Joseph Campbell. I found the past few weeks to be particularly interesting because I enjoy movies a lot. Learning about these things had several meanings. Now, when I watch a movie, I will see that it has a much deeper meaning now that I know about the Hero's Quest. I have learned all the elements in the Hero's Quest and about Joseph Campbell. I really enjoyed the film essay/assignment. I liked how we were able to pick which ever movie we wanted that fit with the class theme. I wasn't in class the day we watched Spirited Away, but I have seen it before and I love that movie, and it truely is a perfect example of the Hero's Quest.

Blog 9: Hero's Quest and The Crow Part II

The Hero's Quest by James Campbell is an idea that all movies have certain elements in them that make up the Hero's Quest. The Hero's Quest has a total of 3 major Categories; Departure, Adventure and Return, with a total of 17 elements. Campbell believes that all movies follow this form. The movie I chose to write about, The Crow, follows these elements that are used in The Hero's Quest. While most movies only use some of the elements, I was able to find almost every element in this movie.

The first part of the Hero's Quest is the Initiation with 5 elements in this category. First, call to adventure is when Eric, the main character, and his girlfriend Shelly are attacked in their apartment. Eric is killed by getting pushed out of the 5th floor apartment building and his girlfriend Shelly is raped and beaten and later dies in the hospital. Second is the refusal of the call which there was none in this film. Next is the supernatural Aid which is the crow who follows Eric around and initially awakens him from the dead. The crow is a major symbol in this film. Fourth, is the crossing of the threshold which is when Eric is first woken up from the dead by the crow and back into present time. Eric wakes up and has no recollection of what happened and does not know where he is or whats going on.
Last is The Belly of the Whale. The belly of the whale happens after Eric wakes up and he goes back to his old apartment and finds a mask which Shelly had painted. When he touches the mask it triggers flashbacks of their past and starts remembering the attack and starts his journey for revenge on their attackers.

The Next part of the Hero's Quest is the Adventure. The adventure has six elements in it and starts with the road of trials, which usually occur in threes as stated by Campbell, but was not the case in this film. The road of trials in The Crow happens
after seeing the flash backs of Eric's past and Shelly, he leaves his apartment and enters a local pawn shop to search for Shelly's wedding ring. When he touches Shelly's ring he instantly has a flashback of the attackers. He then has to find out who the attackers are and does so by questioning the pawn shop owner. After finding out who the attackers are and realizing the the pawn shop owner is somehow involved with them, Eric kills him and begins his search for the attackers. The next element is meeting with the goddess, which actually happens during the belly of the whale element. When Eric has his initial flash back in the apartment, he remembers Shelly and their unconditional love, and wants to then seek vengeance on their attackers and go back to rest next to where Shelly is buried. The next element in the movie is woman as a temptress. During the movie Eric meets with Sarah, a young girl that who was friend with Shelly and Eric who used to take care of her because her mother was reckless, irresponsible and was a heavy drug user. Eric strays away from his quest after killing FunBoy (one of their attackers) and coincidentally finds Sarah's mother with him. Darla cuts Eric with a razor out of fear and these wounds do not heal because she is not involved with his quest. Eric sees the marks on her arm from the needles and is able to push the drug out of her arm and tells her that her daughter is out on the streets and to go to her. Atonement with the father happens when Eric finds out where the attackers headquarters is from one of the attackers that he killed. When he goes to their base he finds the last attacker that he must kill, he finds another man named TopDollar, who is the boss of the gang and is the one who ordered the attack on Eric and Shelly. Fifth, the apotheosis, happens after Eric kills all the attackers from the night they were killed, he knows about the boss and although did not directly attack them, he was the one who ordered the attack and wants to kill TopDollar also. But because TopDollar was not directly involved in the attack, Eric loses his supernatural powers and is now mortal. Eric still pushes to go after TopDollar knowing that he has no powers against him. Last, the ultimate boon is when Eric and TopDollar have a battle on the roof of a church. Eric kills TopDollar and makes him "feel Shelly's pain." After he kills TopDollar is goal of revenge is complete.

The last part of the Hero's Quest is the Return, which has 6 elements and starts with the refusal of the return, which is none in this film because all Eric wanted most was to able to be back with Shelly in afterlife. There is also no magic flight in this movie. After Eric kills TopDollar, he walks down the church steps and into the cemetery where him and Shelly are buried. Third is the rescue from without which happens when Eric enters the cemetery, he lays down by Shelly's grave. Eric and Shelly are then reunited when Shelly appears at the grave dressed in white (white is also another symbol) to take him back to the afterlife. The crossing of the return threshold happened after Eric and Shelly are reunited and at peace, Sarah visits their graves and the crow gives her the wedding ring. Sarah takes the ring and knowledge of what has happened with Eric and Shelly that true love lasts even through death. Fifth, master of the two worlds; once Eric and Shelly are reunited, Erik is happy that he can now rest in peace and that he can now leave the present world. Last is the freedom to live, but in this movie, it is more the opposite; freedom of death. After his mission is complete, Eric accepts what has happened in the past and can now rest peacefully in death.

I thought the concept of the Hero's Quest was actually very interesting. I think seeing the film with having knowledge of the Hero's Quest gave me a different perspective of it compared to when I watched the film not knowing about the Hero's Quest. After watching it knowing about the Hero's Quest, I started to see Eric in a new light. The Hero's Quest made Eric a more defined hero; I didn't exactly see him as a hero before, more so someone who wanted to seek revenge.

As Joseph Campbell would say, this film gives us a "Myth to Live By." Just as in most other films there are lessons to be learned in this movie. One thing that the movie does tell you for sure is that true love will conquer even through death. Even though Eric and Shelly were killed, Eric was able to come back from the dead (with the help of the crow) and was able to avenge Shelly's death. Another lesson in this film is to be careful what you do to other because it will come back to you. In the end, karma is what killed the gang that murdered Eric and raped and killed Shelly. Eric came back from the dead and gave the gang what they had coming to them and deserved.

Works Cited:

Campbell, Joseph. "The Hero's Quest." Web. 03 May 2010http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth

Schow, David. Shirley, John. "The Crow" Film 1994. Web. 03 May 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crow_(1994_film)

Blog 8: Individual Assignment

Having read the poem again, I think I am starting to see the poem in a new light. As I stated earlier, the obvious is that the speaker is talking about a cat who is staring out a window and thinks that the cat may have special vision powers to be able to see ghosts or other supernatual creatures. After looking over all the symbolism in the poem, especially the symbol of cat, I think that the poem could be talking about a person. As stated earlier in my essay, the cat symbolizes intelligence, understanding of nature, a guardian, mysterious, and some believe it to symbolize hatred, sin and the devil. The cat in the poem could be a symbol for a person who could have powers to see these creatures or see through time. This person could be a god like being, or could be considered evil understanding that people of certain religions would consider any special powers or sixth sense to be brought from the devil (For example, the hanging of "Witches" in the past). This person may have special powers that the speaker is asking about. The speaker wants to know what is beyond he/she cannot see. This poem could even represent god itself. Only god knows whats instore in our lives, but people are always wondering and trying to see whats going to happen in time.

Blog 7: The Crow Hero's Quest

Departure

1. The Call to Adventure
The first call to adventure is when Eric, the main character, and his girlfriend Shelly are attacked in their apartment. Eric is killed by getting pushed out of the 5th floor apartment building and his girlfriend Shelly is raped and beaten and later dies in the hospital.

2.Refusal of the Call
There is no refusal of the call as everything happened to Eric involuntary.

3. Supernatural Aid
The supernatural aid is the crow who follows Eric around and initially awakens him from the dead.

4. The Crossing of the First Threshold
The crossing of the first threshold is when Eric is first woken up from the dead by the crow and back into present time. Eric wakes up and has no recollection of what happened and does not know where he is or whats going on.

5. The Belly of the Whale
The belly of the whale happens when after Eric wakes up, he goes back to his old apartment and finds a mask which Shelly had painted. When he touches the mask it triggers flashbacks of their past and starts remembering the attack and starts his journey for revenge on their attackers.

Initiation

1. The Road of Trials
After seeing the flash backs of Eric's past and Shelly leaves his apartment and then enters a local pawn shop and searches for Shelly's wedding ring. When he touches Shelly's ring he instantly has a flashback of all the attackers. He then has to find out who the attackers are and does so by questioning the pawn shop owner. After finding out who the attackers are and realizing the the pawn shop owner is somehow involved with them, Eric kills him and begins his search for the attackers.

2. Meeting With the Goddess
The meeting with the goddess actually happens during the belly of the whale step. When Eric has his initial flash back in the apartment, he remembers Shelly and their unconditional love, and wants to then seek vengeance on their attackers and go back to rest next to where Shelly is buried.

3. Woman as a Temptress
During the movie Eric meets with Sarah, a young girl that who was friend with Shelly and Eric who used to take care of her because her mother was reckless, irresponsible and was a heavy drug user. Eric strays away from his quest after killing FunBoy (one of their attackers) and coincidentaly finds Sarah's mother with him. Darla cuts Eric with a razor out of fear and these wounds do not heal because she is not involved with his quest. Eric sees the marks on her arm from the needles and is able to push the drug out of her arm and tells her that her daughter is out on the streets and to go to her.

4. Atonement with the Father
Eric finds out where the attackers headquarters is from one of the attackers that he killed. When he goes to their base he finds the last attacker that he must kill, he finds another man named TopDollar, who is the boss of the gang and is the one who ordered the attack on Eric and Shelly.

5. Apotheosis
After Eric kills all the attackers from the night they were killed, he knows about the boss and although did not directly attack them, he was the one who ordered the attack and wants to kill TopDollar also. But because TopDollar was not directly involved in the attack, Eric loses his supernatural powers and is now mortal. Eric still pushes to go after TopDollar knowing that he has no powers against him.

6. The Ultimate Boon
Eric and TopDollar have a battle on the roof of a church. Eric kills TopDollar and makes him "feel Shelly's pain." After he kills TopDollar is goal of revenge is complete.

Return

1. Refusal of the Return
There is no refusal of return, as all Eric wanted most was to able to be back with Shelly in afterlife.

2. The Magic Flight
There is no magic flight in this movie. After Eric kills TopDollar, he walks down the church steps and into the cemetery where him and Shelly are buried.

3. Rescue from Without
When Eric enters the cemetery, he lays down by Shelly's grave. Eric and Shelly are then reunited when Shelly appears at the grave dressed in white to take him back to the afterlife.

4. The Crossing of the Return Threshold
After Eric and Shelly are reunited and at peace, Sarah visits their graves and the crow gives her the wedding ring. Sarah takes the ring and knowledge of what has happened with Eric and Shelly that true love lasts even through death.

5. Master of the Two Worlds
Once Eric and Shelly are reunited, Erik is happy that he can now rest in peace and that he can now leave the present world.

6. Freedom to Live
In this movie, it is more the opposite; freedom of death. After his mission is complete, Eric accepts what has happened in the past and can now rest peacefully in death.

Blog 6: Essay 3 Draft

Window of Time
by: Patricia Walter (1944- )


She sits at the window
frozen in time.
What does she really see?
Ghosts from the past
a thousand years old
creatures we don't understand.
Tail twitching, body poised
not moving an inch
mesmerized by the world outside.
A quiet little mouse,
white tailed deer,
or shadows from wind blown trees.
I look, I stare
but I just don't see
the view from cat's eyes so intense.
Hours pass, the cat stande guard,
sky bleeding night black to dawn gray.
Night after night
at the window of time
what stories unfold out of sight?




Patricia Walters was born in 1944 and lived in Cleveland during her younger years. Patricia moved from Cleveland to southern Ohio onto the family farm. She had a big interest in music and after she met her husband in wood turning and later on in life in painting and writing. Her main subjects of art are usually animals especially dogs. She now lived in Marietta and still continues to paint and write today. "Window of Time," is just one of the many poems Patricia has written in her life.

This poem is composed of just one stanza with 20 lines. The narrative poem is on the left side of the page and is pretty narrow. The poem has no specific rhyme scheme. However, lines 18 and 20 do rhyme. The lines in this poem generally have two or three beat lines, but lines 15 and 17 could be read with 4 beats.

"Window of Time," talks about a person who is watching a cat which is looking out a window. The speaker is trying to figure out what the cat is looking at but can't figure it out and wonders if cats are able to see things which humans cannot. The main image of this poem is a cat staring out of a window into a kind of mysterious realm which the speaker cannot see. The cat sits at the window (line 1) sitting completely still (line 2). What can the cat actually see? (line 3) ancient ghosts (line 4) who are 1000 years old (line 5) and creatures that humans don't understand (line 6). The cats tail is twitching and looks ready for anything (line 7) completely still (line 8) amazed by what the cat sees outside (line 9). Maybe a silent mouse (line 10) maybe a deer with a white tail (line 11) or the shadows from the trees blowing in the wind (line 12). The speaker tries to see it (line 13) but the speaker is unable to (line 14) the cat has an intense look in her eyes (line 15). As hours pass, the cat still stands guard (line 16), from the dark night into the early morning (line 17). Every night (line 18) at the window which the cat watches through (line 19) what is out there that we cannot see? (line 20)

The main symbols for this poem seem to be (1) cat (2) window and time (3) creatures, ghosts and shadows (4) mouse, deer, and tree and (5) black, night, grey, and dawn.

First the poem is titled "Window of Time" Both window and time have symbolic meanings and is used several times through out the poem. A window could symbolize ones narrow view of the world, because they can only see whats in front not whats above or to the sides of them. And the glass could serve as protection to the viewer (associated content). Time can symbolize the future or the past, not just the present time.

Another important symbol is the cat. The cat symbolizes many different things. Some believed cats to symbolize sin, hatred and the devil, but is now more recognized as symbolizing intelligence, a spiritual guardian, deep understanding of nature, independent, understanding and mysterious. (Symbolism Wikia).

Creatures are commonly associated with monsters or beings which humans do not know. They are often made up or used in stories. Ghosts symbolize some times spookiness, darkness and scary, but they can also symbolize spirits of the dead and history. Shadows are associated with darkness, evil, mystery and the Dictionary of Symbolism said it associated with a persons soul and represents part of the Chinese yin yang with light.

Mouse and deer are both animals of nature and could represent innocence life and gentleness. The trees symbolize several things (Symbolism Wikia). According to Dictionary of Symbolism, trees symbolize life, heaven, earth, water, and is feminine, nourishing and sheltering.

This poem tends to use darker colors; black for night and grey for dawn. Black represents a lack of color, and can also symbolize death, sorrow, emptiness, evil, and the unknown. Night has a similar symbolic meaning to black as its associated with darkness, mystery, sleep, and the moon. The color gray can symbolize neutral, depression, humility and sometimes death and also wisdom. Dawn, however, can symbolize an illumination of hope, birth, rebirth, and a chance of happiness and improvement (Dictionary of Symbolism).

Based on the authors choice of words, the tone that I believe is being used is mysterious. The reason why I believe that the poem has a mysterious tone is because she uses words such as intense, window of time, and mesmerized to make the tone seem very curious and mysterious.she asks so many questions about what the cat can really see. For example, she has lines in her poem such as, "What does she really see?" and "what stories unfold out of sight?"

"Window of Time" is a poem about cats, and more specifically, if cats have any powers such a clairvoyant sense or something to that matter which they are able to see things which humans can't. It is unclear what exactly it is that the cat can see, but that is probably because humans can't see it therefore the speaker can't tell you what it is. Cats have been recognized for their sharp vision but this poem shows that maybe people don't know how good it really is. I believe this poem is meant to be told like a story as about every 3 lines there's a period at the end of the line and then the following starts with a capitalized letter. Through the image of the cat staring through the mysterious window, lines in the poem such as 1,2, 15-20 and the poem being titled, "Window of Time," is could be said that maybe the speaker is trying to say that cats could see ghosts or spiritd or even possibly see through time.




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. 06 August 2004. Web. 17 April 2010.


NoPNA. "Symbolism of Doors and Windows in Modern Literature." June 2007. Web. 17 April 2010.

Symbolism Wikia. Web. 17 April 2010.

Walter, Patricia. "About Patricia Walter." Web. 17 April 2010.

Blog 5: Essay # Preview

For essay 3 I understand the majority of what needs to be done for this essay. I know that this will be a slightly longer writing like a research paper. I know I must talk about the author; a short biography and information of the text. I know I need to give a description of the poetic form, summarize the poem line by line, talk about symbolism and any motifs of archetypes in it. I also need to talk about the mood and tone, and finally do an interpretation of the poem. I also need to cite ANY sources used in MLA format.

One thing that I am a little confused about is the difference between summarizing the poem and interpreting it. I feel like summarizing the poem is in a way interpreting it. All I really need to know to complete this assignment is the answer to what I just mentioned that I am confused about. Although we are allowed to use the same poem for this essay, I think I will pick a different poem this time. You can only write so much about the same thing. I think I will do it a little differently this time and write about a song instead of a regular poem. I still need to look through some songs to figure out which one I will write about.

Blog 4: Reflection 1

Although I don't mind English classes and writing, when I first found out I had to take ENG 102 I was thinking to myself, "Oh no, not another English class this is going to be so boring." But I was actually plesently surprised the first day after reading the syllibis and finding out the theme of the class and using blogs. As far a classes go, I have really enjoyed the past two weeks and definately can't complain. I really like how the class is very self paced and we can work however fast or slow we need to that day if were having a blah kind of day. I really like the theme because I also like supernatural. I also really like the fact that we are using the blog accounts. I have never done this in a class before and now I think that it's so much better because communication between the class is so much better and we can bring our class work back and fourth between home and school with out any books and papers (which is really helping out my back!). I wasn't really into too much poetry before, but this class has shown me a side of poetry that I didn't know. I'm just glad we were not required to write poetry. I cannot stand that; one of my teachers in high school made me do that as an assignment once and it was horrific. I am interested to know what we will be doing the rest of the semester and this class really make my Monday mornings much less Monday morning like!

Blog 3: Tone and Symbols in Window of Time by Patricia Walter

The Poem I chose for my assignment is called "Window of Time" by Patricia Walter. Patricia Walter is a poet and artist who loves animals which have been a major influence in her artwork. I decided to choose this poem because I love animals too, especially cats. I really like the way she described the cat and how she made them seem almost clarvoyent. I have also found myself asking this same question she is asking in the poem. I also really liked Patricia Walters writing style. Tone and symbolism are both important elements in poetry and I think that she used both of these elements in her poem very well.

The tone in literature is usually described as the writers attitude towards the material they are writing or the readers. It is not talking about a charecter in the writing but the whole story in general. Tone is very significant writing element and is very often used in poems. Some examples of tone are seriousness, happiness, loving, humorous and sadness. Tone is usually found through the writers choice of words and sometimes also smaller details in the writing. The tone that I believe is being used in "Window of Time" by Patricia Walter is curiosity and a little bit of mystery. The reason why I believe that the poem has a curious and mysterious tone is because she asks so many questions about what the cat can really see. For example, she has lines in her poem such as, "What does she really see?" and "what stories unfold out of sight?" The poem also uses words such as intense, window of time, and mesmerized to make the tone seem very curious and mysterious.

The other significant literary element mentioned was symbolism. Symbolism is defined as something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial; emblem, token, or sign. Very often, poems are not written out in plain English for someone to understand. Instead, the writer uses symbolism in their poems to have the reader think into what they're trying to say. The writer could also use symbolism to have the reader use their mind to be able to imagine and visualize what they are reading. One line in the poem that I believe is using symbolism is, "or shadows from wind blown trees." In this line the writer is talking about what the cat might be seeing through the window. The shadows from the windblown trees could just merely be the shadows of the trees from the sunlight, but it could also be shadows as in spirits or a type of ghost which is lingering near the trees. Another part of the poem that symbolism is being used is when the poem mentions the "window of time." The writer is speaking of how the cat sits by what seems to be just a window all the time. But she mentions the cat is "frozen in time" and wonders what the cat is really seeing. Is the cat just really sitting by some window, or does she see through time and see things that people cannot see?

Not only does Patricia Walter use tone and symbolism in her poems, but many writers of poetry and other kinds of literature use them to improve and enhance their writing. I believe that Patricia Walter used tone and symbolism very well in her poem "Window of Time." I think what this poem says to us is that there may be more out there than meets the eye-- or human eye at least. Is it possible that cats or even another kind of animal can see something that humans cannot?

Definition of Symbolism-http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/symbol.

Definition of Tone-http://www.orangeusd.k12.ca.us/yorba/literary_elements.htm.

Blog 2: Poetry

At first when we were given this assignment, I was really at a loss as to what kind of poem to look for as far as subjects go. I made a list of several different things but nothing really appealed to me or popped out. I didn't want to find a poem just for the sake of getting the assignment done; I wanted to find one that I actually liked and understood. I used the search engine google and came across blackcatpoems.com. I found this website appealing because it had a wide range of supernatural poems with a wide variety of poets; I also just liked the little black cat that is on top of the page. After browsing the website for some time I found a poem I really liked. I really enjoyed this poem because I love cats and I have always wondered the same thing that this poem is talking about. The poem is called Window of Time by Patricia Walter. Here is the link: http://www.blackcatpoems.com/w/window_of_time.html


Window of Time
by: Patricia Walter (1944- )


She sits at the window
frozen in time.
What does she really see?
Ghosts from the past
a thousand years old
creatures we don't understand.
Tail twitching, body poised
not moving an inch
mesmerized by the world outside.
A quiet little mouse,
white tailed deer,
or shadows from wind blown trees.
I look, I stare
but I just don't see
the view from cat's eyes so intense.
Hours pass, the cat stande guard,
sky bleeding night black to dawn gray.
Night after night
at the window of time
what stories unfold out of sight?


This poem is talking about one particular cat but I believe that this poem applies to all cats in general. In the poem, it says that the cat is staring through the window staring at something. Could it be a ghost or maybe just a mouse? We cannot tell what the cat can really see no matter how hard we look. Cats can stare at what seems to be absolutely nothing for hours, but is there really nothing there? The cat seems to be so focused on something which we can only see as nothing. Is it possible that a cat see ghosts or spirits? Do they hold that kind of powers?

My favorite line in the poem is "the view from cat's eyes so intense." I like it because it made me feel a sense of power in the cats eyes and how they can focus so well on something that is not there to us. I know that personally my cat will sometimes do the same thing that this poem is describing. Sometimes he will sit about 2 feet away from a wall or a corner in the room and just stare at it. I will walk over to where he is and check for a bug on the wall or something but I just can't figure out what he is looking at. I would really like to know what it is that he is staring at and also if they can really see something which humans cannot.

Blog 1: About Me

Hi, my name is Stephanie Filiberto. I'm a second semester freshman at LaGuardia Community College. I'm currently going to LaGuardia for my A.A.S. for Paramedic now, but when I'm done with that I plan to transfer to either Stony Brook University or Touro College and apply to Physician's Assistant school.

I actually do not live in the city, I live in the middle of Suffolk County on Long Island. A lot of people ask me why I am going to school so far away. Well, the main reason is because LaGuardia is the only school in the area that offers a degree for paramedic, while every other school just offers a certificate. The other reason is that I just wanted to try something different. Last year I went to Suffolk County Community College and it was absolutely terrible. Because I was an incoming student and had last pick at classes, I literally had a class 7 days a week. So between school, EMT class, work, and volunteering I overloaded from the stress and needless to say I didn't finish the semester there.

I have been an EMT for about a year and a half now. It is not only my job but I also volunteer as an EMT. Volunteering is what actually got me started in Emergency Medical Services. I was really interested in becoming an EMT all through out high school. A friend who is in another ambulance company told me that if I volunteer for a fire department or ambulance company that they would pay for my EMT class. So, as soon as I turned 18 I joined South Country Ambulance Company. I'm part of the Friday night duty crew where I am required to stay there every Friday night from 7pm-5am Saturday morning. I also work part time with a private ambulance company called Emergency Ambulance Service. Since I joined South Country, EMS has become a huge part of my life. Not only do you learn how so save someone, but the people you work with become a second family; much closer than friends from a regular job. A lot of times we have to go to calls where it could potentially be life threatening to ourselves just to save someone we don't even know.

Between school, work, and volunteering I find that I hardly have any time to see my friends and family. Sometimes I even have to work overnights and holidays. Even though I do have goals, with everything thats going on in my busy life right now I just try to take it one day at a time and see where life takes me.