Week 4: Famous Last Words

This week, I've really enjoyed trying out different writing styles and experimenting with them in my storytelling. When we were asked to come up with different styles for the storybook project last week, I initially had a hard time coming up with four different styles. It caused me to really have to think about what my personal style is, and how I could depart from said style. For instance, I typically write in the third person narrative though I do switch between limited and omniscient, at least I think I do - sometimes I find it difficult to say for sure. So for my storybook introduction, I decided to switch things up just a bit and write from the first person perspective. This was fun and interesting as I got to experiment with the narrator's voice and personality. I think that is the best part of writing in the first person - the creation of personality. You can, of course, create a character's personality in a third person perspective, but that comes mostly from direct characterization, and outside party telling exactly what a certain character is like. With direct characterization, however, you begin to get into some of the questions like "is the narrator reliable? Can I trust what he/she is saying about this character?" In respect to third person omniscient, the answer is, most likely, yes, but you can't really know for sure. Then there's the third person limited perspective in which the story is being told about other people from the perspective of an outsider to the story. This style may contain bias about certain characters. I think the most interesting way to gain a sense of a character is through indirect characterization, reviewing the thoughts, actions, and words of the character in question. Sure, the narrator can tell  you things about himself/herself and be lying, but dialogue doesn't like, and a character's actions don't lie, and what one is thinking certainly doesn't lie. This week I hope to experiment more with first person narration to step outside of my comfort zone just a little more. Hopefully it works out for me!

Random Fun Fact: Did you know that the novel Crime and Punishment was originally written in the first person? Author Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote almost the entire book (about 300 pages!) in the first person before scrapping the *entire* thing in order to rewrite the novel in the third person. Why might he have done that? What does one gain in the third person perspective that cannot be attained in the first person? What does one lose? Maybe Dostoyevsky was trying to reveal something, or keep something hidden

Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment

(Image source:WikiSpaces)

Week 4: Essay - Representations of Good and Evil

In my reading of the Ancient Egypt Unit this week, there was one detail that stood out to me that set this set of mythologies apart from those with which I am more familiar (i.e. Greco-Roman myth). The sense of justice in these texts differ greatly from those in the Classical Mythology Unit I read a few weeks ago. In reading Classical Mythology, I was forced to accept the fact that bad things happened to good people, and there was not always (not even most of the time) justice for the wronged innocent. Ancient Egyptian Mythology was a departure from this school of thought because it seemed that the wicked always eventually got what was coming to them. I find this difference between the two mythologies interesting because I have, for a long time, believed that one can gain a sense of the values important to a given society based on its fictional representations of Good and Evil.

Depiction of Osiris (Image Source:Ancient Civilization History Website)

A few years ago, I remember watching a movie with my mother during which she told me something I have always since held on. I cannot recall exactly what movie it was, but it was something rather action-y, with a storyline that involved a clear "good guy" and "bad guy," and I remember growing anxious as I had become very invested in the plot and the characters and it seemed as if the "bad guy" was going to be victorious. I remember then that my mom turned to me and said, "Oh, honey, don't worry. They still don't like to let the bad guy win." I remember feeling comforted by this thought and was then able to relax and enjoy the rest of the movie with the firm notion that Good would always triumph over Evil. I found this axiom comforting, not because it is absolute in reality - there are murderers and rapists and child abusers out there that have managed to evade prison - but because it gives me hope for our society, which at times seems pretty broken. Even in this age of looser morals and not so clear line between right and wrong, the fact that Hollywood chooses to portray Good conquering Evil indicates, at least in my eyes, that our desire for justice and our optimism in the face of adversity is something that society will hold onto for generations to come. In a similar manner, it could be inferred* of Ancient Egyptian Society that it places high value on bringing those who do wrong to justice, no matter their position, for we see even the gods being busted down to size on regular occasion. An example of this value appears in the story The Death of Osiris. When Osiris is killed and his throne usurped, it would appear that good guys do indeed finish last. However, We later learn that Osiris has been avenged by his son which illustrates the value placed on justice in Egyptian society.

In contrast to the Egyptian Mythology, justice does not always make an appearance in classical mythology. Countless women are raped by Jupiter and then punished by his irrational sister. What, then, could be said about the values of Ancient Greco-Roman culture? The gods are revered and worshipped even despite their widely known character flaws and vices. This could be indicative of an admiration for power and immortality that overshadows a desires to see justice play itself out. This is not to say that this society had no sense of justice or desire to see evil punished, just that it was perhaps not as large a value as immortality and reverence for the gods. This could be why we often see the humans in Classical Mythology at the mercy of the whims and ways of the gods while the gods themselves seem to typically walk away unscathed. Gods were outside the realm of law and social so it stands to reason that they might overshadow values that concerned or related to the law.

I've always had a small apprehension that one day, I'll be watching a movie, a Marvel or DC superhero movie, perhaps, and after the dust from the big stand off has settled, it will be the villain who emerges victorious. This may seem silly, to be concerned with the endings of fictitious stories and plotlines, but I really do believe it would be indicative  of a shift in society's values. When the bad guy starts to win, I think it will be time to evaluate our values in society as a whole.

The Dark Knight Rises (Image source: Giri's Domain-Blogspot)Ancient Civilization History Website

Week 4: Storytelling - The Cheer Captain

There were some that said that Jenna Clare was the best cheer captain that had ever come through the University. Since she had become captain as a sophomore, the team had won back-to-back championships at UGA Nationals. She worked her team hard, but she was right there with them running suicides, lifting in the weight room, and conditioning. She didn't ask of them anything she wasn't prepared to do herself. When they ran, she was always at the front of the pack - that is, until she saw someone lagging behind the group (usually Carrie) then she would circle back and run with the girl, encouraging her to the finish. Jenna had a strict "no drama" policy: all problems were to be left at the door and your teammates were to be as your sisters. It was she who'd advocated for bi-monthly team bonding nights in which the team got to know and care for each other in a non-practice environment. For this reason, the team was strong, stronger than any team that had ever existed at the University. The girls worked well together because they genuinely cared for one another, and no one loved a group of girls more than Jenna loved her team. In return, the girls worshipped the ground on which Jenna walked.

 

(Image source: CheerleadingLT)

 



 

 It was Jenna's senior year and the fall semester had just begun. The team had picked up a few new recruits from the spring tryouts and it looked liked this year, they'd be stronger than ever.  Some of the new freshmen were pretty green, but they had a lot of raw talent. One girl in particular stood out among the rookies. Eliza executed her tumbling and stunting with a precision that couldn't really be taught. Her straight-legged scorpions and over-extended heel-stretches nearly rivaled those of the reigning captain. Some of her teammates even began to jokingly refer to her as the "mini-Jenna," and much like Jenna, she began to gather her own set of worshippers among the rookie set. But Eliza wasn't content being mini-Jenna. Back home, she had been the best of the best - she was not used to coming in second place, and she always seemed to be runner-up whenever Jenna was in the room. Well, thought Eliza, its high time Madame Jenna be knocked down a few pegs. She and her minions devised a plan to do just that.

 

It just so happened that Jenna and Eliza had a class together - one of those gen-ed courses that students save for their senior year to lighten the load of Capstones and 4000-level classes. Jenna made it a point to sit with her teammates whenever they happened to shared a class, especially if that teammate was a  young, frightened freshmen, so the girls were accustomed to sitting next to one another. On exam day, the two sat together as usual, the exams were passed out and time was started. Eliza, who was deviously inclined, wrote a little note at the top of her scantron in light pencil. She nudged Jenna with her elbow and gestured to her paper. The note was simply an inquiry about the exact time for practice later that afternoon. As Jenna looked intently at Eliza's message, Eliza suddenly erased it and shot her hand into the air. The TA happened to pass by just in time to see Jenna apparently studying Eliza's scantron rather intently. Before Jenna even knew what was happening, the TA snatched up Jenna's exam and signaled to the professor. The entire class watched as a very confused Jenna Clare was escorted out of the room.

(Image source: WikiSpaces)

 

 

There was, of course, no for Jenna way to prove to the University Integrity Council that she had been reading a note written by her teammate and not attempting to copy her work especially when Eliza denied profusely ever having written any note. Several of Eliza's minions came forward as well to attest to the good character of their new queen. There was nothing Jenna could do when they cited her for academic misconduct and suspended her for the semester.

 

 The team was devastated by the loss of their beloved captain. The coach was forced to appoint a new captain and despite her lack of seniority, it seemed that Eliza was the best suited for the position. But the team wasn't the same after Jenna's fall from grace. The fact that Eliza and her cohorts had betrayed a teammate created animosity within the group. It seemed there was always a tension in the air and the team's performance began to suffer. In fact, that year, the team placed 6th at UGA Nationals. It was the lowest the team had placed in over a decade.

 

Author's Note: This is a retelling of the story The Death of Osiris from the Ancient Egypt unit. In the original telling, the god Osiris brings about peace, prosperity, and order to a world of chaos during his reign as king, but his throne is usurped by jealous Set. Set and his followers actually kill Osiris in order to gain the throne and after Set ascends to power, the world descends into evil and destruction. I changed the literal death of the leader to a metaphorical death for the purposes of this retelling - getting suspended for academic misconduct would be pretty damaging to one's academic career - so as to not make the story excessively morbid. I used college aged cheerleaders as counterparts to the story of Osiris because the actions taken by Set reminded me of those of jealous, catty women.

 

Bibliography: "The Death of Osiris." Egyptian Myth and Legend. Donald Mackenzie. 1907