Star Wars: Questions

1. The movie opens with a battle scene. Darth Vader is looking for something. What is he looking for, and what has happened to it?

A: Darth Vader is looking for some plans. I assume that those plans are from the rebels. Later we find out that the plans were taken away by R2-D2 when they go on the emergency shuttle to the other planet. 


2. At the beginning of the movie, what does Luke Skywalker want to do? What is holding him back?

A: When they hear the message brought by R2-D2, Luke is desperate to go and help Princess Leia (not knowing that they are siblings). The only thing that is keeping him from going is his uncle. Later his uncle gets killed and he flees. 


3.  Who do we find out Ben Kenobi really is?

A: Ben Kenobi is actually Obi-Wan Kenobi, an ex Jedi Master. 


4. How does Ben describe “The Force” to Luke? 

A: Ben describes "The Force" as the most incredible thing in the galaxy because it binds it together. Also, he says that it is the force that gives power to the Jedis. Also, an energy field created by all living things. 


5. How does Luke Skywalker mature during the story? What is the main event that triggered this change?

A: There are many factors that influence Luke's maturity. The destruction of hid home along with the death of his family members pushes him to be a man. Later on in the story, he wants to become a Jedi and learn the ways of the Force. 


6. In what ways is Star Wars similar to other stories we have read this year such as The Epic of Gilgamesh and Siddhartha?

A: Luke, Siddhartha, and Gilgamesh have one similar aspect. In the beginning, they are all people that live a perfect life and are protected. The three of them decide to go in an adventure to reach something more powerful than the material goods they have. Luke goes off to be a Jedi, Siddhartha begins his quest to reach Nirvana, and Gilgamesh is determined to reach immortality one way or another. 


7.   How does Luke follow the “Hero’s Adventure” as described by Joseph Campbell?  What physical or spiritual deeds does he perform? Where in the film does he experience a literal or figurative death and resurrection?

A: Luke "dies and resurrects" when his entire family is killed in the attack and then he goes off to have his adventure. This is the valuable transformation that a hero undergoes. He goes from being a immature boy to an independent man during his adventure. He is finally able to understand the Force, that later it's used. Towards the end of the movie. Luke underwent another death-resurrection moment when Obi-Wan is killed by Vader. He "dies" because he has another great loss in his life. Later, he "resurrects" because he can feel that Obi-Wan can still talk to him. In my opinion, that makes him even a stronger hero. 


8. How does Star Wars attempt to answer the following: Who are we? Where are we going?  How did we get here? Why are we here? What happens to us when we die? 

A: We are the people that make the Force and we make it what it is. We are the midpoint between two opposites (light and dark, good and evil, etc.) and we will always be the victims of the contradictions of both ends. We got here by destiny because we make the force so that is the only explanation as to how we got here (according to Star Wars). We are here because  we are part of the force; we are the most important part of the force because our behavior is the source of the force. Our body disappears but our spiritual part stays forever within the force. 

Aphorism

"Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from own actions"         - Dalai Lama

                   

          This quote from the Dalai Lama relates to my personality because I live a life in which I am always thinking about other people. I am characterized by being empathetic. This quote says that real happiness comes from the way we act. When I put other people's problems and situations before my own, I feel pleased. Helping people is my ultimate source of happiness; nothing feels the same. Sometimes my personality can be harsh, but inside, I am a caring person who is always willing to give a helping hand. I cannot imagine myself having a different source of happiness. Even career I have chosen brings together my two greatest passions: biology and helping people.

          I believe that this aphorism relates to Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey because a hero is always willing to sacrifice himself for other people. Heros are characterized by their ability to put other peoples need before theirs. This is seen clearly in some but not so clearly in others. In all of the heroic stories, the hero is then recognized because of their actions. They themselves feel that they have been rewarded indirectly. This is exactly what the aphorism says because heroes obtain their happiness from their actions. 

Metamorphoses: Orpheus and Eurydice Scene Questions

1. Who are Hades, Fates, Tantalus and Sisyphus? 

A: Hades is the god of the Underworld in greek mythology. The Fates, also referred as the Moirai, are a group of three goddesses (Cloto, Laquesis, and Atropos) which sow the thread of every person's life. They cut it when it's the time to die. Tantalus is a mythological figure that was eternally punished in the Tartarus. Sisyphus is a king of Ephyra that was punished for chronic deceitfulness and had to pull an immense boulder up a hill. 


2. How can Orpheus get Eurydice back? 

A: By going to the Tartarus and making a deal with Hades. Hades proposes that eurydice needs to follow him to the exit of the underworld. The condition is that Orpheus cannot look back to see her (proving if he has faith in other people). Orpheus fails to do this multiple times. 


3. List the ways we are invited to interpret the story. 

A: We are invited to interpret it as a story of love and how it always goes away. Also, as a story that shows how time can move only in one direction. Lastly, we can also interpret it as the story of an artist, and the loss that comes from sudden self-conciousness or impatience. 


4. Which interpretation do you most agree with? 

A: I agree with the third interpretation because this is story of an artist that loses his love due to impatience. Orpheus is an musician that has given multiple chances to retrieve Eurydice but always fails because he looks back.  


5. Is this love story? Why? Why not? If so, what kind of love does this seem to be? 

A: Yes, this is a love story because it narrates the story of a musician that is trying to rescue her loved one from the underworld. This is a troubled love because I believe that Eurydice does not love Orpheus as much as he loves her. He needs to check repeatedly if she is behind him (committed to come back to earth with him). I think that he is doubting her love towards him. 

Metamorphoses: Erysichthon Scene Questions

1. Why does Erysichthon cut down the tree? 

A: Erysichton cuts down the three because he insists he needs the wood. The purpose is never specified. 

Eurysichton: "We need the wood, cut it down."

2. Define piety. 

A: Piety is a reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious obligations. Piety is a term used to describe religious devotion. It can be used in positive and negative connotations. In the scene, Erysichton uses it in a negative connotation: "Get off me, you, pious son of a bitch!". He is insulting the man's religious beliefs. 

3. How does this term relate to Erysichthon? 

A: This term relates to Erysichton because he repeatedly makes fun of the man's (narrator 3) religious beliefs but cutting down the tree and explicitly insulting him: "Get off me, you, pious son of a bitch!". 

4. What connections can be made between this scene and "The Giving Tree"?

A: Erysichton and the boy a pretty similar. Erysichton is possessed by Hunger, he can't stop eating. His need for food is too great. It is that great that he sells his mother to earn money to be able to buy food. In the poem, the boy has such need for the good of the tree that in the end he cuts off parts of the tree little by little until there is nothing more than a stump. Erysichton's mother did everything for him to be happy. The same happens in the poem, the tree was willing to give anything to bring the boy happiness. These two characters share two characteristics: greed and selfishness. 

5. Relate the events in this scene to a specific passage in Siddhartha. 

A: I relate this story to the part where Siddhartha almost committed suicide in the river. All along the story, Siddhartha has been looking in different places for knowledge to be able to reach the enlightenment. He looks in many places and when he is not able to find a proper teacher that is going to give him what he wants, he is willing to kill himself. Just like Erysichthon, when he has nothing else to eat, he is willing to eat his own foot. Both of these characters have insatiable needs and they are willing to do anything to fulfill them. 

Siddhartha: Section #4

          Here's a list of the words that I found while reading Section 4 that I had difficulties with: 

*Pyre: a pile or heap of wood or other combustible material. (Page 94). 

Spoilt: to damage severely or harm (something), especially with reference to its excellence, value, usefulness. (Page 95).

Sulky: a light, two-wheeled, one-horse carriage for one person. (Page 96).

Defiant: characterized by defiance, boldly resistant or challenging. (Page 96).

Dainty: pleasing to the taste and, often, temptingly served or delicate. (Page 97).

*Perplexity: the state of being perplexed. (Page 98).

Disillusionment: a freeing or a being freed from illusion or conviction; disenchantment. (Page 98).

Belatedly: coming or being after the customary, useful, or expected time. (Page 99).

*Bore: to pierce (a solid substance) with some rotary cutting instrument. (Page 106).

Yearn: to have an earnest or strong desire; long. (Page 107).

Ascetics: a person who dedicates his or her life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extremeself-denial or self-mortification for religious reasons. (Page 107).

Insatiable: not satiable; incapable of being satisfied or appeased. (Page 110).

*Hasten: to cause to hasten; accelerate. (Page 110).

Anew: over again; again; once more. (Page 110).

Interwoven: the act of interweaving or the state of being interwoven; blend. (Page 110).

*Sucklings: an infant or a young animal that is not yet weaned. (Page 116).

Dampness: moisture; humidity; moist air. (Page 117).

Forbearance: the act of forbearing; a refraining from something. (Page 119).

Transitoriness: not lasting, enduring, permanent, or eternal. (Page 119).

*Inwardly: in or on, or with reference to, the inside or inner part; internally. (Page 119).

Carp: to find fault or complain querulously or unreasonably; be niggling in criticizing; cavil. (Page 121). 



Here are some sentences in the book that use these words:


          They all belonged to each other: the lament of those who yearn, the laughter of the wise, the cry of indignation and the groan of the dying. (Page 110).

          They were all interwoven and interlocked, entwined in a thousand ways. (Page 110).

          He had considered himself rich and happy when the boy had come to him, but as time passed and the boy remained unfriendly and sulky, when he proved arrogant and defiant, when he would do no work. (Page 96). 

          He preached benevolence, forbearance, sympathy, patience----but not love. (Page 119). 

          How indeed, could he not know love, he who has recognized all humanity's vanity and transitoriness, yet loves humanity so much that he has devoted a long life solely to help and teach people?

          Inwardly, however, he thought: Siddhartha is a strange man and he expresses strange thoughts. (Pages 119-120).