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.