Odyssey

Odyssey is another one great epic poems of all times. It is characteristically classified as an epic though not all readers may find this as an epic. This is certainly an epic since it is a heroic tale that is filled with many obstacles which the hero concurs. Also the tone that is used in the epic is one of admiration which goes to increase the worthiness of the hero. This epic is also full of supernatural powers that influence what is happening in it.

I have watched the movie and I liked its story very well. Although the movie was quite old already and the audio wasn't that clear anymore, I still appreciated it. I like how the characters portrayed their roles. It is an adventure-typed of story that's why it really interested me a lot, probably because it made me wander of what kind of obstacles the main character would be facing next as soon as he surpass one. A great epic indeed!

Iliad

Achilles dragging Hector's body with his chariot

Iliad is one of the great epic poems of all times. I have watched Troy and it was a really great movie. But I can't say no more because I'm not really a fan of these warrior-survivor-typed of movie. I know that epics are really part of studying literature, but know me, I'm not really a fan. This epic is quite entertaining just because of the insertion of the gods and goddesses but it doesn't interests me. First of all, the character names are hard to remember. I don't know who's who or maybe it's just confusing. Second, this happened a long time ago, history bores me. And lastly, it's quite long to read. But no, I'm just kidding! I would sacrifice my time just to read this kind of epic because I am an English major student and I really have to improve my reading and comprehension skills so, you know! Hihi.

God Sees the Truth but waits

I hated the ending of the story! I felt pity for Aksionov, the main character, for he was an innocent man and  he grew as a very good man 'til he aged in the prison. I felt his sorrow as he was longing for his family for a long time because he was in prison cell, suffering from the sentence of a sin he hasn't really done.

The story was predictable. I have guessed that Makar Semyonich was the real murderer of the merchant. I really hate his character because he should have been the one suffering from the sin he has done a long time ago. I hated him because he has not spoken or he has not shown up to admit the crime he established himself. I hated the fact that Aksionov stayed in prison for the rest of his life, far from his wife, not witnessing his children's growing up and not having the life he was supposed to have. I really felt sad when I knew that the order of release for him was too late because he already died. I guess, I just have to look up to those productivity and the good deeds he has done inside the cell and knowing the fact that he was not the real criminal, he still made use of his time to do good things instead of the bad and that he has kept his faith in spite of the worse fate given to him.

Joseph the Dreamer

This is a really great story. Although I don't read the bible because of my hate in reading, or maybe I have read it for a couple of times only, I spared time to read this bible verses (Genesis 37-43). It's not that I don't have faith because I don't read the bible a lot, I just don't like reading long stories and other stuffs most of the time. In fact, I fear God and I believe Him.

I got these statements from what I've read and these caught my attention so I will always remember these things:

• Everything really comes from God. We should thank God every day, He blesses us with so much!
• When things are bad, and it seems like nothing but troubles, you just never know what surprises God has waiting.
• That's the way with lies, They never do any good. They only lead to trouble and more trouble. They hurt people in ways you never think of, and then you get caught up in them, and one lie leads to another, and it only gets worse and worse.
• That's how it is. You might think you are getting away with the bad things you do - even just the little ones - but they always come back to you sometime.

Was was God up to?

Sometimes we just have to wait and see.

"What you meant for evil, God meant for good!"

We must always remember that through all the years, and all our troubles, God was really at work, doing an amazing, wonderful thing! Even though we've done a terrible thing, God's love and forgiveness is so great that He took a terrible thing and turned it into a great blessing!

Jesus will rise from the dead, and everyone who believes in him will live with Him forever!

It is all part of God's amazing, wonderful plan to save His people - you and me!

From now on, I won't be forgetting about this good story from the bible. I would recommend this to all sorts of people, be it children or the adults. It is time that we keep our faith stronger and it is time that we open up our minds to what is said through His words in the bible.

Tale of the two Brothers

I was not able to listen during our discussion about this tale so I just read its story to make a journal about this. Oh, gracious! I have read it twice or thrice and it brings me headache. The beginning of the story is still clear for me, but when Bata, the younger brother, have experienced a lot of troubles and transformations, the story went really confusing. Bottom-line, the story had great Egyptian make-up. And it was very inspiring to have the title revolving around the two brothers who have shown their great love for one another although they've encountered the worst of the worst of their lives. But the story was really like a great joke. No offense to those who believe in the Egyptian Literature, but c'mon, these kind of transformations or reincarnation?!? It's b*llshit. Hahahahaha. :)

Sonnet 29

    

     SONNET 29  PARAPHRASE

When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,	When I’ve fallen out of favor with fortune and men,
I all alone beweep my outcast state	All alone I weep over my position as a social outcast,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries	And pray to heaven, but my cries go unheard,
And look upon myself and curse my fate,	And I look at myself, cursing my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,	Wishing I were like one who had more hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,	Wishing I looked like him; wishing I were surrounded by friends,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,	Wishing I had this man's skill and that man's freedom.
With what I most enjoy contented least;	I am least contented with what I used to enjoy most.
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,	But, with these thoughts – almost despising myself,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,	I, by chance, think of you and then my melancholy
Like to the lark at break of day arising	Like the lark at the break of day, rises
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;	From the dark earth and (I) sing hymns to heaven;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings	For thinking of your love brings such happiness
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.	That then I would not change my position in life with kings.

The emotional state of the speaker in Sonnet 29 is one of depression: in the first line, he assumes himself to be in "disgrace with fortune," meaning he has been having bad luck. He also feels in disgrace with "men's eyes," implying that the general public looks on him unfavorably. This could be real or imagined, but it is enforced in line 2, when he bemoans his "outcast state." Here, "state" refers to a state of being, and in this case, he is cast out from the society.

Line 3-4 make allusion to job of the Old testament in the Bible, who was cast out onto a dung heap and called to a God who didn't listen. The poet finds himself in the same situation: Heaven personified is god, and in this case he is "deaf," making the poet's cries "bootless," or useless. The idea of cursing one's fate also hearkens to Job, who cursed himself after falling out of God's favor.

The speaker finds himself envying what others have, and in lines 5-9 he sees almost everyone as having something he lacks. He wishes to be like "one more rich in hope," perhaps meaning hopeful of literally wealthy; "featured like him," refers to someone who is handsome, with beautiful features; and another is "with friends possessed," or popular, unlike the poet (as has been established in the first two lines). In line 7, he envies the artistic talent of one man, and the opportunities afforded someone else.

the simile of a lark is developed in lines 10-12, when the speaker describes the effect that a thought of his love has on his "state," or emotional well-being. The fact that the lark rises from the "sullen earth" at "break of day" implies that the day is much happier than the night;day break is compared to the dawning of a thought of the beloved. As the lark "sings hymns at heaven's gate," so the poet's soul is invigorated with the thought of the fair lord, and seems to sing to the sky with rejuvenated hope.

The final couplet of Sonnet 29 declares that this joyfulness brought by a thought of the fair lord is enough to convince the speaker that he is better off than royalty. Here, "state" is a pun: it carries the meaning of emotional well-being, as it did earlier in the poem, and suggests that the love of the fair lord makes the speaker so happy that all the wealth of a king would not be better. But it also refers to an nation, or a kingdom.

Les Misérables

Friends  of the ABC

         Of all the selections we've tackled in this course, Literatures of the World, for me, this is the most special of all. I don't know why, but I have a different feeling about this historical novel. Maybe because this is the only musical from the others or maybe because this is modern. I have watched the latest version of the movie and it was great. 

            When the movie started, I felt bored. For me, watching musical drama is better in live than this. So, I was not that excited on watching it. But as the movie plays, the scenes got exciting. I wasn’t expecting that it would turn-out to be that way. I found myself laughing at some scenes especially the scenes where the Thénardier’s are there. I was fed out of my curiosity about the culture in some countries long ago. I knew that a girl’s hair, teeth and some other stuff in her body were really valuable that time. They can even sell them in exchange of money. “That is really cool!” I said. But I see that prostitution has been alive ever since. It’s a sad story that Fantine has to be one of the prostitutes just to gain money for her child, Cosette. But anyway, it’s a motherly love so I understand why she did that and she has no choice because she was kicked out of the factory she has been working for. I find her very loving because she thought of her child ‘til her last breath.

            I find the movie really entertaining because aside from the drama, comedy and so on, it is musical indeed. So, I guess I have swallowed up what I’ve said before when the movie has just begun.

            I like all the characters especially Jean Valjean. He is a great protagonist. His life is very interesting. I find him a very good man although he was tempted to steal bread for her sister’s son. I know that what he did is against the law but it’s a mind over matter situation; he stole something for a cause. Over all, he’s still a good man. I’m glad that he has lived his life to the fullest. But there is one scene in the movie that I would not forget. The scene wherein Jean Valjean is almost dying, it made me cry. I was crying a bucket of tears for him. I really felt the situation. I loved his character that I don’t want him to die.

“Les Misérables = Insanely-Boring-At-First-But-Turned-Epicly-Awesome-And-Heart-Melting-Movie”

            Thumbs up for this movie! I’d rate it 9/10 for the over-all rating. I would recommend this movie for all sorts of people, whether the young ones or the adults.. :bd

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by: Robert Frost

This poem is simple. It can be explained by anyone but it depends on how far they could explain it. It depends on how shallow or deep their thoughts will be. There might be different interpretations on this poem but the writer ensures that it continues toward a present goal or destination. 

For me, the main essence of this poem especially dealing with the last stanza is that the writer may be talking of a night's rest or an eternal sleep — death — that concludes a satisfyingly challenged life. Some might agree and some may not agree with it but either way, these interpretations suits the situation; it just depends on what the reader would think or how he would interpret these stanzas of the poem.

Araby

This is a sad and frustrating story about a little boy who just wanted to buy something for the girl he is infatuated with. I could relate to this young boy's story because I always want to give something special to the person who is special for me but sometimes, even if I have all the time to buy whatever I could find inside the mall, it's just not enough and I can't really choose on what's what. And with that, I just waste a lot of time for nothing and also get nothing which is really frustrating. 

One time, I went to the mall to buy something for myself. But because of the time, that was around nine in the evening, and that was a weekday, the malls close early. I wanted to buy shirt for myself because I want to wear something new the next day so I visited the mall. I almost went to all the boutique stores and department stores but there's nothing that I liked to buy and so I went mall-hopping. I did it again, I went to almost all the boutique stores and department stores but still, I can't find something that would suit my tastes or maybe I just can't decide on what to buy. So the mall was closing and I was really frustrated because I even went mall-hopping but I still went home having nothing. Can you picture me out?

There. I looked like that. A frustrated shopper. Hahaha! No, I'm just kidding. But I admit, I cried because I was really frustrated that time. Relate to the boy's situation. :)

Nibelungenlied

Siegfried

At first, I was not interested to know what the story of this "Nibelungenlied" is; I can't even pronounce that word before. I thought this short story would be like Mahabharata and Ramayana, two epics which are really long, I didn't even bother reading in details anymore because the list of characters is so hard to remember and the stories didn't turn me on.

Alright, let's talk about Nibelungenlied. This German epic is easier to understand than those of Mahabharata and Ramayana, maybe because I had a good professor who was narrative enough to tell us its story. (Naks, Sir Rick! XD) Well, it's not really difficult to understand. Perhaps because the story is somewhat romantic in a way and it was interesting. The story has awesome characters and it's not like those typical old epics which bore us a lot. It has a little twists/comedy as what our professor narrated us. I don't know if he was serious about it or if he was just making fun of it so that it wouldn't be boring. It's a really interesting story for me, and actually this is one of my favorite topics in our course. It might be very fantasy-like for some, but this really made me like short epics. I would recommend such epic to young children but of course with proper supervision because not all the parts in this story are for kids probably because the theme which is Revenge and Treachery are not really for them. Hihihi.

Mateo Falcone

Mateo Falcone points out his gun to Fortunato, his son.

I had my full imagination in this story maybe because I still crave for more of my dreams, be it a daydream or a real dream, for I just woke up when I've read this one. I just imagined exactly how the author described its setting. Actually, I was imagining I was Fortunato, Mateo Falcone's son, because he was really relaxed in the beginning of the story and so am I. Then, suddenly, the story went on and it began a little serious in mode. It felt like an old story in a province or whatever field that a man wants to hide because he's being chased by armed people and he knows that he is helpless from them so, he had no choice but to hide at the nearest possible place he could hide in. And this little boy, Fortunato was put into test. I understand his situation because he's just a boy. He's loyalty was tested. As a reader, I wanted to help him decide on whether he would tell the truth or not to those men who arrived looking for the first man. I felt the need of a little boy for a guidance because he was put perhaps in a dilemma. But the little boy chose the wrong decision and I felt really helpless because his father was into their family's honor and I really felt pity on Fortunato because he was just a boy and he was helplessly killed by his father. It's a sad story. Pride and honor killed a little boy. It's just so sad.

A Rose for Emily

Grierson's Residence

Of all the stories I have read in our course, Literatures of the World, this one is the weirdest of all. I just woke up when I decided to read some selections and I chose to read "A Rose for Emily" for the title sounds interesting. At first, the story went a little boring because it talked about the paying of tax of the people and that Emily Grierson, the main character, was exempted for paying it, for some reasons. But as the story goes on, it went a little bit mysterious just as Emily has been mysterious herself. I have formulated questions in my mind because the story really goes weirder and weirder and I'm starting to encounter some terms which are really weird. I was checking for these words' meaning as I go along with the story. As I was approaching the climax or maybe the end of the story, I was really shocked when I found out that she (Emily) was keeping a corpse by her side for quite some time already. That scenario awakened me even if I felt really sleepy by that time. I paused for few minutes trying to absorb what I've just read. I felt a little disgusted with it because it was really creepy. The next time I'm going to read short stories, I would have to search for it's epilogue first so that I won't be traumatized. Hahaha! But, yeah, this story was awesome because it showed a never-ending love for someone. But in this case, it would really be creepy because the fact that marriage should last 'til death do us apart, it isn't right to keep a corpse forever. It's a bad idea, Miss Emily. But anyway, I look up to you for your eternal love for your partner! <3