Intro Unit
“What is a Myth?” from Karen Armstrong’s A Short History of Myth explained why we have myths -- how they were designed to help us cope with “the problematic human predicament.” Myths provide comfort, making the human experience a little easier to enjoy. Nigel Spivey’s Second Nature also reveals something that makes the human experience easier. In it, he explains the “picturesque” and how it points to something greater than us. Without something greater than you or I, humans have less reason to live. Chapter three of Leonard Shlain’s The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, “Right Brain/Left Brain,” discusses the differences between the two hemispheres of the brain and what each one controls. Then chapter 5, “Nonverbal/Verbal,” talks about the left and right hemispheres’ parts in processing oral and physical forms of communication. The gist of the two chapters is this. The left hemisphere is about “doing” while the right is about “being.” Speech and written language are done using the left hemisphere. Music, processing someone else’s speech, body language and emotions, etc are understood using the right hemisphere.
Humans, Nature, and Sacred Space
Grizzly Man showed the importance of having humans in one’s life. Timothy Treadwell went a little crazy having minimal human contact. The movie also revealed how dangerous nature can be, no matter how in tune with it you are, or even if it’s your sacred space. In Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Caliban displayed why the way people, in this case natives, are treated is significant. Humans need to be treated as if they are humans because they are in fact human. Montaigne’s Of Cannibals is very similar to The Tempest. There is even one passage that Shakespeare almost quotes verbatim. It romanticizes the lives of natives, basically saying that they are “noble savages” living in a conflictless utopia.
Love, Beauty, and Art
As shown in The Picture of Dorian Gray art is very powerful. It can completely change the human experience. Art destroyed Dorian’s life, and art was Basil’s life. Ancient Greek poetry, such as “Seizure”, very clearly showed how great an effect love can have on the human experience. “Seizure” compares the pains of lost love to a serious physical ailment. The twinge of love can also be seen in All the Mornings of the World, as can be seen the role (auditorial) art plays in one’s life. Because of love, Madeleine committed suicide, and Sainte-Colombe fell apart. The only reason Sainte Colombe didn’t completely lose himself and his touch with reality is because of his music.
Law, Ethics, and Human Frailty
The Ten Commandments discusses the basic rules by which Christians and Jewish people live. They are believed to be the laws of God. They affect the human experience by guiding the individual. “Basic Teachings of Buddhist Ethics” talks about the main goal of Buddhism (to reach freedom from suffering) and the Ten Non-Virtues. The Ten Non-Virtues and the Ten Commandments are very alike. They share five commonalities: don’t murder, lie, steal, covet, or partake in sexual misconduct. They provide a base for other laws and taboos that change an individual’s experience in life. The Sermon on the Mount has more Christian values instructing one to be righteous, merciful, pure of heart, peaceful, etc. For centuries these teachings have helped govern the human experience. They direct it a certain way, away from things that are mostly viewed as bad.
The Inner Journey and Meaning of Human Reality
The entirety of Siddhartha was about the inner journey. Through Siddhartha’s struggles to find himself and to find enlightenment, we came to understand the difficulty of the inner journey, as well as how great an impact it has on one’s happiness. Similarly to Siddhartha, in The Epic of Gilgamesh the main character, Gilgamesh, goes on a long journey to save his friend, and finds tranquility when coming to terms with his mortality. Unlike Siddhartha and Gilgamesh however, Hamlet, from Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, fails to complete the inner journey. Suffering from mental illness and deaths of loved ones, Hamlet never reaches that deep seated peace that Siddhartha and Gilgamesh have found. He never achieved happiness because of his incomplete journey.
I think you did a really good job summing up each unit and relating it to the human experience. I especially liked your paragraph on love, beauty, and art. I liked how you said that art destroyed Dorian Gray's life but at the same time art was Basil's entire life. That really shows how intense and powerful art can be and how much it influences human behavior. I also liked how you compared the journey's of Siddhartha and Gilgamesh to Hamlet however I would have to partially disagree as I think that Hamlet did find relief on his inner journey when he killed Claudius. His distressed mental state, to me, represented his struggle to avenge his father and right before he died he did. I think his journey was much different than that of Siddhartha or Gilgamesh however I think in some ways he achieved an equal state of peace knowing that he followed his fathers commands. I would be interested to hear what you think about that.
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ReplyDeleteMikayla, it was a good idea to start by discussing myths and their importance, myths really show how have documented their experiences throughout time. The connection you made between Caliban in The Tempest and Of Cannibals was interesting as well. The two stories both show similar interactions between two opposing cultures. Your third paragraph really nicely sums up the importance of love in the lives of humans. The three pieces you wrote about all show very different people affected similarly by the same emotion, love. For the fourth unit, I also wrote about the connections and differences between The Ten Commandments and The Ten Non Virtues. I like how you wrote about three religious texts because religion has such a strong impact on our ethics and laws. Last, you made great connections in your last paragraph about the struggles that Siddhartha, Gilgamesh and Hamlet all face. You brought up the important point of suffering in the human experience and journey. You did a really nice job on your post with looking at the big picture and connecting the materials and units.
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