Blog 12

A young boy had a dream about a buried tresure hidden in the pyramids, and he decides to go for it in a trip full of adventure.

this boy named Santiago meets a mysterious king named the king of Salem in Tarifa convinces Santiago that he has succeeded in discovering his Personal Legend. The old king tells Santiago that following his Personal Legend to its conclusion is a person’s only real obligation in life. i am planning to write about this king because he plays an important role in this story and makes a strong impact on santiago's life he assists Santiago in making the decision to go searching for his treasure, and although Santiago does not know it the old king is a god.

Santiago listens to his heart and decides to go on a dangerous search for the treasure. He sells his flock of sheep and heads to Africa, where he is quickly robbed of all his gold and left despondent on the streets. He decides that he was foolish to believe in his dreams and quickly gets a job with a crystal merchant in order to save up enough money to go back home.

The Crystal Merchant hires Santiago after he is robbed in Africa. Santiago has given up on his treasure and begins to transform the crystal shop. The merchant is a kindly man who is fair to Santiago, and even though he is afraid of change he takes Santiago’s advice about the shop. The money begins pouring in, and the shopkeeper is very grateful to Santiago.After almost a year working for the merchant, Santiago has made a success of the shop and has plenty of money to do whatever he wants. As he’s walking the streets to go back home he suddenly decides to take a chance and continue his search for the buried treasure.

This story has a very usual point that creates a feeling of real life, and i can identify it as love, because there is a part where Santiago joins a caravan and he meets a young girl named Fatima which  is a young girl at the oasis. She is very beautiful, and as soon as Santiago sees her he loves her, and never wants to leave the oasis. She loves Santiago as well, and convinces him that he needs to go searching for his treasure, that she will wait for him to come back. after his encounter with the girl Santiago meets an Alchemist who has an important role in this story, i see this character as a  supernatural aid who  teaches Santiago about the Soul of the World, and also tells the boy that right before he’s about to discover his treasure he will be tested hardest. He also performs alchemy for Santiago just to show him it’s possible to turn minerals into gold.

Blog 11

for this assignament i've chosen a book which is from a very popular writer from Brazil, he still alive, and the book is called "The Alchemist". This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and inspiring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasures found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.

I chose this story because it reflects that life experiences are changed and shaped based on who we meet, what we experience, how we learn, and how we apply the new information to our lives and our realities.

the wikipedia link to learn more about the book i 've choosen is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alchemist_(novel)

to obtain more information about this great author please visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Coelho

Blog 10

According to our past blog activities, i have learned a lot about the hero's quest, which is a kind of life experience that all the heroes have in common and these life experiences or as defined by Joseph Campbell as hero's quest is divided or at least represented with various stages in which the hero goes through many process during his life period and gives the perfect touch to create a meaning and emotions to the viewers, readers or the audience.

All of these activites during class made me realize that no matter what happens during the plot of the story, the hero is never going to die, he or she may experience near death experiences, but as soon as they recover they come back more powerful and wiser than before, and if they die, another hero may appear, and usually this new hero is a close relative to the real hero.
In conclusion, i agree with Joseph Campbell belief that "if the hero in his triumph wins the blessing of the goddess or the god and is then explicitly commissioned to return to the world with some elixir for the restoration of society, the final stage of his adventure is supported by all the powers of his supernatural patron".

BLOG 8 "Fixed Version"

So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from hell?
Blue skies from pain?
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?

And did they get you trade
Your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cold breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?

How I wish, how I wish you were here
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl
Year after year
Running over the same old ground
What have we found?
The same old fears
Wish you were here


Pink Floyd were an English rock band during the late 1960s, composed of four university students, mostly known for their psychedelic music and their progressive rock. Roger Waters Co-lead vocalist, bass player and the principal song writer, born in the year 1943 Surrey, England ,co-founded Pink Floyd in 1965 with Syd Barrett, Richard Wright and Nick Mason. "wish you were here" is the fourth track in the album wish you were here released on 1975 and it is a great example of how literary elements can be used to give the emotions and the opportunity to imagine the real meaning of the message that this author is trying to communicate.

The song "wish you were here" is composed of four stanzas and it does not have a chorus, but the way it was designed, it allows readers and also the audience to understand its rhyme and rhythm. The first stanza is composed of seven lines in which the rhyme sequence can be interpreted as AABCAAA, eight lines for the second stanza, which it is interpreted as ABBBBBCB and the third and last stanza is formed by seven lines and its rhythmical structure is interpreted as ABACCAA.

“Wish you were here” describes a person’s feelings towards something that is somehow separated away from him. So, so you think you can tell (line 1) the speaker is asking the audience or himself questions about the difference between good and evil, Heaven from hell? (Line 2) blue skies from pain? (Line 3) peace from stress, can you tell a green field (Line 4) from a cold steel rail? (Line 5) the peaceful natural attitude of human beings to the corroded mind that deteriorates humanity, a smile from a veil? (Line 6) Do you think you can tell? (Line 7) the main point in this stanza is the difference between all the feelings that makes us good humans to the ones that can be interpreted as bad human qualities. And did they get you trade (Line 8) your heroes for ghosts? (Line 9) hot ashes for trees? (Line 10) Hot air for a cold breeze? (Line 11) Cold comfort for change? (Line 12) And did you exchange (Line 13) A walk on part in the war (Line 14) For a lead role in a cage? (Line 15). In this stanza the author is focusing on two sides in which there is a kind of negotiation, lines 8 through 15 main points of view is to give the reader or the audience the clue of the trade of feelings from the bad side to the good side of the person’s life. How I wish, how I wish you were here ( Line 16) We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl (Line 17) Year after year (Line 18) Running over the same old ground ( Line 19) What have we found? (Line 20) The same old fears (Line 21) Wish you were here ( Line 22), basically the main image of this last stanza is the bipartition of two sides, the good and evil, in which they need from each other to work better but can not get together.

The prevalent symbolism in this song can be found in every sentence because it has a good/happy lyric in exchange for a bad/sad lyric, so when broken down it reads, heaven, blue skies, green field, smile, hero's, tree's, cool breeze, change, lead role in a cage. And then, hell, pain, cold steel rail, veil, ghosts, hot ashes, hot air, cold comfort, walk on part in the war. The first nine words mentioned above symbolizes all the good things that nature can offer us to makes us peace- loving creatures and in the other hand the next nine symbolism also mentioned above are cold and dark words that creates the difference between the good and bad. “The war between forces of good and evil is one which has dominated the efforts of mankind since creation and, as both sides has demonstrated great powers capable of lasting through eternity; it seems that the war has no end in sight. Unrelenting, uncontrollable desire and skewed thinking processes bring men and women to commit wicked, unthinkable acts against even the most peaceful, amicable members of the human race-the forces of good, however, do not always take justice lightly” (Associatedcontent)

The author’s attitude, implied, towards the song can be identified as seriousness and bitterness, "The perfection of Diction is for it to be at once clear and not mean. The clearest indeed is that made up of the ordinary words for things, but it is mean... A certain admixture, accordingly, of unfamiliar terms is necessary. These, the strange word, the metaphor, the ornamental equivalent, etc., will save the language from seeming mean and prosaic, while the ordinary words in it will secure the requisite clearness. What helps most, however, to render the Diction at once clear and non-prosaic is the use of the lengthened, curtailed, and altered forms of words." (Aristotle).

Stanza number one, lines 1 through 8 in which the choice of setting, objects, details, images, and words all contribute towards creating a specific mood and a tone where it can be categorized of suspense and a little bit of mystery, where the author is trying to identify the differences between good things and the bad things, using words such as heaven and hell (Line 1). In stanza number two, lines 8 through 15 the tone and mood still serious and with a mystery because the author is asking questions to someone, the writer's or speaker's attitude toward his subject, his audience, or himself can shape the real meaning of this song, in this case stanza number two uses the same tone and mood as stanza number one. Stanza number three shows a little bit different tone and mood, lines 16 through 22 expresses the affirmation of the author towards his personal issue, how I wish you were here (line 16) is the acceptance that he needs someone or something in order to be a complete person, and lines 17 through 22 also uses a tone and mood of acceptance and affirmation where this author convince the reader and audience that he feels trapped in a fish bowl (line 18), but ending with the same message in an affirmative manner, wish you were here (Line 22).

In conclusion “Wish you were here” it's a schizophrenic song written by Waters about himself, on one side of his personality is the good, caring and giving part of his character and on the other side is the selfish, unforgiving and greedy side. It is a song about one side singing to the other, the bad side is calling to the good side saying: how i wish, how i wish you were here (Line 16). This is made evident by the lyric. We are just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl (Line 17), the fish bowl being his outer body exterior and the two lost souls being his inner. The inner souls are swimming around 'the fish bowl', one side is crying to the other 'I wish you were here', but unfortunately for Waters the bad side prevails, the lyric “we're just two lost souls swimming a fish bowl (line 17) year after year (Line 18), running over the same old ground (line 19), what have we found (line 20), the same old fears (line 21), wish you were here. (Line 22)”, basically in the literal sense it's saying that the good side of Waters character will never exceed the bad side.

Work Cited

-Exploring Themes of Good Vs. Evil in World Mythology by Robert Lewis www.associatedcontent.com, Published February 22, 2008.

-The Poetics, Aristotle on the Art of Poetry. Web, April 17, 2010
http://www.authorama.com/the-poetics-23.html

-"Wish you were here"- Pink Floyd. Wikipedia. April 17, 2010
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Floyd

-Dictionary of symbolism.Web, April 17, 2010
http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/

Blog 7 "Dragon Ball"

>>>>>DRAGON BALL<<<<<<


Image Link:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=r2t6l2&s=5&hid=93&tag=Dragon+Ball+z

Dragon Ball is a Japanesse series written by Akira Toriyama, it follows the adventures of Goku from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven mystical objects known as the Dragon Balls, which can summon a wish-granting dragon. Along his journey, Goku meets several friends and fights against several villains who also seek the Dragon Balls. ( Wikipedia )

According to the Hero's Quest by  Campbell elements such as departure, initiation and return can be identified throughout the entire movie, and this elements brings the magic that gives the viewers the ability to see the plot in a more detailed way.

when Goku was a little boy, he is sent to planet Earth from a distant planet called Planet Vegetta,where everybody is called Saiyajin, which is a race of warriors, very agressive and highly destructive, with the purpose of destroying humanity, but when he reaches the ground he hits his head and looses all of his saiyajin knowledge, this part of the story can be identified as the departure, followed by this events, the little boy is found by an old man named Gohan whose interest and knowlede in martial arts made it easy for him to teach Goku the art of fighting, with the advantage of training him for the good of humanity instead of destroying it, this part, its identified as the initiation, is the part where his journey begins, after a few years Goku grows up and finds out that he is not from this planet because he has supernatural fighting skills with a very unique physical aspect, meaning that he has a monkey tail, which allows him to become a giant gorilla during a full moon.
Goku meets a lot of people and defeats many warriors that trys to destroy the planet. Many years after his departure from his adoptive father and master, another Sayaijin is sent to planet Earth to destroy Goku, because he hasn't accomplish his mission, and this is the moment when he finds out the truth about him self and his supernatural strength.
Following his warriors instints, Goku and his humans friends travel through the space and universe to fight the evil forces that threatened to destroy the planet Earth, this events are identified by Dr. Campbell as "Return" in which the hero, in this case Goku, returns to its original place to satisfy his fighting desires.

In conclusion "Dragon Ball" by Akira Toriyama which is written in series describes the life of a warrior who is sent to Earth to destroy it, but an unexpected event changed his whole life giving him the opportunity to become almost human and at the same time, to become a good person, friend and warrior.
Acording by Dr. Campbell elements such as departure, initiation and return makes it a unique story in which the life of a hero is interpreted through fantastical adventures and supernatural fighting skills.

Work Cited

Wikipedia " Dragon Ball"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Ball

The WordReference Dictionary.
http://www.wordreference.com/

Blog 6 version 2

WISH YOU WERE HERE- PINK FLOYD
Listen to this great song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPm4GH3UUC8



So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from hell?
Blue skies from pain?
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?

And did they get you trade
Your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cold breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?

How I wish, how I wish you were here
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl
Year after year
Running over the same old ground
What have we found?
The same old fears
Wish you were here


Pink Floyd were an English rock band during the late 1960s, composed of four university students, mostly known for their psychedelic music and their progressive rock. Roger Waters Co-lead vocalist, bass player and the principal song writer, born in the year 1943 Surrey, England ,co-founded Pink Floyd in 1965 with Syd Barrett, Richard Wright and Nick Mason. "wish you were here" is the fourth track in the album wish you were here released on 1975 and it is a great example of how literary elements can be used to give the emotions and the opportunity to imagine the real meaning of the message this author is trying to communicate.

The song "wish you were here" is composed of four stanzas and it does not have a chorus, but the way it was desing, it allows readers and also the audience to understand the rhyme and rhythm that it has. The first stanza is composed of seven lines in which the rhythm sequence can be interpreted as AABCAAA, eight lines for the second stanza, it is interpreted as ABBBBBCB and the third and last stanza is formed by seven lines and its rhythmical structure is interpreted as ABACCAA.

“wish you were here” describes the a person’s feelings towards something that is somehow separated away from him. So, so you think you can tell ( line 1) the speaker is asking the audience or himself questions about the difference between good and evil, Heaven from hell? (line 2) blue skies from pain? (line 3) peace from stress, can you tell a green field (line 4) From a cold steel rail? (line 5) The peaceful natural attitude of human beings to the corroded mind that deteriorates humanity, a smile from a veil? (Line 6) Do you think you can tell? (line 7) the main point in this stanza is the difference between all the feelings that makes us good humans to the ones that can be interpreted as bad human qualities. And did they get you trade (Line 8) Your heroes for ghosts? (Line 9) Hot ashes for trees? (Line10) Hot air for a cold breeze? (Line 11) Cold comfort for change? (Line 12) And did you exchange (Line 13) A walk on part in the war (Line 14)
For a lead role in a cage? (line 15). In this stanza the author is focusing on two sides in which there is a kind of negotiation , lines 8 through 15 main point of view is to give the reader or the audience the clue of the trade of feelings from the bad side to the good side of the persons life. How I wish, how I wish you were here ( Line 16) We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl (Line 17) Year after year (Line 18) Running over the same old ground ( Line 19) What have we found? (line 20) The same old fears (Line 21) Wish you were here ( Line 22), basically the main image of this last stanza is the separation of two sides, the good and evil, in which they need each other to work better but can not get together.

The prevalent symbolism in this song can be found in every sentence because it has a good/happy lyric in exchange for a bad/sad lyric, so when broken down it reads, heaven, blue skies, green field, smile, hero's, tree's, cool breeze, change, lead role in a cage. And then, hell, pain, cold steel rail, veil, ghosts, hot ashes, hot air, cold comfort, walk on part in the war. The first nine words mentioned above symbolizes all the good things that nature can offer us to makes us peace- loving creatures and in the other hand the next nine symbolism also mentioned above are cold and dark words that creates the difference between the good and bad. “The war between forces of good and evil is one which has dominated the efforts of mankind since creation and, as both sides have demonstrated great powers capable of lasting through eternity, it seems that the war has no end in sight. Unrelenting, uncontrollable desire and skewed thinking processes bring men and women to commit wicked, unthinkable acts against even the most peaceful, amicable members of the human race-the forces of good, however, do not always take justice lightly” (Associatedcontent.com)

The author’s attitude, implied, towards the song can be identified as seriousness and bitterness, "The perfection of Diction is for it to be at once clear and not mean. The clearest indeed is that made up of the ordinary words for things, but it is mean... A certain admixture, accordingly, of unfamiliar terms is necessary. These, the strange word, the metaphor, the ornamental equivalent, etc., will save the language from seeming mean and prosaic, while the ordinary words in it will secure the requisite clearness. What helps most, however, to render the Diction at once clear and non-prosaic is the use of the lengthened, curtailed, and altered forms of words." (Aristotle).
Stanza number one, lines 1 through 8 in which the choice of setting, objects, details, images, and words all contribute towards creating a specific mood and a tone where it can be categorized of suspense and a little bit of mystery, where the author is trying to identify the differences between good things and the bad things, using words such as heaven and hell (line 1). In stanza number two, lines 8 through 15 the tone and mood still serious and with a mystery because the author is asking questions to someone, the writer's or speaker's attitude toward his subject, his audience, or himself can shape the real meaning of this song, in this case stanza number two uses the same tone and mood as stanza number one. Stanza number three shows a little bit different tone and mood, lines 16 through 22 expresses the affirmation of the author towards his personal issue, how I wish you were here (line 16) is the acceptance that he needs someone or something in order to be a complete person, and lines 17 through 22 also uses a tone and mood of acceptance and affirmation where this author convince the reader and audience that he feels trapped in a fish bowl (line 18), but ending with the same message in an affirmative manner, wish you were here (Line 22).

In conclusion “Wish you were here” it's a schizophrenic song written by Waters about himself, on one side of his personality is the good, caring and giving part of his character and on the other side is the selfish, unforgiving and greedy side. It is a song about one side singing to the other, the bad side is calling to the good side saying how i wish, how i wish you were here (Line 17). This is made evident by the lyric.. 'We are just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl (Line 18), the fish bowl being his outer body exterior and the two lost souls being his inner. The inner souls are swimming around 'the fish bowl', one side is crying to the other 'i wish you were here', but unfortunately for waters the bad side prevails, the lyric “we're just two lost souls swimming a fish bowl (line 17) year after year (Line 18), running over the same old ground (line 19),what have we found (line 20),the same old fears (line 21),wish you were here. (line 22)”, basically in the literal sense it's saying that the good side of Waters character will never exceed the bad side.



Work Cited

-Exploring Themes of Good Vs. Evil in World Mythology by Robert Lewis www.associatedcontent.com, Published February 22, 2008.

-The Poetics, Aristotle on the Art of Poetry. Web, April 17, 2010
http://www.authorama.com/the-poetics-23.html

-"Wish you were here"- Pink Floyd. Wikipedia. April 17, 2010
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Floyd

-Dictionary of symbolism.Web, April 17, 2010
http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/

Blog 5

1) what you understand the assignment to be asking you to do, 2) what you are confused about, 3) what you need to know to complete the assignment, and 4) what you think you might want to write about.

For what i understand, this assignament needs some of the author's backkground information, this is the very first step, and now comes the explaination of the different literary elements found in our poem such as , alliteration, simile and metaphors and many others.
the next step should be analyze each stanza and write down the most clear interpretation for each one,
i may want to change the poem i choose, because i want something with more stanzas and with a variety of literay elements that will allow me to write and make clear interpretations, i may want to write about a poem with a lot of metaphor, because i like the way it interprets reality with a comparision and also something with double meaning and a lot of esoterism.